Hello,

My husband and I have moved over to Vancouver. We have been here for for 8 months. We are happy in Vancouver but we have just had a baby (3 months old) and we would like to be in a more rural area to bring him up. We have explored some of BC but it is difficult to decide where to move to after only a couple of days in each place. Ideally we would like to visit places again before we make our move but money and time make it difficult for us to do so. It would be great to have some input on the areas we are looking at and whether anyone has any further suggestions.

The areas we have liked are -
Smithers
Comox Valley, particularly Courteney
North Vancouver
Victoria (love the town but would prefer to be nearer to skiing)
Tofino (bit of a wild card as it does not have any skiing but we like the feel of the town)

My husband is really into fly fishing, especially salmon and steelhead, I would like to be near to some skiing and also a decent town with amenities and a nice feel (sorry I know that sounds vague). Good schools will become important in a few years.

Whilst we would need a job in the short term (we are happy to do anything) our long term plan when we find the right place is to set up a business, so a great job market is not essential. We have PR, or will do if/when we pass our medicals (we are taking them on Saturday!).

We have not looked at inland areas but have heard good things about Nelson and the Kooteneys. Nelson sounds like a great town and the skiing sounds fantastic but we are a bit nervous of the drug culture in Nelson. Is this an issue? Also, we do not know anything about the Okanagan. A big town like Kelowna does not really interest us but we know nothing of the surrounding areas.

We are happy to look inland and at different provinces to get what we want.

Please can anyone advise on their thoughts on any of the areas or if there are places we are missing that fit our criteria. Or tell me if we are asking too much from one area to have skiing, fishing and a town (!).

Thanks in advance.
Becky

http://www.best-in-british-columbia....arealakes.html
http://www.tourismkamloops.com/home_...ion_ID_51.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b0poj6y4Vk

http://www.okanaganforum.com

plenty of smaller places than Kelowna
Skiiing available but I'm afraid I know nothing about fishing

(only a visitor at the moment)

http://uk.britishcolumbia.travel/en-...onOkanagan.htm

Kootenays, Okanagan (anywhere), Shushwap, Mid Island, all could meet your criteria. A forum is unlikley to answer your question and personally something I would not rely on the make such an important decision.

The only way is to visit and pick one. If you plan to start a business, your potential market should be a primary concern.

Moving to a rural area might be great to live for you, however as the kid grows up, chances are they won't be able to wait to get out. I know a few Canadian's that escaped the rural life of their parents for the city life.

We nearly bought some ocean front at Robert's Creek. Decided after talking to some friends who grew up there and left, the Sunshine Coast was not it for our kids as they grew up.

Drug culture is everywhere, you won't avoid it. Many grow op are in rural areas, so there is less chance of them being found.

Personally I loved Smithers, but bugger all to do up there (and it was a long commute to work).

No substitute for traveling around and deciding what works for you. You may want to take a look at Maple Ridge or Poco, even Silverdale/Whonnock/Mission

There are lots of really nice small towns in the Okanagan. Naramata, Kaleden etc. It's beautiful there but I only have been there in summer. It's hot and dry in summer, lots of great wineries and good dining. I hear it shuts down pretty much in winter however I don't know it that's true. It has a lot of retirees.
You would definitely like the 'feel'

Summer tourists swell the numbers in the Okanagan considerably, which can be a frustration if you're tying to live and work with the extra traffic. Summer tourist attractions certainly close in the fall, and visitor numbers drop off, but to say the area 'shuts down' isn't accurate. Kelowna has a population well over 100,000, so amenities and other seasonal activities continue as normal.

Have you thought about simply moving somewhere in the Lower Mainland like Ladner, Steveston, Fort Langley, or Harrison Hot Springs?

The issue with rural living in BC is that cultural values will shift away from what you'd typically expect in Vancouver. Small town BC can be quite different than Vancouver, depending on where you go.

I am sure Rich knows more about it than I do since he's in Kamloops. It's true that Kelowna is a big city however the OP was asking about smaller towns. I have been in the smaller towns that I mentioned in the Okanagan in late fall. I can tell you that in the weekend the houses were occupied but during the week it is like a ghost town. Most of those houses are vacation homes. So that has been my experience. However I still think it's a great place, I would move there without hesitation!

Apart from the skiing aspect which is a coouple of hours north of us, you might like the Cowichan Valley area. North of Victoria, south of Naniamo has a "rural" feel but it's only 30-45 minutes to downtown Victoria when you want/need it. Also, depending on what your proposed business is, this area should provide a good market for you.

We like it anyway....Good luck!

Define 'rural'. I live in what I'd consider a rural location, along with 20 properties located in a small valley, each with c5 acres or more. No bus service, out of city limits, no garbage collection etc, but, I can be in downtown Kamloops within 20 minutes. You don't have to be completely isolated or cut off to enjoy some space and countryside.

Hi all,

Thanks for everyone's input. Please could I ask a couple of follow up questions?

You are right about the definition of rural being important. I think I would need to have access to amenities within about 30 minutes drive, so living in a small community with access to a larger one nearby would be good. Or living in a small town with all the amenities.

Lychee: In what way do you mean attitudes change in rural areas? I always had the impression people would be friendlier in rural areas? Is this not correct? Can anyone else give their opinion on this, please. We really want to move somewhere to meet people, get involved and be part of a community.

Boiwonder: Your experience of the Okanagan sounds great but it would be a concern that properties were stood empty when the holiday makers left. Perhaps if we were in an area nearer to a central hub this would mean more permanent residents lived there?

Rich: Are there not a lot of winter visitors for skiing?

Aviator: When you say there is nothing to do in Smithers do you mean in terms of work and business? Have you spent a period of time there? We really like Smithers too. The reasons being my husband is in fishing heaven, we both loved the mountain and we found the people to be friendly. It also appeared to have a nice community feel. Our only concerns are the town and the winter. The town seems nice enough but it is so far away from a larger town I am not sure this would be enough for me (it doesn't bother the OH - he'll be on the rivers anyway!) and the winters seem long and extremely cold. Are our first impressions right or can anyone add to them?

I also should have pointed out the business will not be reliant on having customers as we can work remotely.

Thanks again for everyone's input.
Becky

Hi Becky,

No, I don't mean that people aren't friendly in small towns. Certainly that's not an issue. I'm referring to the (potential) like-mindedness of your neighbours. Religious beliefs. Political beliefs. Lifestyles. Having similar values. That kind of thing.

I only bring this up because many British Expats on this forum that move to small BC communities for the rural lifestyle often cite they have a hard time fitting into the community, not because the locals are unfriendly, but because they have little in common beyond the superficial friendliness.

Another thing to consider with small town communities in BC, depending on where you go, typically revolve around resource economies - forestry, fishing, mining, oil, etc. It can truly be hinterland living, depending on where you go.

That's all I'm trying to convey.

We live in North Vancouver and love it!! like you we both ski (well snowboard actually) 5-10 min drive to all 3 mountains. We live right by the Seymour demonstration forest too so have loads of biking/walking trails right on our door step, feels rural even though its not really, just much more green, loads of trees etc. I'm sure the fishing is good too.
We will be starting a family in the next year or so and if we can afford it we will defiantly be staying on the north shore.

I've lived rurally, in Ontario, not BC but I can't think it's very different. I liked it and expect to live rurally again but, in my view, it's completely incompatible with a desire to "get involved and be part of a community". People live in the country because they farm, because they belong to a persecuted minority or because they want to get away from people.

Farmers are busy all the time and fear outsiders, they don't socialise much and anyway are related to enough locals not to have to mingle with anyone who has a different eye colour. Mennonites, Hutterites, polygamists deal with people outside their compounds only for trade. The one thing you can say is that people in the country, who are not part of the local inbreeding, are likely to mingle with members of groups they'd avoid in the city simply due to the general lack of people. Militiamen and gay couples do come together to fight windmills or gravel pits or whatever other blight is being threatened.

Something to consider is that rural Canada is very different to rural England. There's no internet to speak of, the power's unreliable and it's not uncommon to be trapped on the property for 24 hours because of falling snow. It can be a bit brutal.

Hi again,

Thanks, Lychee, I can see what you mean. Thank you for explaining it a bit further. It is a real consideration for me.

dbd33 - That was an interesting post. When you consider rural living would you class living somewhere like the town of Smithers in the same way? E.g the type of people, the access to internet, etc?

We have no idea of the reality of living in rural Canada (other than it will be vastly different from anywhere we have lived before) so it is good to hear people's thoughts. If anyone else has any thoughts on this please let me know.

Stacey - You make North Van sound great. Do you think there is a community feel to it, or is it just like living in an extension of a large city? How do you feel about raising a family there? Do you know if the schools/childcare/other playgroups are good? The major issue is the cost of housing. We really would like to live in a family home but I am not sure we could afford it in North Van. Would you say that other costs are higher than elsewhere or is the major concern housing?

Too many choices.
Thanks again everyone. Thanks for letting me pick your brains.
Becky