Point Roberts resources for transportation, schools, medical, recreation, and border navigation when searching for and buying a new home.

TRANSPORTATION RESOURCES

Walking/Cycling

The Point is very walkable, however, there are no street lamps –  this enables you to see the stars at night, but be sure to wear bright/reflective clothing if you plan to be on the streets past dusk. You can bike to downtown Tsawwassen within 5 minutes of the border – biking or walking also enables you to skip the line up when entering and exiting Point Roberts (both sides).

Public Transit: Bus/Train (on hold)

There is a bus stop 800 feet (~240 meters) from the border – from there you can take a 30-minute Translink bus to Bridgeport Station in Richmond, from where you may take the 18-minute Canada Line Skytrain to Waterfront Station in Downtown Vancouver. It is truly possible to have a sub-one-hour commute on public transit to the heart of the City.

The Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA) have a public transport service to Cordata Parkway in Bellingham – this is a pre-booked vanpool, used by calling 360.945.2844.

Taxi

Delta Green Cab offer a taxi service to and from Point Roberts to Delta, Surrey and other places within the Greater Vancouver Area, and even as far as Seattle! They have an app for booking your cab, which ensures they are sending a driver who has a passport when entering the United States.

Rideshare

There are several local channels of communication: NextDoor, All Point Bulletin, Craigslist, and a few email groups – ND and the email groups have served well in finding rides to and from the mainland, as well as to Downtown Vancouver. It’s as simple as posting and matching with someone going the same direction.

Air

There is a small airport here, where you may charter a flight from San Juan Airlines for as little as $74 per passenger. Additionally, we are only 30 minutes to YVR, Vancouver International Airport, and 1 hour to BLI, Bellingham International Airport – jumping point for Allegiant Air deals, such as round trip to San Francisco or Las Vegas for less than $100!

SCHOOLS

Point Roberts Primary School, the only school on the Point, provides kindergarten, first, second and third grades. From fourth grade on, students must take a 40-minute ride through British Columbia, crossing back into the United States at Blaine, WA. Alternatively, students may attend school in BC, and pay tuition out of pocket.

Note: Minors under age 19 do not require Canadian status to be able to attend schools in Canada if the parents do not live in Canada. This is a great advantage for families moving to Point Roberts, as it opens up opportunities for Canadian educational standards, as well as a second or third language.

Preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten
There are a number of preschool options in Tsawwassen, Delta, a few minutes walk or drive from Point Roberts, which are reasonably priced in Canadian dollars.

K-12 (Public, Free)
Point Roberts Primary falls under the Blaine School District – this means children may attend grades Kindergarten through 3 in Point Roberts, then take the bus to Blaine to continue education. Children from Point Roberts attending school in Blaine do not need to hold a passport or NEXUS to attend.

K-12 (Public, Paid)
The Delta School District allows non-Canadians to attend for $9,000 CAD per year for the first child, $8,000  CAD for each additional child. Please check with the district since it changes every year. 

Schools in Tsawwassen

Early French Immersion Programs are offered at:

  • South Park
  • Devon Gardens

Late French Immersion Programs are offered at:

  • Cliff Drive

K-12 (Private, Paid)
Ranked among the top schools in BC, Southpointe Academy offers a full K-12 program with limited entry (preference to those that are local, i.e. Tsawwassen or Point Roberts).

Sacred Heart School provides K-7 Catholic education of the highest standards. Located in sunny South Delta, BC.

Boundary Bay Montessori School offers a quality Montessori education. They offer preschool, daycare, and K-7.

Delta Christian School offers Christ-centered, quality education for K-7.

HEALTH + WELLNESS RESOURCES

Medical + Mental Health

Doctor On Demand is our ‘go-to’ telemedicine provider – you can see a board-certified physician over video, right from your smartphone, tablet, or computer within minutes. They can treat 18 out of the top 20 ER cases, including the most common issues this cold and flu season, and can fill prescriptions at your nearest US-based pharmacy. We use them for almost every health-related concern and have been blown away every time. 

Pharmacies (US-Based)

  • Rite Aid: 1195 Boblett Street, Blaine, WA 98230
  • Walgreens: 1901 Main Street, Ferndale, WA 98248
  • Costco: 4125 Arctic Avenue, Bellingham, WA 98226

Clinics

The Point Roberts Clinic is a part of Unity Care NW Hospital District, and provides care for most walk-in conditions, as well as exams and screenings. Being attached to the fire station, they have EMTs on hand for emergency situations.

Jack Nathan Health inside the Walmart Tsawwassen Supercenter has a walk-in clinic, where those without Canadian status can be served as cash-pay patients. They are efficient and you can pick up your prescription from right across the hall.

Hospitals

Ladner Hospital in Delta, BC is a part of Fraser Health, and provides acute care services to admitted patients requiring further medical intervention and treatment. Those without Canadian status can be served as cash-pay patients.

Peace Arch Hospital in Surrey BC, provides a range of health care services including emergency, surgery and maternity care.

PeaceHealth Saint Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, WA, is a not-for-profit organization sponsored by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Peace since 1891. They return all proceeds to the community in the form of improved healthcare services, technology and facilities as well as care for the underserved.

Gymnasium, Recreation, and Sports

Delta Parks and Recreation have an infinite number of solo and team-based wellness activities for all ages, ranging from volleyball, pickleball, swimming and tennis, to yoga, zumba, acting and cooking classes for toddlers. Their nearest facilities are Winskill Aquatic and Fitness Centre, Tsawwassen Arts Centre, and South Delta Recreation Centre.

UTILITIES

Water: Point Roberts Water District #4. The water to Point Roberts is drawn from the Pebble Hill Reservoir located in Tsawwassen, BC and is distributed through our own water distribution system to your tap.

Electricity: Puget Sound Energy is a Washington Energy company that provides electricity to Point Roberts.

Sewer: Most of the properties in Point Roberts require the use of an onsite sewage disposal system (Septic System). Wiki How does a wonderful explanation on how it works and how to maintain it.

Trash & Recycling: Cando Recycling and Disposal Waste Management Company are based in Point Roberts and offer weekly, fortnightly or monthly service.

Handyman and other services: Nielson’s Building Center complied a list of local contractors that can be a resource when you’re looking for home repairs or building an addition on a house

INTERNET & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Upload, download, and ping speeds vary by service and class of internet provider, with the highest speeds being offered to business subscribers.

Whidbey Telecom provides DSL internet and landline phone services to Point Roberts, with maximum speeds of 50 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up, and they have an office here on the Point – this is a US-based ISP. They are currently working on installing fiber through out Point Roberts.

Dish provides satellite internet service to all locations in Point Roberts, however, speeds will vary based on clarity of exposure to the southern sky.

T-Mobile has the best cellular coverage for roaming between Point Roberts and Canada – they have strong agreements with Telus, Rogers, and Bell in neighboring Canada, so roaming in Canada does not affect your phone bill. If you have a post-paid account, they will even send you a FREE home cell tower (femtocell) to generate your own cellular signal that traverses over your internet provider, so there are no dead spots on your property. Let me know if you are interested in receiving our friends and family referral. We are working on putting these in along the Gulf business corridor so that locals may maintain a call from the Saltwater Café all the way to the International Marketplace.

Verizon has a tower toward the center of Point Roberts, which offers great coverage close by, but does not cover all four corners.

Note: We are working on a project with the local emergency services department to get all cellular carriers equal corner-to-corner coverage in Point Roberts.

BORDER CROSSINGS RESOURCES

The Point Roberts port of entry to the US is a family border, where border patrol agents spend more time at the post here versus the higher rotation seen at other borders.

The border is open 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.

We recommend obtaining a NEXUS card for all members of your household, which costs $50 for a 5 year membership. Membership to the NEXUS program allows you to reduce your wait times at designated ports of ingress and egress by using:

  • dedicated processing lanes at land border crossings
  • NEXUS kiosks when entering Canada, the US, and Mexico
  • TSA Pre✓ when flying out of US airports (included in NEXUS)
  • Global Entry kiosks when entering the United States from abroad (included in NEXUS)

Aside from leisure activities offered in Point Roberts, Canadians come here to take advantage of package receiving services and lower gas prices. Without a NEXUS card one could expect to wait for over 15 minutes during an evening rush hour.

Due to the fact that Point Roberts has a limited land mass, and people aren’t typically passing through here, in our experience, crossing the border into Canada with NEXUS in the morning takes about 1 minute, and a few extra minutes if coming back in the evening.