where to move to in SK?

[bw1]

Hi. I am thinking of relocating so SK from BC mainly due to the lower cost of housing. I've been trying to research what life is like in SK and haven't had much luck so far. Can anyone give me some suggestions on where I might consider looking. I would like so find somewhere where I can purchase a first home for well under $100K and be within an hour of some larger area where I can find work and shop etc.

Thanks

 

[Dexter Sinister]

Your conditions are unlikely to be met. Depends what you'd accept as "a larger place where I can find work and shop etc." and what kind of work you can do. Do you, for instance, want a city of 200,000, like Saskatoon or Regina, to be that larger place, or would a city of about 10,000 like Weyburn or Estevan be satisfactory? Or would Humboldt, a city of about 5000 about an hour from Saskatoon, be acceptable? Google the smaller Saskatchewan cities like Weyburn, Estevan, Humboldt, North Battleford, Prince Albert, etc. (there aren't many, less than a dozen)., with keywords like housing or real estate, you should be able to find out something useful about house prices in and around them. For well under $100K though, you're likely to find only very small, very old houses that need a lot of work, and probably only in very small towns connected by bad roads to cities in the 5-10,000 size range. A lot of Saskatchewan's secondary roads have been beaten up pretty badly by big grain trucks carrying loads the roads weren't designed for, thanks to "rationalization" of the grain handling system over the last few decades.

 

[bw1]

Can anyone comment on Yorkton and the surrounding areas? Like how eastern Sk might differ from western/central Sk?

 

[Toro]

Its all flat as a pancake, indistinguishable from one another.

If you like towns of 5000, Yorkton is fine. The smaller towns aren't necessarily cheap though. I recall Weyburn and Estevan being as expensive as Regina, though I don't know if that's still true.

The further north you are, the closer you are to the lakes, which are very nice.

Housing went through the roof in in Saskatchewan, with prices doubling in Saskatoon over two years last summer. They've since come back though. A few months ago, it was more expensive to buy a house in Saskatoon than it was in Miami, Tampa or Chicago, and as expensive as in Boston, which seems bizarre to me. They've built lots of condos on the east side of Saskatoon which I imagine will be coming down in rent.

 

[bw1]

I am looking at this place thats something like 40km outside Yorkton. My main concern would be commuting to work in the winter. I have a 4x4 but am uncertain wether I would be able to make it. How bad does it get? Should I bite the bullet and pay more to be closer to a town/city?

 

[Said1]

I lived in Saskatoon for three months when I was 11. I don't know what I did to deserve that punishment!

 

[Tyr]

You might consider New Brunswick for the housing issue. It's dirt cheap, but high unemployment, so it depends entirely on what you do to put bread on the table.

St John has about 120,000 lost souls and housing not that far out of the city can be easily had for under $100,000

For employment you can either work for Irving, Sobey's or McCains and that's pretty much it. It's a continuous cycle of 8 months gov't job creation employment (they build the same road year after year or count trees) and 4 months unemployment

It's pretty, but dirt poor.

If you ask Colpy he'll probably let you know when they get indoor plumbing and electricity (2010?)

 

[Toro]

I am looking at this place thats something like 40km outside Yorkton. My main concern would be commuting to work in the winter. I have a 4x4 but am uncertain wether I would be able to make it. How bad does it get? Should I bite the bullet and pay more to be closer to a town/city?

Generally, you should be okay. But sometimes the snowstorms can get so bad on the prairies that you cannot tell the sky from the road on the horizon. If you know how to drive in the snow, you'll be fine.

 

[bw1]

I think I can manage the snow. I hear stories about there being snow up to the eaves in SK lol.

 

[Cannuck]

Hi. I am thinking of relocating so SK from BC mainly due to the lower cost of housing. I've been trying to research what life is like in SK and haven't had much luck so far. Can anyone give me some suggestions on where I might consider looking. I would like so find somewhere where I can purchase a first home for well under $100K and be within an hour of some larger area where I can find work and shop etc.

Thanks

Burstall Saskatchewan (pop 388) is about an hour north of Medicine Hat.

For Sale By Owner Canada Burstall, Saskatchewan ,Pamela Burgett @$ 9,000,000

I assume that is 90k and not 9 million.

I have some in laws in Burstall. There are a number of gas plants there that throw money at the town.

Burstall Sask.

 

[Tyr]

Hi. I am thinking of relocating so SK from BC mainly due to the lower cost of housing. I've been trying to research what life is like in SK and haven't had much luck so far. Can anyone give me some suggestions on where I might consider looking. I would like so find somewhere where I can purchase a first home for well under $100K and be within an hour of some larger area where I can find work and shop etc.

Thanks

"I spent a week there one afternoon"

 

[jjaycee98]

From Yorkton---in 1961. Was there this summer to visit my Sister. Population when we moved was about 9,000 and is about 12,000 now. There are plans for a Potash mine there and there is proven Oil that will probably be developed once the prices improve again.

Yorkton has a much bigger retail sector than the population warrants because it provides shopping for a huge area surrounding it and extending into Manitoba, as there is nothing of any size.

There is a very active Cultural Life with a large Ukrainian Community, a very active Scottish Club-active Highland Dance Group and a Pipe Band. There is a Regional Music Festival that has been held every Spring for 50 years or more (my school participated in 1958). There is a Film Festival held every year-30 years and running there too.

There is a Lake and Several others within a couple hours for swimming, camping and fishing.

The down side would be Prairie winters. -50 does happen there.

 

[dirkdigler]

Two points,
First, housing in Saskatoon is NOT affordable. Seriously, the average residential sale is about $270,000 (down from $310,000 earlier this year) and is MORE expensive than Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack, Vernon, Prince George and every where in Alberta except Calgary and way up north (ie Fort Mac).

Second, Saskatoon wages suck. Seriously.
Regina, at an average condo/house price of $240,000 is a bit cheaper,
with way higher wages.

The Bench » Saskatoon Median Family Income Sub Par
Median Family Income
Saskatoon $76,600
Regina $82,300
Edmonton $87,300
Calgary $90,700

Actually, Edmonton has CHEAPER housing than Saskatoon (just google it) and as you can see, the average family makes about $10,000 more EACH year. As well as cheaper gas prices, the same grocery/chain prices, and lower taxes.

Financially, Saskatoon doesn't make sense.
Move there for family.
Or for the city (highest crime rate in Canada)
DON'T move for "affordability"

 

[bw1]

No intention of moving to Saskatoon, agreed too much $$

 

[Toro]

Two points,
First, housing in Saskatoon is NOT affordable. Seriously, the average residential sale is about $270,000 (down from $310,000 earlier this year) and is MORE expensive than Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack, Vernon, Prince George and every where in Alberta except Calgary and way up north (ie Fort Mac).

Second, Saskatoon wages suck. Seriously.
Regina, at an average condo/house price of $240,000 is a bit cheaper,
with way higher wages.

The Bench » Saskatoon Median Family Income Sub Par
Median Family Income
Saskatoon $76,600
Regina $82,300
Edmonton $87,300
Calgary $90,700

Actually, Edmonton has CHEAPER housing than Saskatoon (just google it) and as you can see, the average family makes about $10,000 more EACH year. As well as cheaper gas prices, the same grocery/chain prices, and lower taxes.

Financially, Saskatoon doesn't make sense.
Move there for family.
Or for the city (highest crime rate in Canada)
DON'T move for "affordability"

I'm trying to figure out a way to short Saskatchewan.

I haven't yet, but I will.

 

[Francis2004]

I'm trying to figure out a way to short Saskatchewan.

I haven't yet, but I will.

Easy... Sask

 

[Ron in Regina]

Easy... Sask

Easier...SK.

 

[bw1]

Easier than bc I hope

 

[bobnoorduyn]

dirkdigler; If you want to sway folks away from S'toon add in the propertay taxes, that is certainly a deterrent. A decent home was going to cost $5000/yr in taxes alone in '95; has that changed? With that you get snow clearing on residential streets like, never, and you drive on a life sized slot car track from October - April. But you can't beat the rural living though, if you can survive the wind.

 

[VanIsle]

I am looking at this place thats something like 40km outside Yorkton. My main concern would be commuting to work in the winter. I have a 4x4 but am uncertain wether I would be able to make it. How bad does it get? Should I bite the bullet and pay more to be closer to a town/city?

First question which you may or may not have answered somewhere - what line of work are you in? Sounds like you can pick up and work almost anywhere. Next - any house you can find almost anywhere for well under 100,000 has to be in the middle of nowhere in any province which means you will never sell it and in the end - that means it's basically worth nothing. Unless you are never going to move again. Housing is dropping and interest rates are low. Buy in an area where you will enjoy living and where there is re-sale value to your home or at least the promise of resale value. In the real estate market - rules say - buy low, sell high. It's a buyers market, so buy now or in the spring. Market will be flooded in the spring everywhere and you will see places where people have to move. Sadly, people are losing jobs and cannot pay their mtgs. You could get a good deal and to some degree, help someone out of a jam. Don't be afraid to look at the for sale by owner places. Just be sure you only come to a verbal agreement and then take the legal stuff to a notary or a lawyer. Get the house checked out before you buy - it's worth the money and have a pre-approved mtg. in place.