We have lived in Portland, OR. for many years. I've recently acquired Canadian citizenship.
Any feedback on Nanaimo would be helpful.


I know the place well-although the past decade has seen some changes it's still very much a hard bitten blue collar town with serious drug/gangs problem.
Local RCMP call it Surrey-by-the-Sea-Surrey being one of BC's premiere sh!tholes.
There are so many other attractive/amenable places to look I urge you to consider the Comox Valley or anywhere north or south of Nanaimo like Parksville or Ladysmith just not that miasma.
Funny how so many places that started out as rough mining towns keep that image.
I know the place well-although the past decade has seen some changes it's still very much a hard bitten blue collar town with serious drug/gangs problem.

Thanks for the advice. we'll be visiting in May and will look at Comox, Parksville and Ladysmith. We'll also look at the Victoria area. I know it's more expensive, but maybe it would be worth it. I have a small business that caters to helping people with their computers and I focus on seniors. Victoria may be better because of the larger and older population. Too bad about Nanaimo. I would consider Vancouver area but it seems to be more expensive than Victoria. We would like to live close to the sea if possible and to get something affordable in the Fraser Valley you have to go east to Chilliwack.

Have you considered Sidney?
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It's the largest town between the Ferry and Victoria and the bus system, in case you cannot drive due to health problems, (70, 71, 72, 73) connects it with both the Ferry and Downtown.
Right on the sea, full of old white people, it's too far from the University to get "visa students" (in case you care about that), and it has plenty of restaurants and services; et al.
Honestly I would avoid Nanaimo; much like Victoria, it attracts far too many obnoxious Eastern Canadians (similar to your New Yorkers)

Nanaimo is good, we lived there for 4 years in the 70s and later in Parksville (a bedrooom community) for 14 years - may still be there if it wasn't for my wife's health issues. I suppose real estate may be a little cheaper than Victoria and possibly property taxes, otherwise suspect cost of living is similar.
Who the f**k would want to live in a community inhabited by people who are concerned with colour of skin?

Sounds like an attempt at trolling but I'll assume you've just been having a bad day.
Nevermind, it's quite an accurate description of Sidney as most of the population there is old and white. If your concerned about the lack of diverse restaurants there is a Japanese and Thai restaurant, among others, located there.
Nevertheless, it's a retirement community (much like others) in B.C. for those who wish to avoid the "excitement" of the Lowermainland, yet at the same time not shell out a million for a condo like in the west end.
If people weren't interested in living in such communities than we would have seniors purchasing up properties in Surrey.

Who said anything about skin colour being a concern? I've seen people of East Asian descent with the same colour as me.
Regardless most seniors in Canada, including family class unification seniors, tend to settle in culturally familiar communities. A Chinese Grandmother prefers living in Richmond for the same reason an Anglo-Saxon one would prefer living in Sidney.

I've been to sidney many times, but would never want to live there. It is pretty, a nice place to visit,
but it is scrunched between the pat bay highway and the ocean, and the ferrys right around the corner.
I prefer to be in a more central location where one can go in every direction without coming to the
end of the peninsula or the freeway or the ocean right close by, too hemmed in for my liking, and too
expensive compared to a little further up the island.
Anywhere from duncan right up to campbell river is nice, port alberni is OK too, but further into the
central part of the island, more rain, lots of fog, and the town is old, although they are now developing
up the hill, seems it will be the new port alberni, long overdue.

Have you considered Sidney?
--
It's the largest town between the Ferry and Victoria and the bus system, in case you cannot drive due to health problems, (70, 71, 72, 73) connects it with both the Ferry and Downtown.
Right on the sea, full of old white people, it's too far from the University to get "visa students" (in case you care about that), and it has plenty of restaurants and services; et al.
Honestly I would avoid Nanaimo; much like Victoria, it attracts far too many obnoxious Eastern Canadians (similar to your New Yorkers)

Thanks for all your thoughts. I get the feeling that Nanaimo has good areas and bad just like most towns. Portland, OR has it's good and bad neighborhoods. I live in SW Portland near Beaverton and its the best part of town in my opinion. SE Portland is where its happening these days but it's just too crowded and urban for me. I look forward to more thoughts on Nanaimo and the area. Keep them coming.