susieh

I've no real experience, but Cumberland is a lovely little town. We drove through it a couple of weeks ago and they're building quite a few decent-sized new houses for under 500k, many with spectacular views. I get the impression it's quite the hip place, judging by the businesses on the (small) main street - nice-looking bookstore, microbrewery with a restaurant attached, stylish consignment store. The mountain biking is supposed to be great there, and it's a short drive to Mt. Washington, which we ski at quite often - a good resort in the good snow years. (Had a couple of dodgy seasons, but this year and last year have been good). Courtenay and Comox are nearby for bigger stores. I think there are some new houses going up in Courtenay too, so you might want to consider it as well.

Not sure I'd go for Qualicum Beach - I think it's more of a retiree spot, though it probably has its share of families too. I don't know enough about it, but Cumberland seems more like the spot to be if you have young kids.

scrubbedexpat091

Median age in 2011 was 63.

https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-r...CSD&GC=5921023

biggayowl

Susieh - thanks for the Cumberland insight. How do you find life on the island in general?

Defo think we're still a bit too young for Qualicum.

biggayowl

I think most of the places are within commuting distance of somewhere larger, where hopefully there are more opportunities. How is the commute from Vernon to Kelowna?

Stinkypup

A lot of people do that one, highway is dualled all the way, yep, 45 minutes not difficult commute in view of a decent highway.

I think that you need to work out if you can leave the ocean or not, obviously that is a draw, we have lived by the sea a lot in our lives and we do love it and miss it although the lakes are a great second best. We have regular trips holidays and breaks to Vic/ Saltspring etc and are heading off into Washington and Oregon in the Summer for our saltwater fix

biggayowl

I'd miss the coast for sure, but would take the Interior's climate over Vancouver's. It's dumping rain right now and I'm already missing the snow.

Stinkypup

Yep, it does have its compensations living inland, 5cm snow due overnight, another few come tomorrow with way better temperatures than recently having had a very cold spell- it will be topping up the ski hills runs nicely!

Vulcanoid

Whilst not the shortest ever, it's not unreasonably long, it became a lot easier a few years ago when Highway 97 was fully improved, I know several people who do/did it as a daily work-home trip downtown-downtown.

susieh

I live in Victoria, so we're in the "big" city. This is our fifth year here and I really love it, but we moved from London, so it took a while to get used to living in a much smaller city.

Things I love about Victoria: the beaches, easy access to the outdoors, the fact we can nip over to friends' houses without spending an hour on the bus/tube, friendliness (took me a while to get used to strangers smiling at me or talking to me in the street), living in a nice, walkable neighbourhood.

Not so great: House prices have jumped in the last year. Getting off the island is a pain! I miss the variety of shops, museums etc you get in a bigger city.

Generally though, I love living on the island. There's good skiing, hiking and kayaking and tons of great campsites, so if you love the outdoors, it's a good place to be. We've made lots of friends (mostly people who've moved from elsewhere - born-and-bred Victorians tend to have their own well-established circles), and life is pretty laid back here.

susieh

Just noticed that you'd asked about Sooke too. The scenery is beautiful in Sooke and the houses are much more affordable than in Victoria (and way more affordable than Vancouver!). The road into Victoria is a pretty tedious drive though, and you'd need to do that every time you want to get off the island. I wouldn't want to commute on it every day, though lots of people do.

biggayowl

Thanks again for the info. I lived in London for the best part of a decade, so know where you're coming from. Went back for the first time in nearly three years at the end of 2015 and it felt a bit alien to me. Everywhere in the city seems wildly more flashy now and generally smarter. Not sure I liked it to be honest.

We've thought about Victoria, but the house prices seem to be escalating at a rate not far off Vancouver. We spent a weekend in Sooke and loved the area, although the town itself was a bit disappointing. However I noticed a couple of micro-breweries are opening up there, so that's a big plus I guess if you could land a job in Langford or the like, the commute wouldn't be too bad?

Just wish there were some damn trains in this province!

susieh

Yeah, Langford would definitely be a shorter drive, but the road to Sooke is twisty and busy, with few places to overtake. I agree that the town of Sooke isn't very exciting, but if microbreweries are opening up, maybe that will change! I miss trains too! The trains on Vancouver Island stopped running the year before we moved here. It comes up on the news every few months about how there are plans to get them going again, but I'm doubtful that'll ever happen!

I know what you mean about London. The part I lived in has changed completely since I left. It used to be a typically grotty south London area and now it's hipster central!

FromUKtoBC

Not sure if i should be posting this here, but i am also looking to move to similar regions especially to Penticton or Osoyoos. anyone got any thoughts on Penticton or Osoyoos?

in terms of flights, general transport facilities and maybe commuting to Vancouver?
cost of living, house prices etc

i am looking for a quiet life

thanks in advance

dbd33

google maps suggests that it's four hours from Penticton to Vancouver. Are you thinking of a weekly commute?

Vulcanoid

Penticton has an airport, don't know about Osoyoos, but most people fly from Kelowna which has many more destinations.

Neither of them are within 'commuting' range of Vancouver - it's about four hours from the Okanagan to the coast. You could arguably do weeks in one, weekends in the other.

Penticton will probably be the quieter of the two - Osoyoos is very much a playground. House prices aren't cheap anywhere in the Interior, but again I'd guess Penticton lower (as most people would choose Kelowna or Osoyoos, given a choice of the three).