Cabin living
May 26th 2021, 1:18 am
#16
Account Closed
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: Cabin living
Not really frightening no, the downside of the city is a little sketchy, like a mini DTES with the same issues as Vancouver but a smaller scale, religious folks can be bothersome and there is a cafe/deli that is run by a cult.
The area the house in the link is located is 15-20km outside the city up Chilliwack Lake Rd, so you don't have the city problems, and I believe if I recall correctly, its also outside the city limits, its far enough out where its quiet and not much going on, but close enough to where you can access doctors, stores, and most of your needs without being hours away from a city.
Downside Chilliwack isn't a city of opportunity, a lot of people commute west to Abbotsford, Langely, Surrey, Burnaby, Vancouver and such, and highway 1 between Chilliwack and Langley sucks, just 2 lanes, one accident can result in hours long delays, and accidents especially in the Abby to Langley section are fairly common even though its completely straight highway, but people drive too fast, too close and too much volume for 2 lanes.
I wouldn't recommend living that far east if you need to commute, transit is available but slow and very limited and requires 2 different transit agencies and takes like 3 hours to get to Vancouver, so not exactly a viable method of commute.
This guy lives on a corner in the iffy side of the city, if you want a bit of insight to what the iffy side is like.
Oh yeah in spring into summer it also stinks, the farms spray chicken crap on the fields and so on warm summer days, its can get rather stinky, and air quality can be poor as the winds blow the pollution from Vancouver and region east and then it gets stuck in the valley, Hope can be really bad air quality in summer as well.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfc...Slx2UCA/videos
It's one of those city's you either love or hate, some live there simply because it was the only place they could buy a house, but houses have gotten pricey there too.
The area the house in the link is located is 15-20km outside the city up Chilliwack Lake Rd, so you don't have the city problems, and I believe if I recall correctly, its also outside the city limits, its far enough out where its quiet and not much going on, but close enough to where you can access doctors, stores, and most of your needs without being hours away from a city.
Downside Chilliwack isn't a city of opportunity, a lot of people commute west to Abbotsford, Langely, Surrey, Burnaby, Vancouver and such, and highway 1 between Chilliwack and Langley sucks, just 2 lanes, one accident can result in hours long delays, and accidents especially in the Abby to Langley section are fairly common even though its completely straight highway, but people drive too fast, too close and too much volume for 2 lanes.
I wouldn't recommend living that far east if you need to commute, transit is available but slow and very limited and requires 2 different transit agencies and takes like 3 hours to get to Vancouver, so not exactly a viable method of commute.
This guy lives on a corner in the iffy side of the city, if you want a bit of insight to what the iffy side is like.
Oh yeah in spring into summer it also stinks, the farms spray chicken crap on the fields and so on warm summer days, its can get rather stinky, and air quality can be poor as the winds blow the pollution from Vancouver and region east and then it gets stuck in the valley, Hope can be really bad air quality in summer as well.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfc...Slx2UCA/videos
It's one of those city's you either love or hate, some live there simply because it was the only place they could buy a house, but houses have gotten pricey there too.
Is Chilliwack a frightening place (for people)? Perhaps because of gangs, or religionists, or meth labs? I wonder at the agent's
"This may be the best property offering in the Chilliwack market today."
It wouldn't be the best property offering if it was in Detroit so I suppose Chilliwack is somehow worse.
That property is currently frightening for horses, all that barbed wire would have to be replaced before moving there. If it's needed to keep people out, like at a junkyard, then a horse fence is needed 3' inside it.
"This may be the best property offering in the Chilliwack market today."
It wouldn't be the best property offering if it was in Detroit so I suppose Chilliwack is somehow worse.
That property is currently frightening for horses, all that barbed wire would have to be replaced before moving there. If it's needed to keep people out, like at a junkyard, then a horse fence is needed 3' inside it.
Last edited by scrubbedexpat091; May 26th 2021 at 1:26 am.
May 26th 2021, 2:11 am
#17
Assimilated Pauper
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Ontario
Posts: 40,018
Re: Cabin living
Not really frightening no, the downside of the city is a little sketchy, like a mini DTES with the same issues as Vancouver but a smaller scale, religious folks can be bothersome and there is a cafe/deli that is run by a cult.
The area the house in the link is located is 15-20km outside the city up Chilliwack Lake Rd, so you don't have the city problems, and I believe if I recall correctly, its also outside the city limits, its far enough out where its quiet and not much going on, but close enough to where you can access doctors, stores, and most of your needs without being hours away from a city.
Downside Chilliwack isn't a city of opportunity, a lot of people commute west to Abbotsford, Langely, Surrey, Burnaby, Vancouver and such, and highway 1 between Chilliwack and Langley sucks, just 2 lanes, one accident can result in hours long delays, and accidents especially in the Abby to Langley section are fairly common even though its completely straight highway, but people drive too fast, too close and too much volume for 2 lanes.
I wouldn't recommend living that far east if you need to commute, transit is available but slow and very limited and requires 2 different transit agencies and takes like 3 hours to get to Vancouver, so not exactly a viable method of commute.
This guy lives on a corner in the iffy side of the city, if you want a bit of insight to what the iffy side is like.
Oh yeah in spring into summer it also stinks, the farms spray chicken crap on the fields and so on warm summer days, its can get rather stinky, and air quality can be poor as the winds blow the pollution from Vancouver and region east and then it gets stuck in the valley, Hope can be really bad air quality in summer as well.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfc...Slx2UCA/videos
It's one of those city's you either love or hate, some live there simply because it was the only place they could buy a house, but houses have gotten pricey there too.
The area the house in the link is located is 15-20km outside the city up Chilliwack Lake Rd, so you don't have the city problems, and I believe if I recall correctly, its also outside the city limits, its far enough out where its quiet and not much going on, but close enough to where you can access doctors, stores, and most of your needs without being hours away from a city.
Downside Chilliwack isn't a city of opportunity, a lot of people commute west to Abbotsford, Langely, Surrey, Burnaby, Vancouver and such, and highway 1 between Chilliwack and Langley sucks, just 2 lanes, one accident can result in hours long delays, and accidents especially in the Abby to Langley section are fairly common even though its completely straight highway, but people drive too fast, too close and too much volume for 2 lanes.
I wouldn't recommend living that far east if you need to commute, transit is available but slow and very limited and requires 2 different transit agencies and takes like 3 hours to get to Vancouver, so not exactly a viable method of commute.
This guy lives on a corner in the iffy side of the city, if you want a bit of insight to what the iffy side is like.
Oh yeah in spring into summer it also stinks, the farms spray chicken crap on the fields and so on warm summer days, its can get rather stinky, and air quality can be poor as the winds blow the pollution from Vancouver and region east and then it gets stuck in the valley, Hope can be really bad air quality in summer as well.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfc...Slx2UCA/videos
It's one of those city's you either love or hate, some live there simply because it was the only place they could buy a house, but houses have gotten pricey there too.
Thanks for the local knowledge, I'd forgotten about the air quality (or lack thereof) in the Vancouver area.
May 26th 2021, 2:15 am
#18
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2013
Location: BC, Canada
Posts: 3,874
Re: Cabin living
Yep .... people who move out into the country have to accept farm and agriculture smells. There is little point in moving there, then complaining about the smell.
Like the old pulp mill smells ....... it's the smell of money.
Like the old pulp mill smells ....... it's the smell of money.
May 26th 2021, 1:33 pm
#19
pas d'ici
Joined: May 2020
Location: Land of flaming maples
Posts: 55
Re: Cabin living
That Chilliwack house looks like it is possibly better than ours , more space, a bath tub and a new roof (sort of). Uglier than ours mind and that's saying something.
Just look at the view, though !!!! We look over to our local mount, which is lovely, but that view is something else. Absolutely gorgeous. I would pay a bit for that.
We also have more acres here and paid a more affordable $270,000 for our property.
Hey Jack, do you want to buy our place ?!? (I realise I wasn’t quite selling it there )
This is all very depressing……these prices.
Just look at the view, though !!!! We look over to our local mount, which is lovely, but that view is something else. Absolutely gorgeous. I would pay a bit for that.
We also have more acres here and paid a more affordable $270,000 for our property.
Hey Jack, do you want to buy our place ?!? (I realise I wasn’t quite selling it there )
This is all very depressing……these prices.
May 26th 2021, 1:53 pm
#20
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 6,148
Re: Cabin living
That Chilliwack house looks like it is possibly better than ours , more space, a bath tub and a new roof (sort of). Uglier than ours mind and that's saying something.
Just look at the view, though !!!! We look over to our local mount, which is lovely, but that view is something else. Absolutely gorgeous. I would pay a bit for that.
We also have more acres here and paid a more affordable $270,000 for our property.
Hey Jack, do you want to buy our place ?!? (I realise I wasn’t quite selling it there )
This is all very depressing……these prices.
Just look at the view, though !!!! We look over to our local mount, which is lovely, but that view is something else. Absolutely gorgeous. I would pay a bit for that.
We also have more acres here and paid a more affordable $270,000 for our property.
Hey Jack, do you want to buy our place ?!? (I realise I wasn’t quite selling it there )
This is all very depressing……these prices.
and you would be looking to the main road. Then it seems the sun would be blocked most of the day which would be another huge disadvantage.
May 26th 2021, 4:04 pm
#21
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Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 105
Re: Cabin living
That nice Mr Musk has your back...https://www.starlink.com/
May 26th 2021, 4:07 pm
#22
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Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 105
Re: Cabin living
May 26th 2021, 4:09 pm
#23
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Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 105
Re: Cabin living
We went for quiet and isolation, 20 acres with 3 bedroom decrepit house 60 km from the nearest town of any size (ca 5,000 people). No services. It would have cost us around $1,000 per km to have the telephone wire extended from a "major" gravel road 6 km away to the edge of our prop0erty, and then extra to have it installed in the house. That was around 1997/8, so much more probably now.
No electricity, so we relied on a generator ..... if we had lived there permanently, we could have obtained a huge generator for around $5,000-10,000 or so that would rune lighting, fridge, range, etc.
If you tour around, you will also see that most "remote" places have outside lights burning around the house all night. We found evidence that the first owners of our property, who tried to run a small farm, had tried to install outside lighting. Protection from human and animal investigations.
We sold it for $20,000 more than we paid for it, and it was sold again 2 years later for even more.
Acreages closer to town were selling for $1 million plus back around 2000.
You've really missed the boat for really cheap land, especially after covid has encouraged lots of people to move away from cities.
Don't forget a lot of land in BC is Crown land, as much if not more is First Nations land, and you cannot just move onto either. Crown land has to be accepted for separation and division for sale.
As for safe and quiet ....... quiet will be anywhere more than 20 kms from any village or small town ... except for wild life noises and visits. We had a resident bear on our property, and a bobcat that patronised us. Not forgetting deer, birds, etc etc. We never saw a wolf, but they were around.
Safe ........ from what??
Our place was broken into 3 times. The first was during the first winter ....... it is accepted in isolated areas that someone lost or caught in a snow storm or other emergency may break into an unoccupied cabin/house for shelter, as long as they do no damage. It is also acceptable that they may light a fire to keep warm, and take food if necessary. The guy that broke into our house left everything neat and tidy, tried to light a fire in the unusable wood stove (the chimney pipe had a great hole in it), and we had not left any tinned food behind.
The other 2 break-ins were done at the end of our last 2 winters there, and it looked as if someone was trying to furnish their cabin .......... some tatty cheap carpet runners went, solar lights, etc, along with OH's hiking boots and our wellies. They didn't take any furniture, no tins of food/pans/etc.
Drugs are everywhere, more in sight in some places than others. There are the usual "young thugs". and young'uns on a spree.
If you go too far, you won't have any real service from the RCMP, at least not in a hurry, no doctor/dentists/optician, no fire service, no ambulance service, satellite or radio telephone only.
We reported our last 2 break-ins to the RCMP in town (60 km away), had to provide a list of what had been stolen, which really amused the Corporal when he saw what had gone, and left with "we'll try to keep an eye on it WHEN we go out that way."
It seemed to us that about 20-30 km was the limit for services such as fire and ambulance ..... and they are usually volunteer.
I can think of some nice areas ............. up in the Bulkley Valley around Smithers (pop. ca 5,000), and its neighbour Telkwa, around Terrace (maybe), maybe around Prince George.
The Okanagan is hot, and property more expensive.
The problem is to find land that is available for sale at a reasonable price. That almost certainly is not in the Lower Mainland.
Do be aware also that in BC it is all but impossible to get a mortgage for what is classed as recreational property, and that is most of the smaller acreages around. Lots classified as farm or ranch cost more per acre, and you would have to get permission if you wanted to take it out of production.
It is also all but impossible to get insurance for places such as we had, so all repairs etc have to paid for by the owner.
No electricity, so we relied on a generator ..... if we had lived there permanently, we could have obtained a huge generator for around $5,000-10,000 or so that would rune lighting, fridge, range, etc.
If you tour around, you will also see that most "remote" places have outside lights burning around the house all night. We found evidence that the first owners of our property, who tried to run a small farm, had tried to install outside lighting. Protection from human and animal investigations.
We sold it for $20,000 more than we paid for it, and it was sold again 2 years later for even more.
Acreages closer to town were selling for $1 million plus back around 2000.
You've really missed the boat for really cheap land, especially after covid has encouraged lots of people to move away from cities.
Don't forget a lot of land in BC is Crown land, as much if not more is First Nations land, and you cannot just move onto either. Crown land has to be accepted for separation and division for sale.
As for safe and quiet ....... quiet will be anywhere more than 20 kms from any village or small town ... except for wild life noises and visits. We had a resident bear on our property, and a bobcat that patronised us. Not forgetting deer, birds, etc etc. We never saw a wolf, but they were around.
Safe ........ from what??
Our place was broken into 3 times. The first was during the first winter ....... it is accepted in isolated areas that someone lost or caught in a snow storm or other emergency may break into an unoccupied cabin/house for shelter, as long as they do no damage. It is also acceptable that they may light a fire to keep warm, and take food if necessary. The guy that broke into our house left everything neat and tidy, tried to light a fire in the unusable wood stove (the chimney pipe had a great hole in it), and we had not left any tinned food behind.
The other 2 break-ins were done at the end of our last 2 winters there, and it looked as if someone was trying to furnish their cabin .......... some tatty cheap carpet runners went, solar lights, etc, along with OH's hiking boots and our wellies. They didn't take any furniture, no tins of food/pans/etc.
Drugs are everywhere, more in sight in some places than others. There are the usual "young thugs". and young'uns on a spree.
If you go too far, you won't have any real service from the RCMP, at least not in a hurry, no doctor/dentists/optician, no fire service, no ambulance service, satellite or radio telephone only.
We reported our last 2 break-ins to the RCMP in town (60 km away), had to provide a list of what had been stolen, which really amused the Corporal when he saw what had gone, and left with "we'll try to keep an eye on it WHEN we go out that way."
It seemed to us that about 20-30 km was the limit for services such as fire and ambulance ..... and they are usually volunteer.
I can think of some nice areas ............. up in the Bulkley Valley around Smithers (pop. ca 5,000), and its neighbour Telkwa, around Terrace (maybe), maybe around Prince George.
The Okanagan is hot, and property more expensive.
The problem is to find land that is available for sale at a reasonable price. That almost certainly is not in the Lower Mainland.
Do be aware also that in BC it is all but impossible to get a mortgage for what is classed as recreational property, and that is most of the smaller acreages around. Lots classified as farm or ranch cost more per acre, and you would have to get permission if you wanted to take it out of production.
It is also all but impossible to get insurance for places such as we had, so all repairs etc have to paid for by the owner.
May 26th 2021, 4:11 pm
#24
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 105
Re: Cabin living
That Chilliwack house looks like it is possibly better than ours , more space, a bath tub and a new roof (sort of). Uglier than ours mind and that's saying something.
Just look at the view, though !!!! We look over to our local mount, which is lovely, but that view is something else. Absolutely gorgeous. I would pay a bit for that.
We also have more acres here and paid a more affordable $270,000 for our property.
Hey Jack, do you want to buy our place ?!? (I realise I wasn’t quite selling it there )
This is all very depressing……these prices.
Just look at the view, though !!!! We look over to our local mount, which is lovely, but that view is something else. Absolutely gorgeous. I would pay a bit for that.
We also have more acres here and paid a more affordable $270,000 for our property.
Hey Jack, do you want to buy our place ?!? (I realise I wasn’t quite selling it there )
This is all very depressing……these prices.
Agree prices are depressing and dbd33's point about ongoing maintenance is also pertinent
May 26th 2021, 4:13 pm
#25
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 105
Re: Cabin living
Not really frightening no, the downside of the city is a little sketchy, like a mini DTES with the same issues as Vancouver but a smaller scale, religious folks can be bothersome and there is a cafe/deli that is run by a cult.
The area the house in the link is located is 15-20km outside the city up Chilliwack Lake Rd, so you don't have the city problems, and I believe if I recall correctly, its also outside the city limits, its far enough out where its quiet and not much going on, but close enough to where you can access doctors, stores, and most of your needs without being hours away from a city.
Downside Chilliwack isn't a city of opportunity, a lot of people commute west to Abbotsford, Langely, Surrey, Burnaby, Vancouver and such, and highway 1 between Chilliwack and Langley sucks, just 2 lanes, one accident can result in hours long delays, and accidents especially in the Abby to Langley section are fairly common even though its completely straight highway, but people drive too fast, too close and too much volume for 2 lanes.
I wouldn't recommend living that far east if you need to commute, transit is available but slow and very limited and requires 2 different transit agencies and takes like 3 hours to get to Vancouver, so not exactly a viable method of commute.
This guy lives on a corner in the iffy side of the city, if you want a bit of insight to what the iffy side is like.
Oh yeah in spring into summer it also stinks, the farms spray chicken crap on the fields and so on warm summer days, its can get rather stinky, and air quality can be poor as the winds blow the pollution from Vancouver and region east and then it gets stuck in the valley, Hope can be really bad air quality in summer as well.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfc...Slx2UCA/videos
It's one of those city's you either love or hate, some live there simply because it was the only place they could buy a house, but houses have gotten pricey there too.
The area the house in the link is located is 15-20km outside the city up Chilliwack Lake Rd, so you don't have the city problems, and I believe if I recall correctly, its also outside the city limits, its far enough out where its quiet and not much going on, but close enough to where you can access doctors, stores, and most of your needs without being hours away from a city.
Downside Chilliwack isn't a city of opportunity, a lot of people commute west to Abbotsford, Langely, Surrey, Burnaby, Vancouver and such, and highway 1 between Chilliwack and Langley sucks, just 2 lanes, one accident can result in hours long delays, and accidents especially in the Abby to Langley section are fairly common even though its completely straight highway, but people drive too fast, too close and too much volume for 2 lanes.
I wouldn't recommend living that far east if you need to commute, transit is available but slow and very limited and requires 2 different transit agencies and takes like 3 hours to get to Vancouver, so not exactly a viable method of commute.
This guy lives on a corner in the iffy side of the city, if you want a bit of insight to what the iffy side is like.
Oh yeah in spring into summer it also stinks, the farms spray chicken crap on the fields and so on warm summer days, its can get rather stinky, and air quality can be poor as the winds blow the pollution from Vancouver and region east and then it gets stuck in the valley, Hope can be really bad air quality in summer as well.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfc...Slx2UCA/videos
It's one of those city's you either love or hate, some live there simply because it was the only place they could buy a house, but houses have gotten pricey there too.
But this is what I mean by looking at areas. It's hard to discern without having some local knowledge IMO
May 26th 2021, 5:25 pm
#26
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2013
Location: BC, Canada
Posts: 3,874
Re: Cabin living
[QUOTE=jackinthetree;13010797]May I ask whereabouts and how you found it? haha
Agree prices are depressing and dbd33's point about ongoing maintenance is also pertinent[/QUOTE]
Re this ................ we only used our place as recreation, and so spent only what we could afford on maintenance, otherwise we would have built a new house on a much better site with a better view, and installed proper sewage field, had test digs done (or brought in a dowser) to see if there was better water for a well, etc etc etc. Back around 2000 that would probably have cost us in the range of $200,000 at least.
The first thing we had to do was have a completely new roof, then we had to have 2 separate outside walls replaced (in different years), several new windows, an inner wall removed and replaced ......... that was tricky, it was a supporting wall but ants had got into it. We had a backhoe driver come in and dig a trench from the cabin down to the stream, and a contractor to install piping from there back to the house and install a tank and piping so we had running water, if the generator worked so that water could be pumped up into the tank. That was all done by different small contractors.
We had the previous owner strip all the interior walls back to the studs, and clear out the attic which was a lovely task for him, NOT. There was a 12 foot long pack rat (aka bushy-tailed wood rat) nest up there made out of plant material. Apparently it took 2 pick-up loads to get rid of it all. We then bought and installed new pink batts, gyprock on all walls and ceilings, added panelling in 2 rooms and painted everywhere else. We bought the pink batting, gyprock and panelling in small amounts, enough to do 1 or 2 rooms at a time. It all had to be delivered by large truck from the lumber place ........... fun to watch the driver navigating the narrow road to our place and the trick turn into and out of the farm gate. The driver would place it on a flat area close to the cabin, then we had to lug it inside.
Everything literally included "travel charges" in addition to the actual cost ............. in a couple of cases travel was 100 km each way.
We kept all receipts, and after we sold the house for that extra $20,000 handed everything over to our financial man for the next tax year. The property was our second residence, so was subject to capital gains ......... we made a loss on the sale after all the necessary "maintenance" was added in
We had a lot of fun though, and it was "play money" in a sense, as the money we used to buy the place was from a legacy from OH's mother.
I should mention that the etiquette regarding breaking into a cabin for shelter seems to be peculiar to places in the north, where winter conditions can be bitter, and they would not break into an inhabited cabin ...... they would knock at the door and ask for help!
"North" in BC really begins a a lot of respects north of Hope .......... we were 800 kms north of Vancouver, which is much less than half way up the province. I had a max/min thermometer at the cabin which kept the lowest and highest temperature until it was reset. . The lowest temperature recorded over was at -40C** (the lowest mark possible on the thermometer was -42C), and the highest was close to +40C. Most commonly the lowest winter temperature recorded was around -30 to -36C, and the highest was around +32C.
** actually this is a guess because the thermometer broke over winter about 2 years before we sold the place, and it was stuck at -40C, that was the 3rd time that low was recorded.
Combine this with anywhere from 5 to 10 feet of snow ................ if you lived there you would need a pick-up truck that would take a snow clearing extension.
Agree prices are depressing and dbd33's point about ongoing maintenance is also pertinent[/QUOTE]
Re this ................ we only used our place as recreation, and so spent only what we could afford on maintenance, otherwise we would have built a new house on a much better site with a better view, and installed proper sewage field, had test digs done (or brought in a dowser) to see if there was better water for a well, etc etc etc. Back around 2000 that would probably have cost us in the range of $200,000 at least.
The first thing we had to do was have a completely new roof, then we had to have 2 separate outside walls replaced (in different years), several new windows, an inner wall removed and replaced ......... that was tricky, it was a supporting wall but ants had got into it. We had a backhoe driver come in and dig a trench from the cabin down to the stream, and a contractor to install piping from there back to the house and install a tank and piping so we had running water, if the generator worked so that water could be pumped up into the tank. That was all done by different small contractors.
We had the previous owner strip all the interior walls back to the studs, and clear out the attic which was a lovely task for him, NOT. There was a 12 foot long pack rat (aka bushy-tailed wood rat) nest up there made out of plant material. Apparently it took 2 pick-up loads to get rid of it all. We then bought and installed new pink batts, gyprock on all walls and ceilings, added panelling in 2 rooms and painted everywhere else. We bought the pink batting, gyprock and panelling in small amounts, enough to do 1 or 2 rooms at a time. It all had to be delivered by large truck from the lumber place ........... fun to watch the driver navigating the narrow road to our place and the trick turn into and out of the farm gate. The driver would place it on a flat area close to the cabin, then we had to lug it inside.
Everything literally included "travel charges" in addition to the actual cost ............. in a couple of cases travel was 100 km each way.
We kept all receipts, and after we sold the house for that extra $20,000 handed everything over to our financial man for the next tax year. The property was our second residence, so was subject to capital gains ......... we made a loss on the sale after all the necessary "maintenance" was added in
We had a lot of fun though, and it was "play money" in a sense, as the money we used to buy the place was from a legacy from OH's mother.
I should mention that the etiquette regarding breaking into a cabin for shelter seems to be peculiar to places in the north, where winter conditions can be bitter, and they would not break into an inhabited cabin ...... they would knock at the door and ask for help!
"North" in BC really begins a a lot of respects north of Hope .......... we were 800 kms north of Vancouver, which is much less than half way up the province. I had a max/min thermometer at the cabin which kept the lowest and highest temperature until it was reset. . The lowest temperature recorded over was at -40C** (the lowest mark possible on the thermometer was -42C), and the highest was close to +40C. Most commonly the lowest winter temperature recorded was around -30 to -36C, and the highest was around +32C.
** actually this is a guess because the thermometer broke over winter about 2 years before we sold the place, and it was stuck at -40C, that was the 3rd time that low was recorded.
Combine this with anywhere from 5 to 10 feet of snow ................ if you lived there you would need a pick-up truck that would take a snow clearing extension.
May 26th 2021, 5:56 pm
#27
pas d'ici
Joined: May 2020
Location: Land of flaming maples
Posts: 55
Re: Cabin living
I live in Quebec, so that might require an adjustment to the climate. It’s +35C in the sun today and will go to -ve those degrees a few times most winters.
It is pretty here and generally well served and if you are up for the language challenge, then I’m sure it would be fine in that respect. Handily close to the US border too. It didn’t work for me with the whole French thing (and other personal issues), but other immigrants seem to do alright here (probably)
I love our bit of land though and wish I could just move it elsewhere. I found the place by chance when I spent a couple of weeks here to check the general area out after it had been recommended to my husband by work colleagues as being a more anglophone area (yeah right). There wasn’t much property available at the time and I needed to get out of rentals and the noisy city, so minimal research and investigation of the area was done before buying the place. It was the only house I looked round. Not my usual modus operandi, and I’m not sure I could recommend that approach.
So now I face the same issues as you in my next move.
I don’t know what we can get for this place now, and it will require additional input to build new (recommended) or update the existing house, but it certainly won’t cost anywhere near a million CAD. Make us an offer ?…?
It is pretty here and generally well served and if you are up for the language challenge, then I’m sure it would be fine in that respect. Handily close to the US border too. It didn’t work for me with the whole French thing (and other personal issues), but other immigrants seem to do alright here (probably)
I love our bit of land though and wish I could just move it elsewhere. I found the place by chance when I spent a couple of weeks here to check the general area out after it had been recommended to my husband by work colleagues as being a more anglophone area (yeah right). There wasn’t much property available at the time and I needed to get out of rentals and the noisy city, so minimal research and investigation of the area was done before buying the place. It was the only house I looked round. Not my usual modus operandi, and I’m not sure I could recommend that approach.
So now I face the same issues as you in my next move.
I don’t know what we can get for this place now, and it will require additional input to build new (recommended) or update the existing house, but it certainly won’t cost anywhere near a million CAD. Make us an offer ?…?
May 26th 2021, 6:05 pm
#28
Oscar nominated
Joined: Jan 2008
Location: Moncton, NB, CANADA
Posts: 50,835
......
May 26th 2021, 9:07 pm
#30
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2013
Location: BC, Canada
Posts: 3,874
Re: Cabin living
One other thing that might be worth mentioning in BC, and probably also other provinces ...................
insects! The bane of one's life out in the wild.
Blackflies ............ first time we looked at the cabin after getting the keys was in May. I came out of the cabin with blood running down from above my eyebrow. First time I'd met up with a black fly which bites ..... the female needs blood for egg development. It hurt!
Mosquitoes ....... we had at least 3 different types on the land, I used to call them the morning, lunch and dinner crew. There was about 90 minutes in mid-morning, another couple of hours in mid-afternoon and after dark when you could go out without covering all exposed places with a strong repellent, and wearing thick or impenetrable clothing. They bite but do not leaving blood seeping after. The big decision is often which to apply first .......repellent and then sun block or vice versa
Mosquitoes have recently become much more common in and around Vancouver after concerted efforts were made back in the 1960s and early 1970s to eradicate them by spraying DDT ......... which has not been allowed for many years. Plus, mosquitoes eggs can survive for 10 or more years after being laid in soft soil at the edges of lakes and rivers. If the soil becomes dry, the eggs just stay until the river or lake floods again, hatching a few days later. No such attempt was made "upcountry".
They may also carry diseases that are transferred in to your blood system ....... West Nile Disease and malaria are 2 well-known ones but are rarely, if ever, seen in Canada. About 5 years ago I developed Erysipelas at the site of a mosquito bite, and was on very strong antibiotics for several days, was lucky not to be hospitalised. I can't say definitely that the mosquito passed it to me, but it certainly appeared about 4 days after I'd got the bite
No-see-ums .......smaller than a mosquito (almost literally too small to see), make several small bites smaller than a mosquito bite but close together, and they often develop into welts.
Horseflies.
Ticks ....... carried by deer and other animals, but get transferred to grasses and other vegetation. Can be picked up on bare flesh and clothing by humans plus domestic animals. Certain species carry Lyme Disease, which has been found in BC.
Fleas.
A major parasite in BC, and probably elsewhere, is found in the water .......... it is no longer considered safe to drink water even from the clearest mountain stream in BC because of Giardiasis, or Beaver Fever. It is an intestinal parasite which has dire effects. Water intended for domestic use should be boiled for 5 minutes at a rolling boil before being used, or special filters added to the piping. I think that is usually added to the piping under the sink.
There's others, or course!! All can be serious, but you just need to know about them, and to take the necessary precautions to avoid catching them.
It also depends on how bothered you are by mosquitoes for example ..... I attract them, and come up in huge red itchy lumps that take days to disappear, while OH isn't too bothered by them.
insects! The bane of one's life out in the wild.
Blackflies ............ first time we looked at the cabin after getting the keys was in May. I came out of the cabin with blood running down from above my eyebrow. First time I'd met up with a black fly which bites ..... the female needs blood for egg development. It hurt!
Mosquitoes ....... we had at least 3 different types on the land, I used to call them the morning, lunch and dinner crew. There was about 90 minutes in mid-morning, another couple of hours in mid-afternoon and after dark when you could go out without covering all exposed places with a strong repellent, and wearing thick or impenetrable clothing. They bite but do not leaving blood seeping after. The big decision is often which to apply first .......repellent and then sun block or vice versa
Mosquitoes have recently become much more common in and around Vancouver after concerted efforts were made back in the 1960s and early 1970s to eradicate them by spraying DDT ......... which has not been allowed for many years. Plus, mosquitoes eggs can survive for 10 or more years after being laid in soft soil at the edges of lakes and rivers. If the soil becomes dry, the eggs just stay until the river or lake floods again, hatching a few days later. No such attempt was made "upcountry".
They may also carry diseases that are transferred in to your blood system ....... West Nile Disease and malaria are 2 well-known ones but are rarely, if ever, seen in Canada. About 5 years ago I developed Erysipelas at the site of a mosquito bite, and was on very strong antibiotics for several days, was lucky not to be hospitalised. I can't say definitely that the mosquito passed it to me, but it certainly appeared about 4 days after I'd got the bite
No-see-ums .......smaller than a mosquito (almost literally too small to see), make several small bites smaller than a mosquito bite but close together, and they often develop into welts.
Horseflies.
Ticks ....... carried by deer and other animals, but get transferred to grasses and other vegetation. Can be picked up on bare flesh and clothing by humans plus domestic animals. Certain species carry Lyme Disease, which has been found in BC.
Fleas.
A major parasite in BC, and probably elsewhere, is found in the water .......... it is no longer considered safe to drink water even from the clearest mountain stream in BC because of Giardiasis, or Beaver Fever. It is an intestinal parasite which has dire effects. Water intended for domestic use should be boiled for 5 minutes at a rolling boil before being used, or special filters added to the piping. I think that is usually added to the piping under the sink.
There's others, or course!! All can be serious, but you just need to know about them, and to take the necessary precautions to avoid catching them.
It also depends on how bothered you are by mosquitoes for example ..... I attract them, and come up in huge red itchy lumps that take days to disappear, while OH isn't too bothered by them.
Last edited by scilly; May 26th 2021 at 9:42 pm.