SaucySal

Hello

I emigrated to Canada when I was 6 with my parents but having married a UK fella I've been living in the UK for the past 10 years and am in the process of trying to convince him that a move back to Canada might be a good move for us now that we have our own young family :fingercrossed::fingercrossed::fingercrossed:

He's open to the idea (if not exactly proactive) so I think its up to me to do the Tourism Canada bit

I'm coming to BC in the summer with my kids, staying in Kelowna initially to see my mum and sis but then travelling down to Vancouver to see my dad.

My husband in coming out later in the summer and we (I) want to use the opportunity to look around Victoria whilst we are there with a view to maybe considering it as a place to live and work?

I'm looking for some help in deciding what area's within Victoria (or outside of it but still on the penninsula) are worth looking at especially with reference to house prices, schools and commuting.

My husband would probably end up working in Victoria so his concern is around the time involved in daily rush-hour commuting / mortgage whilst I'm also concerned with neighbourhoods / schooling etc.

We won't have enough time to see everything and to be honest that's OK as my objective is simply to make a good impression and am therfore looking for suggestions as to where we might set up for the couple of weeks (preferably self-catering / house rental) to be central enough to get around the peninsula i.e. to Victoria, Sooke, Sidney etc. but also nice enough so that it feels like a holiday i.e. easy access to parks, trails, beaches

Also interested in anyones views as to affordable places either in the Victoria suburbs or outside of Victoria i.e. Lanford, Colwood etc. which they consider a worthwhile investment of our time in terms of having a really good look around i.e. any community websites I found all sound great but then again I guess that's their job ..

Fingers Crossed:fingercrossed:

Sally

CampbellsRComing

Hi Sally,

I'm asking the same questions but unfortunaetly getting little in the way of feedback i.e. http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=605263.

Getting plenty of ethusiastic responses about Cowichan (another area we are wanting to look at) but very little about Victoria and its surroundings neighbourhoods / towns ... not sure why??

Some info I have gathered from other forums below ... hope it helps ...

… I personally would not work on one side of the Malahat and live on the other. If you are working in the Victoria area, then live on the Victoria side. Langford is a great up and coming suburb of Victoria …

… one thing you will find about Vancouver Island is that it is relatively easy to find something with a water view. The weather is wonderful and in the summer the beaches are spectacular …

... sorry I couldn't help more with the Victoria area, I don't know it as well as the rest of the Island but some things I do know are Metchosin and Sooke areas you must watch for heavy traffic …

... also in the winter the Malahat can be closed as often as it is open …

... my ex-husband is originally from Sooke, but when he lived there it was a very small town. It has grown drastically. I do know the roads to Sooke and Metchosin can be really bad in the winter.

... my friend used to live in Langford and she loved it. It is really growing and has much to offer. I don't know anything about the schools there or what the region has to offer the kids.

... when you live on the North side of the Malahat you will experience a much more rural feel as there are no city centres ...

Other feedback I've found really helpful is on the thread entitled ... 'Thinkin about the Island ... again!!! http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=603715

Cheers

JAJ

Are you a Canadian citizen?
(it makes a difference to whether you can move back).

bananahammock

Have to disagree with this one ~ we live in Nanaimo & my OH works in Victoria, unfortunately for him he commutes every day ..... this winter has been a pretty bad one (for the island) but there were only 3 times he didn't get to work, 2 when the road was closed & once when he got part way there & thought bu**er this!, turned around & came home

It takes him approx 1hr to do the 100k to the south end of the Malahat then another 40mins to crawl the last 20k to work because of the traffic

In an ideal world he wouldn't have to go there every day ...... it's just part of the 'hoop jumping' that will hopefully lead to a decent job up here eventually

CampbellsRComing

Banana,

Just saw a post on 'Finding it Difficult ...' from happylandings ... he / she recons it takes about 90 mins from Nanaimo to Victoria downtown ... so not a million miles off your OH's daily grind ...

What do you recon it woudl be from some of the closer localities i.e. CobleHill, Mill Bay etc?

SaucySal

Hi JAJ,

Yes I have Canadian Citizenship, my husband got his perminent resident card several years ago and 'entered the country' in 2003/04 and even though he hasn't lived there since I've had it confirmed by the embassy in London that the time he has spent living with me counts toward the years required.

Our children all hold Canadian passports etc.

So as you can see I've been keeping our options open and now just need to convince him of move ... hense the questions about neighbourhoods etc.

Hope you can help

the em he ahs spent with me since he received the card counts towardswe have had it confirmed form hre embassy that and have c

SaucySal

Bananahammock,

Just looked at the post Campbell's R Coming noted and at happylanding's and I'm wondering what the options on the other side of the Malahat might be aswell i.e. still primarily interested in Victoria side but equally if house prices lower on the other side and commute reasonable this may also tick my husbands boxes ... what sort of prices for houses in the nearer townships i.e Cobble Hill / Mill Bay etc. also how long the commute??

bananahammock

I'll ask 'jempee' to pop her head in here & have a read ...... her OH works in Victoria & they live in Shawnigan lake ~ I'm pretty sure the bugbear for him is getting through, rather than down to Victoria!

Also she mentioned in the winter that she wished she lived closer to the highway because the 15mins to get to the highway could turn into way more & was a pain in the butt when the snow had been bad

jempee

Other half has no probs driving down to Victoria everyday and lets face it the drive down the 'hat' sure as hell beats the motorways/highways in UK.

As already said, my only grumble was in the snow about how long it took me some mornings to actually get onthe highway from Shawnigan. Cobble Hill and Mill Bay are more accessible to the highway then Shawnigan but in my opinion not as nice

maddhobs

Cheers Jempee!

Would have to agree with bananahammock about the Malahat "being closed more times than open", in 5 years of living here its has not been closed many times. We know lots of people in the Cowichan area including Mill Bay, Shawnigan, Cobble Hill and Duncan who commute to either Victoria and Nanaimo. From Cobble Hill to Victoria around 40 minutes, Cobble Hill to Nanaimo around 50 minutes. Hope this helps.

bananahammock

Sorry SS but I'm in Nanaimo so don't know much about the house prices in Cobble hill etc ...... maddhobs knows way more about that than me

One thing I would say though is if you're looking farther north is to ignore almost everything you see from the old island highway & explore the 'real' towns/cities rather than making a decision based on the grim bits you see from the highway

maddhobs

This is one of the best bits of advice that has been said. Travelling up and down the highway may not be the most scenic adventure on Vancouver Island but once you start pulling off and reaching the small towns, villages and bays you find the real beauty that exists here. Great point and nicely put bananahammock

House prices in the South Cowichan end range from $260,000 for a fixer upper single family home in Cobble Hill village, a brand new 3 bed single family home for $389,000 in Cobble Hill and all the way up to $2 million for some waterfront property in Mill Bay.

There are new sub-divisions being built in Cobble Hill, Mill Bay and Shawnigan Lake as well. Houses with acreage are also popular here and vary in price depending on location and size. If you would like more specifics let us know and hope this gives you an idea of what is available and prices.

bananahammock

Why thank you ........ must be almost time for another meet-up, what with all this sun & all

jempee

Thats funny maddhobs! But seriously, Where you are is a nice area and not actually in 'cobble hill' as far as im concerned! i was talkin more along the lines of the village etc close to the highway. I would actually like to move that side of the highway once the 'pain in the a*s teenager' sees fit to drive or leave home!

Husband has had maybe a few troubles getting over the Malahat but few and far between. If traffic is stacking up he will generally hang around Langford i.e..Timmies, till the traffic starts flowing again. So he doesnt see it as any problem. Hes never complained put it that way

JAJ

That's correct ... but is his PR Card still valid? If not, he should obtain a Travel Document from CIC in London.


As they're Canadian by descent, make sure you understand the consequences for the next generation:
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Canadi...hip_by_Descent