dbd33 ..........

I go out to campus every 2 or 3 months, and there are always changes!

I don't even buy coffee at the independent coffee shop on University Blvd any more ........... it's not as good and more expensive that where I usually go.

The prices at the Shoppers Drug Store at University and West Blvd seem to be a shade higher that at one on 4th Avenue in Kits


Tied consumers

I am also a little confused by the statement that he wants a place where other professional families live.

That seems to me to be another aspect of British life that really doesn't apply to Vancouver ..............

I look at the mix of families living in my immediate neighbourhood ............. a big mix of cultural, ethnic and economic levels.

I also look at families living in the immediate neighbourhood of friends who still live in Point Grey (having bought their houses in the 1960s and '70s) ............ same thing.

I've met car mechanics, doctors, hairdressers, etc etc among their neighbours, and among mine.

One also has to face the fact that you will often have at least 2 or 3 empty houses in your block, owned by offshore investors, or people who spend most of their time overseas because that is where they make their money.

I think we have about 5 mainly empty houses in my block, counting both sides of the street

Does it need to be Downtown? Would you be up for a commute? UBC/Point Grey is lovely, but so are many other areas. I live out in Coquitlam and both myself and OH commute. The local elementary school is absolutely fine for my 9yr old

Ditto North Van only I have one daughter in high school (great school) and one at SFU.

This may all be true of Vancouver however it's absolutely not true of southern Ontario. All day I hear people who hope to buy houses poring over the school districts and if the house is in a good school district it's named in the advert. People ask how my children got into the schools that they did even though it was decades ago; the people we sought to influence are likely dead by now. We camped overnight outside a school for registration and there were people in the queue who had been there for days. It's routine for people to lie about their religion to get into particular schools.

I find it hard to believe that in the McLaren and Bentley capital of Canada people are less competitive than in small town Ontario.

Lychee's right: it's not the same here. My main concerns would be: Can I afford it? Can I walk to the shops? What's transit like? (I don't drive much)?

I might be concerned how my children might get to school, especially if I didn't want to take them myself.

The other thing is that what goes on in elementary school isn't the same as in the UK. I'm not bothered about that kind of stuff but it depends how much grades/progress/achievements/tests etc. matter to you as to whether it will worry you. It seems to ramp up about Grade 10 I'd say which is fine with me.

I may not be expressing this correctly, but others will understand what I mean.

Pressure is much less in primary schools here I think ............ there is not the pressure to achieve.

The BC government is moving away from continual testing and to student based learning ........... which actually has been tried and done away with in other countries!

I agree with the others ...................

come here, rent a house, and then look for a neighbourhood where YOU can live and where YOU can afford to buy a house.

Let the school take of itself.

If all else fails, and you hate the public school system .................. there are plenty of private schools!

Do remember that it is very different form the UK ........

...... none of the public schools, whether elementary or secondary, have uniforms. This will lead to an expense that will be new ............ clothing your child for school. I understand teenagers can be particularly expensive

Life is more casual, even in the classroom.

We are thinking about making the move as well. A bit different situation though to you in that I spent time living in Metro Vancouver growing up and my mother and siblings all continue to live in BC. Were a family of 5, our eldest is almost 6 and if we make the move will be going into Grade 1 in September. Were a professional family, although I've been a stay at home mum since my eldest was born. We are contemplating the move as just before my eldest was born we moved to where my husband is from and I haven't really settled in. Still big decision as we have a house, eldest is in school and my husbands career is going well here.
You asked about suburbs and schools in your original post, it has been 20 years since i lived in Vancouver so we have done a lot of thinking about best place to live. The suburb I lived in, Richmond, is ruled out for various reasons. My mother lives in West Vancouver and while I'd love to live in the North Shore the cost of housing is not what we would like to pay. Saying that it is very close to downtown, outdoor activities, etc, so we are contemplating paying more than we want to be able to live there. Downfalls is that it rains more there than in other areas of lower mainland. I have a brother who lives in south Surrey / Whiterock and he has been encouraging us to move there (he keeps on mentioning fact that it gets less rain). Surrey gets a bad rap, but south Surrey is the nice area of Surrey and growing with lots of young families moving there (so I've been told). Parts of Burnaby are nice as well. I also hear that Port Moody (expensive though from what I've been told) and Port Coquitlam are nice as well, with Coquitlam not quite as nice. Cloverdale, also in Surrey has also been recommended, although not quite as nice as south Surrey, although house prices a bit cheaper.

We really want to make the right move and it is very important to me that the area we move to is where we will stay as my eldest is already in school here and already she will be moving to a new school, so picking right suburb is very important to us.

Saying that while schools are generally very good in Metro Vancouver, we are looking at Catholic schools, partly as she is already in one and we want to continue in Catholic setting. But also that Catholic school gives us more option of moving specific neighbourhoods while still staying in same school (one Catholic school would cover same area as perhaps 10+ public schools).