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Hello, I am currently living in New Brunswick, and looking to move to BC. The main reason for wanting to move is to enjoy the warmer climate. I have been doing some research, and seems like Vancouver would be the nicest. My only concern is I am not looking to live right in the city, I would prefer living some where outside of the city, but still close, within a 20 minute drive or so. I have always enjoyed a quiet area with a large yard with trees around. Something where the houses aren't 20 feet apart and no privacy. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Hello, I am currently living in New Brunswick, and looking to move to BC. The main reason for wanting to move is to enjoy the warmer climate. I have been doing some research, and seems like Vancouver would be the nicest. My only concern is I am not looking to live right in the city, I would prefer living some where outside of the city, but still close, within a 20 minute drive or so. I have always enjoyed a quiet area with a large yard with trees around. Something where the houses aren't 20 feet apart and no privacy. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
20 minutes out of Vancouver will get you somewhere in Burnaby which is another city. If you want a house with a large yard and lots of trees and most importantly have a hefty bank account, you'll have to go out as far as Langley which is about 45 minutes to an hour outside of the city... BC doesn't stand for bring cash for nothing
I think you need to consider the population of the BC lower mainland alone. It's more than three times as much as what the entire population is in all of New Brunswick and the city of Vancouver itself has only 200,000 less people than there is in all of New Brunswick. So you aren't going to find the kind of spaciousness and privacy in the city of Vancouver or around its perimeter towns that you're accustomed to in NB. If you want a reasonably priced place that has a good sized yard, some trees and some privacy you'll need to look at other towns and cities in the lower mainland that are 45 minutes or more away from Vancouver. For closeness (20 - 30 minutes from Vancouver) the city of Richmond might be your best bet if you look around south or east Richmond or the west Steveston area there is still a lot of farmland and residential neighbourhoods where properties are more spread out. But I think they may be rather pricey. I don't know if price is important to you, you didn't say. If money is no issue then there are places with small acreage in south Vancouver that would be suitable.
Everywhere in the lower mainland and on Vancouver Island and all the smaller islands in the Strait of Georgia all have nice weather. Vancouver (because of its unique terrain and placement) gets cooler weather than all the other towns in the lower mainland and the further out you go east into the towns in the middle of the Fraser Valley the warmer and drier the climate gets. The city of Victoria on Vancouver Island also has a warmer climate and less rain than Vancouver, the rest of the island is comparable with Vancouver's climate so don't discount the island if nice climate is what is important to you. The total population of Vancouver Island is spread out and approximately the same as the total population of New Brunswick, it's very laid back and friendly there and prices of properties or rentals are a lot less than what they are in the lower mainland.
White Rock/South Surrey is very nice and much drier and sunnier than Vancouver. You can get a lot more SFHs down here with lot sizes more of what you would see in the 70s and 80s. It's a very nice area and has about 85,000 so everything you need.
That said the average price of a home in the area is $859,000 and you will get NOTHING under $500k and even trying to get something under $600 will be very difficult and it will be a shack or a tear-down. If you are coming to Vancouver be forewarned that it is extremely expensive, far more so than even Toronto and anything older than 15 years doesn't have a basement.
I STRONGLY suggest you take a look at MLS and Craigslist before you come because if you think "it can't be that bad" you are in a for a hell of a shock. If you cannot afford a house that will be at least quadruple what you are getting in NB then look elsewhere.
Hello, I am currently living in New Brunswick, and looking to move to BC. The main reason for wanting to move is to enjoy the warmer climate. I have been doing some research, and seems like Vancouver would be the nicest. My only concern is I am not looking to live right in the city, I would prefer living some where outside of the city, but still close, within a 20 minute drive or so. I have always enjoyed a quiet area with a large yard with trees around. Something where the houses aren't 20 feet apart and no privacy. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Hi Frank,
Space is a premium in vancouver, and if you are needing more privacy yet be close to a community, amenities, you may have to compromise on location. Either you can get a small acerage near Langley (about 45mins away) or you can get a typical 66x120 lot in the burnaby area which is about 30 mins away.
There are a lot of options depending on budget and age, size, condition of home and location. If you need more insight into these areas or options on what you can get in different locations for the same price point, let me know.
Hello, I am currently living in New Brunswick, and looking to move to BC. The main reason for wanting to move is to enjoy the warmer climate. I have been doing some research, and seems like Vancouver would be the nicest. My only concern is I am not looking to live right in the city, I would prefer living some where outside of the city, but still close, within a 20 minute drive or so. I have always enjoyed a quiet area with a large yard with trees around. Something where the houses aren't 20 feet apart and no privacy. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
you mean 20 feet apart is too close?
By instinct, I almost thought you were complaining the houses are too far apart.
hi frank, I am originally from NB and now in Vancouver area. If you are looking to move here to for the much milder winters then you might want to consider looking at Maple Ridge. It is about 45 min away, but it reminds me of NB. There is a train (west coast express) you can take downtown. You could also consider the Island, which is much more laid back and quiet, but great weather. The cost of homes is much higher in BC, but good health care, beautiful weather and lots to do. It's far from NB, so not easy to visit and I still miss the Maritime way of life, but not the winters. Good luck.
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