Which city is better to live in Victoria or Nanaimo?

[Aupal]

Hello,

I was hoping to get a little insight from some ppl in the know about living on the island. I've had a recent job oppertunity open up for me and there is a place each in Victoria and Nanaimo but I'm not sure which city to lean towards and I've never lived on the island before.

I hear good and bad things about each location, i.e. more sunshine in Victoria but that there is more nature in Nanaimo. Can anyone offer any helpful insight into this decision I have to make? What is the cost of living like, is there easy access to local produce or organic produce? I love nature and am not pleased with large crowds or traffice but am a bit nervous about possibly moving to a retirement type of city as I'm only 28 and still fairly active!

Any help would be much appreciated. :smile:

 

[VanIsle]

Well - I think Juan and I will both tell you to come to Nanaimo. Victoria is more pricey and it is a retirement community. It's larger than Nanaimo and has a lot more traffic. You can get all you are looking for right here and if you are a nature lover and don't mind a little travel - you're only about a 2 hour drive from the Westcoast (Tofino/Ucluelet areas) and it just doesn't get any better. I'd be hard pressed to say that Victoria really gets more sunshine than we do. We're only about an hour to an hour and a half away from there. Victoria has some neat things and I like to go there once every couple of years but - I would never live there. North Nanaimo is where you want to live. You still have the ferry close, along with lots of neat areas up Island. Now hopefully we'll hear about up Island from Talloola, Taxslave and Kreskin.
Did I miss anyone??
www.cityofnanaimo.com

 

[Johnnny]

if your a hippy you wanna go to tofino, but id say victoria i liked that city

 

[bill barilko]

Another troll-no doubt the same IP # as the Toronto post.

 

[JLM]

I've lived in both- I'll give Nanaimo the edge, better weather, friendly people, little easier to drive in.

 

[AnnaG]

Another troll-no doubt the same IP # as the Toronto post.

Yeah. Better watch it Bilbo, they're after you. lol

I liked Sooke. Sydney seemed pretty nice too. Can't remember how far they are from Vic, though. Might be a good sized trek to work and back.

 

[JLM]

Yeah. Better watch it Bilbo, they're after you. lol

I liked Sooke. Sydney seemed pretty nice too. Can't remember how far they are from Vic, though. Might be a good sized trek to work and back.

Sidney is 18 miles, Sooke about 23. That would be from City Hall.

 

[AnnaG]

Sidney is 18 miles, Sooke about 23. That would be from City Hall.

That's not too bad. Some people that work at Tek-Com in Trail travel farther than that when they carpool. While I had my shop in town, I carpooled with 6 others (not all at once lol ) for 70 km round trip.

 

[VanIsle]

Another troll-no doubt the same IP # as the Toronto post.

Is it possible he could have a job offer at a local newspaper? I wondered how anyone would have the choice of a job in either city so that could make some sense.
How do you have the ability to look up his IP? That kind of bothers me that you can do that from here. What is your IP?

 

[JLM]

Is it possible he could have a job offer at a local newspaper? I wondered how anyone would have the choice of a job in either city so that could make some sense.
How do you have the ability to look up his IP? That kind of bothers me that you can do that from here. What is your IP?

What's an I.P.? Sounds terribly important. Nobody issued me with one.................:lol::lol::lol:

 

[Machjo]

I've lived in both and preferred Victoria myself over Nanaimo. It still has more nature than similarly-sized cities in Canada, and more convenient than Nanaimo in terms of things to do. But it's a close call between the two cities.

 

[talloola]

I find it hard to make a choice, they are two very different cities, but they have one thing in common,
they are both on the island which makes them very attractive indeed.

I love Victoria, but it is more expensive, so if money is no problem, then so be it, but that would be
important in my decision.

I like being up island because there are more areas to travel in both directions, as in victoria you are
at the tip of the island, and have only one direction to travel by land.

I love driving around victoria, love the old beautiful homes, love to drive the coastline right around
the city, but then all of those loves are from a tourist vantage point, and I do that almost every time
I am there, which is once a year or so.

I love walking in victoria, a great city to walk and shop, and visit chinatown.

Nanaimo is situated in a nice area of the island, just as is qualicum and courtenay/comox, and port alberni,
so many areas easily accessible from those cities.

I've never been too interested in nanaimo shopping, but do like woodgrove/rutherford areas, but it's not
a city for walking and shopping, unless you're downtown, and I do not like the downtown part of nanaimo
at all.

If I was a person with lots of money I would buy a big old beautiful house in the oak bay part of Victoria,
and make it my main residence, but I would have smaller houses here and there for short stays when I just
felt like it, hmmmm, dream on talloola. I would love a condo/high rise in vancouver to visit, and something
quaint here and there all down the west coast, right to santa barbara, OK, then, I'm getting carried away.
that's it, over and out.

 

[AnnaG]

IP means Internet Protocol. It's the address of your internet connection.

 

[JLM]

IP means Internet Protocol. It's the address of your internet connection.

Thanks, Is it important to know what it is? Where would you find it?

 

[Ron in Regina]

Another troll-no doubt the same IP # as the Toronto post.

I checked, & no. Not the same.

 

[Aupal]

Thank you guys, it's good to hear about your experiences and opnions. I think I'm starting to lean towards Nanaimo now, though it would be nice to be near Tofino I love going on mini road trips so I could deal with an occasional visit. Thanks again!

 

[VanIsle]

Thank you guys, it's good to hear about your experiences and opnions. I think I'm starting to lean towards Nanaimo now, though it would be nice to be near Tofino I love going on mini road trips so I could deal with an occasional visit. Thanks again!

Nanaimo is considerably closer to Tofino than Victoria is. When you are nearing Ucluelet and Tofino, you come to a T intersection. Left to Ucluelet and right to Tofino. On your way to Tofino (which is about a half hour drive from that intersection while Ukee is about 8 miles from it) you will come upon miles of sandy, beautiful beach - The Pacific Rim. You can wander through board walks in both places, through marvelous rain forests and climb high enough to over look the ocean and have the most wonderful view. Anywhere along the beach there are tide pools with wonderful little creatures in them. You will love Wickaninnish Beach. I fell in the ocean there one January 1st. I didn't realize the tide was coming in and ran to stop my dog from running in and getting wet. A wave rolled in and knocked me right off my feet! One of the best rain forest walks we enjoyed in Ucluelet was at Hitinkas (sp) Park near the Lighthouse Road. You walk for a long ways on a boardwalk. The growth there is something else. The leaves of the plants are massive. There are lots of stairs to climb but it isn't noticeable with so much beauty all around you. Facinating place.

 

[Aupal]

VanIsle, that's a hilarious story and it's just convinced me about Nanaimo even more. Now I just have to pray they offer me the job! I won't find out for another month but I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for Nanaimo. Thank you!

 

[talloola]

Nanaimo is considerably closer to Tofino than Victoria is. When you are nearing Ucluelet and Tofino, you come to a T intersection. Left to Ucluelet and right to Tofino. On your way to Tofino (which is about a half hour drive from that intersection while Ukee is about 8 miles from it) you will come upon miles of sandy, beautiful beach - The Pacific Rim. You can wander through board walks in both places, through marvelous rain forests and climb high enough to over look the ocean and have the most wonderful view. Anywhere along the beach there are tide pools with wonderful little creatures in them. You will love Wickaninnish Beach. I fell in the ocean there one January 1st. I didn't realize the tide was coming in and ran to stop my dog from running in and getting wet. A wave rolled in and knocked me right off my feet! One of the best rain forest walks we enjoyed in Ucluelet was at Hitinkas (sp) Park near the Lighthouse Road. You walk for a long ways on a boardwalk. The growth there is something else. The leaves of the plants are massive. There are lots of stairs to climb but it isn't noticeable with so much beauty all around you. Facinating place.

I've done that walk many times at ucluelet near the lighthouse, and also we've sat on the bench at the
lighthouse with our coffee and sandwitch, (binoculars in hand), and chatted and watched the whales on
their migration, it is a wonderful spot, nothing else to the west but Japan.

I like ucluelet much more than tofino, not so much touristy stuff, a nice little working town, with a
more down to earth atmosphere.

Thank you guys, it's good to hear about your experiences and opnions. I think I'm starting to lean towards Nanaimo now, though it would be nice to be near Tofino I love going on mini road trips so I could deal with an occasional visit. Thanks again!

A nice day trip to the west coast from nanaimo, either ucluelet or tofino. The people of ucluelet call
themselves, 'living on the edge', and it is.

 

[VanIsle]

VanIsle, that's a hilarious story and it's just convinced me about Nanaimo even more. Now I just have to pray they offer me the job! I won't find out for another month but I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for Nanaimo. Thank you!

You are welcome. The town "motto" in Ucluelet is "Life on the Edge". Few people understand that it means it's the end of the road - next stop - Japan! I've lived in Ucluelet and loved it there. It's a grubby little fishing village with wonderful people. Tofino has become very tourist oriented and I don't like it anymore at all. The Island is a fun place to live. I wish you luck in getting your job. You will like it here.