Author Topic: Thinking of retiring to coastal BC - suggestions, comments and feedback please  (Read 29198 times)

RetiredAt63

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TL::DR   Thinking of moving to coastal BC, suggestions please.  Details follow so anyone who wants to can respond based on some concrete information.

In the last MMM post there were comments from Kristina, Rocketpj, and KwikPete about life in BC.  They got me thinking.

We just went through a traditional winter here in southeastern Ontario (= cold and snowy), and now that it is warmer black fly season has started.  And mosquitoes, of course, time to start the heartworm meds for the dog.  Plus I am in farm country, and it seems more forests are getting cleared for fields every year.

So the thought of living somewhere where the winters are milder, the summers don't have bugs (Rocketpj, don't tell everyone or most of rural Ontario will move your way), and life is generally a bit more treed sounds nice.

So BCers, what are the areas of BC west of the Rockies where it is not too rainy (I don't want to trade cold sunny winters for gloom and more gloom), the rain is moderate (my average precipitation here is about 85cm/year, but more than half of that is winter snow, we can be quite dry in the summer), and the land formation is such that I wouldn't get nailed by heavy Pacific storms (why trade one winter nastiness for another?) or nailed by earthquakes (yeah, right) or tsunamis. 

COL - I looked on my cheap gas prices web site and BC gas is right up there with Quebec, way higher than Ontario, so I would need a place where I didn't have to do a lot of driving.  What I need - some room for gardening (I am on an acre right now, but less than that is fine, say 10,00-15,000 sq.ft.), a good library system (most of my driving right now is to the library in Ottawa), gardening clubs and spinning/weaving/knitting guilds.  Water close by is nice (this is the coast we are talking about) but I am fine with fresh-water versus salt, I don't need ocean access.  I would have about $250,000 to spend on a house.

If things sound good, my time line is not rushed - get the house in good shape over the summer (outside) and winter (rest of inside).  Put it on the market early next spring - say mid-May.  Then whenever it sells, sell most of my stuff, find a rental in my tentative new BC home, and stay there for a year at least to be sure I like it there.  If I really like the rental as well as the place, I might never bother buying.  But I would want to experience one winter before committing.

Rocketpj gave a lot of info, and the Sunshine Coast sounds really nice.  I worry a bit about the isolation (ferry or air is the only way out) but I am not commuting to work, so I don't see it as a big issue.  Parts of Vancouver Island also look very nice.

So, any suggestions about what areas to explore further?  At 63, I am OK with a community that has an older demographic (hey, more retired people for me to hang out with during the day) but that is not necessary.  I am more concerned about the library and social groups mentioned above.

I have just killed 6 mosquitoes while typing this (I'm inside, they came in last night)- so feedback please!

Cecil

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I was thinking Sunshine Coast as I started reading.

The southern Gulf islands are also nice - I'm a fan of Saltspring. It's a short ferry from Vancouver.


totoro

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The sunshine coast still gets a lot of rain and it is quite isolated in some ways. 

I would pick Penticton (13.62 inches of rain annually), or Parksville (37 inches of rain annually), in your shoes.   

Penticton has a great library with interlibrary loans and was recently voted one of the top ten places to live in the world:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/penticton-makes-top-10-best-destinations-in-world/article4085547/

Penticton gets colder than Parksville in the winter. 

Both are lovely smaller towns imo, and you can get a modest older home for under $250,000 with room to garden.   Let me know if you make the move and maybe we could meet for coffee :)

RetiredAt63

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It's odd to think that these semi-tropical areas (well, semi-tropical to me) are about the same distance north as Timmins or Val D'Or.  The Pacific coast makes all the difference.  And the Sunshine Coast as Arts&Crafts is appealing, since I am getting that way now that I have more time.

Not being familiar with the ferries, what is the difference between being dependent on ferries on the Sunshine coast, and being dependent on ferries on an island like Saltspring or Denman (where Des Kennedy wrote "Living Things we Love to Hate" ugh, huge slugs)?

Totoro, my daughter would love me to be in Penticton, she went snowboarding this year just north of there.  Do they have mosquitoes and black flies?  But maybe still a bit cold and dry for me?  Parksville looks interesting - I am guessing that towns on the east coast of Vancouver Island are more sheltered?  And less rain since they are on the lee side of the mountains?  I would fly out next summer for a look-see, so I will gladly take you up on the coffee offer.

totoro

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Saltspring is a short ferry, about 20 mins.  The other ferries are about 1.5 hours.  Very difficult if not impossible to find a house on Saltspring for under $250 000.   You can look up schedules and crossing times on BC ferries website:  http://www.bcferries.com/

If you are into arts you could also try Chemainus - town of murals and crafts.  And yes, there are areas that are sheltered from rain (rain shadow). 

Penticton has blackflies but they do not pose a huge nuisance in town - might be greater in a swampy mountain lake area.  There are some mosquitos, but it is not a huge issue unless you are near the swampy mountain lake areas.  Outdoor activities in town are not impacted to a great degree as far as I can tell.

Penticton is very dry and sunny - semi-desert.  Lots of wineries and lots of organic farms these days.  Quite a good art scene and Apex mountain is 30 minutes from town and has excellent snowboarding at a lower cost than Big White or Silver Star.  Winters can still be cold with snow.

I think the best plan is to tour the towns yourself like you are planning - let me know when.

swick

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That is a pretty tall order for coastal towns. How negotiable is being on salt water? If you are really retiring and don't have to worry about a job - I would move to Grand Forks in a heart beat.

Most sunny days per year of anywhere in BC, lots of river front property and acreages available for fairly cheap. Warmest lake in BC is a 12 minute drive. Awesome downhill skiing an hour and a half away. Extremely close to the US border. Still a small town so don't have the big city issues. Low Cost of living - especially if you can grow your own food!

RetiredAt63

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@Swick

I was heading west and you have me heading east again!  When I Google places like the Sunshine Coast, a lot of what I am looking for seems to be there.  Is it basically a large house lot that I won't find near the coast?  Or safety from natural hazards?  I do love swimming and sailing and canoeing in fresh water, I have to say the ocean would probably intimidate me, so that part is not a strong requirement. But salmon fishing . . .

Re the Okanagon Valley, Big White is in that general region, that would mean my daughter would head west reasonably often to visit me.  Oliver has a spinners and weavers guild, Penticton has a garden club, so certainly the things I am interested in are happening there.   How do people water their gardens, it doesn't look like they can depend on rainfall.  And of course no year-long gardening.

I have all those things here, though.  What I was looking for were mild winters and no black flies and mosquitoes - we had a lot of water around this spring from the snow melt, and we seem to have more of them this year. And of course if I were on the coast, I would be relatively close to Whistler, an equally strong inducement.

I know BC is a big province, so there will be a lot of regional variety.  And sometimes there are cultural differences between regions - I am from a semi-urban background, and where I am now may be agricultural, but it is the same culture as Ottawa/Montreal in many ways.  Calgary and Lethbridge are interesting places, but I don't think I would fit in there culturally, even though my father was born in Lethbridge.  So I suppose that is part of what I am wondering about, what are the regional differences that way.

BC = high gasoline prices (so things need to be mostly close to where I end up) but low electricity prices (my 2 month usage here is way under the amount where BC Hydro pops it's price up.

And eek, I just went on Realtor.ca and saw snow around a house in Westbank. However, one web site says this:Snow depths of greater than 1 cm are seen on about 35 days each year in Penticton compared with about 65 days in Toronto, 88 in Calgary, and 120 in Ottawa.  I am sure I see at least as much snow as Ottawa.

I know, lots of questions, lots for me to think about.

TGod

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Hi RetiredAt63! I'm in the Comox Valley which is a pretty great place. It's made up of 3 communities, Comox, Courtenay and Cumberland (4 actually if you count Royston).  Property wise there is tons to choose from, heritage homes in the urban areas, condos, small properties & acreages in the very near surrounding areas. We're about 10 minutes out of town, a 5 minute walk to the ocean (where we watch people catch salmon off the beach) on a .6 acre parcel. Houses aren't cheap though. Even Cumberland which is charming, but not as well maintained, is climbing steadily. But, you have the ocean, Mt Washington for skiing, close to the ferry to head to the sunshine coat and about 3 hour drive from downtown Victoria. There's a great artist community and there are local farms selling local produce any which direction you drive in starting in the spring through to the end of summer.
Weather is pretty good, this winter in particular was pretty dry, May has been beautiful. It has a pretty mild climate, all year gardening with some strategic tunneling of some of your plants. Comox in particular generally seems to have a blue sky opening around it when the surrounding area has clouds. My in-laws are in Ontario and keep bringing up the idea of moving here, especially after this past winter.
Gas prices are gas prices, they go up and down regularly. There tends to be a gas war here with Costco. Some days it's 1.29 the next day it's down to 1.13/L.
Living on the sunshine coast or on the gulf islands would be great! The one downside are the ferries and the constantly increasing fares and schedule cutbacks. If you aren't having to commute on and off the island on a regular basis it probably wouldn't be an issue.  I have to say we rarely travel to the mainland as a family because of the cost of bring the car over. I can do some pretty awesome stuff here on the island for the $200 it would cost to take the ferry there and back.

Jon_Snow

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I live predominantly in Vancouver only because its where I work and get paid the money I need to build up my Stache so I don't have to live here any more. As big cities go, it's probably right up there in terms of livability, but city life doesn't thrill me. On most weekends and holidays I flee, yes FLEE, to my 10 acres on one of the B.C. Gulf Islands... in a few others posts I have talked about life on these islands between Vancouver and Victoria. To live there on a full time basis is why I pursue ER with such fervour.

Didn't see any orcas this weekend, but as my wife and I sat on the beach drinking a nice red wine, several bald eagles, perched above us in a towering 400 year old Douglas Fir, were taking turns flying about half a mile out to where the herring is running and making attempts to snag themselves a meal. We watched them for a couple of hours, marvelling at the effort it took them to actually catch a fish. It seemed to us they only succeeded about 10% of the time. When they did get one, they would return to the tree and gulf down the meal, various fishy parts falling to the ground not 10 yards from our right.
 
I've written a post or two about my experiences with orcas.

Just a taste of what west coast living can be.

Eggman111

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Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands are beautiful for sure, but you'll still get plenty of rain throughout the winter, especially compared to what you're used to.

If you prefer the sunshine, I recommend checking out the Okanagan Valley. Penticton has been suggested. If you like being in a bigger city, Kelowna is a good option. There are plenty of nice communities up and down the lake, depending on what you like. My grandparents lived in Summerland for a few years.

During the summer, travel to Vancouver and the coast is easy enough. In the winter, the highways through the mountain passes can be horrible, but the region is still well-connected.

The winters are cold, but not nearly as cold as the rest of Canada. Also, because it is a dry cold, you don't feel it as much as in Ontario.

EDIT: Reading your later replies more thoroughly, it sounds like maybe you hardly ever want to see snow. If that's the case, Vancouver Island may be a better bet. The eastern side of the island gets less rain than the mainland because of the rain shadow.
« Last Edit: May 20, 2014, 10:44:52 PM by Eggman111 »

RetiredAt63

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Thanks to all of you for the feedback so far.

I killed more mosquitoes in the house this morning - they are getting in when the dog goes out and in, I guess.  So an area without mosquitoes and black flies is starting to look very attractive.

Snow - I do want to do some travel in the winter (not summer, summer at home in Canada is wonderful, why would I leave?).  Not worrying about snow clearing while I am gone would be helpful.  I made arrangements for my neighbors to call a contractor when I was away this February, but no snow would be a lot better.  The snow in the Okanagan is way less than what I get here, I could certainly cope with it.  Does it usually melt again, or stay once it comes?

I know a dry hot summer (or winter) is easier.  My parents grew up on the prairies, and my Mom told me how cold she found Toronto winters (which are mild) after Saskatchewan.  I was in Calgary 8 summers ago, and was not hot even though the temperature was really hot, because it was so dry.  The people I was with made me drink lots of water, dehydration was a lot more of an issue there.  So the Okanagan Valley is certainly a possibility.  Although if I were flying out of Vancouver (or Calgary) in February, would being there be a problem? Sounds like maybe? Take the train instead of driving?  It is these practical issues where I appreciate the forum feedback, they are not things you find in online blurbs about a place.

Online at least, it looks like there are many wonderful areas of BC with lots of things happening.

@Jon_Snow - rub it in, eh?  OK - At my parents' cottage we sat on the lawn and watched loons diving and carrying their babies on their backs.  The osprey would come sailing by.   Occasionally a mink would swim by. If we canoed up the lake and into the stream we could see the beaver lodge, and if we canoed the other way down the lake we could see the waterfall coming into the lake.  Summer here is great. 
Actually, given BC land prices, 10 acres on a Gulf Island?  Wow.

totoro

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In winter in the Okanagan you can fly out of Penticton or Kelowna.  Kelowna and Penticton both have direct flights to Calgary and Vancouver and the add-on for this connector isn't much when you are booking a longer trip.  Kelowna has some direct flights to southern destinations too I believe.

The snow in the Okanagan doesn't stick around for long imo.  If you went away in February you might need to arrange with a neighbour to shovel the walk a couple of times.

Jon_Snow

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Yeah, the winter monsoons on the west coast are much talked about... no doubt November to May can be wet and gloomy. Fortunately I have a place in the Baja where I can go to dry out when it gets to be a bit much. :)

But there is a wonderful payoff for that rain - starting in May, there is such an explosion of green, vegetative beauty. And the trees out here - firs and cedars of such immensity that it is breathtaking to stand beneath one. I've spent a lot of time in the B.C. interior, the lake country... the summers are wonderfully hot, the lakes are wonderful, but the biodiversity cannot match the coast - it just feels less vibrant to me.

Good luck in your search, RetiredAt63!

Daisy

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Yeah, the winter monsoons on the west coast are much talked about... no doubt November to May can be wet and gloomy. Fortunately I have a place in the Baja where I can go to dry out when it gets to be a bit much. :)

But there is a wonderful payoff for that rain - starting in May, there is such an explosion of green, vegetative beauty. And the trees out here - firs and cedars of such immensity that it is breathtaking to stand beneath one. I've spent a lot of time in the B.C. interior, the lake country... the summers are wonderfully hot, the lakes are wonderful, but the biodiversity cannot match the coast - it just feels less vibrant to me.

Good luck in your search, RetiredAt63!

This sounds wonderful! I need to add the PNW on my list of slow travel locations in ER. Someday...(soon).

TrMama

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I grew up in the Okanagan and now live on Vancouver Island.

Winters in the Okanagan are coldish, dry and windy. There's not much snow because there just isn't any moisture in the air, not because it's warm. That 1cm of snow just blows around for about a month until it evaporates. It's also overcast for several months at a time. You won't see the sun, unless you go skiing. In fact, that's an excellent reason to go skiing in the Okanagan. You get up on the mountain and look down onto the "lid" of clouds sealing in the valley. However, if you plan to travel in the winter, this isn't a big deal. Real estate prices are more affordable than the coast.

Life on the Island is great. It really doesn't rain as much as everyone claims. there's a  constant drizzle from about Nov-March. Then the sun comes out and it's gorgeous. Gardening is easy peasy, provided you put up a fence to keep the deer out. In your shoes, I'd look either at the Gulf Islands or Vancouver Island from about Duncan to as far north as you like. The west coast of the island is much rainier and gets more spectacular storms than the inside coast. I also suspect the risk of tsunami is much, much lower. As far as earthquakes are concerned, just make sure you buy a newer house that isn't at the bottom of an unstable hill.

North of Victoria does get some heavy snowfalls, but since you're retired you'll just stay home for a couple days until it melts.

To avoid mosquitoes in BC, stay out of the mountains and close to a city. You'll never avoid them completely though.

If you can increase your housing budget by $100K, Victoria meets all your other criteria.

RetiredAt63

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@TrMama

Thank you, that is the kind of feedback I needed.  Nice as the Okanagan looks, I will still probably be home most of the winter - I can't abandon the dog for ever, and I can't dump her on my daughter back east like I do now  ;-)   I don't ski any more, my knees can't take it - good argument for ER.  So the east coast of Vancouver Island, which gets a bit of a rain shadow, sounds good.  We get the green explosion here too, my lawn is bright green and yellow right now, a month ago it was white.

Ah, deer, the cuties - not!  No wolves or eastern-style (=big) coyotes on Vancouver Island?  We have deer here too, they can be a big nuisance.  Plus we are starting to get Lyme disease moving up from the States, is it there?  I've watched a white-tail deer pass within 30' of my sleeping dog, they are fearless these days.  Well, that is what 7' deer fence is for.  What is the soil like?  thin except for coastal areas?  That is what it is like in the Laurentians, they are older mountains but were scraped down to bed-rock in the last ice age.

I hope I can spend more, but since I am stilllll in the financial settlement with my almost-ex husband, and the matrimonial home has not yet been sold, and the Liberals won the Quebec election so we are not getting all the buyers that we would if the PQ had gotten a win, who knows how much I will have to spend?  I am being conservative.  This is part of why I am planning for next year, then I should have a better knowledge of my price range.  Plus I actually prefer being close to a small town or city, just close enough to a big one that I can go in for the day if I really need to.  I am an hour plus from Ottawa, which is as big a city as I need.

I just Googled Duncan,and it is a lot closer to Victoria than I had expected to be able to afford.  Is there much difference (climate, life style) along the coast as you move further north?

RetiredAt63

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General question for coastal BCers - when I look on Realtor.ca, I see "float homes"  I'm a gardener, so this is probably not for me, but I am curious.  What are they?  Houseboats that people live on year round?

swick

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I just Googled Duncan,and it is a lot closer to Victoria than I had expected to be able to afford.  Is there much difference (climate, life style) along the coast as you move further north?

Duncan is a good community, close enough to Victoria distance wise (Keep in mind it is on the other side of the Malahat and even a little bit of snow makes for tons of accidents, people are just sooo not use to driving in the snow)

Lots of rivers and lakes to explore (our family had a cabin on the Cowichan river growing up) Gas is quite a bit cheaper then down island.

Chemainus is great too - one of my favorite places...very busy in the Summer time. I was there in January though and it looks really depressed and I don't mean theatre and stores just closed for the month, everyone went somewhere warm (which does happen every year) there was probably a 70% vacancy rate among the downtown businesses and a lot of the old established businesses were gone. Hoping things pick up it is a great community.

Shawnigan Lake is also a great community north of Victoria might be worth a check out as well.

Jon_Snow

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This sounds wonderful! I need to add the PNW on my list of slow travel locations in ER. Someday...(soon).

I hope you get the chance! And we have spare kayaks!

backyardfeast

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Hi to all the coastal BC-ers!  Who knew there were so many of us on here!  I wrote a huge, long, detailed post that got eaten, so here's the short version.

I grew up half in the OK, half in Vancouver, lived in Victoria for 10+ years, now live just south of Duncan, in the Cowichan valley.

As others have already persuaded you, the east side of the island is the way to go.  Personally, I wouldn't go the sunshine coast or the gulf islands at 60, although there are many who do.  But the ferries and the economies are really struggling, and I don't think things are going to get better.  Services are being cut and prices are going up, and it gets to be really complicated to get to health services in particular.  This has some impact on Vancouver island, but not to the same degree.

As for communities here, if your budget goes up, the valley here is the best.  Awesome gardening (but the islands are basically big rocks, so your question about soil is a good one.  There are some properties with soil, or some with established gardens started with bringing in topsoil :) ), great weather--hotter and sunnier than Victoria, although a little colder in the winter--tons of textile arts community, and a decent library system.  It's a little harder to get a walkable community though, as it's more rural.

Chemainus is definitely worth a look, and I'd put Lake Cowichan on your list too.  The Lake is busy in the summer, but it's a little cheaper than Duncan, has nice services and a brand new library.  I like Ladysmith a lot too--a real town centre, walkable, and with great views, if a little hilly!  I'd skip Nanaimo, which hasn't come up in anyone's list, despite being a convenient hub.

Qualicum Beach is also awesome, but don't know how far your budget might go there.  And the Comox valley is affordable and beautiful, but by the time you get that far north on the island, the weather is significantly rainer and colder in the winter and spring; there really is quite a marked difference in climate over that 3 hr drive.

A tour is definitely in order!  Happy to keep answering any questions; I'm elbows-deep in my homestead garden these days... :)

RetiredAt63

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@backyardfeast

Thank you - things like quality of ferry service don't show up on net searches.  I know many years ago, in Hudson Quebec, there were three trains each way into downtown Montreal, and it was easy to commute.  Now there is one into town in the morning and one back in the afternoon - if that doesn't suit your schedule you have to drive part-way in and then take the train.  And then the powers-that-be wonder why ridership is down.

Cutbacks everywhere - I moved to Ontario almost 10 years ago, and in my rural area family doctors are scarce.  I went to one in Ottawa when I worked there, and now I go to a walk-in clinic.  From Quebec, Ontario looked so well-run - not quite so rosy when I got here.

You have given me more ideas for my tour - and after reading all the posts here and on jlcollns, I am thinking of renting for a year in a place that looks good, and if the renting works out really well, maybe never buying again.  I have seen lots of nice looking places on kijiji, although of course most don't look quite as nice in real life.  But I do know that lately I am finding having my money sunk in houses is not totally appropriate for me any more.  On the other hand, I don't want to sink a lot of money (plants) and effort into a rental's garden, so it is always a balancing act.

backyardfeast

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That sounds like a great plan, Retired.  This is a high cost of housing area everywhere, and renting is a way better deal anyway.  As well as, of course, a great way to get to know a new area.  Every small community is a little different in its vibe and demographic and views.  It will be so fun to explore.  Keep us posted!

Jon_Snow

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Backyardfeast, did I see you refer to my islands as "big rocks"? ;)

I've been riding the ferries for 42 years (my entire life) and my family has been on the Gulf Islands since the late 1800's - a great, great aunt used to come out of her cabin, shot gun in hand to chase natives off "her" beach when they came to dig up some clams... sad, but true.

I would agree that there are "easier" places to retire to on the coast - but for me and my family it is too late - these islands are part of us now and forever.
« Last Edit: May 24, 2014, 10:17:19 AM by Jon_Snow »

strider3700

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Float homes are just that.  Homes that are built to be permanently floating. They usually look like a regular home on a small barge.   Their cost depends on the specific house but all of them will pay for moorage.  Moorage here is not cheap.  And the maintenance of a house permanently on the water is going to be more expensive.


For the original poster,  BC is a very common retirement destination.  $250,000 isn't going to buy you much on van island.  There are a few 1000sqft places in nanaimo in that price range at the moment.   All need serious work and all were worth half their asking price 10 years ago.  We've got a big bubble at the moment.   I looked at a house for $170,000 last summer and it literally had a 8' maple tree growing through the floor into the living room.   Total tear down.   It sold in under a month at that price...

   Property taxes on my house assessed at $280,000  (purchased at $330,000)   come in at $2700 this year.  Grant reduces that to only $2k...  They've been increasing 3 to 4% yearly and looking at the insane things city council spends money on I don't expect that to stop.    That doesn't include garbage, water or sewer which are a separate bill.

Expect rain from October to May.   Just pick a place with southern exposure and take advantage of the sun when it's out.  I grew up here so it doesn't bug me but my wife didn't and the gloomy winters get to her.   It snowed two or 3 times here last winter.   Most of the time it's gone in 24 hours so I just don't go out when it happens.   Most people have never been in a real winter so they can't drive in the snow and are running bald all season tires...

Gardening is trivial. It's wet, wet, wet,  drought for 2 months, wet.     

If you're on van island then you're at the mercy of the ferrys.  Want to go to vancouver for the day? at least $100 in ferry costs if it's just you and your car.  I believe walk on is $15 each way now.   If it's a busy weekend you could be waiting 2 to 3 hours to get on with a vehicle.    They also don't run 24 hours a day so you schedule everything around making the boat.   That means no hockey game unless you're spending the night.

Public transportation in nanaimo might as well not exist the buses are so bad.   The train to/from victoria was shutdown years ago so your choice is drive or bus.   You can bike here but if you aren't used to it getting started can be hard. We're basically a hill down to the ocean...

Basically things are expensive here.  At the same time if you're not retired wages are lower then elsewhere for lots of jobs. 

Most of what you're aiming for is achievable but $250k won't get you much when it comes to housing. 




totoro

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Victoria does not rain October to May:  http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=099717&set=metric

Nanaimo does get more rain: http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=9827&cityname=Nanaimo-British-Columbia-Canada

Nanaimo is also not particularly pleasant imo.  It lacks the charm of Victoria and the smaller towns between Victoria and Nanaimo.

You can get a home in Parksville, Duncan, Cowichan Lake and Ladysmith for under $250,000.  That said, I think the OP is considering renting rather than buying?

Gardening is an extremely popular activity on the Island and it is a year-round activity due to the mild climate.  http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates/BC/Victoria

Property tax rates vary across communities depending on infrastructure and growth rates.  My $600,000 house in Victoria has the same tax bill as strider3700's tax bill for Nanaimo for a $280,000 house.

I don't find the ferries to be a problem myself.  I have access to everything I need here on the Island.  When I go off Island I reserve a spot so I don't have to wait.  Provided I show up 30 minutes prior to sailing I get on.

Here are a couple of photos from a place we stayed at on one of the small islands in March of this year.

daverobev

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Tagging this post...

Ret at 63, whereabouts are you? We're Arnprior, so 35 mins west of Ottawa. This last winter just killed me (a Brit), need to convince my wife (from the valley) moving is a good plan. Sanity, oh how I want to retain my sanity! :)

RetiredAt63

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I'm an hour east of Ottawa - shall we start an Ontario enclave in BC?

I grew up in Montreal, so I am used to "proper" winters, but this last one has me rethinking the whole situation.  I don't think moving into town (i.e. Ottawa) would be a whole lot better.

Tagging this post...

Ret at 63, whereabouts are you? We're Arnprior, so 35 mins west of Ottawa. This last winter just killed me (a Brit), need to convince my wife (from the valley) moving is a good plan. Sanity, oh how I want to retain my sanity! :)

backyardfeast

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Hi Jon_Snow, just to clarify, I love the gulf islands, and may well retire to one of them myself.  We're the same age and have been riding the ferries just as long ;).  And I'm totally with you; this coast and islands are in my bones and we don't want to live anywhere else.  But I think it's important to go in with your eyes open.  You know what you'd be getting into.  Lots of retirees don't think through the awkwardness and expense of accessing health services as we age, and this is already an issue for many, as you know.  In this last major round of service cuts, price raises, and fuel surcharges, BCF noted that for every .01/litre diesel goes up, it costs them an additional $1.2 million.  And that's before the various governance issues!  I'm not optimistic.

My husband and I are totally contemplating some of the lesser traveled islands (Thetis, Cortes, etc) for our future.  BUT we expect to have our own boat (we have one now) and continue to be relatively self-sufficient so that we don't need to go anywhere else very often for sevices.  But not everyone with a summer cabin on the gulf islands thinks that way...as you'll know well, with your long relationship there.

RetiredAt63

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I do notice an issue with health care availability in the boonies of Ontario.  Because Toronto is the capital as well as the major city, it seems that just about everywhere else in Ontario is the boonies as far as they are concerned.  Although people in Quebec are not happy about it, at least the Quebec government pushes young doctor into remote communities.

So how hard is it to find a medical practice on the coast that takes new clients?
 
Lots of retirees don't think through the awkwardness and expense of accessing health services as we age, and this is already an issue for many, as you know. 

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I lived on Vancouver Island (Victoria, etc) for several years -loved it, but got fed up with the ferry, as I regularly visited family in the Interior. (I remember them coming to visit me one spring, and I was struck by how brown they were. In Victoria, we were all going to be absolutely pasty for at least another month or two!)

I have remained ferry-reluctant, because they can be delayed, or not connect with transit, or be cancelled, or be full. Argh.

This said, I have been considering the Sunshine Coast. The ferry is only 40 minutes, and it's a fast/easy drive on either side (except at 530pm on the Vancouver side). Lots of people commute daily between these. I find the SC quite friendly, and artsy. Also, real estate has really nosedived there the last couple of years, so there's LOADS available and at (relatively) decent prices. Beautiful properties, great hiking, etc.

There's also Bowen Island, only a 20 minute ferry from Vancouver. Also friendly, artsy, etc.

RetiredAt63

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@scrubbyfish
Thanks for the update - I am not really worrying about ferries if I end up on Vancouver Island, since I expect I would stay there most of the time.  Sunshine coast, probably not as much.  Right now if I want something more urban than my very rural area, I either drive over an hour to Montreal, or over an hour to Ottawa, or occasionally over an hour to Cornwall (and a bit more to the US).  Sitting on a ferry is more fun than driving a car.  Even in bad weather, it is more fun than driving.  However, I can see that costs and delays would be a pain if I needed to take the ferry regularly.  One of the joys of retirement is that you can schedule commutes to avoid rush hour (except, I suppose, in Toronto, where rush hour never seems to end).
Going totally off topic, I had the joy of being on the ferry from Wellington (NZ) to South Island several years ago, with 3 meter waves.  Well over half the passengers were sea sick, I loved it.  We were the 9AM ferry, and the last one of that day because of the high waves.

backyardfeast

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Hah!  Curlyfry, Arbutus Ridge is just a few minutes down the road from me. :)  Don't know if it's the kind of community the OP was thinking about, but it's definitely affordable and has beautiful views and parks.  Hope your parents enjoy their time there!

Retired, we'd be interested to hear if you made it out our way!

RetiredAt63

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I am still in my rural home, getting even more involved in my local community, so any move would not be before 2016.  I might be driving out to the Winnipeg Folk Festival (July 9-12) this summer with a friend (still very much up in the air) and if I do, I would keep going west.  Maybe fly to Edmonton and take Via Rail through the Rockies (here's to Air Miles).  Then do my exploratory sight-seeing.  It would be fun to plan a meet-up.  Actually, I will probably do this anyway, if circumstances permit - but just fly directly to Edmonton and take the train from there.

The only downside to living here is that moving to coastal BC means moving to a higher COL area, especially when I look at house prices.  However, although I had not originally thought of a gated community, I can see the advantages, especially if I decide to take off several times during the year.  The 55+ part sounds good, it would be nice to be in an area where there are lots of others living a lifestyle similar to mine. 

backyardfeast

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Thanks for checking in!  Hope you enjoy your road trip next year...

rocketpj

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General question for coastal BCers - when I look on Realtor.ca, I see "float homes"  I'm a gardener, so this is probably not for me, but I am curious.  What are they?  Houseboats that people live on year round?

Sorry Retiredat63, I didn't see this thread until just now.

Float homes are, quite literally, floating homes.  People build a house on a float - some of them are quite expansive (and some are expensive).  It can be a very nice way to live, and if you are into remote living it can be close to free (anchoring in a remote bay is effectively free of cost).  It's not for me, but at one point in the early Pleistocene I had a girlfriend who lived on a float outside Tofino and it was very nice.

As you know, I live on and love the Sunshine Coast.  There are a lot of gorgeous lakes as well as a lot of beaches, and as far as I can tell a limitless number of hiking trails all over the place.  I do a lot of trout fishing, which is abundant here (everyone else focused on the salmon, which leaves the trout for me).

I'm not sure why people think of the Sunshine Coast as remote - there are a lot of people here who commute to the city by ferry (myself and my wife included) and it takes less time than driving in from the more easterly suburbs of Vancouver.  You do need to be aware of the ferry schedule and its limitations, but in my opinion it just works to keep the population and traffic manageable around here.  And we don't even have locks for most of the doors on our house - crime is basically nonexistent beyond teenage stupidity (which is universal).

We don't have any bugs to speak of, and coming from an Alberta background that cannot be overstated as a bonus.

If you are worried about rain, then I would consider Parksville - it's a Vancouver Island community that is in a strange little microclimate that means it is technically a desert - surrounded by rainforest.  A very nice place to live, apparently.


Jon_Snow

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Don't forget its BECAUSE OF the rain that our Summer on the coast cannot be beat in terms of vegatative magnificence and beauty. I was once shipped to the prairies for work for a month - a town north of Calgary. I missed the GREEN - the tall trees.... and mostly the life-teeming ocean.  I've seen various parts of Canada, and they all have their points, but it will always be the west coast for me.

Come west, RetiredAt63!

scrubbyfish

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I'm not sure why people think of the Sunshine Coast as remote - there are a lot of people here who commute to the city by ferry (myself and my wife included) and it takes less time than driving in from the more easterly suburbs of Vancouver.  You do need to be aware of the ferry schedule and its limitations...

I felt that way for the first couple of years of visiting from Vancouver to Sechelt +, and started considering it for myself. My schedule is largely flexible, and I could book Vancouver appointments for midday, for example. But my last two trips from Sechelt to Vancouver took 5 hours (!) and 3+ hours respectively, argh. Not a holiday, not summer, etc. I have no idea why it was so busy, but I do know I was bumped from three sailings because people with the (extra fee) reservations got the spots. My smartness was in aiming for the midday ferry such that I got on early evening; the folks that came for the mid-afternoon ferry were turned back late evening to start over the next day. I always prefer to travel by land; less expense, more options. It would take a lot to get me permanent on any of the ferry-dependent places, especially with BC being so big and amazing and plentiful in awesome options! This said, my sister adores being there, it's her favourite place of anywhere she's ever been, and she's been in a LOT of places... So I know it really is the cat's pajamas for some people!

rocketpj

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I'm not sure why people think of the Sunshine Coast as remote - there are a lot of people here who commute to the city by ferry (myself and my wife included) and it takes less time than driving in from the more easterly suburbs of Vancouver.  You do need to be aware of the ferry schedule and its limitations...
But my last two trips from Sechelt to Vancouver took 5 hours (!) and 3+ hours respectively, argh. Not a holiday, not summer, etc. I have no idea why it was so busy, but I do know I was bumped from three sailings because people with the (extra fee) reservations got the spots.

Perhaps on a Sunday?  As part of BC Ferries 'f-you customer' program they have reduced Sunday sailings, which makes it a boondoggle.

To be honest I almost always walk on, which means never waiting.  An express bus is waiting at the terminal and gets you downtown in about 15 minutes, Skytrain can take you anywhere from there.  Driving onto the ferry on a regular basis is a mug's game, and needlessly expensive.

Jon_Snow

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Been riding the BC Ferries for 42 years (yeah, since I was a baby). I view it as a necessary evil (and expense) to living in paradise. There are "tricks" you learn over the years to help mitigate the cost and PITA factor.

RichMoose

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I'm from BC, moved to AB so I could significantly speed up my FI time. I absolutely love BC for some parts of the coast, but my love ends there. Personally I would not move to the Okanagan because the larger lake towns, especially Kelowna and Penticton, are gloomy (low hanging clouds) during the winter and jam-packed with tourists including many rowdy ones during the summer. I also find the summers too hot; it's not uncommon to have a couple weeks of 30+ weather. Although it's my family's choice of vacation spot every summer, I often am happy to return to Edmonton after my week long Okanagan vacation.

That being said, the coast has a couple real gems and I hope to retire there one day. I would live there now, but good steady jobs are hard to come by, especially when comparing to AB. My personal favourites are Victoria and the west shore communties (possibly the best combination of weather and natural beauty in the world), Duncan/Cowichan, Parksville/Qualicum, and to a lesser extent the Comox Valley. These places all have generally great weather and are located in a rain shadow, are somewhat touristy but don't seem to attract the rowdy crowd like the Okanagan, and are reasonably well connected.

The problem with Vancouver Island is that it's truly an island even though its bigger than many countries. There's a feeling of isolation that will bother some people. If your idea of a good night out is watching your favourite NHL team on the ice or going to a concert by a big band, an trip to Vancouver will set you back hundreds of dollars and will be an overnighter. Not a big problem for me or your typical Mustachian because I'd rather watch bald eagles dive-bombing fish for free on my deck, or a great cover band in a local venue at a low cost, than the typical Vancouver outing. You have to plan living life on the island and avoid the god-forsaken BC Ferry system.

The cost of many goods are a little higher than they would be in Ontario due to extra shipping costs, but there's great opportunities to grow your own produce, fish, and buy local high quality foods. Another bonus... these circumstances means there are a lot of Mustachian-type people in many of these communities. Unlike in AB, you don't see an infinite number of jacked up trucks and Escalades plying the streets with shiny rims, driven by people with orangy looking skin, wearing Affliction shirts and jeans with stitching you can see from a mile away.

Victoria International is reasonably well connected with non-stop flights to all western Canadian cities, Seattle, SF, Vegas, Hawaii, Los Cabos, and Puerto Vallarta (the west coast version of Cancun). Of course a connecting flight through Vancouver will get you anywhere on the planet.

scrubbyfish

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As part of BC Ferries 'f-you customer' program..

lol :)

And yes, I think those two times may well have been Sundays!

I completed their survey about whether they should make the SSC to [SouthEast] Van service even more hellish. I voted no.

To be honest I almost always walk on, which means never waiting.  An express bus is waiting at the terminal and gets you downtown in about 15 minutes, Skytrain can take you anywhere from there.  Driving onto the ferry on a regular basis is a mug's game, and needlessly expensive.

Yeah, my sister doesn't have a car and uses transit all the way, so once she's at the terminal, she's assured a ferry boarding. She's been left stranded several times at Langdale, though. The SSC transit bus leaves even if the ferry arrives some minutes late, and the ferry likewise leaves even if the transit to Langdale is delayed. And then she's just stuck there. We then madly text to make an alternative arrangement.

A no-delay, transit-dependent trip has consistently been about four hours from her place to my old place in South-East Van (car was 1.5 hrs).

Last spring I decided to do the MMM thing of leaving the car behind, transit all the way. Yes, the bus was waiting at the HSB terminal...it just didn't leave for over an hour! I believe this was a trip back from Bowen, and the bus waited for another ferry to arrive, argh. In apology, the driver let all of us on for free, but we simply had to pay once we hit downtown, so that only benefited the people travelling only to downtown. It took us so long to get back to South-East Van, standing squished like sardines and transferring twice, and ultimately saved us only something like $5 over driving to Bowen, that I never did that again.

I think if we're living ferry-dependent, we just have to have oodles of patience and peace about when we get on, when the next bus is willing to retrieve us, etc. For my sister (who rarely needs to leave), the SSC is "worth it". I do have that kind of patience and peace when I'm in my car, with supplies and quiet and comfort for my kid and I, so for me the extra cost of bringing the car over is what's "worth it". In those (car and bus) trips, I've been blown away at how tricky it sometimes is, but I'm not actually complaining about the car version. For a trip every month or so, I didn't particularly mind hanging with my car for extra hours... I just gathered the experiences like data in my consideration of whether to move there.

daverobev

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Anyone know a good real estate agent on the island.. say Port Alberni way. Or wherever suggested.

I have some spare cash, think I'd like to buy a place somewhere I could retire to and rent it out in the mean time.

Also a property management company.

Might 'head over'... take a trip, maybe do that flight to Edmonton, train to Van.

When it gets really cold here. Or maybe next week. I'm bored, heh.

Cheers.

RetiredAt63

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Go when the forecast is crummy there and crummy here, and let me know what it was like?  ;-)    No point in running away from winter here if winter is depressing there - but it sounds nice.  The soonest I can go out is next summer, and summer is always nice.

How can you be bored now? (rhetorical question, sorry) - the social calendar is filling up fast as we approach the holiday season.  I'm booked for two parties and a dinner already.



Might 'head over'... take a trip, maybe do that flight to Edmonton, train to Van.
When it gets really cold here. Or maybe next week. I'm bored, heh.

Cheers.

rocketpj

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Yeah, my sister doesn't have a car and uses transit all the way, so once she's at the terminal, she's assured a ferry boarding. She's been left stranded several times at Langdale, though. The SSC transit bus leaves even if the ferry arrives some minutes late, and the ferry likewise leaves even if the transit to Langdale is delayed. And then she's just stuck there. We then madly text to make an alternative arrangement.

A no-delay, transit-dependent trip has consistently been about four hours from her place to my old place in South-East Van (car was 1.5 hrs).

This is where I use my bicycle.  I have been left waiting for the bus a few times, but usually I have my bike and just ride home (I live exactly 5k from the terminal).  There is also the option of a taxi - pricy but less than taking a car on the ferry (unless your sister is in Halfmoon Bay or something).

I definitely get the ferry frustrations, but I see it as worth it.  When we bought our house every door had a different lock in it - and we only got one key, which works in the deadbolt of one door.  Moving from East Vancouver I had great concern, but now I have to remind myself to lock the car when I do bring it into the city.

Do you mean South East Vancouver proper, or are you somehow shoehorning one of the burbs into that 4 hour trip?  I can't remember it ever taking me that long, but YMMV if your neighbourhood is off the main transit routes.

daverobev

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Go when the forecast is crummy there and crummy here, and let me know what it was like?  ;-)    No point in running away from winter here if winter is depressing there - but it sounds nice.  The soonest I can go out is next summer, and summer is always nice.

How can you be bored now? (rhetorical question, sorry) - the social calendar is filling up fast as we approach the holiday season.  I'm booked for two parties and a dinner already.



Might 'head over'... take a trip, maybe do that flight to Edmonton, train to Van.
When it gets really cold here. Or maybe next week. I'm bored, heh.

Cheers.

I'm British, I'm used to grey winters where you can walk without your beard freezing (not that I had a beard before I came to Canada). Plus I'm an introvert.

Huge island with sea views, miles from anyone, sounds like heaven.

scrubbyfish

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Do you mean South East Vancouver proper, or are you somehow shoehorning one of the burbs into that 4 hour trip?  I can't remember it ever taking me that long, but YMMV if your neighbourhood is off the main transit routes.

Transit from Sechelt to SE Van proper, yes. Walk from house to transit stop, transit to Langdale, ferry, transit to Joyce or Patterson skytrain (couple of walks/ transfers in there), 20 minute walk to house. And that's if everything lines up beautifully, no glitches or major delays in any of the five (?) transitions.

For a birthday party at 2, my sister would leave her place at 10am and then have to start heading back about an hour later, lol.

I can see that (a home and bike at) Langdale to downtown Van would be another matter, though, yeah.

SandyBoxx

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Anyone know a good real estate agent on the island.. say Port Alberni way. Or wherever suggested.

I have some spare cash, think I'd like to buy a place somewhere I could retire to and rent it out in the mean time.

Also a property management company.

Might 'head over'... take a trip, maybe do that flight to Edmonton, train to Van.

When it gets really cold here. Or maybe next week. I'm bored, heh.

Cheers.

My MIL & FIL are in Oceanside (between Parksville and Qualicum Beach.)  They did exactly what you are suggesting and purchased a home that they rented out until they were ready to retire out there.  It has been more than 10 years and they have been extremely happy with their move.

One of their good friends on the island has been in Real Estate in the area for the past 15 years...he is with the local Royal LePage office and his contact info is available on his website at www.pqbhomes.ca.  I am certain he can answer any and all of your questions about moving to the area.

We are headed out that way for the Holidays, and I would be happy to report back on the quality of winter weather. :)

HTH

lifejoy

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Ok I skimmed a LOT, but I just have to +1 to the idea of moving to bc :D

Rain = lush and green. And you never have to shovel it off your walkway ;)

I moved from bc to Montreal to Saskatchewan. I'll be moving to bc ASAP, let me tell you!!!

RichMoose

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scrubbyfish

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Saskatchewan

God's Country!

Not according to a voicemail CBC is playing for the world today. Oy... Anyone from Sask hear that one?!? Apparently dear libraryjoy is not alone in her struggle with the Saskatchewan winter!