Great, thanks again all for the info

I'll have to go through the driving rules for each area and see what's what - will probably be a little before I decide on a couple of places to visit out anyway.

As someone quoted in another thread find a job first then worry about other details such as schooling or transit.
You could live in a city with great transit and great schools but if you haven't got a job in close proximity then its pointless.
If you choose a larger city to live in then most will have adequate transit systems.
If you choose to live in a rural area then chances are you will need a car.

I don't drive. I spent 8 years in Edmonton Alberta, but came back to the UK last year.

In order for me to survive as a non-driver in Edmo, we had to buy a house near the centre, because public transport links are poor in the suburbs. The bus service is good, but even a five minutes wait, when the temperature is below -30° becomes a life or death experience!

So, you can survive without a car, but your options will be more limited that in the UK.

Vancouver is great for cycling I find. I cycle about 13km each way to and from work each day and I only meet about 15-20 cars a long the way. Much different from the previous cycling commutes were I was basically being pushed into the gutter by the passing traffic.

Was not a good day for using transit to work in Toronto today as they closed the whole subway system down for 2 hours during the morning rush hour.

Yoga?

While I understand your point, I think something would be amiss if I didn't look into these things as well. Having a rough idea where I could be looking and what to expect is just as important I think.

I've lived in Vancouver for over 5 years, and I have never driven. Never needed to. Good public transit. Depends where you live. If you live in big city, it is not a requirement. If you live in the sticks, then more than likely.

If you want to see and experience more than buildings in the city you need a car for sure!
I take a nice 3 hour drive every fortnight and take the kids out to spot wildlife,it's a great change of scenery.

You can access the wilderness by transit from Vancouver. A vehicle helps, but you can manage without.

I used to give advice to people attending conferences on how to get out and about without taking expensive tours or renting a car

I starting doing it for a couple of conferences of societies that we were members of, then gradually got asked to do it for a couple of others .......... unpaid, voluntary!

But, yes, it is easy enough to do it

You get up to Lynn Valley on transit, and cross a swinging bridge for free, instead of taking a tour to Capilano and paying some exorbitant price to enter their private property.

You can get to Horseshoe Bay, and then access some of the climbing areas from there, such as Black Mountain

You can get down to Steveston on transit, go whale watching from there, enjoy a working harbour, etc


It's a long day, but you can even take a day trip to Victoria using public transit, and it will only cost you about $20-25 each way in fares.

I need to check that out. Really want to go there as well as Bowen Island but I heard you just get a ferry from horseshoe bay?!

20 min ferry from Horseshoe bay

BC Ferries Schedules: Bowen Island - Vancouver(Snug Cove-Horseshoe Bay)

$12.10 walk on without a vehicle.

Several ferries per day, and I think the island has limited transit service.

Horseshoe Bay is easy to get to by transit, depending on what route you take, expect 45 to 1 hour min ride from downtown to the terminal on the bus.

My daughter in Vancouver has no car, perhaps no license. She and her husband ski, she sails, they bond with the rainforest in an appropriately west coast eco-hippy manner. They went to San Francisco, bicycle one way, train the other, and to the Okanagan by bus. She bicycles to work (it helps that the west coast hippy vibe allows dressing in rags and niffing a bit). So it's certainly possible to live in Vancouver without a car and still enjoy that outdoors lifestyle.

I know lots of people in Toronto who don't drive but they tend to be urban people, if they leave Hogtown it's to go to NYC or Montreal for a bit of excitement. I barely moved the car for a decade in Toronto but I didn't go up past Bloor. We even walked to Loblaws and took a cab back rather than bother with driving in the traffic.

Just wanted to add something else. We eventually moved to the burbs to buy a house just before our 2nd child was born (we just couldn't afford a house in Toronto). Our new neighbours in the burbs were surprised that we didn't have 2 cars. Seems to be the norm in the burbs for parents to have 2 cars or, more often, a car and a minivan. We managed to survive with 1 car. My wife stayed at home with the kids. If she needed the car, she would drop me at work and pick me up later. I guess this was seen as bizarre.