Hi everybody,

we're currently going through visa process and are looking at Kitsilano to settle in when everything's done and was hoping somebody here on BE would be able to tell me their experiences of moving there?

We stayed there with friends in 2009 for a couple of weeks and thought it was great hence the app (we also travelled to Calgary, Jasper, Victoria and Whistler)

My OH is 33, I'm 27 and we have two daughters, aged 3 1/2 and 5 months.
I'm interested to know about housing with families, I've looked online quite a bit and it seems that we could get a 2 bed apartment from about $1250 p/m

Has anyone any tips or know of particular co-op residents that allow children that we can keep a look out for especially when we're closer to getting there (waiting for meds go-ahead)

Thank you in advance, Lynsey

hi an old Kits resident who eventually fled to the North Shore for more bang for my buck. I loved living there. Great area, tons of bars and eateries, lots of stores etc, great access to the beachs (spanish banks, Kits Beach and Lorcano), Granville Island, Vanier Park, close to the upper market stores and galleries of south granville. It is also very close to downtown (6 dollar cab ride). lots of great parks for the kids etc. Great mixed community with all types in the area.

Downside is cost. housing is very expensive. 1250 for a two bed may be possible, but is on the lower end.the area is also very popular so expect lots of competition for decent priced rentals. 3 Beds are virtually non-existant and tend to be a bit rare (not including houses of course). For better deals on rentals check out homes with basement suites, which tend to be cheaper, have access to a yard, and include most bills. As an aside, rent here includes most bills and no council taxes so bear that in mind.

Check out Craigs List for a good idea of what is available for rent (and some great deals on used furniture etc);

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/se...Ask=&bedrooms=

http://www.kitsilano.ca/

Ducktastic has just moved to Kits - she should be along at some point to give you some info


I am E Van - dahn in the hood !

Hello Hello
Yep we emigrated to Vancouver on 28th November 2010, from Cheltenham in the UK and went straight to Kits. We knew the area and liked the Kits vibe, and also thought it would be a good base for most places for work. We don't have small children, daughter is 20 years old, so can't offer advice there, but some others on here may be able to.

We love it here, I could ramble on, but thought I would just write a pro's and cons list. If you need specifics feel free to PM me.

Pros:

- Overall a lovely safe neighbourhood
- Peaceful
- Pretty
- Low crime
- Sociable
- Very family/yummy mummy orientated
- Heritage style houses
- Right by the seawall, so beautiful walks/views/bike routes
- Fantastic shops, cafes, bars, restaurants, deli's and a few good Safeways, plus a cheap No Frills supermarket on 4th and Alma for bulk and basics. You can get everything you need, food, clothes, toiletries, post offices, banks, doctors locally (this is the same for all areas though!)
- Easy for getting downtown if you so wish (10 mins drive). - Loads of bus routes that go around the area and also straight to down town
- Very close to Vancouver hospital (important with small kids I think)
- 30 mins drive from the airport
- 5 min drive to get to Granville Island (40 min walk for us)
- As I said, we don't have small chidren, but no shortage of things to do with them, here is a link I found that may give you some more info: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/weeke...kitsilano.html

Cons -

- Bloody expensive housing. To give you an idea, we pay $1700 a month for a furnished 1095 sq ft (living space) townhouse (no stairs though, so an apartment really, but is the top half of a house). We have 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. I would not want anything smaller for 2 adults, let alone with 2 kids. We are now looking for an unfurnished 3 bed place as our container has arrived, and as Dboy said, they are like rocking horse s**t to come by and the cheapest we have seen so far is $2400 a month (and it was hideous, we felt like we needed a shower after the viewing!)
- On the subject of housing, we would not buy here...well unless we want to pay $1mil for a half duplex So as per Dboy at some point over the next few years we will have to leave the area to buy.
- Too much sodding yoga!! (just my opinion, apologies if you are into the bendy chanty stuff!)

That is it for Cons!

So in a nut shell, great place to live, very family friendly but you need deep pockets to get a place to live with enough space for all of you to not drive each other crazy!

You do live somewhere that thinks lulu lemon is haute couture - you shouldn't be surprised.

ooh sneaky edit! Nope not surprised, just tolerated

Most Co-ops will allow children..but they have waiting lists..If you persevere and see a nice co-op when driving around ask one of the residents where to apply..rather than online apps.....Kitsilano is a trendy area so you will pay a premium to live there...There will be other nice cheaper areas to live as you drive around......Kits does not appeal to me but thats my opinion and the parking is horrendous...............

Thank you everybody for all the info,

I'm going to check out the websites you've suggested DBoy, it's really great to get pointers from somebody that's spent a lot of time (& money!) there.

We know that going from 3bed house to small flat's going to be difficult with two small children, but as we aren't going to know many people (we do know a family who moved there a few years ago) we were weighing up the social aspect- for me being close to everything to make friends and go to playgroups etc as well as all the ameneties listed by Ducktastic (yoga and I don't mix....I fell asleep in the class I tried).

Even though moving to Canada is what we absolutely want to do we know it will take a bit of time to adjust....

We were hoping that once we'd settled in a bit and found our feet we could then look to moving a bit further out.

And the list of pro's and cons Ducktastic I think I'll print off and show my mum!

Thank you again everybody,
Lynsey

It can get pretty noisy in the summer, especially at night around the Kings Head and the beach area.

I think the idea of renting first before making the commitment to buy is a very good idea. Buying, selling and moving costs a lot of money.

The only flaw is that if you will start putting roots down in Kits. If you and the children start making friends in the area you won't want to move again to somewhere new. And you'll be putting roots down in an area where the crappiest house will cost over $1M.

Hubby thinks we'll be able to stick 6 months crammed into 1bed apartment with us on a sofabed while we settle in.....I'm not so sure....

If by chance we ended up near the Kings Head I'm sure we could give 'em a run for their money (it'd probably be me screaming, LOL)

very small space + 2 children = stressed mummy

Nope I'm not so sure either!! The one thing I will say, and not to teach you to suck eggs and all that, so please don't take offence, is that you will be in a strange country, you won't know hardly anyone, you will be in rented accommodation with someone else's things around you, trying to start some kind of normal life, and it is a real test at the beginning, to put the 4 of you in a one bed apartment could be the extra pressure you don't need...

On the positive having the children will help you settle in quicker as you will be joining lots of groups and meeting other mums

Not done a summer here yet so can't comment on the noise, but we are a few blocks from the beach.

I 100% agree with this. Was trying to think of how to put it without sounding neggy,but this is the big drawback to Kits imo. Totally fine if you're happy to eventually buy a 900 sq ft condo (I know young families that have) and live in that, but, I have to ask, have you considered an area with more affordable rentals/homes/the same amenities? Commercial Drive springs to mind and there are lots of other options (Newport Village/Port Moody, burnaby heights, etc). Honestly you will find family drop-ins all over Vancouver, Burnaby , North Van etc...no one area has the market on family friendly in the lower mainland - it's easy to find and access stuff like that. Avoid totally car-orientated suburbs (i.e. not much walking distance from house) and you should be fine.

I agree.

I'm sorry for agreeing cos I don't want to rain in your parade either!

Hi JonboyE,

you definitely have some good points there, I think that we've spent so long getting to this point that the furthest we've envisaged ourselves is landing and setting up home immediately rather than long term.

The concerns we had of finding somewhere not quite so much in the thick of it all is of my being isolated-we'd only be able to afford one car which hubby would need and I'm pretty sociable and would go stir crazy if I wasn't doing lots of socialising with the children.

Here in the Uk I go to lots of playgroups etc, and as I wouldn't be going out to work (until kids in full time education) I wouldn't be meeting people, or making friends in the same way if I were at work.

That said however, we are definitely up for looking at all options available!