rzl

Okay, so I know there are probably a million discussions regarding this already but I wanted to start afresh.
Moving with my family to Vancouver in the Spring.
Where is best for a family with 2 young children??????
My husband is a carpenter so his work will be all over the place and as we have 2 children it would be great to be in walking distance of a good school (preferably Catholic but I believe you have to pay for these in BC so maybe not!).
I don't even know where to start with budget but we want a 3 bed rental to start with before we discover where exactly we would like to buy.
Thinking the city would be too expensive so suburbs may be best but within easy skytrain distance of downtown.
Kitsilano sounds amazing but expensive, basically we want the best of both, plenty of outdoors but can head to the city with 30 mins.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

christmasoompa

Budget will play a massive part in it, do you have any idea of roughly how much you would have for rent each month?

rzl

Its still early days with contracts etc and knowing exactly where we stand finance wise but if I relate it to what we are paying here in Surrey UK, I would guess $1500 per month.

el_richo

Have you been before? If so which areas did you like? Will you have 2 cars or only 1? Do you want to be near the ocean? In the mountains? In the valley? What kind of lifestyle are you looking for when you move? How often do you anticipate being downtown? Do you ski? What kind of property are you looking for? House? Acreage? Apartment? Townhome? Built up area? Quite countryside?

A budget would really help define what you can expect, and which areas are more feasible.

Nobody will be able to give you your answer i'm afraid. People will give you their own answers though

el_richo

$1500 for 3 bedrooms+ house? Then downtown would be out i would imagine, as would most areas within 30 minutes to downtown or anywhere near decent public transport. Especially if you don't want to rent a suite in somebody's house or aren't interested in apartment living.

I think you would need at least $2000 to get something decent, and this would still be a good distance from downtown and away from decent public transport.

In my opinion*




*My standards may be very different to yours.

rzl

I realise my original info was pretty vague but I have never even been to Vancouver and my husband was only there for 3 days to meet his future employer so its all very scary to think we will be moving half way across the world without any experience. But hey we reckon we have nothing to lose and while the kids are young its a great opportunity.

Near the ocean would be great but not a deal breaker and we will have one vehicle to begin with. Near shops/restaurants etc would be ideal as I don't want to have to hop in the car to get to the supermarket or have a browse through the local shops.
What/where would $2000 per month get us??

rzl

Not fussy about type of property, but parking spot would be a must.
As long as the area has its own variety of shops there would be no need to go downtown that often.
We currently live 45 mins from central london and we only visit a few times a year!

el_richo

This is only a guess but i would imagine you would probably need a car to go shopping if your accommodation budget is $1500.

The problem with a lot of areas outside of downtown, the shops are very spread out so walking isn't so easy.

Near the ocean limits where you would be. South Surrey would be an option with a $2k budget. Not sure about public transport in that area though as am not too familiar with it.

Burnaby may be an option but again i would imagine $2k wouldn't get you very far for a decent property.

I would imagine you'd be looking further out in areas like cloverdale, willoughby, coquitlam, pitt meadows, and so on.

New Westminster could also work.

None of these would get you to the beach or ocean quickly or easily, especially without the use of a car. Not sure about walking to the shops either but New West has the skytrain.

Again, bear in mind my standards and views may be very different from yours.

Essay

To give you an idea of the areas, you could check google maps, and for pricing of rentals, you could check the website mls.ca. You can also check the websites for various cities, such as vancouver.ca.

The real estate website (mls.ca) will also give you an idea of house prices for when you end up purchasing. You can see various styles of homes including (in some cases) the interiors. For some help in translating the sales hype, "handyman special" means a lot of work is required, and "move in condition" still means you need to arrange for utilities hook-ups (and you might want to paint or wallpaper before moving in).

My suggestions result from the time I moved to a city I'd never visited before (long story, not important). The important thing is, to get as much information as possible to help with your decision-making.

As I don't live in BC and never have lived there, I hope this helps somewhat.

el_richo

For rental costs and info look at - http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/apa/

Map potential areas against the transit maps if that's important to you - http://www.translink.ca/

JonboyE

$2,000 a month is tight for a single family home in South Surrey. And everywhere else in the Lower Mainland is a commute from there.

$2,000 pm and close to shops and transit even tighter.

Boy d

As noted we need more info.

Generally, prices get cheaper the further east you go away from Vancouver. The burbs are hit and miss, some better than others, but all generally fine for kids. The outdoors is pretty accessible from just about anywhere in the area.

1500 is a bit low for a decent area, although it should be noted that if you did pay 2000, there are no council taxes for renters. Things like water rates and garbabge pick up are included in the rent, so this may bump your budget up a bit

I'd look at townhouses over houses at they tend to be cheaper and are often bigger than typical houses in the UK.

I have lived mostly downtown but more recently on the north shore for the past 2 years. It's nice, great for families but is pricey. Right at the foot of the north shore mountains with excellent access to skiing and the outdoors and only about 20 mins to downtown.

It does get a lot more rain though than over areas due to the proximity of the mountains. Might be possible to get a 3 bed townhouses for around 2000 k, maybe even a bit less.

Aviator

Take a look here to get an idea of rent around the lower mainland
http://www.rentbc.com/index.html

el_richo

You also say you're looking to rent to discover where you'd like to buy. When you buy, what is the budget, must have's, and like to have's? That will narrow down where rental suggestions are.

But ultimately, it looks like it'll be tight on your current budget finding somewhere that has your requirements in what i would consider a reasonable area and accommodation.

That said, if you were will to rent a 2 bed place and have the kids share, your options open up a great deal in my opinion. Especially if you're comfortable with an apartment.

ExKiwilass

It's going to be difficult but not impossible to find something in that price range. I just found a 3bed house in North Burnaby for $1800. But yeah, those ones are few and far between.