Semi-rural recommendations near Vancouver? (ski resort, apartment, rentals)

[rnkk]

My husband and I are considering a move to the Vancouver BC area. We are not city people, we prefer a "farm-burb" or semi-rural area. Are housing costs lower as you move away from the urban areas? We would love a small house with a very large garden. We are looking for an area where a walk in the woods/mountains is closer than the grocery store.

Are the semi-rural areas as diverse, welcoming, veggie and eco-friendly as the city? Suggestions?
Thanks in advance!
-RNK

[JustSomeGuy73]

Not quite in the Vancouver area, but Nelson, BC sounds like a place you would like. Sort of like the Canadian version of Asheville, NC, but smaller. I considered Nelson as well, but it's a bit too small and too far out there - it's a quite a drive to any larger city. Kelowna is about 5 hours away.

Maybe some others could chime in, but I hear Langley, Delta, Aldergrove, etc, is kind of semi-rural, semi-suburban, but I think more suburban than rural. It's been a while since I was there, so just going by memory and recent research. I've been looking for a place in BC to move back to, but will likely go to Sooke, BC or Langford BC on the island. If you don't mind being on the island, you might want to take a look at those places too.

[Zoisite]

There are lots of semi-rural or farm towns within a hour's drive of Vancouver. Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, Mission and east of there on the north side of the Fraser River are all towns close to mountains, rivers, lakes, wilderness parks and hiking and riding trails. On the south side of the Fraser there's parts of Surrey are farm land and semi-rural areas, and there's Delta, White Rock, Cloverdale, Langley, Fort Langley, Aldergrove, Abbotsford are all farming/agricultural towns with lots of green space. A little further east of Abbotsford is Chilliwack, Cultus Lake, Yarrow, Sardis, Harrison Hotsprings, Agassiz, Hope.

Take a look at this link and the map on it, it will show you all of the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley from Vancouver to Hope (it takes about an hour and 45 mins. to drive from Vancouver to Hope on a slow day) and if you click on the places shown on the map information will come up about each community shown on the map.

Map of Fraser Valley BC Circle Tour, British Columbia: Abbotsford, Hope, Harrison Hot Springs

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[rnkk]

Thanks! The map was helpful with the links to the town information. Any local information from experience would be great too-
Which towns are more diverse?
Which have a true community feel as opposed to be being bedroom communities to Vancouver?
Which towns have the best access to an organic grocery store?

[JustSomeGuy73]

I used to live in Pitt Meadows back in 1992-94. I'm sure it's changed, but back then it really felt like the transition area between the suburbs and the country. A few strip malls and fast food restaurants, suburban type subdivisions but more open space. Kind of a bedroom community to Vancouver, though it was a bit further out, and I think back then more people would have chosen Coquitlam or Port Coquitlam. I didn't notice much of a community feel or organic grocery stores or diversity, but then again I was busy working two jobs. It just felt like a nice small town on the edge of the suburbs.

[Zoisite]

Originally Posted by rnkk

Thanks! The map was helpful with the links to the town information. Any local information from experience would be great too-
Which towns are more diverse?
Which have a true community feel as opposed to be being bedroom communities to Vancouver?
Which towns have the best access to an organic grocery store?

That would depend on your own frame of reference. What location are you in now for comparison and what kind of community involvement do you presently have?

Can you elaborate some on what diversity means to you?

All of those towns that I mentioned are communities in their own right and the people who live in them are involved with their own communities, not so much with Vancouver communities.

Access to organic groceries is available through farm markets and superstores which are located everywhere in the lower mainland.

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[rnkk]

Ah, thanks for asking, you will get a few paragraphs full.. ha. Many aspects of diversity are important for us- cultural/linguistic, religious, financial as represented in housing stock, ideological- though we strongly side towards the more progressive & liberal viewpoint. We are Sikhs and ideally would be near a Sikh Gurdwara Sahib and some Punjabi speakers, but not an absolute necessity. I checked out locations where there are Gurdwara Sahib and I think that Prince George is probably too far into snowland, Surrey mostly too urban, and Vancouver Island is a possibility (looks GORGEOUS, but not sure about work). Powell River area looks interesting. I enjoy running and hiking and I like knowing that I can go in any direction and not run into an urban area or subdivision or factories/industrial wasteland, or be cut-off because there is a major road/highway.

Temporarily we are in a suburb of Montreal- IMO this is a culturally & religiously diverse area but conservative, somewhat unfriendly and linguistically closed minded-I struggle with the Quebecois although many people are happy to speak English for me, it depends on who you are dealing with. Mostly people are wealthy or try to look wealthy in homes, clothing, etc. Not bad, but not my style.

Ideal community involvement generally speaking means people are willing to and actively helping each other. I don't get that sense of helpfulness or friendliness here on the North East Coast. By the way, I am from the North East Coast and everytime I go far enough South or West I find that people are less rushed, more friendly and more helpful. For me, it would also mean having a variety of ways to be involved in making the town greener, cleaner and more sustainable environmentally (not just a garden club or historical society). A community that embraces local businesses and locally grown food (although we hope to grow mostly all our own fruits and vegies). Where I previously lived there were town clean-up days, a local non-profit organic community garden and a community garden that gave food to food pantries, things like that are attractive to me.

We prefer: mountains over ocean,
a community of people who enjoy outdoor activities-

hiking not snowmobiles/off-road vehicles,

kayaking not water-skiing,

walking in the woods not golf,

if near the ocean- access to explore sea-life rather than big beaches

locally owned businesses
great grocery store- fresh, local, organic, lots of variety

quiet but friendly neighbors
a variety of housing stock, McMansions, subdivisions and large apartment buildings depress me

good library system even if it means inter-library loans

w/i 20-30 min from moderate shops (not a desert of boutiques or box stores)

If you read through all that, thanks. Also, any info on the Powell River area would be especially appreciated.

-RNK

[Zoisite]

Thanks, that helps. Okay, based on your preferences I think you may find Vancouver Island to be MUCH more suited to your needs than the lower mainland.

I've been to Powell River but am not very familiar with it, it's been at least 25 years since I was last there so I'm sure it's grown a lot in that time. Personally I found it a little too isolated for me just because you have to take ferries (or airplane) to get to Powell River.

I'm more familiar with the east coast of Vancouver Island where there's more towns and villages, more freedom of movement and more diversity as far as farming, country living, natural wilderness/community recreation, arts and culture and community involvement is concerned. The overall atmosphere of the Island is very laid back and friendly, nothing like the hustle and bustle and traffic of the mainland. The flora and fauna on the Island and the other smaller islands is abundant and the scenery is stunning. The coastlines and lakes are a kayaker's dream. The mountains and ski resort are beautiful, there's plenty of parks and wilderness areas.

I must also confess I'm not very familiar with the Sikh culture so I don't know if this helps, or if you've already even seen it, but I found this link for you that has the names, locations and connections to Sikh societies and Gurdwaras in British Columbia - it might be worth your while to make contact with those that interest you to get further information from them about their communities:

Gurdwaras in Canada - SikhiWiki, free Sikh encyclopedia.

Note that Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Lake Cowichan and Duncan communities from that list are on Vancouver Island. Nanaimo is a good sized town that ranks as a city with all amenities and the others are smaller towns. You will have to do some internet search about them to get a better idea of populations, amenities and locations. Look them up on a map too. None of them are really very far away from each other in driving distance. They are all clean and pretty.

As regards employment situations on the island, I can tell you that the unemployment rate is lower on the island than it is on the mainland or anywhere else in BC, and it's my understanding that housing and land prices are less on the island than on the Lower Mainland/Fraser Valley, so that might be another plus in its favour for you.

I don't know what housing and employment opportunities would be like in Powell River.

Here are a couple of links with some information about Powell River

Discover Powell River
Powell River | Tourism BC - Official Site

I hope that's been some help for you.

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[JustSomeGuy73]

Wow, sounds like just about everything I'm looking for too! Glad to hear Vancouver Island sounds like the answer to most of those things on your wish list. Maybe we'll meet up there! For the last few months I've been trying to narrow it down. I ruled out Kelowna and the lower mainland (both areas I've lived at in the the past - nothing wrong with them, just looking for something different this time, on the West Coast). As for the island, I was thinking Victoria, but then decided on something just outside Victoria like Sooke or Langford. Although I may end up in Nanaimo as it also seems nice, but a bit cheaper and more pet-friendly rentals. Eventually I want to buy a house, but to start with, I will rent so I can get used to the area and narrow it down to my preferred section.

As for the suburb of Montreal - I've lived there too. I've been right downtown, in Ville St-Laurent and Pierrefonds. Not sure which suburb you're currently in, but it sounds a bit like the West Island, although it's very English. So if people would normally speak French, it's probably another suburb. I liked living there, and embraced the French culture, eventually becoming fairly fluent in French. But I don't care for the long, cold winters and short hot summers. That's why I'm looking forward to going to Vancouver Island.

[rnkk]

Thanks again. You confirmed my impressions, glad that they are in-line with reality. We will sit on this info for a little while. Glad to have this forum.