Glaswegian

Darvel, eh?

I've driven through there a few times on my way to the coast ... does it rain all of the time or just when I visit?

CalgaryAMC

Chilliwack is a small town but close enough to Vancouver for that not to matter much. I have only ever driven through it. It's one of those "drive-through-on-the-way-to-somewhere-else" towns.

Someone who lives in Vancouver can give you a better idea of the weather; but I wouldn't imagine that there would be a significant difference in weather between Vancouver and Chilliwack because they are so close.

To be honest Chilliwack seems a weird choice if not for the family connection. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just nondescript.

Kids: they are at the older end of the scale which makes it both easier in some ways (because if they don't like it, they can leave). Are they wanting to go to university? That brings a new set of considerations. If not going to university, are they intending to share the family home for the foreseeable future? If so then what do they want out of a town?

Hoping someone from BC will pitch in now...

Voyager970

And dont forget the furry boots

And keep the sheep near the edge of the cliff !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eddie

Duncan_BC

Traffic is quite a problem in Chilliwack. The freeway gets
really jammed up there. Also, smog is a problem from there
to Hope, 50-60 miles east. Last time I was there, big, big
property developments were under construction.

joggerjo

Hi

We researched Chilliwack as an option to live there but didn't like it much. There is nothing there particulary, along way from Van, weather not that great, traffic and smog! There is a nice lake called Cutlas Lake but it was sooo crowded when we went it was like a bank holiday at a UK seaside! Oh and not much in the way of work either, so don't really know why anyone would want to live there.

JJ

dingbat

Chilliwack is growing dramatically, has crap shops and public (state) schools but is cheap to live and you get great housing for relatively few dollars. It is also fairly redneck still, although that is slowly changing. It is becoming a commuter belt, and is the last town you hit before going into the middle of nowhere. It takes me an hour and ten to drive into Vancouver during the rush hour. Smog - no that is further up the valley, but we do get "air quality warnings" as the pollution from Vancouver passes through (the warnings last a few hours, that is all). Grow-ups run by Vietnamese families are the lastest addition to the local economy. Employment is growing, but nothing that pays well as far as I am concerned unless you can work for the City or federal or provincial government. Chilliwack and Abbotsford nearby has a University, UCFV (I use the term University loosely) and Chilliwack will have a huge campus when Beijing University opens its satellite here in a few years. That will be a disaster, see previous redneck comment. I moved out here three years ago because I hated living in or near Vancouver; I have lived in Port Coquitlam, Surrey and Downtown, all revolting. Chilliwack offered what I needed at the time - a place to take my kids and huge dog that I could afford on my own. I go to Langley or Abbotsford if I need stuff (clothes) and Vancouver when I want more up to date things for the house. Everything here in BC (fashion, furniture, attitudes) is about ten to fifteen years behind Europe. There are many many Brit families moving out to Chilliwack to avoid the problems with "ethnic issues" in Vancouver, Coquitlam etc. (No I am not going to elaborate, use your imagination. ) Chilliwack has a poor population on the North side of the Freeway, which divides it and a richer one on the South. It is hicksville which is trying to change its image and it will succeed, but it will take time. I am glad I moved here when I did as it served its purpose. Now that everything is in flux again for me and mine, it looks like I may have a couple more years here before I head back to Blighty. If you are planning on visiting, P.M. me and I will give you a no-holes barred tour.

dingbat

The locals don't go to Cultus Lake on public holidays....we know where to go...lol...Cultus is full of Vancouverites and people from further down the Valley in the summer. Bit like Okanagan lake - overrated.

gooding

Dear swoops,
You will notice the more you read the forum some "posters" seem to have forgotten what this forum is about, and they too were once in our position. There are many newcomers that do ask questions already asked many times.
Some of the people get really "angry" even nasty regarding some questions / posters. I personally think they would be lost without this forum , and wonder why they continue to post and reply day in and day out to just about every new post, and quite often offer no constructive comments. They do not have to take part but they still do.
I find the more information you can get the better it will help to make very important decisions. One person's opinion is not anothers, but every little helps.
Keep asking questions!!! You will eventually work out those people that seriously need to lighten up.



Thanks again Vicki[/QUOTE]

CalgaryAMC

[/QUOTE]

I appreciate what you're saying Vicki, and I think everyone wants to provide whatever information they can that will help.

But there is also some netiquette that should be remembered, like using the search tool before posting. It's not about being pedantic, it's about maintaining the value of the group as an information resource and not having it cluttered by thread after thread on the same issue.

This is a discussion group, not a chat room. It has been indexed and is searchable. Questions can be thought about, and so can answers.

This group is actually pretty loose compared with something like usenet, which is unforgiving, and I think it's quite welcoming. It's also fairly unusual in having so many Brits actually living or who have lived in Canada who participate so regularly long-term.

Again, appreciate what you're saying and I take your point on board. I will think about my responses more carefully.

iaink

Oh dear, is this thread still going?

My opinion remains that there can be no sensible answer to this type of question, you just have to know an awful lot about a persons circumstances, likes and dislikes etc to even begin to answer it well. Thats my opinion, if you dont like it, too bad.

The reason I direct people to the archive and advise them that there is no answer to this particular question is because on any given day of posting you get a very narrow cross section of people who have lived in one or two parts of canada, and generally either love or hate where they have been. Its not a very objective source of information on where to live.

I've long since given up telling people how great the Quinte region is, despite it statistically being one of the top places in Canada, and despite the fact that no one has heard of it, partly because I realise my opinion is biased, as is that of anyone either recomending or badmouthing any particular other place.

As Calgary points out, if you have three threads in a week asking the same questions it tends to indicate a lack of courtesy in checking what has gone before, and it makes it harder to find the posts here that we can helpfully answer. Ive got no problem at all with people posting "Im thinking of trying insert town here what do you lot think/ what should I know thats not on the town website" type questions, but to ask where out of this 5000 mile wide country should I live, is never going to get a meaning full answer. At least in the archive you have a wider cross section of people answering, so you get a more balanced viewpoint.

Iain

Glaswegian

Iqaluit

Higgy

Kinda lost track of the thread when i went away for a few days.

Thanks guys for your info....might take you up on the tour thing Dingbat

Could end up coming out there sometime soon to do some job hunting around the construction sites.

Glaswegian

They do that sometimes ... trouble is once you've started one, you can't stop it very easilly.

Higgy

oh and by the way Glas...Yes it does always rain here one of the main reasons i want out of the place. My skins starting to leak!

Glaswegian

Scotland is the only place I've lived where you can get pruny skin just by walking around outside ...