jaspence74

WE have moved to BC in the last few days. Originally we were looking at Langley or White Rock to rent a house. Langley looks good for the kids. Does anyone have any information about bringing up kids in these or surrounding areas? Mykids are 2 and 5.

Danny B

All depends on where you work and for how long you can tolerate a morning commute?

JonboyE

Langley is a good place to make a base to get you started. There is some information about the neighborhoods in the wiki here.

It will not come as a great shock to you if I say that White Rock is a great place to live. Unfortunately, it can be expensive. As Danny B suggested , where you work can make a big difference to where you will be most comfortable living.

Please feel free to ask if there is anything more I can help you with.

jaspence74

My husband will be travelling around Canada so he would be flying a lot, if he is in BC it would be Abbotsford. I dont have a job yet but I won't be commuting to Vancouver. Langley looked a bit more geared for famillies and children, but I couldn't really tell if White Rock was the same.

Danny B

In that case I's suggest having a look at Kamloops. It's 2hrs North of Abbotsford, more value for money when it comes to housing, fantastic for kids and outdoor enthusiasts.

It reminds me of how the UK was when I was growing up in the late 70's, kids out in the road playing on their bikes etc without parents worrying where they are.

My kids were 11 & 4 when we moved here, they both love it.

Aviator

Have you considered Abbotsford? Eagle Mountain & Glenn Mountina are a couple of nice areas, 20 mins from the airport.

Kamloops is closer to 3 hours via the #5 (285km), assuming no weather delays, if you have to use the #1 then 4 hours (356km).

Danny B

C'mon, most people do at least 150km/h on the Coq.

Lychee

There is really nowhere in Vancouver, other than downtown, that is not specifically geared for families and children. And even in downtown Vancouver, children are growing up in condos and going to local elementary schools, community centres, dance classes, soccer tournaments, etc. So even downtown tends to be more family oriented than people give it credit for.

White Rock, being a scenic beachfront village with fantastic houses and some drop-dead-gorgeous settings, is expensive. It's geared towards families and children, certainly, but your money doesn't go as far as it would in Langley. For many locals around Vancouver, White Rock isn't much cheaper than buying right in Vancouver.

Langley, once upon a time, used to be a very rural part of Greater Vancouver, but a lot of that farmland is now being turned into suburban sprawl. Due to such high prices in and around Vancouver (and North Vancouver, and Richmond, and Burnaby, etc.), families that once might have purchased a home in or close to Vancouver but can no longer afford to are now looking further away from Vancouver. This makes Langley look a lot more attractive, especially since Langley gives you more for your money. You can buy a larger house in Langley at significantly cheaper prices, making it much more attractive to families. But this doesn't make it (in my opinion) any more or any less geared towards children and families than if you were to have chosen Surrey, or North Vancouver, or even Vancouver, for example. It just makes Langley more affordable.

I do quite like Fort Langley as it has the heritage village element. There are some beautiful pastoral parts around Langley, such as around Aldergrove. I do have family that live around Aldergrove, however they moved there 25 years ago to enjoy a rural country-style living which you cannot get closer to Vancouver.

One issue you may not realize until you fully settle is that by basing yourself in Langley, Vancouver will be at the periphery of your daily routine. You probably will not be travelling into Vancouver often by living in Langley. Of course, it completely depends on the kind of lifestyle you're hoping to live. Langley is rural/suburban. If you're seeking a cosmopolitan atmosphere, Langley is not where I'd go. However, as a quiet, safe, and affordable part of Greater Vancouver, it is a good choice to raise a family. But do be aware that it's a very car-dependent part of Greater Vancouver.

By the way, if your husband is travelling around Canada a lot, you'll probably want to consider proximity to the airport, likely the Vancouver International or the Abbotsford Airport.

JonboyE

In White Rock we are about forty minutes from Abbotsford Airport and about the same from Vancouver International outside rush hour. It can be up to an hour and ten minutes to YVR in the rush hour.

White Rock is a fine place to bring up kids. There are excellents schools and recreational facilities. Bear in mind that White Rock shares its schools and leisure facilities with South Surrey so they may not all be listed under White Rock.

The advantage of Langley is that you get much more housing for your money. The disadvantage (and you may not think this is a disadvantage) is that Langley is less sophisicated. It is closer to the old fashioned values of rural Canada.

Edited to add that I agree with everything Lychee says above.

Lychee

Thanks JonboyE!

I suppose another major difference between White Rock and Langley is that Langley is landlocked with a river to its north while White Rock is surrounded by seaside to its south and west with all the sounds and smells that go along with it. White Rock is also extremely forested and extremely hilly... and many homes have palm trees in their gardens! Both have their own beauty, but both are very different.

Photos of Langley's landscape:

http://flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=la...ndscape&m=text

Photos of White Rock's landscape:

http://flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=white+rock+BC&m=text

startwin

Lychee - excellent post, and bang-on.

There's also north of the Fraser (Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows) where I live, which is also more affordable but transporation is a real problem with one corridor in and out, until the bridge across the river is completed next year.

Aviator

That's pushing it even with no traffic, add traffic in and you are closer to 60 - 90 minutes depending on route. Even on 16th or 8th ave its an hour White Rock to Abby.

Abby to YVR usually takes me about 75-90 mins, can be up to 2 hours on a bad day.

JonboyE

Mrs JonboyE has two shows at Tradex each year so I've done this journey dozens of times. Admittedly this is at the weeked when there is not so much traffic, though you can still get stuck behind a dump truck.

We go along 16th, south on 264th and then along 8th to the airport. I am not going to pretend that I stick to the speed limits along 16th, but then very few people do. Forty minutes is a fair average time for a weekend morning or evening.

AAinBC

Wow - looking at your location....hotel in Langley - that brings back memories! We had a week at the Holiday Inn in Walnut Grove, followed by a month at the Travelodge on Fraser Highway in Langley whilst we sorted out where / when / how etc... Worth it to get what we needed done, but I wouldn't want to do it again!

We have settled in Willoughby (Langley township, just south of Highway 1) have 2 kids (now 4 and 6) and are really happy here - good access to Vancouver for occasional trips, weekly trips to Mt Seymour for skiing during winter, nice house, lovely friendly neighborhood with loads of kids out playing etc. Nice local elementary school, Senior school offers the IB, easy assess (< 30 mins) to beaches at Whiterock, Very quick access east to the interior... oh and fantastic pool at Walnut Grove.

If you want to meet up to ask me more questions, I'd be happy to help

Best wishes
AA

startwin

That sounds like a reasonable time, outside of so-called rush hour. I've done Maple Ridge to Abby to Crescent Beach in about 70 - 90 minutes, mid-morning, quite frequently.