Relocation services for British Columbia, Canada

Vancouver Island

Photo of Victoria’s Parliament Building,
courtesy of Chris Boar PhotographyFirst some numbers….The Island is roughly a quarter of the size of England, and has a population equal to about 2% (750,000) of England, so as you can imagine there is a fair amount of room! Vancouver Island sits off the coast of British Columbia, separated by the Strait of Georgia. The majority of the Island’s population are in the south, and along the lower East Coast line.

The Island has been described as ‘Canada’s Paradise’ and enjoys the most temperate climate of all Canada. As a result it is a magnet for both Canadian and US retiree’s, as well as tourists.

Most of the population sits at the Southern end of the Island in Victoria, which at about 300,000 people is the 2nd largest city in B.C. Victoria is a big tourist haunt, famous for the Buchart Gardens, the Empress Hotel (where you can buy just about the most expensive afternoon tea and cake on the planet), as well as numerous whale watching tours. Victoria is also at ‘Mile 0 ’ on Highway 1, the longest road in Canada. The other end is at the end of Yonge St in Toronto!

MoneySense 2009:
Victoria, our capital city, came in at number one in MoneySense's list of best places to live in Canada. Vancouver came in fifth on the same list. MoneySense looked at 24 factors when they chose their top cities. Amongst the factors they looked at were climate (warm and dry is better than cold and wet), affordability, average salaries, healthcare, crime, transit and local amenities. These factors cover a wide range and probably include most things that people want when they are looking for somewhere to settle. Your list might be different and the importance of some factors may be higher to you than this average, but still it's a good place to start.

Here's a quote from MoneySense on why Victoria edged Ottawa out of first place:

"The West Coast city earned a top score of 73 points on our grading scale. It boasts a nearly embarrassing number of positives. Start with weather: the thermometer drops below zero in Victoria just 53 days a year, making the climate idyllic for gardeners and skateboarders alike. On top of that, the city's air is clean and fresh and its low unemployment rate rivals that of Alberta's oilsands regions. There are plenty of doctors, it's easy to get to wherever you're going by foot or bus, and tax rates are low. Victoria's only major downside? High home prices. You'll pay more than $440,000 to buy an average home in British Columbia's capital".

Victoria is fast catching up Vancouver in the housing price market, with prices rising rapidly in the last few years, as demand increases from ‘Ex-Vancouverites’ looking for somewhere cheaper to live. Access to Victoria is by Air as well as the Car ferries from Vancouver and the U.S. (Port Angeles in Washington State).

Photo of Nanaimo Harbour,
courtesy of Chris Boar Photography, Nanaimo, B.C.Traveling north from Victoria up HW1 (the local HW19), you pass through several smaller towns. Duncan, noted for it’s many totem poles, then Chemainus, famous for it’s many wall painting dotted around the town, and then arriving at the 3rd largest in B.C, Nanaimo (pop 79,000). Boasting the only natural harbour in Canada, and to ‘being one of the most desirable small cities to live in North America’. Nanaimo is enjoying boom times, with a pretty 3 mile long harbour walk, a growing population, and a recent sign off of a $30M downtown redevelopment plan. Nanaimo is served by three ferry routes to Vancouver as well as 20min commuter flights to Vancouver Airport, and downtown. It is at Nanaimo that HW1 takes a sharp right across the Straight of Georgia and carries on through Vancouver.

90 minutes drive NW of Nanaimo is the Island ’s Ski Resort, Mount Washington (which apparently holds the Canadian record for the deepest snowfall). With the main season from December to April this provides a more convenient alternative to the more famous mainland resorts.

A pod of Whales in Johnstone Strait,
courtesy of Chris Boar PhotographyFurther north on HW19, the last town of any notable size is Campbell River. Beyond that HW19 reverts to a normal road through forest for about 2 and half hours, all the way to Port Hardy, the last major town on the northern Island. Just south of Port Hardy is Telegraph Cove, a very picturesque little village built on a broad-walk around an inlet. Recently renovated it draws many tourists, and offers excellent whale watching trips into the Johnstone Strait, as well a Bear watching trips.

Photo of McKenzie beach, courtesy of
Chris Boar Photography, Nanaimo, B.C.Other highlights of the Island include the Pacific Rim National Park on the West Coast, which is designated a World Heritage Site. Reachable by driving across the middle of the Island, the main attraction is the small town of Tofino, which provides stunning vista’s across to many smaller islands, and is convenient for some fantastic beaches, particularly Long Beach and McKenzie beach. Tofino becomes busy during Mid-March when everyone comes to the whale festival. Every year about 25,000 grey whales swim past Tofino on their migration north from Mexico up to Alaska.

Vancouver Island

• Links:

  • North Island Gazette newspaper (Port Hardy)
  • Campbell River Mirror
  • Courtenay - Comox Valley Record
  • Parksville - Qualicum Beach News
  • Nanaimo Bulletin
  • Ladysmith - Chemainus Chronicle
  • Cowichan News Leader
  • Sydney Peninsula News Review
  • Saanich News
  • Colwood Goldstream Gazette
  • Sooke News Mirror

  Victoria

  Links:

  • Greater Victoria school district 61
  • Esquimalt Times
  • Oak Bay News
  • Victoria News

Acknowledgements

I want to thank Chris Boar, who kindly provided the bulk of the content on this page and all the stunning photographs in the body of the text. Chris runs a photography business in Nanaimo, B.C.
http://www.chrisboar.com