Hi,

Is anyone planning on moving to Squamish, or has moved there recently. I would love to hear personal stories, on what the town is like to live in, is it a good place to bring up young children, meeting new friends etc.
My husband and I are looking seriously into eventually moving to Squamish with our two young children (aged 4 and 2), once our PR comes through. We visited the town for a couple of days last year, and loved what we saw.

Any comments would be gratefully received.

Many Thanks

I've read it has a rough reputation. I read about some tourists who were attacked at a campsite near there. However, a hotel owner told me things will hopefully improve with the Olympics. I heard that Squamish will have a ferry terminal for all the athletes and tourists on their way to Whislter.

Hi there,

we do not live in squamish but have been there a few times when skiing in whistler was bad. The good things we remenmber is the friendliness of the people, the quietness of the town and the overall pleasent area it was set in. Whistler not far away, snow deep in winter and plenty, yes plenty of activities and sports around the town including one of Canadas biggest Lumberjack shows. Pleanty of timber too lol

On the down side we remeber it being quiet and small, not to small but non the less smaller than we anticipated.

Not much to go on but just some of our recollections. Enjoy if you get there, lovely people there.

Hi there!

We're looking to move anywhere between Squamish and Pemberton (half hour further north of Whistler).

We go out next weekend to check it all out! So far all we've ever done is drive right passed on the Sea to Sky highway so it'll make a change to actually stop, if even for a couple of days. We're then going to go to Whistler - well there's still some snow! Then we're off to Pemberton which is our main choice at the moment.

I can let you know how we get on when we get back if you like?

Cheers

Zoe M. x

Thank you for your replies. Zoe M I would love to hear from you once you return from your trip. Have a lovely time.

Fiona

We went to Squamish when we were in Whistler.We found it to be a bit like a ghost town the idea of living there sounded good but I think it is a bit isolated for the kids as I felt was Pemberton. We decided we needed somewhere bigger with more clubs and shopping areas for the kids although they would be quite happy with ski all winter and biking all summer.I did speak to some teenagers there and they said there was lots to do. But it was christmas when we went so most places were closed. I want to live in Whistler but unless I become very rich or house prices drop drastically that wont be happening.

Hi

Do you have any other areas in mind?

Fiona

We are thinking about ontario now.Will hopefull go for 3 weeks at Christmas to look around as well as ski My husband has had enough of I.T so we are looking at different options. Holiday properties top of the list or if he had his dream we would own a music shop. Changing everything when you are in the comfort zone is a big risk when you have a young family. Im sure the answers will become clearer the closer we get.

Hi again Zoe, we also visted Pemberton and as you suggested it is 30-40 minutes north of Whistler. What I will say about the town is that it is very very quiet and all we couyld find was 7 shops and none that you would know. There were places to tie horses outside each one. It is a small town and very low income so some very poor people, property is cheap but there are few large houses due to low incomes.

All that said, fantastic views, great area and mountains on your doorstep.

Good luck with your journey and please stay in touch andshare your experiences.

No problems! Will try and find this thread when I get back and let you all know how we get on!

Speak to you all soon!

Zoe M. x

Got back yesterday after a (mostly) rainy two weeks in BC!

Spent the first night in Vancouver (have been before so didn't need to explore) then once we'd hired our car we drove up to Squamish for 3 nights. Had a good look round there and the main residential areas (a lot of building work going on and a lot more planned especially with the new uni) but, to be honest, it wasn't for me. I think because of the fact that the town is sort of spread out around different areas just made it all feel a bit disjointed to me, however, I can appreciate it's benefits if you want to live closer to the city etc.

Then it was on to Whistler for 4 nights - well we couldn't have gone all that way and not got some time on the snow - and there was some left although it was a bit heavy! Once again this place felt like home but, unfortunately, we just cannot afford to buy real estate here. Well that's not exactly true but you'd be looking at a tiny 1 bed condo! Did get to see a couple of bears walking around the slopes which is always exciting to me! Also, hubby met up with a couple of guys based in Function Junction to say hello and get contacts for future work (graphic designer). It also gave us a chance to see the other areas of Whistler, ie residential, business etc that you never normally get to see when you're a "tourist"!

Finally we went on to Pemberton for 5 nights. Initial impressions were that although small it does have a centre and, therefore, felt a bit more like a community. We stayed in a B&B (who's owner was an expat which I hadn't realised!) so that gave us a chance to talk about the area and jobs and everything else which was good. We also went to chat to a real estate agent to ask questions about the way real estate is bought and sold, what's happening to the market not and what's likely to happen to the market with the 2010 Olympics etc. It was really good to talk to someone and she gave us their current listings which gave us a really good idea about the types of houses on the market, the sizes of houses and more importantly the price! We'll now get up dates of what's going on with the market and it means we'll already have a contact to help us look for houses when we get there. Once again, there is a lot of building work going on or being planned. There are to be around 400 new homes and a new rec centre plus the community centre is being moved into the centre of the village amongst other things. As to work, yes Pemberton is mainly a service town for Whistler, which is 20-25 minutes away but depending what work you can/want to do there are always jobs - plus as Whistler gets a lot of seasonaires business are always on the lookout for permanent, educated employees. I noticed in The Province (BC paper) that they think the Whistler area is going to have a shortfall of thousands workers within the tourist sector alone!

All in all it was an interesting two weeks and it did bring up doubts in my mind which, I think, are normal considering you're moving 5000 miles away but at least I've seen the place and think I could live there (although I might be in antihistamines all the time due to the mosquitos and my reaction to the bites!!!).

Sorry to go on, hope it's been of use to some.

Zoe M. xx

Hi

We've just come back from our recce to Vancouver - Calgary.

We stayed in Squamish one night and met up with a realtor there. At first we got the impression it was a 'red neck' type of place and not much happening. However, we then looked around a lot of new build properties and they were beautiful and spacious. We were surprised at how much room there was and the views were fantastic. You get a lot more for your money here. There is definitely potential in this area and new homes and retail outlets are being built. We did warm to the area and thought it would be a great place to bring up the children. Plus the added fact it was only 40 minutes to North Vancouver where my husband will be working. I do think it is one of those areas that you will either love or hate.

Another area we passed through was Kelowna and we both fell in love with this area too. Obviously too far to comute to North Vancouver though!! Beautiful lakes and stunning scenery and there seemed to be a lot of development going on. My husband is a carpenter, so I think he would find work anywhere in BC really.

HTH

Mel

Thank you ZMartin for coming back with your promised report, I really appreciate it. Your views on Pemberton were very interesting, maybe worth looking into. The only reservation I have, is weather you would feel too isolated.

Mel123 we felt the same about Squamish, the only set back for us was the fact that the Sea to Sky Highway seemed quite a traitorous road, to continuously drive back and forth to Vancouver, especially in the rain or icy winters. Have not looked into Kelowna at all, sounds beautiful, how far away is it from Vancouver?

Kelowna to the outskirts of the city of Vancouver is roughly 4 hours of driving time on the Coquihalla Highway.

There is another thread on this forum about Kelowna that might help you out. If not, you're more than welcome to drop me a line too.

Oggy

Hi again Learningtree22

Re Pemberton - I don't think you would feel too isolated. Firstly it's only 20 minutes from Whistler so if you wanted a night out there are plenty of places to go.

Secondly, Highway 99 (the Sea to Sky Highway) is also going through improvements at the moment which should help to make it feel less treacherous. Most of it is going to be turned into 2-lanes each way to assist with traffic from Vancouver to Whistler for the 2010 Olympics and as it's a main highway it has to be cleared of snow etc. We've always been there when there's been snow on the road but we've never had any problems - I suppose snow tyres really do work!

Plus Pemberton is a growing community and with an influx of residents they will have to improve facilities for residents as well as the tourists that they are trying to attract.

Anyway, hope that helps.

Zoe M. x