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cwyckham · 07-12-2012, 13:26

Having to take the ferry to get off of Vancouver Island freaks everybody out for the first year. Then they figure out that Vanoucouver Island is bigger than many countries, has everything you need, and they only go to the mainland once a year anyways.

If people tried to build a bridge over, the locals would riot. The ferry keeps all the mainlanders away...

Livia · 07-12-2012, 16:28

We didn't find living aboard in Victoria and Sidney, BC to be obscenely expensive. Nor did we find the price of goods to be that high except for booze.

We did a lot of summer and winter cruising in the area. Summer is obviously better but the water is crystal clear in the winter and having avalanches in your anchorage is pretty cool.

If you scroll down after following this link you'll see some of our Canada cruising posts:
SV Estrellita 5.10b: canada

Finistere · 07-12-2012, 17:35

Lived in Bellingham WA just south of BC for less than a year. The most beautiful place I have ever lived, summer, fall is great, winter is the most awful season, dark, wet, low clouds. Arrived in September, called the moving company in May to pick up my furniture, told them will let you know where to deliver it when I get there. Now live in Delaware and sail the Chesapeake, much prefer it here.

delmarrey · 07-12-2012, 18:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheechako

When Hong Kong went over to the Chinese many of the free Chinese immigrated to BC/Vancouver. At least that's what I heard, and based on the driver's appearance in canadian licensed cars i see it's true. I imagine that created a big population bubble.

My wife and I have considered making a sign to put along the road to Customs saying "Welcome to Hongcouver".

Pelagic · 07-12-2012, 18:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Topsail

We are thinking of moving to BC from the Chesapeake Bay for the mild climate, cruising possibilities and the politics. Would anyone please give their opinions on living, working, cruising, and living aboard there? Thank you!

If politics is an issue, when I lived in Vancouver during my University Years, I found Canadians to be very apathetic about their elections. The trend for voter turnout has been going down for years to where it is around 60% now, so they get the leaders they deserve.

Civil Servants are about the best trained and paid in the world which is a plus,
But the prevailing apathy makes the country a bit boring and predictable, for my tastes

Astrid · 07-12-2012, 18:59

Quote:

Civil Servants are about the best trained and paid in the world which is a plus,

They have to be, in order to make up for the lackluster politicians.

Topsail · 07-12-2012, 20:42

Wow, thank you all for the posts. Interesting perspectives. To answer a couple questions: politics. We like the idea of education and health care as priorities, and the politics of the area in general vs the US

. We are not sure what area of BC in particular we are looking at as we have both only visited Victoria and liked it. We prefer a smaller town feel as opposed to a big city, but like to stay close to a big city for all the things it can offer.

So living aboard in the Victoria area is possible, work is available (not so much around here), and cruising is possible most of the year. I would prefer rain the mosquitoes here in the Chesapeake. My biggest concern is that it is just too cold most of the year. I like cool, but the cold here... please any more thoughts and experiences are very helpful in getting an idea if we want to give it a go. Thank you all very much.

cwyckham · 07-12-2012, 20:54

Cold? It snows like a few days a year here

adieu · 07-12-2012, 20:59

If you mind living somewhere where folks go to bed at 7pm and there is zero nightlife (and I don't) then live on the island.... Vancouver Island, I mean. Costs less than Vancouver and environs, wonderful cruising, pretty easy to find liveaboard space if you are patient and smart. I find it cold, year round, but that's me. Spent too much time in the tropics.

Astrid · 07-12-2012, 22:11

At least along the waterfront, snow does not last long when it does actually snow. Inland yes and colder, but in the coastal areas not so much.

Nemo55 · 08-12-2012, 00:53

The West coast,,or "The Best Coast" as we Vancouverites like to call it has pretty well all you could ever hope for in terms of variety of sights and sounds.
The Night life is eclectic and electric,the people are probably the friendliest in the whole wide world,(my own take from being British and a Perm Resident for 41 years) the connection with Nature is absolutely astounding in its pristine rawness.
The Politics are about to perform a 180 deg turn to NDP from a Corrupt neo liberal government, the Voter Apathy is more due to a deep distrust in the Representation and the lack of choices, but "The Time's,,they are`a changing"...The Cruising grounds are probably some of the best on the globe, and my personal favorites are the Sunshine Coast around Gibsons and over towards Naniamo on the Island.
The only downside for my bones is the Damp cold during the Winter Months, as a result i have taken to staying in Mexico for a while, but i dearly miss the Home turf.
Work has never been a problem for those who wish to find it, it's like anything else,,you just got to want it bad enough.
The Tax situation is a bit pricey,,but then there are an awful lot of Large Infrastructure programs being implemented right now, Bridges, Roads, Transit, Tourism centers, so it is little wonder the Politico's are leaning on the Tax payer,,as it all has to be paid for somehow, and we dislike the Corporate privatized system of Rape and Pillage we see south of our Borders. No Offense to the U.S. People,,we love them to bits...
The Housing prices are crazy ,,mainly due to the Asian Invasion which happened after Expo 86 and the Greedy land developers who had a lot of the Politico's in their pockets.
But Move out of the Main Downtown and prices settle down to more reasonable levels and life is more relaxing as well. Try The Fraser Valley,,plus many Cheap Slips and lots of support systems up in the Valley as well.
As Astrid was saying,,the snow doesn't stick around too long and there are pockets of Milder weather accessible from the Lower Mainland,,but this is the land of liquid Sunshine after all,,,,it's a Rain Forest..
Take a trip up the coast to Desolation sound and be Amazed,,or Go up the Indian Arm,inland off the Burrard inlet.
As you can tell,,i am immensely proud of my adopted home of 41 years,,i just wish my bones enjoyed the cold months like they used to,,,or is that just Older age coming on??? Lol

Teknav · 08-12-2012, 02:57

I have been to BC a few times, and liked it a lot. Unfortunately, Canadians are taxed to death because of their government's social programs. When sailing, I'd like to include SCUBA diving in every trip. While BC has some of the best sailing waters in the world, one cannot dive there without a wet/dry suit. For this reason, you will find me sailing and diving in the Grenadines, Australia's Great Barrier Reef or in Rangiroa-Tahiti; very warm water temperature most of the year, that you can swim/dive without even a t-shirt. Once you have been to places with swaying coconut palm trees, turquoise blue waters, pink/white sand beaches for miles, superb sailing and SCUBA diving...nothing else matters. Feast yourself on the best you can afford. You only live once!

cwyckham · 10-12-2012, 13:58

Some interesting things have come up that are contrary to my experience. Some are political, but the OP brought up politics first...

Voter apathy: Yep, it's there, but no more than most western democracies. Voter turnout in our last national election was 61% vs 57% in the last US election. Same same. I actually find people are pretty engaged in politics and it is a frequent topic of conversation. Especially with some of the very controversial moves the current federal government is making. Not in the least bit boring.

Taxation: I've lived in the US and in Canada. I prefer the latter from a taxation standpoint. I pay more, but I get more. I think I get good value for money, generally speaking. My standard of living is not negatively effected by the taxes I pay.

Cost of living: Varies hugely around the province, but other than Vancouver and Victoria real estate, generally not bad at all. Other things cost a bit more than in the states, but not obscenely so.

Nightlife on Vancouver Island: Victoria's a pretty hapenning place with a good nightlife, other places might be a bit more sleepy (Sidney's not going to be a great place for a party).

Where to live: BC's a big place with lots of coastline. I agree with your thoughts on Victoria as a great town. It's my first choice. If you don't like cities, stay the heck away from Vancouver. It is undoubtably one of the best cities in the world of this size, but it is still a city of this size. Too big for my comfort.

Cambpell River, Comox, Nanaimo on Vancouver Island are all worth thinking about. Squamish on the mainland is probably my favourite place I wish I could live in. For most it comes down to career. What do you do for work?

nwdiver · 10-12-2012, 15:02

I agree as long as you don’t want to live aboard in Vancouver it’s much cheaper to be somewhere along the east side of Vancouver Island. What drives some of us to live in Vancouver is the work we do, and the city is very nice but housing cost are expensive and moorage is very difficult to come by, liveaboard moorage impossible, that said it’s easy to get liveaboard moorage in the river out in Richmond and commute into Vancouver should you need to. I would prefer a mooring ball in the Gulf Islands, but alas I have to work in the city.