Originally Posted by muffback

Hi, I have lived in north van for nearly 5 years. I love being near the trails and the mountains but I hate the current housing situation in this city. The rental market has went insane in the past year. You are looking at $3,000+ a month for a 3 bed. Look on Craigslist - you will be shocked. We are getting kicked out of current place as the owner just sold it. We have been looking for another rental for a few months. Finding anywhere decent to rent for a reasonable price is near impossible. A lot of housing is aging garbage that even the poorest people in the UK wouldn't live in. (I know, I grew up on a council estate in west coast of Scotland). I can honestly say it is starting to raise some serious questions why we live in this city? Having a good education and job have no correlation to where you live. Many of our friends have left the north shore: one couple went to Kelowna, another back to Ireland (they just got hacked off with it- they didn't earn great money and wound up staying in crappy condos or in a third of a house), and few left for the usual lower mainland destinations: Langley and Maple Ridge (they don't really like it and the commute from Langley to downtown is terrible). One of my mates said unless you are earning $100k+ forget Vancouver- I utterly concur with that. This is just not a town for orphans and widows. I feel that we are approaching a crossroads with 3 choices- 1. Continue to pay a lot for a small rental property. Get kicked out every few years as owner sells (second time for us). This will become an issue when our child starts school 2. Become a mortgage slave. I could buy something but prefer not to at these ridiculous prices 3. Just leave. The final option looking more appealing as time goes on.

Originally Posted by biggayowl

This about sums it up. Unfortunately you're the wrong demographic for Vancouver (and North Van), unless you bought property 15 years ago or happen to have a very large downpayment, you're going to be subjected to ever increasing rental prices and a serious shortage of the kind of properties a young family is going to want.

Faced with this we're weighing up our options after four years - move somewhere else in BC or return to Europe. And that's on a combined salary of well over $100k.

The lifestyle can be great, but it comes at a serious cost and I'm not sure it's worth uprooting your family for - that said, no guts no glory!!!!

Originally Posted by Siouxie

a big 4+ bedroom house with full walk out basement and possibly a pool in this area (Burlington, Port Credit and the edge of Mississauga/Oakville) - and the salaries aren't too much different.

Originally Posted by dbd33

That's still a million and a half, ten times salary. OK, people moving from Vancouver would tend to increase their salaries somewhat but that move also entails getting involved in weather, I don't see it as a clear win.

Originally Posted by Siouxie

I meant for rental purposes, in the region of $2-2.4k a month - it was a comparitive. You can rent houses for a lot less too, for example a family member is currently renting a 4 bedroom, 2 lounge house with finished basement (which has 2 additional bedrooms), a garden and parking for 4 vehicles, for $1650 a month. Getting on the property ladder in Hamilton, for instance, can be achieved as houses are available from $150k upwards.

Originally Posted by scilly

Have you REALLY looked at the rest of Canada?

There ARE other places in BC that are extremely liveable, albeit with more snow in winter ........ but that makes for better skiing

The Maritimes are very attractive, and have great scenery and lifestyle.