Langley has been named one of the most romantic urban areas in Canada.
That comes from Amazon.ca, the online seller of books, e-books, CDs and movies. The company looked at communities across Canada with populations of 80,000 or more and came up with its top 20, in terms of purchases from Amazon.
“The list was compiled by comparing Amazon.ca sales data of romance novels and relationship books (Kindle books and print books); romantic comedies; and a collection of romantic music CDs from artists such as Dean Martin, Barry White, Luther Vandross, Miguel and Michael Bublé, on a per capita basis in cities with more than 80,000 residents,” says a press release from Amazon.
While at first blush the coupling between Langley and romance may seem odd, there are plenty of romantic angles here. Most people agree that Langley is an ideal spot for exploring spectacular surroundings — at several large regional parks, on trails like the Fort-to-Fort Trail, on or along the Fraser River or on bike rides on Langley’s many rural streets.
Many of those kinds of adventures are undertaken by couples. A visit to any trail will confirm that.
Then there are our many wonderful wineries — sure spots to keep romantic feelings aflame. A relaxing wine tasting, in a spectacular setting, is pretty wonderful.
Langley also has some amazing restaurants, and they are among the most popular places to get a romance started, and keep it in full flower. The recent addition of the very popular Cactus Club to an already stellar list of restaurants here will certainly help many romances.
Langley people are quite literate, as I can attest from handling letters to the editor from Times readers for the past 15 years. That would help explain the sales of books and e-books.
They also enjoy the arts, which is one reason there is a push on for a standalone arts centre somewhere in or near the Langley City downtown area. Good musical performances, plays and other forms of entertainment are all great sparks for romance.
Langley also has the Colossus theatre complex, which offers more than enough variety on any given day to keep movie buffs entertained. Movie theatres have long been great locations for romance.
Perhaps another factor is that Langley is home to more and more younger couples, as a wider variety of housing options become available here. Younger people are more likely to shop online, and Amazon is certainly one of their favoured destinations.
It is interesting that five B.C. urban areas made Amazon’s top 20 list. Victoria was number one in Canada; North Vancouver fifth; Kamloops seventh; Langley eighth and Nanaimo 18th.
Only three large cities across the country made the cut, and the three biggest weren’t on the list. Winnipeg was second, Edmonton ninth and Calgary 13th. Perhaps the long, cold winters have something to do with that.