Victoria34

Originally we were looking at the Okanagan area but my new job needs us to be closer to Vancouver.

With three kids (19, 14 and 13) plus two dogs, I would be very grateful of any recommendations of areas to live. Good schools, friendly neighbourhoods and a sensible commute to Vancouver are our preferences! We don't want to be in the city, we are used to the Kent countryside!!

We will be renting for at least a year as will be keeping our house here until we are settled enough out there to then sell. So any recommended letting agents would also be gratefully received !

Appreciate the help !

adele

How close to Vancouver? Port Moody might be a good fit?

Victoria34

Hi Adele! Thanks for the response !

I'm going to have to be in an easy commute to Vancouver but will only have to be in the office a couple of times a week as I can work from home but I don't want to have a long journey to and from.

Ideally, we are looking for a nice area with gorgeous scenery, not too over populated (as in a city) , preferably near the water.

We are flying over in a few weeks, so to have some areas to look at would be phenomenal!

I'll have a look at Port Moody now !

JonboyE

We need more information. If someone asked you where was a good place to live in or around London you would surely say it depends on what you can afford and what you what out of life.

What is your budget?
How long is a reasonable commute? By car? By transit?
What do you want to do when you are not working?
What is your tolerance to rain and grey skies?

JonboyE

This is a bit old now but still worth a read for an overview. Vancouver : British Expat Wiki

christmasoompa

And whereabouts in Van will you need to commute to?

Congrats on the job offer, fingers crossed for the LMIA.

Victoria34

Extremely valid points!

Budget between 3000 to 4000 CAD p/month hopefully including electricity/ property tax/ gas etc .

Reasonable commute - an hour max either train or car. Ideally train as it's going to take me a while to get used to driving out there especially in the city .

Days off - walking, exploring, taking the kids swimming, making new friends.

Weather - hopefully better than here! Preferably as much sun as possible but appreciate that the winters aren't great .

One other note is skiing and water sports. My eldest loves all this and would be great to have some idea of the best places that I could point him in the direction of.

Our main priority though is to be in an area that we can at least call home for the next four years therefore avoiding moving the younger two from school to school - that's the tricky part.

I'll have a read of the wiki. Thanks for the link !

Aviator

If you want train travel, this is it http://www.translink.ca/en/Schedules...Schedules.aspx Limited schedule though.

North Shore is wettest area though.

Delta area is drier, near the ocean, but flat. Harder commute by car until the new Dees Island crossing is finished and something like 2020. Easier if you were not stuck on a fixed timeline and can avoid the contraflow.

Your budget is going to be a limiting factor and utilities are often not included.

Also look at Abbotsford, about 75 mins to downtown by car.

JonboyE

This is a decent enough budget. You can obviously pay more but it is not limiting. You should be able to find a 3-4 bedroom detached home in most of the outskirts.

As christmasoompa asks, where to? If to downtown there are a limited number of areas that have direct access by train. From Ridge Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, and Coquitlam there are four commuter trains that run into town in the morning and out again in the afternoon. A decent option for regular work hours. Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond and North Surrey are at the end of Skytrain lines. Otherwise commuting by transit generally involves getting a bus to a Skytrain line. If you want to live outside Vancouver/Burnaby/New Westminster something like an hour, or a bit more, commute to downtown is usual. There is also a passenger ferry from North Vancouver to downtown which can be convenient.

Commuting by car is very common. It helps if you can set your own hours so you can avoid the worst of the rush hour. The roads do get busy but is generally OK unless something goes wrong. An accident at an inconvenient place and time can cause havoc. The general rule of thumb if planning a commute by car is to keep the number of river/sea crossings to a minimum.

You should be OK just about anywhere. For heart attack inducing trails look to the North Shore, more gentle rural walks out towards the Fraser Valley. Swimming from beaches in Vancouver's Stanley Park and Kits, Jericho and Spanish Banks. I expect you can swim from some of the beaches on the North Shore. Also Crescent Beach in Surrey and White Rock Beach. Municipalities generally have decent indoor pools.

Essentially, the further away from the mountains the better the weather. At least, less rain. South Surrey/White Rock, South Langley or Tsawwassen/Ladner have the most sun/least rain. Adele suggested Port Moody. That is a good choice and will meet most of your needs. However, it does rain more and there are more grey sky days than places to the south. You just have to choose what is best for your family.

There are three ski resorts on the North Shore in the municipalities of North and West Vancouver. Grouse Mountain is quite easy to access by transit and the other resorts offer shuttle buses from transit stops. Whistler is 2 hours away.

There are some schools that have specializations such as music or arts, but they all teach the same academic curriculum. State (called public here) or private. The vast majority of kids go to the local school. The advice I usually give is that if you find a neighborhood you are comfortable to live in then the local school will likely be a good fit for your kids.

Oink

Good luck with that one. Unless you're paying $8k+ you'll probably be stuck in a McSubdivsion staring at the neighbors enormous garage.

Victoria34

Hmmm. Thanks.

Oink

Problem with small rural places is the school systems are not particularly good. Firstly, they can't get the better teachers and secondly economy scale means they lack the quality of facilities. While this not particularly important at the elementary level but middle and high school level its critical. Vancouver and Surrey are the best districts with the best schools.

Tootlepootle

We live in Coquitlam, right on the border of
port Moody. WE live up on the Westwood plateau. Husband commutes downtown mot days and I commute 4 days. He goes by train and I go by car. Works fine for us. The new skytrain will make life easier if you need to work outside of office hours. Plenty of places to walk and swim, the lakes up in Anmore and Belcarra are lovely. Happy to chat about this area!

dbd33

Good grief, jsmth321, it was an interesting idea well supported by transport information and pictures. It had a weakness but all location ideas have, it's not an attack on you that someone points out the downside of that location.

Oink

They were really good suggestions by jsmth321, if you want beautiful scenery within a computing distance. But the OP had mentioned education as being important and I have a lot of knowledge in that area so was simply suggesting some points to consider.