CampbellsRComing

Hi, I am looking for any information about the Langford area. We are looking to move to the island and love the Langford area having spend some time there these last 2 summers. I would appreciate any views or comments about the place.

We have 3 small children of 8,6 and 3 and I have looked into all the schools and facilities available but would really appreciate any information about day care facilities or pre school options. My 2 eldest chidren would be going to school full time but my youngest who is 4 next October would not be eligle for kindergarten until the following year so i am looking at options for her as well as any information from workng moms and what they do with their children if they don't have a job working school hours. Over here it is afterschool clubs which I assume to be the same in Canada?


We love the island and it seems to tick all the boxes for us if we can afford it (see previous thread). So I am now trying to cover all the bases for a possible move out next year.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

pontcanna

Lived in Victoria all my life, grew up just down the road from Langford, now living downtown. I'm a few years past knowing about daycare and schooling issues, but I'll ask some work friends (who have enfants) and let you know. Any other questions I can help you with?

CampbellsRComing

Hi there, thanks for the prompt reply. Asking me if I have any questions is like opening a can of worms!!! I am Canadian who has lived in England for about 15 years and am now thinking of moving back with 3 small kids and I have l loads and loads of questions!!! To start with I am a little confused about the schooling system, in sense that it is just different to England. Over here they start reception full time if they are 4 as of the beginning of September and then after a year at reception they start year 1 and so on etc. In Canada I belive that they start kindergarten at the age of 4 but only if they are 4 at the beginning of the year (ie Jan). I am not sure if this is all correct though. I also belive that kindergarten is now full time in most schools in BC but I am also wondering about what there is before kindergarten. Do most parents just put kids into daycare?

What is the weather like in the winter? It seems to be fairly rainy which is no different to here in the UK except that we have horrible wet rainy summers as well!

We have spent some time on the island these past 2 summers and is really seems to tick all the boxes for us. My family live in Kelowna but my husband really needs to be near a big city for work and we both feel like we need to have access to a city if needs be! Museums and restaurants and culture etc.
We are a little concerned with the cost of living as I have done a rough budget and it seems to be quite high, on par with here if not a bit higher. Andy opinions on whether the island is more or less affordable than other places on the West Coast.

I am looking into work possibilities right now so that I know what is available if we do make the decision to move back. I was in travel before I had kids and am not sure if it is something that i will go back into. It depends on the hours. Do alot of companies have flexible working hours? It is getting much more popular of here now and I know quite a few people who are able to work school hours.

Right that is probably enough, I hope you haven't fallen asleep. Many thanks and I look forwards to hearing from you. Sal

dboy

Weather is def better on the Island, at least in Victoria anyway. Despite heavier rain fall, the area gets way more hours of sunshine per year (2200 hours compared to about 1300 in the north west ). Winter is very wet though, with something like two thirds of all annual rain fall occurring between nov and march. Summers are warm and sunny with very little rain.

Cost of living is def higher than then North West, at least as far as housing goes, everything else is swings and roundabouts really. Somethings more, somethings less.

I would carefully check victoria though, as most work tends to be in government and many struggle finding decent work there, from what I hear.

pontcanna

-Where did you live in Canada previously?

-Weather on Southern Vancouver Island v. good for the most part - certainly the best climate in Canada overall. Get significant snow every 3 years or so.

-Victoria area can be a bit of a government town - to work for the federal government you have to be a citizen (pretty much) but you can get BC government jobs as a permanent resident. Then there are jobs with the municipal level of government as well. What are your qualifications?

-Good beer scene here if that's your thing, very active CAMRA chapter, brewpubs and microbreweries abound. Lots of wineries up-Island too.

-When you say you worked in travel, what did that involve exactly?

If you'd rather answer these off-board, fire me off a PM.

charlottyb

My daughter went to a Montessori pre-school in Vic West before she started school, she went from 3 and she could go all day or half days.
The rain thing isn't as bad as they say! Although today it is drizzly and 11.c. We are supposed to be getting a cold winter....not good as Victoria is never prepared and the rest of Canada laughs at us when the city grinds to a halt!

I don't live in Langford so don't feel I can comment, I know house prices are cheaper there compared to other areas. The commute into downtown (the Colwood crawl) is bad though. I drive into View Royal for work and I go against the flow so I am fine. But the Highway is at a snails pace coming in. But then my commute into work in the UK was painful too!

The whole cost of living thing is hard. It really depends on your lifestyle, how many meals out and all the activities the kids do etc.

Spongebob

Hi there.

We live in Sidney and have 2 kids. One is 9 and uses after school care (from 2.40pm onwards) at a cost of $185 a month, while our other child who will be 1 in March will be going to a small family day care at a cost of $600 a month. Most other places cost $860 and up, especially in Victoria. Kindergarten in Sidney starts at 5. Anyone born in 2005 is eligible for registration for fall 2010.

As someone mentioned previously, the colwood crawl into victoria is a nightmare. They are discussing light rail options at the moment from langford to victoria, however it may be a long way off, and with all the building going on out that way the congestion is only going to get worse. Consider this when thinking about Langford if working in victoria.

Chester is a nice place, I spent most of my life on the Wirral (Hr bebington) so I know were you are coming from.

Phil

lulu995

Hi

Here are a couple of good pre-schools -

JDF rec centre has a good program, and also has after school care (they pick up from the local elementaries)
http://www.westshorerecreation.ca/

Pussy Willow pre-school is good, and is a school preparedness programme
http://pussywillow-preschool.com/

Good elementaries are :_
CrystalView, Lakewood, and john stubbs is the local french immersion.

Hope this helps ps - look up kids in victoria website for useful stuff re-play groups etc.

CampbellsRComing

Hi, apologies for the very later reply. I have been out of the loop for a while. Thanks very much for the info on preschool and aftersschool programs. I had read about pussy willow pre-school on line and it sounded like one option. We are still very much in the sorting out phase right now and seeing if the move is right financially!!! Many thanks! Sal

CampbellsRComing

Hi everyone I just want to thank all of you have replied in the past few months and once again apologize for my late reply. Things were put on the back burner for a while. The information has been really useful and we are still very keen on moving to the island. I grew up outside of Toronto but have lived here in the UK for 15 years so am not overly familiar with the island at except for a couple of visits these past couple of summers.

We are still really keen on moving back to the island but are still not sure if it is financially feasible right now. I was wondering if anyone could help me out with cost of living I have done a rough spreadsheet and have a general idea what the monthly outgoings would be for a family of 5 but was wondering if anyone could confirm whether I am on track or way off track!

We will probably rent for the first 6 months so I think in the Langford area I am looking at anywhere from about $1500-2000 a month for a 3 bedroom house. I have figured bills to be about $1000 a month which is including water, gas, taxes, internet, phone etc and then I have figured about $1500 for food and gas and weekend expenses etc. So all in all it looks like a monthly outgoings of at least $4000-4500 per month which seems quite high. Can anyone help and tell me if that is completely unrealistic or perhaps dot on!!

Many thanks for any future help, it is greatly appreciated.

Sal