Experience of moving to Vancouver
Sep 24th 2018 | 12:39 pm
#61
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 183
From: Vancouver, Canada
Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
We've now been here three whole months so thought it was time for a little update! We now both have our PR cards (my husband's came about a week before the 'within 60 days' estimate, mine about a week after...) and our BC driving licences and service cards so we can use MSP. It's all official!
House and bills
We've been loving living in the West End - our street is nice and quiet but 5-10 mins walk from English Bay, Coal Harbour or the shops and restaurants of Denman/Davie/Robson. The apartment is a good size and was nice and cool in the summer heat, hopefully it retains heat OK in the winter! Lets just not talk about how much we have to pay in rent
Buses run frequently in all directions so no problems getting around if we don't fancy walking. All our bills have been set up to come out of our bank account automatically now so much like the UK. No horrible bill surprises so far, BC Hydro has been around $45, rental insurance $35 and water/gas is covered by the owner. TV/internet with Telus is pretty steep - we haven't had a proper bill yet as we had bill credits for the first couple of months, but I reckon it'll be around $120/month. They did give us a huge TV for free as part of the deal, and my husband needs good reliable internet for work (and games hah) but our TV package sucks for that amount.
We have had some nasty vet bills but with a 11 and 15 year old cat it's to be expected - especially as our 15 year old seems to enjoy leaping up and down cabinetry like she's a kitten! We've got them registered with a nice local vet and just got insurance for them so hopefully any future dramas will be covered somewhat.
Our items being shipped from the UK arrived FINALLY a couple of weeks ago. A few shipping diversions and delays, and not amazing communication but hey it arrived. And mostly in one piece - all our china and glassware was fine, but one picture frame suffered smashed glass. Not sure we'll bother trying to claim for it tbh. I kind of regret shipping as much as we did. Some stuff I'd totally forgotten about and bought replacements here anyway as I needed it before the shipment arrived, other stuff I unpacked and just thought 'eh, I've lived without this for 3 months...' It was nice to see some familiar items though, our place definitely feels more like home.
Food and drink
We are still probably spending way too much on food, drink and eating out oops! We are so close to restaurants and bars they are all too tempting... but we're also learning where to get reasonable deals and we live right near a No Frills, Safeway and dollar stores. Just got to avoid going to the whole foods too often! We also like our craft beers which eats into that budget! Alcohol laws are interesting here and booze is expensive, but it's a choice we make to a) drink at all and b) not drink cheap shitty lager etc. so just got to deal with it.
House and bills
We've been loving living in the West End - our street is nice and quiet but 5-10 mins walk from English Bay, Coal Harbour or the shops and restaurants of Denman/Davie/Robson. The apartment is a good size and was nice and cool in the summer heat, hopefully it retains heat OK in the winter! Lets just not talk about how much we have to pay in rent
Buses run frequently in all directions so no problems getting around if we don't fancy walking. All our bills have been set up to come out of our bank account automatically now so much like the UK. No horrible bill surprises so far, BC Hydro has been around $45, rental insurance $35 and water/gas is covered by the owner. TV/internet with Telus is pretty steep - we haven't had a proper bill yet as we had bill credits for the first couple of months, but I reckon it'll be around $120/month. They did give us a huge TV for free as part of the deal, and my husband needs good reliable internet for work (and games hah) but our TV package sucks for that amount.We have had some nasty vet bills but with a 11 and 15 year old cat it's to be expected - especially as our 15 year old seems to enjoy leaping up and down cabinetry like she's a kitten! We've got them registered with a nice local vet and just got insurance for them so hopefully any future dramas will be covered somewhat.
Our items being shipped from the UK arrived FINALLY a couple of weeks ago. A few shipping diversions and delays, and not amazing communication but hey it arrived. And mostly in one piece - all our china and glassware was fine, but one picture frame suffered smashed glass. Not sure we'll bother trying to claim for it tbh. I kind of regret shipping as much as we did. Some stuff I'd totally forgotten about and bought replacements here anyway as I needed it before the shipment arrived, other stuff I unpacked and just thought 'eh, I've lived without this for 3 months...' It was nice to see some familiar items though, our place definitely feels more like home.
Food and drink
We are still probably spending way too much on food, drink and eating out oops! We are so close to restaurants and bars they are all too tempting... but we're also learning where to get reasonable deals and we live right near a No Frills, Safeway and dollar stores. Just got to avoid going to the whole foods too often! We also like our craft beers which eats into that budget! Alcohol laws are interesting here and booze is expensive, but it's a choice we make to a) drink at all and b) not drink cheap shitty lager etc. so just got to deal with it.
Did you look much further afield than Downtown? We're interested in the West End and Coal Harbour there, but also Mount Pleasant, Fairview and maybe Kitsilano. I would really like to find something near the Magic Intersection (Cambie and 7th), but I know Vancouver housing is a total lottery!!!
Sep 24th 2018 | 1:43 pm
#62
Stand-up Philosopher
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 16,344
From: Regina Saskatchewan
Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
Talking of without a car, it's kind of freeing not to have one! Not to mention keeps the monthly bills down... now we have our drivers licences we may sign up for the car share programs. I feel like I've forgotten how to drive though, maybe taking a local lesson wouldn't be a bad idea!
Sep 24th 2018 | 3:32 pm
#63
Thread Starter
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 94
Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
I didn't mean to start such a 'debate' on car stuff, people do have strong opinions about parking At least we have an allocated parking spot in our block should we need it! I think that the different car shares are good for different things - looks like there are a bunch of each near us, so if we wanted to drive to a bar or event across town and then taxi or transit back evo/car2go would be handy. If we want to take a trip to Ikea or somewhere where we'd go there and back I guess modo might work for that.
Good idea, I'm not sure where the most convenient breweries are from work or home, most are around Main or over on Commercial right? Kind of in the opposite direction from us although may be worth the trek every week or so 
We were actually pretty open to where to live when we got here. We started off in Yaletown in a temporary place which was nice in a lot of ways, but pretty busy/noisy and even more expensive than the West End. We looked at places in Kits and just off Cambie and I think would have been fine there as well, especially as I'm now working on Broadway! We just didn't get in there quick enough on the apartments we viewed. The West End has the advantage of being really close to the beach/harbour and stanley park as well as easy access to North and West Van. Everywhere is convenient for something though. We would even have considered out towards Commercial Drive as last time we visited we stayed there and liked the area. It's probably good to be open as things move so fast if you are super set on a specific location it makes it more stressful to find somewhere. Without pets you'll have more options though
Thanks!
At least we have an allocated parking spot in our block should we need it! I think that the different car shares are good for different things - looks like there are a bunch of each near us, so if we wanted to drive to a bar or event across town and then taxi or transit back evo/car2go would be handy. If we want to take a trip to Ikea or somewhere where we'd go there and back I guess modo might work for that.Thanks so much milly_m for this update. Very informative. It sounds almost exactly the same as what my spouse and I will be doing in the not too distant future. My spouse is keen on the West End, although we don't have to worry about cats or other pets!
Did you look much further afield than Downtown? We're interested in the West End and Coal Harbour there, but also Mount Pleasant, Fairview and maybe Kitsilano. I would really like to find something near the Magic Intersection (Cambie and 7th), but I know Vancouver housing is a total lottery!!!
Did you look much further afield than Downtown? We're interested in the West End and Coal Harbour there, but also Mount Pleasant, Fairview and maybe Kitsilano. I would really like to find something near the Magic Intersection (Cambie and 7th), but I know Vancouver housing is a total lottery!!!
Thanks!
Sep 24th 2018 | 3:44 pm
#64
Account Closed
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: Experience of moving to Vancouver
Ikea has preferred parking spot on the upper level parkade right by the entrance at the Coquitlam store for Modo.
Parking can get heated in Vancouver indeed.
Parking can get heated in Vancouver indeed.
Sep 24th 2018 | 8:59 pm
#65
Stand-up Philosopher
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 16,344
From: Regina Saskatchewan
Sep 25th 2018 | 11:25 am
#66
Stand-up Philosopher
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 16,344
From: Regina Saskatchewan
