Hi,
We have posted many times about our situation in Mission BC. We are city people and we are finding Mission a tad depressing- have been for a while. Main reason for Mission was we could afford a decent size house for less money. Are there expats on this forum who could help us with our decision. Our choices are sell up here and move to Coquitlam and rent for a while while I find full time work or move to a different province. This is a tough decision as we have 3 children, 1 already in grade2 and my hubby has a permanent teaching contract In Maple Ridge. I do know however that we have given it 4 years and it is not working. Help please!!!

Coquitlam will get you nearer vancouver, but not sure I'd find it less depressing than Mission. It's sprawling malls and uninspiring housing developments from what I can see - maybe there are some nicer bits that I've not seen.

Funny, I'm making the opposite move. Vancouver is annoying me now, so I'm heading further up the valley although staying this side of hayward like (which is technically Mission, but only just).

Are looking for city or rural? There are some nice areas around Mission that are quite rural. Coquitlam is too much of a sprawling mess for us. Have you taken a look around Haney and Pitt Meadows?

Do you think another province is going to fix anything? There are still drab towns, sprawling urban areas and rural areas.

We are looking for something bigger than Mission and way more going on there so more city than rural. I find the mentality that goes with a small town very stifling. We are looking for more anonimity and do things without every Tom, Dick and Harry knowing. We have always had Halifax at the back of our minds. We have friends there and we could have a decent house on the edge of city.

As you say, four years is enough to know that Mission is not working for you. Will somewhere like Coquitlam be any better for you? No one really knows so renting there for a while seems a good idea.

Isn't much of our happiness in a place ultimately tied to employment? If Mr LouisD is a teacher and has a permanent contract (although isn't that an oxymoron?) then you need to carefully consider how quickly he would get a permanent position elsewhere in BC/Canada. Our own happiness level is partly tied to Mrs AX's status on getting a contract or, since its about bloody time, a permanent teaching position. It makes for stressful summers.

But....could you get jobs in Halifax? And would you find it as small town? (I know posters that are moving from their because of that.)

House size seems to be high on your agenda so i'd suggest moving further from Vancouver. You seem to be gravitating to Halifax so why not give it a go?

Hi Mr AX,
yes you are right and it does depend on employment. We could risk it and just go to NS and hope for the best or we could stay where we are. But we are argueing all the time and stressed out because we are not where we feel home. I think we have to leave Mission. His contract means that we could try somewhere else in the lower mainland but it has to have more life and a different mentality.

But Halifax itself is not 'small town'?

You know what we have been going on and on about this subject for a while so maybe we should El-Richo. Thanks for that.

Try Burnaby. Much closer to the buzz but he'll have a longer commute than he does now.

Is Burnaby nicer than Coquitlam? I know it 's nearer Vancouver but I don't really know much else about it.

Ultimately, if i were you, i'd have a "recce" in areas closer to Downtown Vancouver. Looking at affordability, lifestyle, commute time to Maple Ridge, etc.

If anything floats your boat then seriously look into it. This would be the much simpler option.

If nothing tickles your fancy, and your family life is strained, and you can afford the risk, then why not head to where you believe you want to be.

If neither option works, maybe Canada isn't for you. You can't force yourself to love something, unfortunately, not matter how much you want to.

It's actually not that bad. I've been driving to/from maple ridge a lot lately and the biggest pain in the arse is getting to the highway from down town. Commuting to MR from burnaby will mean going against the traffic in rush hour so it might be ok.