Houston's new constable left the busy highways of Delta for a smaller, quiet community.
Transferring from Delta's traffic patrol unit, Constable Kyle Hay says he looks forward to the variety of calls which will come with his general duty posting in Houston.
"In Houston we're first responders. We take anything from a kitten stuck in a tree to a murder investigation … there's a hugely broad spectrum of things I can touch on and learn from," he said.
Looking ahead to his RCMP career, Hay says there's a variety of things he'd like to try.
"I'm a front line guy. I like to wear the uniform, I like to go out and be seen and help people," he said.
One RCMP section he's interested in is the gang task force.
"There are youth and kids getting into gangs at an early age, and that path starts them on a life of being in trouble. A lot of them feel like they have to be in these gangs to be accepted as a family member, when there's much better ways to find a family if you don't feel like you have one at home," he said.
Hay wants to try the front line and "go out in cars and talk to the gang members, get information and try to help them on a better path."
He's also interested in surveillance, "keeping tabs on people who keep re-offending," he said.
Even as a kid, Hay says he's always been interested in the RCMP.
Growing up in the small town of Woodstock, New Brunswick, Hay says there were two police forces, local police and mounties.
"I always saw the mounties in the coffee shops and driving around with the lights and stuff ... It was always something that drew my attention: talking to people, helping people, protecting people, that kind of thing."
Hay says his Mom even has a photo of him wearing the RCMP commander's hat in the Library at the age of three.
Straight out of high school he headed to the RCMP Depot, after a few ride alongs confirmed that the RCMP was for him.
Traffic patrol in Delta was his first post and Houston is his second.
"There's a lot of reasons why I chose Houston," he said.
The type of post gives him opportunity to make extra money doing overtime and on-call work, and it gives him limited duration with a say in where he goes next, which Hay says is important because of his family - a wife and two young daughters.
Houston also drew him because of the low cost of living and its amenities, which are not available in the other towns he looked at.
"It's got a movie theatre, fast food, gas stations… lots of stuff to do and the community seems very nice," he said.
It fits well for Hay, who's hobbies are watching movies, playing basketball and having fun with his kids.
"I love the community… it feels just like home," he said.