Hel2979

😁 thanks for the heads up! We don't want to make a mistake and have to move again!

Londonuck

I've found that a lot of this simply comes down to luck. Obviously with 700 large in your backpocket that will improve your chances as well

All the best.

Siouxie

Ah yes, sorry - forgot it is Municipality rather than Provincial (although Ontario is Province wide)

This might help:

https://travel.meetpaws.com/banned-breed/
https://council.vancouver.ca/20050217/pe2.htm

woodworm

I spent 6 months in New Westminster from Apr-Oct. It's very commutable , about 35 minutes from New West Station to Waterfront with a train every 3 minutes and buses connecting to 3 Skytrain stations. As for housing, the cheapest single family homes are around 900K but not in great areas. Lot of new condos going up near the station and the river front. Nicest houses are East of 6th Street, close to the big park, I don't recall its name. I liked the walkway along the river. It's quite a steep hill and you'll get a workout just walking the streets back from the river...

scrubbedexpat091

Example how an accident can ruin the morning commute.

Rush hour traffic snarled after Ironworkers crash closes part of Hwy 1 | Daily Hive Vancouver

Hel2979

hmmm we definitely need to thibk about public transport.

Aviator

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...idge-1.4843803 Although from the north shore, Seabus is a useful option to downtown.

This happened again last week. I would not want to be commuting around Vancouver! If I have to go in, try for 10am and out by 2pm or 7pm, otherwise a nightmare.
Living close to Skytrain woul dbe my first choise if I absolutely had to commute or the WCE.

scilly

I agree with Jsmith ........... that was chaos this morning, but it is not unusual on any of the bridges. There are 3 going south over the Fraser River and 2 or 3 times a week at least one of them will be blocked in one or both rush hours, which just cause grid lock on the others. There have even been occasions when all 3 were blocked at the SAME time by accidents, one was this summer!!

BUT not buses as they get caught up in all the traffic jams on the streets!

You should think in terms of Skytrain.

The West Coast Express is fine except it only operates trains morning into Vancouver and late afternoon out of Vancouver Mon-Fri.

Fine if have a regular job with from 8 am-5 pm , hopeless if you are on shifts, work longer hours, work weekends, or need to get into town in the middle of the day (think medical appointments)


TBH ..... $700,000 is a low budget for a house with garden in Metro Vancouver.

BUT the best advice is not to buy before you arrive .... how do you know that is really the area to live in? Will you want to move again soon after arriving??

Buying and selling houses in Canada is expensive.

The problem is that it might be hard to find a rental house where the owner will allow 3 dogs .... yours might be perfect but landlords may well have had bad experiences with uncontrolled dogs.

Aviator

$700k might buy an older home with a larger lot, within commuting distance of Vancouver, not an acreage though. Even Chilliwack, 5 acres and a home are in the $1.2m to $2m. New homes tend to have small lots.

scrubbedexpat091

Could see if there are any jobs in the relevant field on Vancouver Island, some nice places over there and might get more bang for your buck for housing, or maybe the interior region?

Hel2979

Wow you really do get a lot more for your money! Amazing! More garden too! Perfect.....time to see if the work is there!

Siouxie

https://ca.indeed.com/jobs?q=Geotech...mbia&radius=50

https://www.rew.ca/properties/areas/duncan-bc
https://www.realtor.ca/map#ZoomLevel...68332548054741

Phaedru5

Are you set on being near the coast? In Geotechnical I would imagine you could find work in the interior, Kelowna, Prince George or even the Kootenays, Nelson etc - lots of engineering firms and lots of water treatment, mining, exploration that kind of thing companies (I know because I deal with them). And $700k in my neck of the woods gets you a 5 bed, 3 bath home on an acre. Also I can drive over 100km in just over an hour, my colleagues in Vancouver move about 5km in the same timescale. I moved here from the UK to get away from high prices, busy roads and horrible commutes. Just something to think about what it is your really want from your move. There's more to BC than Vancouver.... HTH

Hel2979

hi,
we started looking at Vancouver first, but Toronto and Calgary are also options. Well most places are if the work is there and the type of property we'd like.
we have a cockapoo, jackapoo and jack Russel. Smallish dogs all ok on lists thankfully.
I'll take another look at Ontario as it's looking like Vancouver is not an option for the type of house and garden we'd like....acreage would be lovely!
my husband has connections in geotechnics so he will hopefully be meeting potential employers when we visit in Feb. Ideally I'd like to be on the east of Canada, but that's just for ease with travel back to UK and Europe. Lots of unknowns atm, but I'm beginning to feel a little more knowledgeable about certain aspects.
thanks for the advice.

Hel2979

to be honest we want exactly that! Get away from high prices, long commutes and have a more laid back way of living! What area is it you are in? We would love somewhere with an acre....we'd have 3 very happy dogs!
Thanks Helen