Hello Folks - Longtime lurker, first time poster. I'm hoping there are some Canadian mustachians here who'll be willing to weigh in on my wife's and my impending relocation to the frozen north.
We're both in our late 20's, I'm American, she's Canadian, and we're currently living in Cologne, Germany. After several years in Europe, we've decided to relocate to my wife's ancestral homeland of maple trees, beavers, and poutine (at least that's what they tell me). While we feel sure about our choice of Canada, we're less sure about exactly where in Canada we want to end up.
The mustachian lifestyle is very important to us, so we'd like to live somewhere reflective of that (i.e. not overly expensive) - although our rental history is in New York City and Cologne, Germany, so basically anything in Canada will be a step down for us on that front. :) I work from my home office, so work isn't a problem for me, however my wife will need to be in a place with a reasonable job market, or at least within easy commuting distance of one. The things that we value most are:
- Excellent access to outdoor activities. We're avid hikers, runners, swimmers, bike riders, etc, so this is an absolute MUST.
- Farmers markets, cafe culture.
- Good public infrastructure (libraries, public transportation, etc).
- Quality grocery stores.
- Community culture (things like pottery classes, knitting meetups, running groups, etc).
- Quiet. Maybe even "sleepy".
- Excellent scenery.
- Not too big.
- Not too small.
We're sort of fed-up with big city living, both for the headaches and the price tag - although I don't think we're ready to go green acres either. I guess if I were going to narrow it down, I'd say the optimal combination would be a small-to-medium sized town within reasonable striking distance of a large-ish city - but we're flexible here, the main issues for us are cost vs. amenities + job market.
Right now, we have three places in mind:
British Columbia
For our outdoor lifestyle, I'm not sure it would get much better than B.C: From what I've seen, confirmed by my better half, it's just about as good as it gets as far as hiking, skiing, etc. Everything about B.C. is perfect for us except the price tag. It seems like everything affordable has been snapped up by oil money from Alberta, and we'd be stuck living in a basement apartment for the rest of eternity. I would imagine that getting out of Vancouver would help, but I worry about being stuck in a retirement community, and that the job prospects outside of Vancouver/Victoria would be poor. However, price tag aside, BC would be a no-brainer.
The Maritimes/Fredericton
My wife grew up in Fredericton, and has many fond memories of living in that area. Pros would be cheap living, beautiful surroundings (if perhaps not as striking as BC), and quiet living. I'm particularly attracted by the very low cost of housing, which is a big selling point for me. My worries are the high taxes, crappy job market, poor return on real estate if we ever decided to sell, and that it may be a little bit too "provincial."
Ottawa/Ontario
As a city, I think Ottawa or a smaller satellite town nearby might be my favorite possibility so far. It's not to big, not too small, cost of living doesn't seem to be through the roof, great community, farmers markets, etc, and at least *some* public transportation. I love that there's stuff going on, but it's not too self-aware - we've already lived in New York, no desire to do that again. Where Ontario really falls flat for us is our love of beautiful scenery and outdoor activity. It just doesn't seem like there's much there in terms of hiking/outdoorsy stuff, which is VERY important to us. I'm also concerned by the weather, which seems to alternate between irrationally long winters and humid, bug-filled summers.
The only place in Canada where we absolutely CANNOT live is Calgary, as that's where my mother-in-law lives.
As you can see, we're fairly confused. So, Canadians (or friends thereof) - where would you go?
