Wayner

mls.ca is defiantly a good research tool. While you’re looking on that site take a look at Calgary and area, Alberta’s economy is booming at the moment and finding a job isn’t a problem to anyone who wants to work.

karen wild

we have just come back from a research trip annd we have a small budget and we have decided on chilliwack which is 62 miles east of vancouver. also look at Hope, agassiz, abbotsford, sardis. we have found houses there are about 250,000$ for a single house and for a townhouse of 1700 sq can cost 179,000$.
it is nice there even though i really loved vernon, but little economy around it.
karen

guitarslinger

Hi
Why not think about other provinces, like Ontario. there is plenty of small towns and if you stay out of Toronto and Ottawa there is still reasonable pricing on houses to be found. I have been here in Canada 25 years and live in Ontario, athough when I came here first I was going to move out west but by the time I had finished al the paper work I just never got around to moving. The other advantage is if you plan to fly home it's closer from On.

Grendel

We thought long and hard about what province to head for, and as far as we're concerned, BC has the best combination of quality of life, scenery and job prospects. Ontario is our Plan B, though!

saund_cp

Agree with the post above. East Fraser Valley, Abbotsford/Chilliwack. Still within easy reach of Vancouver but without the prices. Prices are rising there though at about 10% per annum. Bought a very large up market house there in Apr for £160,000. Is still much more expensive than many other parts of Canada but good value for Vancouver region. As the Olympics approach in 2010 prices are also expected to grow, and for a few years afterwards.
Again use http://www.MLS.ca to see what you will get for your money.

saund_cp

Try this one right on your budget:
go to http://www.mls.ca and in the put this number in the MLS No search box: F2508575

Good Hunting!

Rich_007

BC is also expensive compared to some other provinces, e.g. personal taxation, PST, allowances, cost of groceries, real estate prices, all these could be 'bettered' living elsewhere. So if finances are a serious issue, a trade off against another province is a serious consideration.

Rich.

Cowtown

Did you notice that Alberta is just on the other side of the Rockies? It also has the good scenery, high quality of life and as someone else pointed out, very good job prospects (in many -but not all- jobs) at the moment

guitarslinger

Remember BC is one of the most expensive places to live. Ontario is the richest province and has the most jobs to offer. I don't know what jobs that you require so that may make a difference. BC is a nice province and generally has a mild and wet climate if you live in Victoria or on the island, up the northern part its colder.
Whatever you decide good luck.

flashman

The options are as follows:

If the location/lifestyle is important then take whatever jobs you can get. If the jobs are your priority then live wherever your employment takes you.

hot wasabi peas

I wouldn't say Vancouver Island is so full of tourist in the summer that it actually creates many problems. In Victoria, certain areas of town can be irritating and are definitely no-go zones for locals but even the busiest moments in Victoria are sedate compared to a normal day in most British cities.

In regards to the ferry, in the summer, on weekends and/or if there's something going on in Vancouver the ferries can be busy but by busy what people on the Island mean is that they drive to the ferry terminal expecting to catch the 2:00 boat but have to wait for the next sailing or possibly the next after that... it's not like you can't actually get on or off the Island anything.... well unless you've missed the last boat of the day (and I've done that a few times! ).

Many years ago it was essentially guaranteed that you could show up 15 minutes before the the next sailing and breeze right on onto the boat... people had it good and that's what they're used to.

Plus, you can fly, helijet, hop on a PCL bus (like a Greyhound bus - they're guaranteed to get on the ferry) or 'walk on' the ferry and hitch a ride (taxi, hitch hike, city bus, PCL into Vancouver). Actually, a lot of people who live on the Island rarely go to the mainland anyway... the whole point of the Island is that it's an island and you're away from Vancouver and the rest of the mainland and the world! When living on the Island, I have had a stretch of about 5 plus years when I hadn't touched my feet on the mainland. Most people don't miss it... or prefer to go down to Seattle instead.

£100,000 won't buy what you're looking for in or near Victoria but it could elsewhere on the Island. Vancouver Island isn't teaming with jobs but there are a lot of entrepreneurial opportunities (imo). I'm not sure how close, or if, you need to be where there are jobs.

Good luck!

steve of 5-0

The sight www.mls.ca is THE WAY to in a few hours see what Canada costs re. a place to live.

BC is WET basically.

Come to NB, they are so friendly, the housing is lovely.

OOOOPS, it`s snowing !!!!

iaink

Some of BC is wet....the bit where most of the people and jobs are. On the other hand BC also has canada only actual bonafide desert.

Rich_007

Pick the bones out of this, as an example of different weather stats (all based on annual norms):

Rain [mm] Snow [cm]
Vancouver 1117 57
Kelowna 282 106
Toronto 665 123

Rich.

sysclp

If you have yet to even send in your application, house prices today will have little bearing on what they will be 3 years from now when you can actually move over here. Few things on earth seem to rise faster than property prices in Canada, so add at least 20% to what you see today to budget for 3 years from now. Of course if an area becomes popular, the prices may rise more than that.