Vancouver
#1
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Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 9
Vancouver
Hi. I've just joined so not entirely sure how this all works. We are potentially relocating to the Vancouver area with my husbands job. We would love to live within 1 hours commute to downtown Vancouver in a nice town with a community feel to it. (If this exists?) so just looking for ideas on nice areas/towns please. We are in our 30's with a small child so are looking for family friendly places. Many thanks.
#2
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: Vancouver
It's a small town of 17,000 but is a young town and a family town, loads of families with kids, and even with the Lions Gate Bridge, you can on most days get to downtown Vancouver within an hour.
Squamish is the towns name and is a family town no doubt with a lot of activity for families to do.
Squamish is the towns name and is a family town no doubt with a lot of activity for families to do.
#3
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Joined: Sep 2014
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 833
Re: Vancouver
I wouldn't recommend to anyone to live in Squamish and work in Vancouver. I know some people who do it and they are continually getting stuck in traffic. If you hit Lions Gate at the wrong time, it could take more than an hour just to get down Pender/Georgia and over the bridge. In addition, the lack of public transit is an issue, especially if you want to go out after work.
#4
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Joined: Jan 2006
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Re: Vancouver
I wouldn't recommend to anyone to live in Squamish and work in Vancouver. I know some people who do it and they are continually getting stuck in traffic. If you hit Lions Gate at the wrong time, it could take more than an hour just to get down Pender/Georgia and over the bridge. In addition, the lack of public transit is an issue, especially if you want to go out after work.
The Lion's Gate thing is not nearly as bad as people make it out to be, delays happen, but most people reporting their daily commute can do it on average in an hour.
Squamish is a Vancouver suburb for all intents now, all these houses selling are not people working locally, they are all commuting into Vancouver.
In all the drives to downtown Vancouver it has never taken more then 65 minutes door to door except once when there was an accident on the bridge.
#5
Re: Vancouver
Hi. I've just joined so not entirely sure how this all works. We are potentially relocating to the Vancouver area with my husbands job. We would love to live within 1 hours commute to downtown Vancouver in a nice town with a community feel to it. (If this exists?) so just looking for ideas on nice areas/towns please. We are in our 30's with a small child so are looking for family friendly places. Many thanks.
Lots of places would meet that criteria, do you have any other specifics? Where will your husband be working, do you want any particular amenities, what kind of property do you want (i.e. a 7 bedroom house or a 2 bed apartment), an idea of your rental budget etc? The more info you can give the better, then people can help you narrow it down a bit.
This Wiki article might be useful if your husband is being transferred with his job - Intra-Company Transfer-Canada : British Expat Wiki
Best of luck with it all.
#6
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Joined: Sep 2014
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 833
Re: Vancouver
And I would equally advise against living out there too, but at least they have the advantage of having more than one route to downtown, whereas from Squamish you are pretty much stuck with 99.
#7
Re: Vancouver
I'd recommend living downtown-ish for a while (renting) to enjoy what Vancouver has to offer and why many people move here in the first place.
If you insist in living within an hour away, try Port Moody, Some North Vancouver areas, New Westminster (Queens Park Area), erm.....i can't think of any other that have community feels to it.
I'm downtown on the water and there's a great community feel here, especially for the kids. Lots to do and enjoy. You just don't get a 3000sqft house to live in.
If you insist in living within an hour away, try Port Moody, Some North Vancouver areas, New Westminster (Queens Park Area), erm.....i can't think of any other that have community feels to it.
I'm downtown on the water and there's a great community feel here, especially for the kids. Lots to do and enjoy. You just don't get a 3000sqft house to live in.
#8
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: Vancouver
I'd recommend living downtown-ish for a while (renting) to enjoy what Vancouver has to offer and why many people move here in the first place.
If you insist in living within an hour away, try Port Moody, Some North Vancouver areas, New Westminster (Queens Park Area), erm.....i can't think of any other that have community feels to it.
I'm downtown on the water and there's a great community feel here, especially for the kids. Lots to do and enjoy. You just don't get a 3000sqft house to live in.
If you insist in living within an hour away, try Port Moody, Some North Vancouver areas, New Westminster (Queens Park Area), erm.....i can't think of any other that have community feels to it.
I'm downtown on the water and there's a great community feel here, especially for the kids. Lots to do and enjoy. You just don't get a 3000sqft house to live in.
#9
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 14,227
Re: Vancouver
Definitely rent somewhere downtown for a year or two - you won't regret it.
#10
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Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 9
Re: Vancouver
Thanks for the replies. Someone else mentioned maple ridge to us so any info / thoughts on that area would be useful. Is it comutable to downtown. Is it a nice town for families. Decent facilities. Schools. I'm also interested in toddler groups/ stay and play groups. Do these exist there? Local community / mums groups that kind of thing? Any info really. TIA.
#11
Re: Vancouver
Thanks for the replies. Someone else mentioned maple ridge to us so any info / thoughts on that area would be useful. Is it comutable to downtown. Is it a nice town for families. Decent facilities. Schools. I'm also interested in toddler groups/ stay and play groups. Do these exist there? Local community / mums groups that kind of thing? Any info really. TIA.
It's not the nicest areas, although the mountains are nice. It's not disimilar to Hull or Staines in many ways and the homelesness and drugs are quite visible in a number areas.
If you're working downtown, it would be a nightmare.
Some on here live there and love it, but i'm not sure they work downtown.
#12
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Joined: Apr 2013
Location: Maple Ridge, Vancouver
Posts: 114
Re: Vancouver
It's around 1hrs 15mins realistically each way unless there's an accident, which would be a few times each month at least.
It's not the nicest areas, although the mountains are nice. It's not disimilar to Hull or Staines in many ways and the homelesness and drugs are quite visible in a number areas.
If you're working downtown, it would be a nightmare.
Some on here live there and love it, but i'm not sure they work downtown.
It's not the nicest areas, although the mountains are nice. It's not disimilar to Hull or Staines in many ways and the homelesness and drugs are quite visible in a number areas.
If you're working downtown, it would be a nightmare.
Some on here live there and love it, but i'm not sure they work downtown.
There are a number of threads commenting on Maple Ridge vs other places. One advantage is that property-wise you get a bigger bang for your buck. Drawbacks include the lack of a good shopping centre and, as el-richo said, the homelesness and drugs are quite visible in some areas.
#13
Re: Vancouver
Thanks for the replies. Someone else mentioned maple ridge to us so any info / thoughts on that area would be useful. Is it comutable to downtown. Is it a nice town for families. Decent facilities. Schools. I'm also interested in toddler groups/ stay and play groups. Do these exist there? Local community / mums groups that kind of thing? Any info really. TIA.
#14
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 14,227
Re: Vancouver
Thanks for the replies. Someone else mentioned maple ridge to us so any info / thoughts on that area would be useful. Is it comutable to downtown. Is it a nice town for families. Decent facilities. Schools. I'm also interested in toddler groups/ stay and play groups. Do these exist there? Local community / mums groups that kind of thing? Any info really. TIA.
Commuting to Vancouver from here would not be pleasant, I wouldn't even consider living out here if I had to do that.
Last edited by Alan2005; Sep 15th 2015 at 2:16 am.
#15
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Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 9
Re: Vancouver
Bloody hell sounds like maple ridge can be discounted. So in an ideal world I would be looking for approx 40 minute commute to downtown. A nice family friendly town with good facilities for shopping, eating out, children's/toddler activities/groups. Parks. Good schools. Safe. Low crime. Expected base rate salary before commission is 170k dollars. I will be a stay at home mum with 1 child. So not sure if this is enough in terms of renting in some areas. Happy to hear any thoughts / suggestions. We live in such a fab little town in Hertfordshire in the UK I'm just not sure if I'm being unrealistic to find the same there?? Also mentioned to us were Surrey but I'm sure I read that a load of refugees had been housed there? and coquiitlam not sure about this one? Thanks so much for any input. Really appreciate it.