I'm *maybe* moving out West

[Nik]

Going for an award winning off topic thread here.

Small family and I are seriously considering a total uproot and relocation to BC next year from Toronto. It's been on our minds for many years and with the big kid hitting Uni next year hopefully I have an opportunity to make a drastic move before small kid takes roots again. So serious in fact we actually have a trip booked in Oct this year for about 10 days to travel around BC looking for possible locations.

I'm looking for some honest feedback here from members who live there or have some experience with those locations (weather, quality of life, airborne diseases etc). I'm becoming a little tired of big city life so Vancity is not my preference. I don't have an office job and my work does not typically require of me to be near a major hub though it would be nice to be within 4-5 hours of a major airport and to have proper internet. With the same breath total boonie life is also not for us.

The boss has picked the below possible destinations (likely scenery based): Tofino, Nanaimo, Vernon, Pentincton, Kelowna. Yep they're stretched out and not entirely sure about living on the island.

I'd rather not flip this into a bashing thread (until I move at least ) so please be civil.

I appreciate any and all constructive feedback.

 

[MikeysZ06]

Tofino is nice but too many granola heads and activists there. Nanaimo is a nice city. Really clean and lots to do. Vernon is nice. So nice,Elton John and his guy have a place on top of the hill overlooking the lake there.

Penticton is a summer town. Loads of millennials hit that place every summer. Not hard to find a party in that town.

Kelowna I haven’t been to for quite a few years.

 

[Cariboocreek]

Of the choices given I would choose Vernon or Penticton. Kelowna has turned into a big city with big city issues such as traffic. Vancouver Island is a beautiful destination.....then go home.

 

[Cariboocreek]

Just another thought (not on the list) would be Cranbrook or Castlegar regions. Lots to do, tons of amenities, airports with airline connectivity, and off the traditional tourist route. Close access to the US as well.

 

[Nik]

Just another thought (not on the list) would be Cranbrook or Castlegar regions. Lots to do, tons of amenities, airports with airline connectivity, and off the traditional tourist route. Close access to the US as well.

Thanks. Duly reported.

 

[MikeysZ06]

I’ve always liked Kamloops,Salmon Arm and Sicamous. Golden and Revelstoke aren’t too bad either. But like they say...BC stands for “Bring Cash”. Not cheap to live and play in many places there.

 

[Jeremiad]

Lots of lovely places in BC. I just posted up a whole thread of my last week there. There's a bit of a preview for you.

The island is one of the most beautiful places on earth, and although I keep complaining about the idea of being landlocked there, I like it more every time I go. Nanaimo is pretty nice, and is a good central location. I like Parksville better, and Qualicum Beach is just my style - small town, but close to everything. Quiet and beautiful. Tofino is too far out in boonieland and again, the highway is the only way in or out.

Victoria is stunning as well, and doesn't feel like a huge city, but it is not a fun place to get in and out of. One highway, and any accident through the pass can ruin your day.

Like Mikey, I am a big fan of the Okanagan and the Shuswaps. Gorgeous summertime weather (hot!), and pretty mild winters. Salmon Arm is lovely. My dad's place at Blind Bay was my favorite. An hour to Kamloops or an hour to Kelowna for big city shopping. The southern area of Sicamous is nice, but downtown and the north end is full of potheads - lol. Kelowna used to be nice twenty years ago, but it has grown far too much and it was never designed to be that big. Getting anywhere in that city is brutal. Vernon is quite nice, but with a population of 40k, it is a bit bigger than I really like. Penticton is a party town - too much for me.

Golden is too far from anything, and Revelstoke, although beautiful, is a long drive to anywhere and OMG the winter snowfall is brutal. If you are a big skier, snowboarder, or snowmobiler, there is no better place, but otherwise it is better to just visit.

 

[Hiroki Soki]

The Island is nice but the ferry costs are high and lineups at terminals can get pretty long. The Okanagan is nice, it is about a 3.5/4 hr drive to Vancouver. Just an fyi, Vancouver is best for convenience but the cost of living in Vancouver is the highest in all of B.C.

 

[Paul C7 to C8]

I cant add to much to what others have said, overall B.C. in general is a pretty nice province! I do agree that Kelowna has grown to big and that Tofino, as nice as that town is, its a bit of a 'hike' to get to. There are quite a few towns within a 4 hr drive to Vancouver that offer very reasonable affordability, I may suggest that you Google some of the towns mentioned so far and also check out their average snowfall in case that may be a problem for you. Good luck with your research, it will certainly be a major 'life' change for the family if you do make the trip out West. I personally like living 30 mins out of downtown Vancouver and there are towns like Pitt Meadows, Chilliwack, Mission, Maple Ridge, Abbotsford that are 40-80 mins from Van. All the best to you.

 

[Riley P]

I've been to Vernon a couple times, and it actually surprised me. I liked it, mostly for the downhill biking during the summer, but I thought it was good. Another place to look at is Squamish. I have an aunt and uncle there and they like it as it's close to Van but not too close. Good to visit, but maybe the locals could chime in if it would be good to live there or not.

 

[ddgermann]

Nik.... move to Thailand and live with me. I have a couple spare rooms. All your dark secret internet stuff can be done from there.

Oh wait.... you said West.

 

[Rruuff Day]

Nik.... move to Thailand and live with me. I have a couple spare rooms. All your dark secret internet stuff can be done from there.

Oh wait.... you said West.

Hey. You two could be our first Thai members.... if you get past the nefarious mods that is.

 

[Vegas1500]

Have a place in kelowna and plan to retire there myself someday soon. For me, vernon is to small town and has a huge crime, drug and homeless problem which is also present in the whole Okanagan Valley. I really like the West Kelowna area, Peachland and summerland area. Homes seem to get cheaper as you move away from kelowna. Other than the summer, penticton is a very sleepy town. Revelstoke and Golden are nice but IMO there is nothing there...but gorgeous if that doesn’t bother you. To isolated for my liking.

Haven’t spent much time on the island so can’t comment much on there but know some people that left kelowna for the island and love it. Been going to kelowna area all my life and had a residence there for about 20 years now. Any questions just PM me.....be happy to talk to you. Also love kelowna for the longer seasons...seem to be able to golf and drive the vette from March to October...

 

[Vegas1500]

Lots of lovely places in BC. I just posted up a whole thread of my last week there. There's a bit of a preview for you.

The island is one of the most beautiful places on earth, and although I keep complaining about the idea of being landlocked there, I like it more every time I go. Nanaimo is pretty nice, and is a good central location. I like Parksville better, and Qualicum Beach is just my style - small town, but close to everything. Quiet and beautiful. Tofino is too far out in boonieland and again, the highway is the only way in or out.

Victoria is stunning as well, and doesn't feel like a huge city, but it is not a fun place to get in and out of. One highway, and any accident through the pass can ruin your day.

Like Mikey, I am a big fan of the Okanagan and the Shuswaps. Gorgeous summertime weather (hot!), and pretty mild winters. Salmon Arm is lovely. My dad's place at Blind Bay was my favorite. An hour to Kamloops or an hour to Kelowna for big city shopping. The southern area of Sicamous is nice, but downtown and the north end is full of potheads - lol. Kelowna used to be nice twenty years ago, but it has grown far too much and it was never designed to be that big. Getting anywhere in that city is brutal. Vernon is quite nice, but with a population of 40k, it is a bit bigger than I really like. Penticton is a party town - too much for me.

Golden is too far from anything, and Revelstoke, although beautiful, is a long drive to anywhere and OMG the winter snowfall is brutal. If you are a big skier, snowboarder, or snowmobiler, there is no better place, but otherwise it is better to just visit.

In fairness. Penticton is only a party town in the summer. It’s sleepy as hell the rest of the year.

 

[Jeremiad]

There are a lot of party areas in BC with all the houseboats and such, and my list is partial to my own bias because I like to sleep, even though I don't.

It might not seem like a big deal to have some partiers making noise for a few months, but I can't handle that.

Quiet. Serene. Beautiful view. Hot summer weather, and a lake that I could walk to. Blind Bay was the best if you ask me.

and the roads, oh the beautiful curvy roads around the lakeside for miles and miles!

 

[Hiroki Soki]

Oh yeah, one thing about living in Vancouver is that you won't really need to store your Corvette away for the winter because in Van we don't have harsh winters here.

I won't be parking my Stingray over the winter.

 

[Phil]

good man! drive it

 

[Tourmax]

4 years in comox. Nice slow paced city/town.
Big enough to pretty much have whatever you need, small enough to atill be slow paced. When i was there, I found cost of living comparable to most canadian cities, except housing prices were high, even higher now IIRC. Housing costs was essentially why we decided not to retire there.

It’s pretty close to being a “retirement town” though....

 

[G-ForceJunkie]

I've only been out to BC a few times, but have visited Victoria, Vancouver, Whistler, and Kelowna.

Kelowna is the only place I've ever been to that has stood out as somewhere I'd consider moving to. For whatever that's worth...

 

[max930]

Kelowna is expensive housing wise, I've considered it. I like living in Abbotsford, its 45 minutes into Vancouver. Has two border crossings reasonably close to me. House prices here are getting a little pricey though.