This is a Canada few outsiders know. Basking in a quasi-Mediterranean climate - shielded from storms by the high peaks of Vancouver Island and featuring a weather pattern both drier and sunnier than most people would expect - British Columbia's Southern Gulf Islands are among the most human-friendly living environments in the world. Pleasant. Easy on the eyes. Forgivingly mellow.

And Salt Spring Island- the biggest and most vibrant in the group - boasts the very best of Gulf Island-style living.

Home to nearly 10,000 people, and a favourite of artists and artisans - from world-renowned painters and sculptors to leading-edge writers and actors - Salt Spring exudes a sense of life that is both stylishly distinct and exuberantly self-confident.

Call it island cool, or laidback sophisticated ... Salt Spring Island people just seem to know how to live. Maybe it's the mild weather they experience. Maybe it's the clean salt air they breathe. Maybe it's the fresh island produce they eat. It works. Whether kayaking on the morning tide or setting out on a sunset mountain bike ride - whether sitting in a Ganges coffee shop enjoying a good book or practicing yoga on the beach - Islanders here understand what "quality of life" really means.

And yet Salt Spring Island isn't far removed from the urban connections that make modern life so convenient. Barely a 20-minute flight from Vancouver - and just a little more by ferry from Vancouver Island - the island boasts all the facilities that a progressive 21st century community needs. From hospital to supermarket, schools to banks, Salt Spring manages to bridge the commercial gap for people without losing any of its island charm.