shez1

Hi all, first of all this forum is great, lots of helpful people.
we have just decided, after a gruesome winter here in nova scotia, that although we love and are greatful for outour life here, that the winters are too unpredictable, so are looking into british columbia. The milder wet winters coming from uk in BC will be welcome loll.
we have no idea of areas etc, and initially looked around chilliwack. I aam now stearing away from this area after forum input so thx.Again we are just beginning the research. We are going to do a reccie visit , but are now looking into vancouver island, as this seems to offer a llot of what we have in ns.

I am looking for any helpful information on both victoria and nainamo, acesibility off the island for trips to uk etc. Info on grocery shopping etc could be helpful. I am an RN and starting the process for BC licensure. We have 4 year old twins, 2 dogs and a travel trailer. Stupid question but travel trailers can cross on the ferry right?

any feedback is appreciated both pros and cons

charlottyb

I am an RN living in Victoria, message me if you want more info. I am a Public Health Nurse.
You can take travel trailers on the ferry, they charge more.....it is not cheap to travel on the ferry with car.
We often travel up island and camp in the summer (in tents though!) , there are great places to visit here too.
Oh, and the forecast this weekend, dry sunny and 15.c (sorry!)

JonboyE

You need to see for yourself. Other people have likes and dislikes that may, or may not, agree with yours. I also think a good rule of thumb to assume that the strength of someone's opinion is inversely correlated to their knowledge.

galaxyandminstrels

I am also a RN and we are currently researching the Okanogan as well as Vancouver Island so am very interested in this thread. I am tired of Nova Scotia too!

Is it hard to get BC licensure if you already hold a NS license and currently are employed?

We have a trip booked for the summer.....excited to see BC for the first time!

Keep us updated with your search...and good luck!

dbd33

I quite liked Vancouver Island (on my one trip there, for a wedding in a field). It's pretty without being wild. I can see why it's been such a popular place to retire. It's not cheap though, for that sort of money you could look at Devon or Cornwall.

ExKiwilass

I agree with JBE. There are some downsides to living on the island, like the fact you have to take a ferry every time you want to get off it. I wouldn't write off chilliwhack just yet.

scilly

1. Ferries to and from Vancouver Island are expensive, especially with a travel trailer

The current fares each way at the moment are .....

Passenger over 12 ........ $16.25
Passenger 5-11 ............ $ 8.15

Vehicle upto 20' long (excluding driver and passengers) ..... $53.25
- extra length rate per foot over 20' ............................ $ 6.10



Space can be reserved on a particular ferry up to 24 hours before sailing for $15 up to 7 days before and $17 after that. That's well worth paying!


Our trips over for 2 seniors and car currently cost about $80 each way


Dogs, except service dogs, are not allowed above the car decks on any of the big ferries. They can be walked on the car deck .............. but passengers are not expected to remain on or in their cars.

There was a rule that no people should travel on the car decks after several people in their cars where killed in a ferry accident a number of years ago, but that seems to have been slightly altered ...... instead, they "encourage" you to enjoy the amenities.

TBH .......... I would not stay in my car!!


The ferry trip from Tsawwassen (34 km south of Vancouver) to Victoria takes about 1 hour 40 minutes.

There is also ferry service from Tsawwassen and from Horseshoe Bay (about 20 km north of Vancouve) to Nanaimo. The Tsawwassen - Nanaimo route takes about 2 hours.

A third route involves a 3 ferry trip from Vancouver, and goes to the north of the Island



2. There are flights to the UK from Victoria, but most people that I know live "up island", and fly to Vancouver and then take the international flights from there. That often involves them spending 1 night in Vancouver at least once

It takes 8-10 hours from Vancouver to London

I would Google to get an idea of frequency of flights from Victoria. There are lots of flights and many airlines from Vancouver



I know more about Nanaimo, as we visit there frequently .........


Both cities have all the malls you might wish. They have all the typical supermarket grocery stores, including some national and some more local chains, such as Thrifties

Your Sobeys is Safeway over here ............ we never had Sobeys until last year when they took over the Canadian Safeway. We are now getting some of the Sobeys brands


Schools there seem to be about the same as anywhere ........ some good, some bad. Opinions on a particular school may vary due to parental preferences


Victoria I always think of as "genteel" ............ lots of retired people and still a lingering "upper class" air to it in places, which of course the Americans love.

Don't get me wrong ..... I like Victoria, just not sure I would want to actually live there permanently!

Victoria is inundated with tourists from spring through to fall .......... as is Vancouver of course!! Plus you get all the Canadian snowbirds who want a warmer winter but not to go below the border


Nanaimo is more blue collar and a "grittier" town, has less tourism (although they're trying!) ..... and I think housing is cheaper. Great access to beaches, and loads of camping close by, with some beautiful Provincial Parks.

I think we camped (in a tent) in most of the parks north of Nanaimo in our earlier years


The major problem that I see with Nanaimo is that specialist medical care may require you to travel to Victoria or over to the Mainland for treatment

rivingtonpike

We're in the Cowichan Valley, which I believe is the first nation word for warmlands. There is a high retired population here, but there are also 16 elementary schools, so some of us must be keeping reasonably "active". Amenities here seem pretty good to me. We have hockey arenas, a couple of aquatic centres and a few normal pools. The lakes are pretty, but I wouldn't say the beaches are up to much. The views from them though across the water are nice. I would describe it as rural/semi-rural. Victoria is 40 minutes away and our closest proper big box shopping centre is in Duncan - about 15 minutes away. I certainly think there is still the "dippy hippy" element around here - although that might be a general west coast thing. There are lots of artisans and people making jams out of recycled flip flops and the like. I would say getting to the UK is a 24 hour process whichever way you choose to do it. You can take a float plane from various places on the Island that take you (via a shuttle) right to YVR (takes 20 mins I think). Then you take your chances with everyone else as to how long the rest of your trip is going to be. The ferry is expensive, but for us, we don't use it very often at all. The only thing we use that Vancouver has that we don't is IKEA.

Novocastrian

Dirt cheap compared to cross channel ferries from France to the UK.

scilly

B****y expensive when compared with the ferry trip from Sydney, NS to Newfoundland ............ they get a Federal Government Subsidy


AND ...... the cross-Channel ferry is not an official highway.

The BC ferry system is considered to be the continuation of Highway 1 from the Mainland to Victoria

el_richo

Not really. It's about $150 return ish when we took the car on the ferry to France last year.

To Vancouver Island totaled about $200 for advanced booking and return.

Bloody expensive either way.