What is life like there?
Life is very good, here in Nelson we have a very relaxed atmosphere and you never need to be aware that there is going to be a murderer behind you or anything like that...it is one chill community.
What lifestyles do the environment of the town encourage?
The town is basically surrounded by a forest, there are trees all over it, and it is on the mountain side, therefore everyone really respects the environment and it is really clean usually...the air is amazing quality too.
It has a bit of a reputation as a hippy town, is this justified and why?
It definately can be classified to be a hippy town, it has a big marijuana reputition and there is a huge banner of Bob Marley just off of the main street (the one of him smoking a blunt)...everyone is really concerned about the environment as stated above and the hippies actually mix in very well, when you walk downtown you will usually see alot of them just jamming playing music with eachother just trying to make a few bucks.
How much of a role does tourism play?
Nelson has two times of the year when it is very busy...one is called Shambhala...it is a HUGE music/hippy fest that is held very close to Nelson and when it is on, the town is packed...all throughout the summer the town is usually very busy and can double in population...it also has a very good reputation for snow so people come from all over the place to ski the selkirks.
Also I would like to add that this place has more restaurants than any small town I have ever seen...it has the second biggest restaurant to people ration in the world (next to san fransisco) when you walk around you will pass many many restaurants...and the food at most of them is very good.
