| Migration | Alberta vs. British Columbia |

[18TWolf]

Re: | Migration | Alberta vs. British Columbia |

I moved back to Vancouver about a year and a half ago. I knew what I was getting into but man... sticker shock on housing is crazy. Good luck!

[sloan]

Re: | Migration | Alberta vs. British Columbia |

I'd love to live in BC right now, but the job keeps me in calgary. I am originally from BC. If I had a choice of here or Vancouver island, take the island. Go to Parksville. I find the people in BC are easier to get a long with. Better climate, plus the ocean.

[Tiki]

Re: | Migration | Alberta vs. British Columbia |

i lived in Naniamo and kelowna, the island is an awesome place to live, But when i left businesses were going under and the economy sucked over there. Not to sure how it is now though.

[BillyJoelR]

Re: | Migration | Alberta vs. British Columbia |

I grew up in Kelowna, you don't want to move there. The traffic is horrible every time I go back, the new bridge has helped a bit but it is still bad. The cost of living there has also gone through the roof.

Traffic don't bother me too much since I gew up in the Philippines.
I migrated back in 1998.
Cost of living (taxes, houses, etc.) seems to be the main deterent against GVA.

i was born in alberta , raised in bc .5 ab .5 married a bc girl , i will tell you this the kids in bc are f'd up so if you plan on having the kids stay away form coastal bc ,this cold is only cold if you are outside man , I havent even noticed the cold after i got a nice big garage , alberta ftw , and besides hockey sucks out there lol . go oil

Go Flames Go! LOL!
I agree with the "cold" comment. Staying indoors sure makes me forget about the cold but when I have to head out, for work or such, I just get really... I hate the cold mang. hahaha.
Obviously though... I can put up with it since I've been in Calgary for approx. 13 years.

what is your skillset (+spouse/significant other) and what sectors are you looking at.

I'm originally from Vancouver, now living and working in Calgary, so i can comment on both.

Given the choice i'd be living in van (where i sit right now) but its expensive, cost of living is more than van, and jobs pay less and are harder to find

I'm a Nurse & so will the Wifey.
Talk to me regarding being much more expensive in Van or Vic.
Do you know how much Nurses make there?
Perhaps you can use a different occupation to make a comment on vs Calgary's wages.
How much do houses cost (incl. square footage & area/location)?
How much does a car & car insurance cost?
What are the taxes like?
Grocery?
etc?

There really isn't anywhere in Canada that IMO has a nice enough climate change to justify a move. Sucks across the board.

Exactly the reason why I am thinking of moving. I wish it just wasn't the weather that Vancouver has going for them.
Especially regarding cost of living & all that jazz.

I moved back to Vancouver about a year and a half ago. I knew what I was getting into but man... sticker shock on housing is crazy. Good luck!

I wanna know how much the pricing over there compares to Calgary's "good" communities such as Signal Hill, Aspen Hills, etc. etc.

[RONDAL]

Re: | Migration | Alberta vs. British Columbia |

Vancouver wages are less, taxes are more.

With PST and now HST coming into effect everything is automatically 7% more expensive, and i'd say on average (statscan might be a better source) that wages are like 15% at least less.

houses depending on the area you are looking could be on par, or slightly more. you need to compare apples to apples, and thats hard to do between cities.

Gas is more expensive by $0.10-0.15/L, insurance is 20%+ more expensive.

Funnily enough things like dentist are cheaper just because there are more of them.

To get a place in a good community over there....if you want to live on the north shore you're looking at $800,000+ to just get SOMETHING....$1mil to get a good area. Coquitlam and burnaby you're looking at like 650+ I would say. MLS would be the best place to check current prices. Obviously you will want to live near where you are working, cause commuting sucks 10x what it does here. People here complain about traffic, they have NO idea.

Vancouver has some of the best weather in Canada. I spent Christmas day on the beach, and the day before it snowboarding. where else in Canada can you legitimately do that without driving hundreds of miles.
Vancouver has some of the most diverse cultural areas in Canada as well (along with toronto). I dont want to sound bad but the prairies are uncultured. They try...but they dont get very far. Vancouver has the largest Chinatown in North America, and some of the best choices of restaurants.
Big arts community as well.


The cons are its expensive, and it rains a lot. Though when it gets sunny, you KNOW why you live there. Call me biased but I think Vancouver is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and I have lived in a few major cities around the world growing up. Nowhere else is a city and nature so closely linked. You can go hiking on the mountain, without driving an hour to get there, go to the beach, or go to whistler. The US border is an hour south, and the outlets and 1.5hrs. Vancouver island is 90min on the ferry, and the interior is 3 hours.

[BillyJoelR]

Re: | Migration | Alberta vs. British Columbia |

rondal...
Many thanks.

Looks like the decision is obvious.
Unless things change in the next 2-3 years, GVA will remain a vacation spot for me & the fam.

[stef2.7t]

Re: | Migration | Alberta vs. British Columbia |

Since I'm not a homeowner yet I'm hoping for a BubbleBust in the housing market....so I can afford VanCity Property

[RONDAL]

Re: | Migration | Alberta vs. British Columbia |

the olympics are just about to start....there are a lot of people that i believe have been holding property and will begin unloading it in 2011 there especially in the condo market. they are just hoping to cash in on that last winfall.

my brother and two different friends of his have all been given notice that their landlords will be selling their places in the next year and wont be renewing leases. this is in the yaletown area.