Community - The #1 Reason People Live in Fernie

Community – the #1 reason people live in Fernie, as per the 2010 Fernie Fix Best of Fernie results. The next most voted answer, the people. Community. People. Both powerful influences in any person’s life and within any town or city, yet they seem to be more recognized in some than others.

When you take into consideration the makeup of people residing here, it may seem surprising that Fernie emanates this characteristic so strongly. Miners, foresters, ski guides, small business owners, baristas, EI seasonals, second-home owners, retirees, ski bums, couples trying to get their foot in the door, budding families, born-and-raised, new locals, newbies, transients, first generation, third generation… a cultural/social/economic jumble that somehow clicks. Of course there are the radicals, stirring the pot and complaining about one “group” or another, but when it comes down to it we all get along, otherwise the majority of people living or visiting here wouldn’t be so affected by “the people” or “community”.

So, what is it that binds us and inevitably creates this feeling or energy? In my opinion it’s the land, the space that Fernie occupies that continues to catch us off guard, leaving us awestruck by its magnificence. And we work hard to preserve it. Make it better. Share experiences in it. Appreciate it. Capture it. This we can all understand and recognize in one another. – and it makes us a community.