From Panorama Ridge to Tynehead to East Clayton, Surrey has become home to practically dozens of cities within cities.
With more than half a million people living in Surrey, each of these communities has created its own identity.
With our series we call "Neighbourhoods," we are coming to your area simply because we want to tell its story.
Recognizing that every one is unique, both in their character and in the challenges they face, our series will look at each area's struggles and triumphs.
This ongoing feature will showcase Surrey's dozens of neighbourhoods through stories, photos and video. Click on the map below to access them.
To share your neighbourhood's story, email us at edit@thenownewspaper.com with the subject line "Neighbourhoods."
————
SURREY — Mandeep Dhaliwal lives in a "tucked away" South Surrey neighbourhood called King George Corridor.
His home is sandwiched between Highway 99 and King George Boulevard at about 34th Avenue.
"We're between that. Then you have the farm belt. It's like this little section," Dhaliwal said.
While some might expect it to be noisy being located between two major arteries, he said it's not, because greenbelts provide a buffer, as well as a serene backdrop.
"We're tucked away." And because the neighbourhood is somewhat hidden, he said there is very little through traffic. When he pulls off the highway and onto his street, he said he's hit with a sense of calmness. He didn't feel that same sense of calm in Newton, where he spent a large part of his life.
He saw Newton change over the last 10 or 15 years, and said he made the move south to raise his children in a better environment.
"(In Newton) people started building, having more and more suites in their home, and I think that's great to have a suite. But when people started having two, three, four suites, the suites started to get smaller and smaller. Eventually some people just had little rooms they were renting out," he said.
"And some of the people that were going in those kind of rooms, it's not that they were impoverished, it's just that many times they were sometimes people who were addicts.... I started to see people in my neighbourhood who were stealing. We had people in our backyard and they were still from our neighbourhood."
That was a big change, he said, and he asked himself if he wanted his children to be exposed to that.
"And I didn't. So I moved out to South Surrey where there wasn't that much of that. That was a big push for me."
Dhaliwal said he was also drawn to King George Corridor's diversity.
"In my old, old neighbourhood, where I grew up in Burnaby, it was very diverse. I grew up with Italians, I grew up with Jehovah's Witnesses and there was East Indians and Japanese and Croatians. I loved that neighbourhood. And we didn't really see colour, it was cool."
Dhaliwal said Newton was less diverse, with mostly Indo-Canadians, and wanted his children to be exposed to a variety of cultures.
"This fosters tolerance, and I think living in separate racial neighbourhoods does not allow us to learn what we have in common with each other, it just amplifies the differences," he said.
"That's what I like about this neighbourhood. There's Asians here, there's Caucasians here, there's some South Asians as well... and that's what I want (my children) to experience - the similarities in different cultures and not just be separate and see the differences."
But Dhaliwal didn't choose the neighbourhood solely for its diversity.
Part of choosing the location had to do with being so close to major highways, because his wife commutes to Vancouver frequently to visit her parents.
"She wanted to be really close to the highway. So that was a big thing. If it was anything further, White Rock, then it was too far of a commute to go to my wife's parents. One is disabled and her father can't drive. So they can't come see her," he said.
"Those two factors originally pushed me into the neighbourhood, I didn't really know anyone that lived here or anything like that."
In fact, after driving into the area and liking what he saw, he went door to door, asking people if they were interested in selling their house.
"Nobody was at that time, but eventually I bought a house," he said with a chuckle.
When knocking door to door, he was surprised at how nice the area residents are.
"Everyone is really open and receptive, and really kind," he said, adding that neighbours help each other out, whether that's watching someone's home when they're on vacation, providing last-minute childcare or even driving someone to and from the hospital.
"It's good friendship. Just being able to reach out. I trust my neighbours. I've never had to go to them for anything, but I think if I had to reach out if I was going through a tough time, I feel comfortable to do that, and I don't know how many people can say that."
He said knowing his neighbours makes him feel safe and comfortable.
"If there's anybody who's not from the neighbourhood, it becomes quite apparent," he said.
REAL SENSE OF COMMUNITY
Dhaliwal also takes comfort in knowing the parents in the area will help keep an eye on his children.
"I feel safe with my daughter on the street. If she runs out on the street like she's not supposed to, somebody else would probably say, 'Hey, get back.'" Dhaliwal has two children, four-year-old daughter Anaeya and two-year-old son Anaike.
The area's sense of community is beneficial to both his children, he said.
The children in the area regularly get together at seasonal events, such as movie nights in the summer, Easter egg hunts and even Christmas carolling.
Both of his children will reap the benefits of the multiculturalism and sense of community the area offers, he said.
"I could liken it to my parents' culture in India, and even First Nations where they say it takes a village to raise a child, right? In India, if you were doing something wrong in the village, it wasn't just your parents you were worried about, you were also worried about your neighbours," he said.
"There's so much we can learn from each other's cultures."
Dhaliwal's wife Charn also loves the area's diversity.
"Everybody is from a different background," she said. "But I think the one thing we all have in common is that we all want to raise our kids with the same morals and values."
She also agreed that the residents being connected contributes to a sense of security.
"They're friends and I feel safe walking around with my kids here at night," she said.
KNOWING THE NEIGHBOURS
James Fang, another area resident, moved to King George Corridor three years ago with his wife and two children because they found Vancouver and Richmond were no longer affordable.
"A lot of people have actually moved out this way because of that," he said. "And a lot of people are surprised when you say that because you think of South Surrey and you think of pricier homes as well, but it's actually more affordable than you would expect."
Fang said his family is happy with their move to the neighbourhood - and that feeling was sparked the day they moved in. While moving things inside, a woman started mowing his lawn. Another woman began raking the front lawn. They turned out to be his neighbours.
More recently, when he was injured for a couple of weeks, his neighbours on both sides cut his lawn for him. And when it snows, everyone pitches in to shovel the sidewalks and pathways.
"It was a really good feeling. Every time we went for a walk around the neighbourhood you talk to people or you say 'hi' to them," he said.
His family previously lived in Richmond for more than five years; in that time, they didn't get to know many people in their community.
"Everyone is in and out of the garage and their cars, nobody actually gets to know anybody, and it's unfortunate," he said.
Fang grew up in Victoria knowing all his neighbours, parents and children alike, and is glad his children will now experience the same.
"You don't see it a lot anymore, unfortunately. I grew up in Victoria. I could go ride my bike and I could go knock on anybody's door in the neighbourhood and they would know who I am and I could ask for help, or even something as simple as using the washroom."