Economy
Many of the area’s businesses are geared toward recreational and weekend visitors from Greater Vancouver, especially those in search of cheap gasoline. The handful of area bars and nightclubs are popular with visiting Canadians (despite a 21 drinking age in the US versus 19 in British Columbia), and were even more so in the days before Sunday drinking was legalized in British Columbia. The local post office rents hundreds of post office boxes to individuals and businesses from the Greater Vancouver area (including the US Consulate in Vancouver) which find it a convenient and fast way to receive mail and parcels from the United States.
As reported in National Geographic Magazine, residents enjoy a low crime rate at the cost of a high local security presence.