Chester Copperpot

Here's a post about a 'bad area' of Victoria http://www.vancouverisland.com/forum...=18489&level=1

It must be a rough are with 'hoodies' giving people 'bad looks'

willmore

Hi Gooding - My husband/I and two small kids 2/4 live in Victoria on Vancouver Island - please ask any questions and we will be happy to try and help you whenever possible.

Just a few answers to your present questions:

- expensive to fly almost anywhere from Vancouver Island - especiallly within the province - flying to Vancover to catch a national or international flight is about $60.00 one way unless there a sale. When I went to the UK in March I flew from Seattle/London return for $368.00 and even with the exchange rate it was the cheapest fare (you would never find that kind of price in Canada) - although there is some competition - not much.

The ferry cost across to Vancouver varies depending on car and number of peole - for myself/car its close to $100.00 both ways - and more at peak times

You don't mention what type of work you do....there are jobs available - but lots of competition - I have heard from people who move here that to "get a job" you take your resume and start knocking on doors.

As you probably know from building a house - housing is very expensive on the island - food, gas, clothing is also expensive. My husband/I were lucky enough to buy a house overlooking the ocean when prices were still very reasonable.

Vancouver Island is really "paradise" on earth if you are able to support yourself while finding employment. You don't state your financial situation but am assuming that since you are building a house you have resources available to support yourself while looking for work

If you have kids - there is always something for them to do. My kids are out every day doing something - yes even during the fall/winter - there are beautiful beaches/parks/protected areas for all families to enjoy. Make sure you all have "gortex" jackets you'll need them during the rainy season.

Good luck with your move - i hope everything goes well for you.

Any other questions just "yell"

With air travel getting cheaper and really only a day away from most places,
I hope to "live to work", "not work to live" out the next half of my life in a different country, where I feel the general outlook on life is far better than here.
I am surrounded by people in my job, whoes only ambition is to breed!
The furthest they will travel is to the next town, and they can't wait to be made grandparents!
We will come to the Island with and open mind, willing to work and keen to meet new people. yes i am sure we will miss things, we would not be normal if we didn't, but I hope the move will give my children a better outlook on life and travel than here.

I also hope they see a lot of the world like I did before feeling that giving me grandchildren will fulfill my life further!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/QUOTE]

Glaswegian

Check out Simonhouse's thread "our homeless problem" - he has a very specific problem going on in his building.

I agree with him that there are areas of Calgary that are not family friendly however as he says there are many many very nice areas. Here in the deep south we do not see the kind of problems described above and I hope it stays that way.

We do not know Vancouver but have heard that it has a big drug problem in particular areas.

dingbat

There is a drug culture in Vancouver, but it is worse in certain areas and *in general* the harder the drugs, the lower the socio-economic demographic. Vancouver has gangs, mainly Asian and I would not live there unless I had a whack of $$$ to live in the rich areas, to put it bluntly. You could not pay me enough to live in Downtown Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond etc. I live out in the Fraser Valley, about an hour and ten from Burnaby, an hour and twenty from Vancouver.Drugs are out here too and I work with families who are often entrenched in that lifestyle. There are big problems with Crystal Meth in many areas and needles - well, its a way of life here. In the UK it is drunken yobs bottles and beer cans. Here it is needles. You adjust, you avoid the areas that are known and learn where not to take your kids. There are some very nice areas and I am sure you will find a good fit. It is not for everyone and I do not like the way Vancouver has turned out since 1991 when I first came for a visit.

Glaswegian

If you are persistant you can get the city council to tell you if they have ever cleaned up a needle in your community. Its a long telephone tag game to get to the right people and then they are suspicious as they think you could be the media. They do come forward with information once you can convince them you are just a concerned parent.

I know this as I wanted to know if needles had ever been found in our community. I found out that a needle had never been reported here (yes, I know that doesnt mean it doesnt happen!).

oceanMDX

That type of information might be easier to get from the police. I would drop in at a police station and simply ask them where the problem areas of a city were. Tell them you want to know because you are moving into the city and don't what to live in one of those communities.

Lostris

Well, i'm seriously reconsidering my decision to move to BC now based on your opinions.

I lived in Kamloops as a child. My father says there was a drug problem in schools then - is that the case do you know?

dingbat

Yes. I work with kids from Elementary school up. You can buy most soft drugs in middle schools, high schools - take your pick of the latest fads. The youngest addict I have knowledge of is ten years old. Remember this is all relative - these are not the majority of the kids in schools,a lthough most have tried marijuana (like we tried booze) before they are 14 years old.

oceanMDX

There always have been problems to a degree - always have been, always will be. However, I honestly believe that you may be getting a distorted impression here. If you avoid the worst part of a city - the bottom of the socio-economic scale - you can find life in BC to be a pleasant experience.

I have the option to live anywhere in North America. I've lived all over Canada, The Bahamas, the US of A, and I now I'm living about half the year in communities around BC - the rest of the year in Los Cabos, Mexico. As far as I'm concerned, BC is paradise. Mind you, I don't spend a lot of time around E. Hasting St. in Vancouver either. I was born, raised, educated and lived over 40 years in Canada, but have yet to see a used needle or condom on any of its streets - not that I'm denying what others here have stated.

Just one man's experiences/views.

Glaswegian

You could but given that the local police liaison officer denies that there is an increase in crime in the summer holidays, I would be inclined to take what he says about each area and still get more information!

love_it_here

I have to say that whilst there is a drug problem in Vancouver I would not say it is any worse than the UK. I work as a pharmacist and I saw a lot more drug addicts in England (especially Brighton) than I do here, sure , there are drugs and certainly there are junkies but to state that there are needles and condoms all over downtown is a tad OTT. There are certain areas that you should avoid- Hastings/main and some of the poorer Vancouver suburbs but generally I feel a whole lot safer in Vancouver than in London. If you chose to move outside vancouver eg Port Moody you will find some nice suburbs, and there are plenty of nice areas in Vancouver itself although they are a bit pricey. Do NOT be scared of BC because of drug related issues - drugs are everywhere - the world over!! Make a visit to Vancouver and see for yourself.

Glaswegian

Before deciding to move to Canada, I compared the crime statistics of metropolitan London, Toronto and a handful of major US cities (the FBI stats are very useful).

US crime rates were generally higher than London, Toronto was lower than everywhere I looked at.

Every city has drug problems these days - you can't escape them, all you can do is throroughly research where you're going and do your best to avoid moving into a high crime area.

There's a public health centre on 7th avenue in Calgary - I remember Mrs G being shocked to see a used needle disposal bin on the street outside it. It's got to be the worst looking block in downtown Calgary - I used to take the c-train everyday and I had stopped noticing the spaced out drunks and junkies wandering around. You can even watch drugs being openly sold in a nearby parking lot while your train is stopped at the lights.

People were really concerned when they extended the c-train to the south of the city - a few people even moved house before the station opened.

Visit where you're thinking of moving to, keep your eyes and ears open, watch the news and read the local newspapers while you're there.

iaink

Pataks Balti in a can doesnt have milk ingredients. Good Quick and Easy.

Iain

Glaswegian

I only said some of them did, but we've got a preference for Minara's now.

oceanMDX

I couldn't agree more - kudos to you. The number #1 issue with BC for people thinking about moving here is the relatively high cost of living (especially housing prices) not used needles and condoms. The economy in BC hasn't been this good in a long time.