According to my Canadian friends living in the Rockies and others in BC these names should sum the places up:

Crapgary = Calgary
Wankouver = Vancouver

But if you ask me Toronto is pretty w*nk for how dirty it is, all I see is litter everywhere mostly, though it's great for children with all the theme parks and places to visit such as Niagra falls and Toronto Island.

North Vancouver, now that was the best place to live, but so would be Jasper or Banff. Kitsilano is nice but I didn't rate commuting to work via car from there, pain in the backside is accurate.

why on earth would you commute by car from Kits? There's plenty of transit and cycling routes

If working downtown, i agree. The 2 minute drive from kits would be annoying.

I'm curious why North Vancouver would be better than Kits, if the person is commuting downtown by car?

+1

I agree pretty much with what kiwilass and el_richo have said.

Firstly take a deep breath, relax and maybe take the afternoon off. The weather right now is as good as it gets so you don't want to miss it.

Some specific points:

a) very few realtors deal in rentals (and those that do tend to represent the landlords - they do not place tenants) though there is no harm calling into a realtor's office and asking if they know someone who does
b) if you like the look of a neighborhood the local school will be just fine. It is not something to sweat about.
c) I like Kits, but you are in one of the more expensive areas of the metropolitan area. There are better priced places to live but there is always a compromise to get cheaper rents - principally the commute. (e.g. Coquitlam)
d) in addition to the websites some landlords just place "For rent" boards in the windows of their property. Keep an eye out for them when you are driving round looking at various neighborhoods.



We (well, some of us) can probably offer you some useful advice but we need to know things like;

where does you OH work?
do you intend to work?
commute by car or transit?
how long are you/he prepared to commute for?
what do you like doing in your spare time?
what sort of accommodation do you need - no. of bedrooms, house or apartment etc?
what is your rental budget?

wankouver.... hahaha genius.

thanks guys. Jonboy, OH works in downtown Van, I intend to work after my kids (10 yrs and 3 yrs) have settled in school

-currently using transit but hope to buy a car soon.We rent on the day we ned to doalot of driving around.

-30 mins to an hour commuting
-outdoor stuff like cycling and going to the beach in our spare time and kids sports.
-need a 3 bedroom house/condo as a garden is a preference.
- rental budget- $2300 thereabouts.

did go to real estate agents, but of no help really,all they were telling us were about properties $1m and over in shaugnessy as the elementary school and secondary school in that area are "supposedly very good". No rental properties.
Estate agent did hint that property prices were expected to fall soon due to some new legislation (which totally flew over my head as his english was not very good).

I find this experience daunting, how on earth did you guys do it an dwhat gave you the motivation?
Will not think of going back to UK as OH has a very good job with a reputale company and the thought of hitting the UK job market again is a no no.

That's coquitlam out for sure although it'll be in your budget

Did you check out the links I posted for you?

For that budget if you want a house you'll be looking further afield unless you're not too picky. Condo would be easier closer downtown.

We have an apartment with a balcony, but we're on the sea wall and have green space next door and the beach down the road. My wife walks to work downtown in 20 mins. The compromise is well worth it for us.

If we were to get a house for the same rent, we'd be much further away from what we, and you, want.

For using a car, have you checked these out? http://car2govancouver.com/

I can understand that it is all a bit disorienting especially as it happen so quickly and not to the city you were expecting. At least there is no rush to register your kids in school.

$2,300 is a tight budget for a 3 bedroom house with a garden in the City of Vancouver. This one is a typical older bungalow in East Van going for $2,495. http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/va...074194582.html. It doesn't look too elegant but is in a reasonable area. It might be worth looking at - especially as it is managed by a property management company who may be able to give you some leads.

This is in Burnaby http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/bn...106809746.html. It looks very nice and is in a great area and close to a bus direct to downtown. $2,800 a month though.

Here is another option, also in Burnaby. http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/bn...135675935.html. Town homes are usually attached homes in a development. They do have outside space but it is often quite small. Much cheaper though. This one is $2,000.00. Walking distance to a Skytrain station.

This was in about 10 minutes of looking on Craig's list.

Because..
As a Nurse, we don't all commute to one work place ongoing, home care, different clinical settings, flu clinics for service Canada all required commutes by car, so yes it was a pain to commute from Kitsilano, compared to North Vancouver by far, easier was to go down the highway by Car from North Van and avoid all the lights and hold ups on many of the roads in the city.

Some more ....

Not the greatest of areas IMO but plenty of rrom and the price is right ...
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/va...136692350.html

If you are considering Richmond then
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rc...111565769.html

Or this, an older home but it looks like it has been renovated quite nicely. Huge lot. http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rc...136309083.html
It is a good location but will be over 30 minutes commute as you will need to get a bus to the SkyTrain station. It is also close to the water. There are no beaches nearby but the dyke is great for strolling or cycling.

Another older home in New Westminster. It is not too specific the exact location which is a little concern as that part of New West can be a bit faded at the edges, especially near to major roads. Close to a Sky Train station. http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/bn...135763490.html

Sticking to New Westminster http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/bn...132620709.html

A nice part of North Vancouver http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/nv...111544415.html

And back to Vancouver you get a smaller house for your money but this is not a bad area and very convenient for commuting http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/va...136252141.html

The point of all this is not that you should take any notice of the properties that I have highlighted, but that there are places available that will suit you. All the ones I linked to were listed yesterday or today. I have tried to pick ones that are 30 minutes or so from downtown by transit. As you start to push this out to 60 minutes you get more for your money.

Craigslist and Google street view are great research tools.

Is it easier to get to Richmond, Delta, or White Rock (for example) from North Van or Kits?

Kits to Highway 1 (lets say, Willingdon) versus West Van there's hardly a difference in commute time.

For the hassle with traffic, the North shore is much easier to get there from, just avoid going during rush hour a.m and p.m regardless as the highways in Vancouver and North Vancouver were all a pain at rush hour regardless with line ups in traffic, avoid that lions gate bridge at all costs, as well as the traffic downtown.

Then - just to back up JBE - Burnaby, Coquitlam, New West, North Van and Richmond would be doable for you. Best idea is to google map some places you're interested in from Craigslist, rent a car and drive around and have a look.

Just thought I'd post an update for those with a ready cuppa who wants to read. Went to Spanish banks and mulled things over as suggested. Loved the place!
Also went to see a house for rent in shaughnessy just to see what $3800 a month would give you......rubbish I say.They played off the fact that they were in the District of the shaughnessy elementary school (which we were interested in)
Have booked some places to view tomorrow in Port Moody,they looked alright on Craigslist, and getting 3 br for about $2500.
Did some research on Port moody and seems to be a developing area for families, so let's see.
Cheers everyone