August 15th, 2006, 01:35 AM
A Campbell River rentor looking for a single family dwelling with a couple of baths and 3 bedrooms would probably start at $850-ish (very low end stuff - weekly knifings viewed from the living room) to about $1500, a decent neighbourhood/home exluding the Olympic pool and bonus room for the Canadian military
. I hear the rental market is very tight. I'm sure the prices are worse down Island (Victoria much higher) and Vancouver would be in the stratosphere.
A Campbell River rentor looking for a single family dwelling with a couple of baths and 3 bedrooms would probably start at $850-ish (very low end stuff - weekly knifings viewed from the living room) to about $1500, a decent neighbourhood/home exluding the Olympic pool and bonus room for the Canadian military
. I hear the rental market is very tight. I'm sure the prices are worse down Island (Victoria much higher) and Vancouver would be in the stratosphere.
Newbie
Posts: 32 
August 16th, 2006, 12:59 PM
Hi, Kevin.
You keep posting about B.C., but then focus on the Lower Mainland. The Lower Mainland is not B.C. any more than Toronto is Canada (although many people apparently have this misconception). The Lower Mainland is just a very tiny corner of B.C. that is actually unlike the rest of B.C..
The Weather
The Lower Mainland is on the southern coast so its weather doesn’t get too extreme. The summers have a few hot spells that make it uncomfortable for sleeping at nights, but we haven’t had the extreme heat waves that America and Europe have experienced. Winters are also moderate; snow may fall a couple times over the winter but usually melts within a couple days. The rest of winter is normally grey skies and/or rain.
The rest of B.C. has much more variety. The Okanagan can range from desert-like conditions (the Penticton-Osoyoos area) to quite temperate. For example, Salmon Arm is very nice and doesn’t seem to have the arid conditions you see as you go towards Kelowna (even though Kelowna has many vineyards). Most of the rest of B.C. does get snow in the winter. However, the skies are otherwise blue, compared to Lower Mainland winters—six months of grey, depressing, skies.
Scenery
The Vancouver-area claims to have some of the nicest scenery in the world: the ocean, the mountains, easy access to nature, etc. However, B.C. has a pretty long coastline, so many other locations can brag about the ocean view too. And most of B.C. can also claim to have views of mountains, lakes, trees, nature, etc. B.C. does, indeed, offer some spectacular natural scenery. However, simply living among beautiful views gets old really fast if you are at a point in life where you are more concerned about making a living and supporting a family. Unless you are working in the tourist industry, the scenery doesn’t pay your rent or buy your groceries. And even if you were working in the tourist industry, say, as a waiter or hotel bellhop, the pay is not very good—probably not enough to survive on, certainly not enough to get ahead in life.
Economic Potential
The Lower Mainland does not have much in the way of heavy industry. Too many taxes and regulations discourage companies from setting up shop here. There are some software companies and electronics companies here, but getting into them is difficult. And even they are slowly moving too. My own employer has recently moved as much of its electronics production to Taiwan as it could. Costs are about a third of what it costs to make the same things here in Vancouver. (I suppose the next step will be to move from Taiwan to mainland China where costs are even lower).
The Lower Mainland is suffocating under many taxes, fees, licencing requirements, etc. And it will probably get even worse after the Olympics comes here in 2010. Costs are already overbudget, and local governments are constantly trying to find new ways to squeeze money from people.
- - -
As a paramedic, you should be able to find work pretty easily wherever you go; however, I am not familiar with the industry, so I don’t know for sure. And even if you are at the top of your game, I wouldn’t be surprised if provincial regulations did not recognize your qualifications (that’s why so many Indian doctors drive dump trucks and Filipino nurses work as housecleaners, even though B.C. is supposedly suffering shortages of doctors and nurses).
If it were up to me, I like the area around Salmon Arm and Kelowna. A person can enjoy some acreage, grow some peach trees, grapes, walnuts, etc. And Kelowna is growing fast. It has an airport and all the amenities of a city.
If you want to live where there is excellent job potential for yourself and your children, you are probably better off in Ontario.
If you want to work in the Oil and Gas industry, Alberta would be a better choice, or Fort St. John (in northern B.C.).
If you are completely free to locate wherever you want regardless of job potential (i.e. – you are a multi-millionaire), and you truly want to live in the Lower Mainland, perhaps consider Mission or Abbotsford. Fees, insurance, taxes, etc. are lower, but you still have easy access to Vancouver. The weather is still moderate, Abbotsford has its own airport (or the Vancouver Airport is only a 45-minute drive away), the Westcoast Express (commuter rail) is available, and property prices are somewhat lower than right in Vancouver.
In any case, if you decide to purchase property in B.C., wait a year, or you will be charged the property transfer tax.
Hi, Kevin.
You keep posting about B.C., but then focus on the Lower Mainland. The Lower Mainland is not B.C. any more than Toronto is Canada (although many people apparently have this misconception). The Lower Mainland is just a very tiny corner of B.C. that is actually unlike the rest of B.C..
The Weather
The Lower Mainland is on the southern coast so its weather doesn’t get too extreme. The summers have a few hot spells that make it uncomfortable for sleeping at nights, but we haven’t had the extreme heat waves that America and Europe have experienced. Winters are also moderate; snow may fall a couple times over the winter but usually melts within a couple days. The rest of winter is normally grey skies and/or rain.
The rest of B.C. has much more variety. The Okanagan can range from desert-like conditions (the Penticton-Osoyoos area) to quite temperate. For example, Salmon Arm is very nice and doesn’t seem to have the arid conditions you see as you go towards Kelowna (even though Kelowna has many vineyards). Most of the rest of B.C. does get snow in the winter. However, the skies are otherwise blue, compared to Lower Mainland winters—six months of grey, depressing, skies.
Scenery
The Vancouver-area claims to have some of the nicest scenery in the world: the ocean, the mountains, easy access to nature, etc. However, B.C. has a pretty long coastline, so many other locations can brag about the ocean view too. And most of B.C. can also claim to have views of mountains, lakes, trees, nature, etc. B.C. does, indeed, offer some spectacular natural scenery. However, simply living among beautiful views gets old really fast if you are at a point in life where you are more concerned about making a living and supporting a family. Unless you are working in the tourist industry, the scenery doesn’t pay your rent or buy your groceries. And even if you were working in the tourist industry, say, as a waiter or hotel bellhop, the pay is not very good—probably not enough to survive on, certainly not enough to get ahead in life.
Economic Potential
The Lower Mainland does not have much in the way of heavy industry. Too many taxes and regulations discourage companies from setting up shop here. There are some software companies and electronics companies here, but getting into them is difficult. And even they are slowly moving too. My own employer has recently moved as much of its electronics production to Taiwan as it could. Costs are about a third of what it costs to make the same things here in Vancouver. (I suppose the next step will be to move from Taiwan to mainland China where costs are even lower).
The Lower Mainland is suffocating under many taxes, fees, licencing requirements, etc. And it will probably get even worse after the Olympics comes here in 2010. Costs are already overbudget, and local governments are constantly trying to find new ways to squeeze money from people.
- - -
As a paramedic, you should be able to find work pretty easily wherever you go; however, I am not familiar with the industry, so I don’t know for sure. And even if you are at the top of your game, I wouldn’t be surprised if provincial regulations did not recognize your qualifications (that’s why so many Indian doctors drive dump trucks and Filipino nurses work as housecleaners, even though B.C. is supposedly suffering shortages of doctors and nurses).
If it were up to me, I like the area around Salmon Arm and Kelowna. A person can enjoy some acreage, grow some peach trees, grapes, walnuts, etc. And Kelowna is growing fast. It has an airport and all the amenities of a city.
If you want to live where there is excellent job potential for yourself and your children, you are probably better off in Ontario.
If you want to work in the Oil and Gas industry, Alberta would be a better choice, or Fort St. John (in northern B.C.).
If you are completely free to locate wherever you want regardless of job potential (i.e. – you are a multi-millionaire), and you truly want to live in the Lower Mainland, perhaps consider Mission or Abbotsford. Fees, insurance, taxes, etc. are lower, but you still have easy access to Vancouver. The weather is still moderate, Abbotsford has its own airport (or the Vancouver Airport is only a 45-minute drive away), the Westcoast Express (commuter rail) is available, and property prices are somewhat lower than right in Vancouver.
In any case, if you decide to purchase property in B.C., wait a year, or you will be charged the property transfer tax.
Newbie
Posts: 6
Location: Western Australia
Location: Western Australia
August 18th, 2006, 05:41 AM
Hey DavidB, wow, what a thorough and well thought out post!
You raise many good points and certainly offer some great suggestions.
I guess when I said BC, I meant Vancouver, but then didn't necessarily mean downtown Vancouver city, so called it BC if you know what I mean???
I lived in Calgary for a while and find it quite good, and I enjoyed the weather, I even spent a short time near Estevan in Saskatchewan where the weather is obviously harsh. Part of the reason for choosing to locate somewhere mild (and may only be for a while till we check things out and decide where we are comfortable as a family) is that my wife and kids are used to temperatures ranging from about 10 - 12c as a cold day to 40+c in summer, that is I'm not sure they are up for big sub zero temperatures straight off the cuff!
I'm sure there are plenty of magnificent places to live, but my thinking for starting out close to Vancouver city is that all of the facilities, ammenities and infrastructure that someone wanting to explore a new playland would need. I am going to do some browsing now on those other places you mentioned (Salmon Arm, Kelowna etc.. NOT TAIWAN!! By the way, since when do Salmon have arms??) and see what I can find out.
As for the work front, your right, I probably couldn't work as an Ambulance Paramedic, however the oil industry, especially offshore is far more forgiving being so international in structure. Worst case there are several other oil jobs I can do that pay fairly well if necessary and convert my qualifications over time.
Thanks so much for your insight- it has given me some new things to consider...
Cheers,
Kev.
Hey DavidB, wow, what a thorough and well thought out post!
You raise many good points and certainly offer some great suggestions.
I guess when I said BC, I meant Vancouver, but then didn't necessarily mean downtown Vancouver city, so called it BC if you know what I mean???
I lived in Calgary for a while and find it quite good, and I enjoyed the weather, I even spent a short time near Estevan in Saskatchewan where the weather is obviously harsh. Part of the reason for choosing to locate somewhere mild (and may only be for a while till we check things out and decide where we are comfortable as a family) is that my wife and kids are used to temperatures ranging from about 10 - 12c as a cold day to 40+c in summer, that is I'm not sure they are up for big sub zero temperatures straight off the cuff!
I'm sure there are plenty of magnificent places to live, but my thinking for starting out close to Vancouver city is that all of the facilities, ammenities and infrastructure that someone wanting to explore a new playland would need. I am going to do some browsing now on those other places you mentioned (Salmon Arm, Kelowna etc.. NOT TAIWAN!! By the way, since when do Salmon have arms??) and see what I can find out.
As for the work front, your right, I probably couldn't work as an Ambulance Paramedic, however the oil industry, especially offshore is far more forgiving being so international in structure. Worst case there are several other oil jobs I can do that pay fairly well if necessary and convert my qualifications over time.
Thanks so much for your insight- it has given me some new things to consider...
Cheers,
Kev.
Newbie
Posts: 14
August 18th, 2006, 12:37 PM
If you are lucky enough to have lots of cash and be able to live in Vancouver, the island or the okanagan, then you should also take your lifestyle into consideration. When I lived in Vancouver, even driving for hours for a day hike the hiking trails are packed with people. Fishing? Forget it.
I now live in an area of BC that has not been destroyed by people moving here from Alberta or Ontario. Affordable housing, 10 minute commute, amazing fishing, awesome hiking trials less then 30 minutes from my place and I can hike them all day long and not see other hikers. I can hit a moutain stream and fly fish all day and not have it ruined by an endless parade of people. Just me and the bears. Mountains, glaciers, rivers, lakes, they are all here. It's what my home town of Vernon used to be before Alberta and Ontario destroyed it.
I will never live in the lower mainland or vancouver island again.
If you are lucky enough to have lots of cash and be able to live in Vancouver, the island or the okanagan, then you should also take your lifestyle into consideration. When I lived in Vancouver, even driving for hours for a day hike the hiking trails are packed with people. Fishing? Forget it.
I now live in an area of BC that has not been destroyed by people moving here from Alberta or Ontario. Affordable housing, 10 minute commute, amazing fishing, awesome hiking trials less then 30 minutes from my place and I can hike them all day long and not see other hikers. I can hit a moutain stream and fly fish all day and not have it ruined by an endless parade of people. Just me and the bears. Mountains, glaciers, rivers, lakes, they are all here. It's what my home town of Vernon used to be before Alberta and Ontario destroyed it.
I will never live in the lower mainland or vancouver island again.
Newbie
Posts: 6
Location: Western Australia
Location: Western Australia
August 19th, 2006, 10:32 AM
Hi all,
have started looking more at the Okanagan area - looks pretty good and good affordability for buying etc.. Haven't found too many rental listings though so not sure what the prospects are like with that...
..35 Where you are now sounds fantastic. Probably the sort of place we would like to settle once we have that first 6 months or so where you want to check everything out and do everything there is to do. Are you going to tell us where you are, or are you keeping it a secret so it doesn't get spoiled?
Regards,
Kevin
Hi all,
have started looking more at the Okanagan area - looks pretty good and good affordability for buying etc.. Haven't found too many rental listings though so not sure what the prospects are like with that...
..35 Where you are now sounds fantastic. Probably the sort of place we would like to settle once we have that first 6 months or so where you want to check everything out and do everything there is to do. Are you going to tell us where you are, or are you keeping it a secret so it doesn't get spoiled?
Regards,
Kevin
Bright Spark
Posts: 313
August 19th, 2006, 11:12 AM
victoria:
this turns me off the city
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-col...nhandlers.html
It's bad enought that the city sends it raw sewage untreated directly into the ocean (no kidding, poop and everything) but if they are going to do that, couldn't they at least flush the city's human garbage down the same toilets?
victoria:
this turns me off the city
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-col...nhandlers.html
It's bad enought that the city sends it raw sewage untreated directly into the ocean (no kidding, poop and everything) but if they are going to do that, couldn't they at least flush the city's human garbage down the same toilets?
Newbie
Posts: 2
November 15th, 2006, 08:36 AM
Hi! Look forward to having you as a BC resident!
Do you want to live in a city? What kind of climate are you looking for? I live in Summerland, BC, a beautiful place on Lake Okanagan. You can rent a house in the Okanagan Valley for your price range (not sure if you could in Vancouver or Victoria!. The Okanagan in about 200 miles as the crow flies from Vancouver, is not as rainy as the coast, nice beaches, ski hills... If you contact Royal Lepage Real Estate, in Penticton (about 30,000 ppl) and ask them about rentals, they can help. Have you done a search on rentals? Try Pentictonherald.ca and you can look!
Good luck!
Hi! Look forward to having you as a BC resident!
Do you want to live in a city? What kind of climate are you looking for? I live in Summerland, BC, a beautiful place on Lake Okanagan. You can rent a house in the Okanagan Valley for your price range (not sure if you could in Vancouver or Victoria!. The Okanagan in about 200 miles as the crow flies from Vancouver, is not as rainy as the coast, nice beaches, ski hills... If you contact Royal Lepage Real Estate, in Penticton (about 30,000 ppl) and ask them about rentals, they can help. Have you done a search on rentals? Try Pentictonherald.ca and you can look!
Good luck!
NHL Hockey Insider
Posts: 3,639 
Location: Vancouver Island
Location: Vancouver Island
November 15th, 2006, 11:11 AM
my husband and I grew up in New Westminster, but when our children were teenagers we moved to Courtenay
on Vancouver Island. Depending on your line of work, this is the most wonderful area to live, weather is
great, golf all year, not crowded, good schools, and post seconday as well.
It's beautiful hear, you can fish, ski, or golf all on the one day if you wish.
We are close to Mt. Washington, close to ocean and lakes, our little city has all the shopping of the
big urban areas, but lower crime and more comfortable.
Good luck with your future.
my husband and I grew up in New Westminster, but when our children were teenagers we moved to Courtenay
on Vancouver Island. Depending on your line of work, this is the most wonderful area to live, weather is
great, golf all year, not crowded, good schools, and post seconday as well.
It's beautiful hear, you can fish, ski, or golf all on the one day if you wish.
We are close to Mt. Washington, close to ocean and lakes, our little city has all the shopping of the
big urban areas, but lower crime and more comfortable.
Good luck with your future.
NHL Hockey Insider
Posts: 3,639
Location: Vancouver Island
Location: Vancouver Island
November 15th, 2006, 11:34 AM
don't let anyone talk you into thinking that living on Vancouver Island isn't a good idea, because you
have to pay too much to travel to the mainland. If you live here, other than a hockey game, as the
other person mentioned, you won't need the mainland, as there is no reason to go there, unless
you want to be in gridlock, congestion, and take a long time to get from anywhere to anywhere.
I grew up on mainland, my husband fought the traffic for years, he would choose to travel 50 miles
to work here, than 10 miles on the mainland, we just got real tired of it.
There will be new hospital built here in the next couple of years, adding to the two that allready serve
Courtenay and Campbell River, it will be about half way between, so I would think there will a number
of new jobs available.
The average rental accomodation for 3 bed. suite, would be $1200 - 1500 per mo. and all rental areas
here are pleasant and clean, no slums.
There is a new modern freeway which can take you from Campbell River to Victoria in about 3-31/2 hrs,
as well as the beautiful original highway which travels along the ocean for the most part.
We have been on the island for 25 yrs now, and we still feel like were on vacation, just love it.
don't let anyone talk you into thinking that living on Vancouver Island isn't a good idea, because you
have to pay too much to travel to the mainland. If you live here, other than a hockey game, as the
other person mentioned, you won't need the mainland, as there is no reason to go there, unless
you want to be in gridlock, congestion, and take a long time to get from anywhere to anywhere.
I grew up on mainland, my husband fought the traffic for years, he would choose to travel 50 miles
to work here, than 10 miles on the mainland, we just got real tired of it.
There will be new hospital built here in the next couple of years, adding to the two that allready serve
Courtenay and Campbell River, it will be about half way between, so I would think there will a number
of new jobs available.
The average rental accomodation for 3 bed. suite, would be $1200 - 1500 per mo. and all rental areas
here are pleasant and clean, no slums.
There is a new modern freeway which can take you from Campbell River to Victoria in about 3-31/2 hrs,
as well as the beautiful original highway which travels along the ocean for the most part.
We have been on the island for 25 yrs now, and we still feel like were on vacation, just love it.
Super Genius
Posts: 1,274
November 16th, 2006, 10:04 AM
Welcome to Canada.
I would hope that you plan to AVOID a long commute - it is polluting and stressfull.
The coastal areas are warmer, but wetter. Come inland, come to the Kootenays.
The price range for housing is within your amounts. Some places like Trail have bungalows for as low as $50,000, I saw a story and a half bungalow near downtown Trail for $35,000 purchase price!!!! But no, Trail is polluted by the smelter there [although they reduced their pollution by 95% recently].
However, other Kootenay areas have small town wonderfull lifestyles and affordable homes and hopefully you can find work there.
Welcome to Canada.
I would hope that you plan to AVOID a long commute - it is polluting and stressfull.
The coastal areas are warmer, but wetter. Come inland, come to the Kootenays.
The price range for housing is within your amounts. Some places like Trail have bungalows for as low as $50,000, I saw a story and a half bungalow near downtown Trail for $35,000 purchase price!!!! But no, Trail is polluted by the smelter there [although they reduced their pollution by 95% recently].
However, other Kootenay areas have small town wonderfull lifestyles and affordable homes and hopefully you can find work there.
Newbie
Posts: 2
December 8th, 2006, 12:52 AM
Hi there,
I have lived in Surrey, B.C. for over 10 years. Surrey can be a great place to live depending on where you want to live. I would strongly recommend Kelowna, B.C., Canada, if you have the money to invest in a bussiness. Because kelowna has a beautiful lake with tourists year long. Investing in a hotel or bussiness would be your best bet. Just regular work is also pretty good. The good thing about kelowna is that you can buy a house 4-6 bedroom house with backlane and all for a price around $275,000 to $350,000 and with a low mortgage of 4.9% to 5.2%, it's pretty affordable. But renting for the first 2-4 months would be good because that will give you and idea of your yearly cost for electricity, gas, insurance, healthcare, etc. is. Then you can work with that, considering that kelowna also has cheaper to rent homes with a population of around 100,000 people. It's not close to vancouver (5 hours drive) but it's kelowna's downtown is just as fun considering that it is run on tourism and retirees. If you want to live close to downtown vancouver, surrey would probably be best, considering that is called "the city of parks", you can find nice homes near sky train stations (35 minutes to vancouver) or a bridge for a good price. Surrey and Kelowna are great places to raise your family. Surrey offers houses with larger lots and house sizes than new west, burnaby, vancouver, richmond, etc. for an affordable price. It's and ideal time to invest in land or a house right now in B.C. because the real estate market is being driven by the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler. All of B.C. is experience a boom, with no signs of a bust (market downfall). If you you need more information on all this then just go to wikipedia.com and type in something on the left hand side search box (like surrey or kelowna or 2010 olympics).
Hi there,
I have lived in Surrey, B.C. for over 10 years. Surrey can be a great place to live depending on where you want to live. I would strongly recommend Kelowna, B.C., Canada, if you have the money to invest in a bussiness. Because kelowna has a beautiful lake with tourists year long. Investing in a hotel or bussiness would be your best bet. Just regular work is also pretty good. The good thing about kelowna is that you can buy a house 4-6 bedroom house with backlane and all for a price around $275,000 to $350,000 and with a low mortgage of 4.9% to 5.2%, it's pretty affordable. But renting for the first 2-4 months would be good because that will give you and idea of your yearly cost for electricity, gas, insurance, healthcare, etc. is. Then you can work with that, considering that kelowna also has cheaper to rent homes with a population of around 100,000 people. It's not close to vancouver (5 hours drive) but it's kelowna's downtown is just as fun considering that it is run on tourism and retirees. If you want to live close to downtown vancouver, surrey would probably be best, considering that is called "the city of parks", you can find nice homes near sky train stations (35 minutes to vancouver) or a bridge for a good price. Surrey and Kelowna are great places to raise your family. Surrey offers houses with larger lots and house sizes than new west, burnaby, vancouver, richmond, etc. for an affordable price. It's and ideal time to invest in land or a house right now in B.C. because the real estate market is being driven by the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler. All of B.C. is experience a boom, with no signs of a bust (market downfall). If you you need more information on all this then just go to wikipedia.com and type in something on the left hand side search box (like surrey or kelowna or 2010 olympics).
Newbie
Posts: 2
December 8th, 2006, 01:02 AM
I forgot to tell you that in Kelowna you can go swimming in the lake, skiing, golfing, skating, bike riding on multiple biking routes, etc. all within 20 minutes of your location, anywhere in Kelowna. 20-25 minutes out of Kelowna will bring you to farms, this place has been awarded a bunch of times for its sweet cherries and World Famous Wines. Go to yahoo.com and click on images and then type in okanogan valley or kelowna or Lake okanogan and you will see beautiful pictures. Trust me, you cannot regret moving to kelown. There are like 50 small communities 10-30 minutes away from there, were you can buy land for under $50,000 as an investment property or something. You can also go camping and everything, there are campsites all of the district. Kelowna is the #1 desired place to live by Canadians. Even foreigners buyers are buying land in and around Kelowna.
I forgot to tell you that in Kelowna you can go swimming in the lake, skiing, golfing, skating, bike riding on multiple biking routes, etc. all within 20 minutes of your location, anywhere in Kelowna. 20-25 minutes out of Kelowna will bring you to farms, this place has been awarded a bunch of times for its sweet cherries and World Famous Wines. Go to yahoo.com and click on images and then type in okanogan valley or kelowna or Lake okanogan and you will see beautiful pictures. Trust me, you cannot regret moving to kelown. There are like 50 small communities 10-30 minutes away from there, were you can buy land for under $50,000 as an investment property or something. You can also go camping and everything, there are campsites all of the district. Kelowna is the #1 desired place to live by Canadians. Even foreigners buyers are buying land in and around Kelowna.
January 25th, 2007, 05:01 PM
From out my dirty front window.
You can't go wrong here. I can see the Coastal Mountain range and the entrance to Discovery Passage to watch the cruise ships May to October. My added benefit is the spa across the street. Sometimes the views walking in and out aren't hard on the eyes. Paradise I say.
From out my dirty front window.
You can't go wrong here. I can see the Coastal Mountain range and the entrance to Discovery Passage to watch the cruise ships May to October. My added benefit is the spa across the street. Sometimes the views walking in and out aren't hard on the eyes. Paradise I say.
