Which Vancouver neighborhood? (real estate, apartments, renting)

[transitmama]

Hi - we are a family of 4 (2 daughters aged 4 & 6) looking to relocate to Vancouver from Seattle. I may soon have a job offer from UBC and my husband is looking in bike manufactoring. What I am trying to figure out is which neighborhoods should we be considering to relocate to? The most important features are (in order):

1. Great elementary (and secondary) school - this is BY FAR far the most important
2. Reasonable commute to UBC (less than 30 minutes?) ideally via transit
3. Walkable (high walkscore) and transit-friendly
4. Quiet enough that the girls can sleep from 7 pm to 7 am uninterrupted

We can afford a pretty high amount for a house, but Vancouver is overwhelming when you look at real estate prices. We could do maybe $800,000 if we scrimp and save. I don't really care about a yard, so a townhouse is an option (and may be our only choice), but do families really live in multi-stories given a choice? All the apartments I lived in years ago were really noisy from neighbors above & below.

Essentially, I'm wondering where the urbanist families live in Vancouver. We are not fans of suburbs in the American style. For those familiar with Seattle, I want the equivalent of Ravenna-Bryant or Wallingford.

[lucknow]

I think the best thing you could do is to get a good RE agent working for you. Search one out online and then contact by phone. I look for an agent who is obviously very much a pro. You can tell just by the professionalism of their listings and their attention to detail there. The last agent I got, I searched out that way and his virtual tours of his listings were so good that you really knew exactly what you got without even going yourself. It saves a lot of time looking at properties that you really would not be interested in once you looked at them. My oldest boy and his wife are both Drs. and they bought a brand new home last year in Burnaby on Lulu island kind of under the Alex Fraizer bridge. It's central to everywhere and it's a development of aprox 5000 residential units to be built now and in the future. There are detached, semis, townhouses, condo high rises, a real mix. My son's house is a detached and very nice. It's got a lot of arts and crafts design elements to it. He paid $500,000 for it but it's probably up to $600 by now. It's still an excellent area investment wise. It's really nice with paths all along the river and nice parks. It must have good schools because I know that my kids are very particular about that. Anyway, the best of luck to you and I'll bet you are going to love Van. I have been out here visiting for a month and I hope it's warmed up when I get back to Toronto in 2 weeks.

[alecaf]

I lived in Vancouver for 7 years and will probably move back again soon.
Kitsilano has great elementary and highschools. Dunbar is also good. Point grey aswell. Basically anything in the west side is good.
Kitsilano is beautiful, and you'll fall in love with it instantly, however most people that live there are in their mid 20's to late 30's. Dunbar and Kerrisdale is the main family place. If you take a stroll down Kerrisdale you'll see nothing but young kids and old people lol, perfect for a family.
Then there's Point grey and UBC area which is a nice mix of all group ages.
I don't know too much about elementary school, but my cousin went to one located on 1st and Cypress Kitsilano called Queen Mary, then to Kitsillano high school and he is now in one of the fined universities in Canada Mcguill.
Good public highshools:
Lord Byng Secondary: Dunbar Street
Kitsilano: Kitsilano
Point Grey: Kerrisdale

Good Private Schools:
St. George's School: Probably the best in Canada, Dunbar St.
St. John's School: really small and good teacher student interaction, an offshoot of St. George's

Vancovuer Island has plenty of good Private schools aswell.
If you locate anywhere in the West side you'd be minutes away from UBC, the beach and Downtown.
Lots of luck, this city is the nicest city ive ever visited.

[ckung]

I am a realtor and I would strongly suggest renting first before committing to home ownership in a City you do not know. If you are seeking a home near UBC, then I would suggest areas such as Point Grey, Kitsilano, Kerrisdale and Dunbar to start.

Personally I feel that the Vancouver market will be softening in the latter half of this year and thus may work out even better for you when the prices do drop. I hope this helps. Cheers!

[Drowningintherain2]

I think renting is a good idea. Many people think housing prices will come down. I recommend the Point Grey area, or Dunbar, both are about 10 minutes to U.B.C.