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Thanks fusion2, I have lived in the UK, India, Israel and Hong Kong. You're right, at any stage in life it's hard to make a move especially when there's an unknown element. The fact my wife grew up in Vancouver is a benefit.
One thing I have understood is that the job market is tough and property is expensive. I seem to be on the right track with a job and as to property, I'm 'lucky' that property is ridiculously expensive in Hong Kong. I'm on the ladder here and if I sell my place can release a good amount of capital to reinvest. Hopefully that will alleviate some of the stress on finding a suitable place to live.
Well good luck with the job search and the family situation is completely understandable. Even a tough job market isn't necessarily impossible for individuals with the right combination of skills and experience.
I think some posters in Vancouver gave some good advice on places to go for more affordable housing. That said, if you can lay down the dough for a house in a prime location all the power to you! Unless the housing market in Vancouver collapses (that ever elusive bubble), you'll get the money you paid for your house and then some so its not like you'll be throwing your money away even if its a large sum. That said, you might not get a lot of house for that large sum relative to other places. Being from HK though, you probably are accustomed to that anyway and not every family wants or needs to live in a large abode.
Well good luck with the job search and the family situation is completely understandable. Even a tough job market isn't necessarily impossible for individuals with the right combination of skills and experience.
I think some posters in Vancouver gave some good advice on places to go for more affordable housing. That said, if you can lay down the dough for a house in a prime location all the power to you! Unless the housing market in Vancouver collapses (that ever elusive bubble), you'll get the money you paid for your house and then some so its not like you'll be throwing your money away even if its a large sum. That said, you might not get a lot of house for that large sum relative to other places. Being from HK though, you probably are accustomed to that anyway and not every family wants or needs to live in a large abode.
Thank you for your advice, I do have contacts in Vancouver but they are friends or family of my wife and I don't really want to discuss my financials with them which is why I sought advice here.
In actual fact we're OK with a more remote or distant location to Downtown, one of the reasons for moving is to be away from the hustle and bustle of a built up area. We have a medium sized place by HK standards about 1400 square feet which suits us well right now. The bigger the place the more upkeep is needed so we don't need a huge place.
Knowing more about your situation now, I agree with what others have said. I'd recommend getting a house in places like Port Moody, Maple Ridge or Mission. You will most likely be able to get a fairly decent sized house for your family and if you use the commuter train the West Coast Express, you will be able to get downtown in a reasonable amount of time and not be stuck in traffic.
In case you haven't seen it yet, here is the website where you can check out properties: www.realtor.ca
Happy house hunting!
Knowing more about your situation now, I agree with what others have said. I'd recommend getting a house in places like Port Moody, Maple Ridge or Mission. You will most likely be able to get a fairly decent sized house for your family and if you use the commuter train the West Coast Express, you will be able to get downtown in a reasonable amount of time and not be stuck in traffic.
In case you haven't seen it yet, here is the website where you can check out properties: www.realtor.ca
Happy house hunting!
Thanks for your advice, those places do seem to be away from the hustle and bustle. Is the commute by train about 1 hour? That's not so bad, I'm doing the same commute in Hong Kong and the same when I lived in the UK so that's not a problem. I also checked out some of the houses and you definitely get more for your money.
The increase in property values is at breakneck pace. You have to do your own DD to see whether or not this can be sustained and make your purchase decision based on how long you will be staying in the property and whether or not the short-medium term future value of it even matters to you. Personally, I've been advocating for townhome and condo living for the longest time because I think location trumps size (look at how much price pr sqft plummets just a "short distance" away from Vancouver in Delta or Port Moody).
Quote:
Originally Posted by movingtovanfromhk
Thanks for your advice, those places do seem to be away from the hustle and bustle. Is the commute by train about 1 hour? That's not so bad, I'm doing the same commute in Hong Kong and the same when I lived in the UK so that's not a problem. I also checked out some of the houses and you definitely get more for your money.
It's not all about the commute but also the community. I don't know what your background or connections are, but if you are very comfortable and familiar with Hong Kong lifestyle, Richmond is not a poor choice and is, quite surprisingly, very affordable considering how close (10-15 minutes drive) it is to Vancouver. The streets are also quite clean, quiet and pleasant. Subpar city planning though... but you can't have it all.
Maple Ridge and Mission are really far. It's not a decent driving distance by any stretch and you'll need the West Coast Express pass which is not cheap, unless you enjoy spending 1-2 hours each way by car every day. I have one colleague who commutes on the WCE daily from Maple Ridge to Downtown, but he spends purely his work life here - his leisure and family life is entirely centered around the Fraser Valley area and he likes it that way, so I am not saying it's a poor choice. You just have to enjoy being there, and not think of it as a cheap way to live in Vancouver but enjoy Vancouver-proper's amenities, because you won't.
Port Moody isn't that distant and would be a decently connected node with the Evergreen line coming up next year, but not the most culturally diverse of communities here - for better or worse depending on perspective. They are getting rid of some of the industrial areas in the water IIRC and replacing them with residential/commercial developments, so I think it has a good future as a Vancouver suburb and will be less sleepy than it is today.
The increase in property values is at breakneck pace. You have to do your own DD to see whether or not this can be sustained and make your purchase decision based on how long you will be staying in the property and whether or not the short-medium term future value of it even matters to you. Personally, I've been advocating for townhome and condo living for the longest time because I think location trumps size (look at how much price pr sqft plummets just a "short distance" away from Vancouver in Delta or Port Moody).
It's not all about the commute but also the community. I don't know what your background or connections are, but if you are very comfortable and familiar with Hong Kong lifestyle, Richmond is not a poor choice and is, quite surprisingly, very affordable considering how close (10-15 minutes drive) it is to Vancouver. The streets are also quite clean, quiet and pleasant. Subpar city planning though... but you can't have it all.
Maple Ridge and Mission are really far. It's not a decent driving distance by any stretch and you'll need the West Coast Express pass which is not cheap, unless you enjoy spending 1-2 hours each way by car every day. I have one colleague who commutes on the WCE daily from Maple Ridge to Downtown, but he spends purely his work life here - his leisure and family life is entirely centered around the Fraser Valley area and he likes it that way, so I am not saying it's a poor choice. You just have to enjoy being there, and not think of it as a cheap way to live in Vancouver but enjoy Vancouver-proper's amenities, because you won't.
Port Moody isn't that distant and would be a decently connected node with the Evergreen line coming up next year, but not the most culturally diverse of communities here - for better or worse depending on perspective. They are getting rid of some of the industrial areas in the water IIRC and replacing them with residential/commercial developments, so I think it has a good future as a Vancouver suburb and will be less sleepy than it is today.
Thanks for those other websites I'll take a look at them.
I agree with you on the DD and I have to admit it's been causing me think very hard about things and the best way to work it. I hear you with regards condos but I have no desire to live in an apartment. I don't even live in an apartment in HK and the reason for moving to Vancouver would be to have more living space not less.
With regards to Richmond, it is a consideration as we do have extended family and friends there and it was where my wife is originally from. But again the reason for leaving HK is to be apart from the major Chinese influence. Not wanting to stoke a fire but I've heard that Richmond is becoming more Mainland Chinese dominated rather than Hong Kong. I have always tried to embrace a culture when I've moved not to try and transfer a lifestyle and culture.
But in that regards do you know how much a new build townhouse are and what square footage? I have a friend who has recently bought a brand new town house in Coquitlam and he drives to downtown from there each day.
In HK we live in what is classed as the countryside in a house and we very rarely go to the central district with the family or at weekends. we tend to do things close by the house, so living a distance away from downtown isn't a problem. but I don't really fancy spending my whole day in a car.
I know that people say that schooling is all the same but is there particular areas where the public schools are better?
Would someone be able to explain to me how property tax works in Vancouver? We have government rates in HK which are paid quarterly is this similar and is there a way I can work out what it will be for a property?
Thanks for those other websites I'll take a look at them.
I agree with you on the DD and I have to admit it's been causing me think very hard about things and the best way to work it. I hear you with regards condos but I have no desire to live in an apartment. I don't even live in an apartment in HK and the reason for moving to Vancouver would be to have more living space not less.
With regards to Richmond, it is a consideration as we do have extended family and friends there and it was where my wife is originally from. But again the reason for leaving HK is to be apart from the major Chinese influence. Not wanting to stoke a fire but I've heard that Richmond is becoming more Mainland Chinese dominated rather than Hong Kong. I have always tried to embrace a culture when I've moved not to try and transfer a lifestyle and culture.
But in that regards do you know how much a new build townhouse are and what square footage? I have a friend who has recently bought a brand new town house in Coquitlam and he drives to downtown from there each day.
In HK we live in what is classed as the countryside in a house and we very rarely go to the central district with the family or at weekends. we tend to do things close by the house, so living a distance away from downtown isn't a problem. but I don't really fancy spending my whole day in a car.
I know that people say that schooling is all the same but is there particular areas where the public schools are better?
In Burnaby new build townhomes were recently selling for 600-700 by Deer Lake Park which is decent pricing. Can't remember the square footage. In Vancouver it's 1 million starting, and up (way up) for brand new. Or even more if you're looking at something like Shannon Wall Centre - Luxury Vancouver condos & townhomes. Have you looked into Delta, Ladner or North Vancouver to see if there are options there besides Port Moody?
You can enter the address of the place you are looking at to see which school your child will go to: https://www.vsb.bc.ca/schools
Like you, I don't like to stoke the fire or paint broad generalizations but spending a chunk of my life here and transferring schools a couple of times, I can tell you a lot more people "make it" to higher education and incomes in the top half of the schools than the bottom half. It's one thing to say schooling curriculum is all planned to be equal by the administrators, and another to actually live through it and to experience friends and social circles that cross those boundaries. I can tell you I've seen graduating years from schools at the lower end of that spectrum where almost none of the kids made it to University, if that's a consideration.
Thanks svelten I appreciate your input. With everyone's views I think I've built up a fairly good picture of some of the places to live, how to check out schools in the area and why type of commute I'd be looking at. Just need to secure that role now!
I got the impression the V city is for the Asians who don't need to work.
If one is really looking for good job opportunities and reasonable cost of living, I don't think they will choose Vancouver.
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