Advice on Living in remote BC (for sale, apartment, lease)

[LittleDolphin]

Now don't get me wrong, I really like my little waterfront hamlet in North Carolina, but sometimes I long for British Columbia--I spent some time there on the Gulf Islands.

There's something about BC--the misty mornings, the caw of the raven, the flap of the eagle's wings--not to mention great, fresh salmon. And the people were kind there--and had a wry, dry sense of humor that I liked.

Anyhow, I came across a cabin for sale that's quite remote--up near the Fraser River, in grizzly and moose country. Water comes from kitchen sink pump, home's heated with wood stove, has a propane two-burner cook top as well as a wood cook stove, and a propane frig and freezer--plus a generator with inverter with some back up batteries and solar.

It's not too far from the Alaska border.

And here's the nutty part, I really wanted this place--even though remote, in a very tiny town (pop. 10!), and likely a zillion feet of snow in the winter...but I found the beauty of the place calling to me. Crazy, eh? It would be much harder physically, but perhaps easier psychically?? away from much of civilization.

So my question to you is, Time for me for to be committed for even considering such an idea--and would the reality be too crazy-making even for one such as me who loves the outdoors and nature and would like to try wilderness living??

Wonder what's causing this little house in the forest fantasy? I've never even chopped a log before, but have heated with wood and loved it, even though it was work. And I've always enjoyed tenting in remote areas...but I'm not too sure about those grizzlies as I've only known brown bears...does bear spray really work??

Has anyone else ever tried this lifestyle and lived to tell the tale?? Love to hear from you.

[mikeyyc]

If you really want to try, I would recommend looking for some "caretaker" type jobs for some of the fishing lodges up north of Prince Rupert for the winter. There are a few available. The lodges shut down after Labour Day, and open Mid May. They need crazy people to man them over the winter.

If you love isolation check it out.

For me, there's not enough money to have to spend a winter in the north alone awaiting supplies via float plane.

[papabob]

I've never lived in BC, but I have lived in a remote area of Michigan. That lasted for almost a year and I've got a few things you may want to consider.

Can you cope with utter isolation?
The cabin I lived in was over 30 miles from the nearest town (pop 300), my closest neighbor was just over 4 miles away. During the middle of winter, you had to either snowmobile, snowshoe or cross country ski to get around. So, your not going to do much in the way of dropping by someone’s house for a quick chat and coffee. I'm assuming your cabin in the woods is the same.

How are you going to make a living?
The more remote you are, the less likely it is to find employment. What jobs that may become available are almost never posted. The locals know who need the jobs and the long time locals get the offers first. You'll have to either have a large poke to work out of, or have the ability to create a business of some sorts.

Do you have any handyman skills?
You must be a jack-of-all-trades when you live remotely; the only person to fix and create things is the man in the mirror.

How's your health?
Get a lot of medical first aid training and supplies. I had to fix my own crown in the middle of January. It was impossible to get to town, as there was almost 3 feet of fresh snow on the ground. Luckily, I obtained training for wilderness medicine that included dental repairs. My crown repair lasted, until I was able to see a dentist almost two weeks later.

I enjoyed my time in the forest, I had been laid off from my job and my apartment lease was up. So, I went to the families hunting cabin to live, until I was called back to work.

I had no electricity or running water. The facilities consisted of a hand pump for water, a wood stove, propane stove, outhouse, propane fridge and kerosene lamps.

I read lots of books and listened to the battery-powered radio. I enjoyed every minute of it. One of my friend’s came to stay a while, he went stir crazy after 2 weeks and left. To each their own.

[Robynator]

Originally Posted by LittleDolphin

There's something about BC--the misty mornings, the caw of the raven, the flap of the eagle's wings--not to mention great, fresh salmon. And the people were kind there--and had a wry, dry sense of humor that I liked.

Anyhow, I came across a cabin for sale that's quite remote--up near the Fraser River, in grizzly and moose country.

It's not too far from the Alaska border.

It's one thing to be in the Gulf Islands in BC.

It's another thing entirely to be in the interior of the province along the Fraser River in the middle of nowhere.

Not only is it a completely different climate zone with different species of trees/animals, it's an entirely different lifestyle than the Gulf Islands.

Remember, BC is larger than Washington state, Oregon, and California combined. Think of the variety of climates/landscapes/vast distances in those three states, and you have the same thing with BC.

The Gulf Islands are laid back enclaves of artists, pottery workers, nature lovers, hobby farmers, retirees, ex-hippies, B&B owners, and vacationers. It's the liberal side of BC. It's where you have temperate rainforests, a coastal maritime climate (rainy winters, early springs, warm summers, wet falls), eagles, ravens, salmon, orcas, seals, tidal pools of sea anenomes, mussels, and starfish.

Most towns in the interior along the Fraser River rely solely on resource economies - forestry, pulp and paper, ranching, and mining, to be specific, and tourism (hunting, snowmobiling, skiing, fishing, camping, horse-back riding). There are also a lot of First Nations communities in the area which brings up different issues (especially in reference to who has what rights to what natural resources). There are sometimes heated debates between First Nations and "everyone else". This part of the province is more conservative, blue collar by nature. It's also less culturally/racially diverse than the coast of BC.

Climate wise, being 700-900 km inland on the other side of the mountains from the ocean, you have very cold winters with lots of snow. Summers are warm/hot. Not as much rain. Forests are subapline pine/spruce, not temperate rainforest. There's a horrible mountain pine beetle infestation right now in this part of BC that has destroyed hundreds, if not thousands of acres of forest. Salmon comes fresh off the Fraser only in August/September. The ocean plays no part in this region - if people want water, they seek out lakes.

All I'm saying is, please visit wherever you plan to go first before blindly romanticizing the notion.

You mention that this cabin is not too far from Alaska and that it's next to the Fraser River. Yet, the closest the Fraser River comes to Alaskan border is in the city of Prince George. But even then, the only way to access Alaska from Prince George would be to drive 9 hours west (719 km) to the town of Prince Rupert where you have to take a ferry to Alaska. If you wanted to drive to Alaska without taking a ferry, would be to drive 9 hours (715 km) to the border towns of Stewart, BC/Hyder Alaska. The drive from Prince George to Juneau takes 27 hours, as the drive is 2,051 km long, and for the most part, it's mountainous (so slow-moving).

For comparison sakes, the drive from Vancouver, BC to Tijuana Mexico takes 22 hours to do, and it's 2,269 km long.

[MidniteBreeze]

Originally Posted by mikeyyc

If you really want to try, I would recommend looking for some "caretaker" type jobs for some of the fishing lodges up north of Prince Rupert for the winter. There are a few available. The lodges shut down after Labour Day, and open Mid May. They need crazy people to man them over the winter.

If you love isolation check it out.

For me, there's not enough money to have to spend a winter in the north alone awaiting supplies via float plane.

Am I the only one getting "Shining" flashbacks on this one? LOL.

[irvm]

Anyone want to comment on what chances he has to be allowed to stay there legally?

I would love to live in Canada, but I'm too old and not a millionaire, so they aren't interested.

[Robynator]

You can own property and you can stay in Canada as a tourist for 6 months. But that's it - you'd only be a tourist. You wouldn't be allowed to vote, or be allowed to work in any sense of the word, nor be able to access the much hyped "free" (ie: paid by Canada's high taxes) health care. If he had kids, his kids wouldn't legally be able to attend local schools, and what not. He wouldn't be considered a legal resident or a permanent resident or an immigrant by any means. But as long as it's a vacation home, then you can live as an American tourist for 6 uninterrupted months assuming you can support yourself.

[eryn]

I think it's a wonderful idea! I am also wondering about where this cabin is? I live in a small community, the geographical center of BC. I went on a camping trip to Alaska last year, Stewart/Hyder. It's about a 6-7 hour drive Northwest from my place. As well, the Fraser River is about an hour east from my place. So thats about a 8 hour drive from the Fraser to Alaska.
But back to living in the bush!
I have read many great books on living in Northern BC and have had many experiences myself. Im a young single mom and I lived in a cabin with NO water for 6 years, 2001-2006. I learned how to build a fire, chop wood, carry water in to drink and boil and that peeing outside in -40C was not that bad if you have a styrafoam seat in your outhouse You get used to it. And I definatly learned to appreciate the things I had way more.
I am actually very proud of myself and my daughter for making it just fine through this period in our lives. It was always funny to me that when I told people many of them couldnt beleive I was actually doing this. One girl said to me, you mean you dont have a washing machine? I was like, I dont even have a toilet lady!
If I can do it, so can you.
The moon is bigger here, the stars are brighter and the air is cleaner.
Good Luck!

[LittleDolphin]

Ah, thanks for the honesty of your replies. You gave me a wake-up call. I think the answer is to come North for a summer season and not to move North for all year...I once lived in an icy, snowy climate and suffered greatly from seasonal effective disorder..slept through the winter like a hibernating bear.

It's just that I'm so missing the scent of pine, walks in the woods, creatures of the forest, and wood stove fires...perhaps there's a lodge or inn that might require an asst.cook or asst. innkeeper--or?

I've worked in tourism as well as a guide for ghost tours and am quite adept at publicity and advertising--especially for out door adventures and woodsy places...love being with outdoor people with woodcraft skills.

Sure would appreciate any ideas you might share on work as a Jill of All Trades at a remote lodge...better make that a Jill of Some Trades as sharp instruments and I are not on intimate terms...power saws and such would not be a healthy combination but I could be a good guide and lead nature walks, perhaps...and I'm a natural, hearty cook, who loves to fill people up with good food...helped cook for 25 at a National Park last Spring.

Love canoes, loons, and lakes and would like to learn more about canoeing.

Thanks for your honesty...I was guilty of Romancing the Remote, when it's a passage that I need rather than permanency.

But still would appreciate your ideas on finding a way north this Spring/Summer...

Hope you're all doing most well.

[Robynator]

Thanks for taking the time to write back LittleDolphin. I've worked in tourism as well, and I also long for the scent of pines and the sound of loons on lakes!

Have you considered working at a lodge or a ranch for a season? There are dozens of guest ranches in and around the interior of BC. Places around 100 Mile House, Cache Creek, Bridge Lake. Google up "Chilcotin Holidays" or "The Hills Health & Guest Ranch" and you'll see the kind of places I'm talking about. Of course, those tend to be more on the spendy side of things - there are a lot of ranches that are more rustic.

If you can't legally work here (it's difficult for Americans to obtain working visas in Canada), you might want to consider a week or two doing the Bowron Lakes circuit. Google that up too - it might satisfy your craving.