Advice - Thinking of moving to Vancouver

[tedstriker]

Hi all,

Lived in Calgary for 25 years, and feel the need for a change. I have the opportunity to relocate to Van, and am considering it. Any advice on whether to stay or go? Calgary has been great, but I'd like to experience some other places and I really like Vancouver when I visit. On the other hand, its a big step with lots of uncertainty. Any input would be appreciated!

[Merritt]

In b4 shitstorm.

[DeeK]

Hope you got tons of cash, Vancouver is pretty much the most expensive place to live in Canada.

Rent a place for example, $1400 for a 600 sq ft place. You can find cheaper, but trust me, dealing with infestations, unsafe buildings (rotting structure and/or mold), terrible scamming landlords. On the other hand, the weather is nice. Vancouver is the only place in the country where you can snowboard in the morning and golf in the afternoon.

[C_Dave45]

If you want to live right in Vancouver, yes its expensive. But it all depends what you want. House, apt, bsmt suite. Sure real estate is much higher than Calgary but other than that it's exactly the same. Also what are you looking for job wise? Not everyone that lives there makes $100,000. Lots of young single ppl, families etc live quite nicely on normal paying jobs.
It you're looking to buy, then you'd want to look at surrounding communities.
Langley, Coquitlam, maple ridge etc.
It's a beautiful city. Go for it. You hit gastown/Stanley park on a clear day in the fall or spring and you'll wonder why doesn't everyone live here lol.
The rain was my biggest downer.

[revelations]

Originally posted by DeeK
Vancouver is the only place in the country where you can snowboard in the morning and golf in the afternoon.

Everyone says it, but no one really does this on a regular basis.


A friend left Calgary for "greener pastures" in Vancouver - or so he thought. He ended up making 20% less in the same job and spending 20% more (food, insurance, housing).

The lower mainland is where the rich go to play. If you have a 100,000$+ year position ready, I would say take it.
Anything less, you will miss not having cash.

The alternative of course is to live 1.5hr drive away from work, which, assuming no bridge closures due to crashes (imagine a dozen Calf Robe potentials) is what most of the middle income people in Vancouver have to put up with.

[a social dsease]

For us to help you decide maybe you could elaborate more on what hobbies you like to do, what about Vancouver appeals to you, and what about Calgary you do/don't like? Where would you plan on living? Downtown Van will be alot different (and more expensive) than the suburbs.

Personally I moved to Van for a year after finishing uni, although I just came back to Calgary a few months ago. Overall it was great, just the cost that caused me to move back to Calgary. If wages and real estate prices were on par with AB I would move back in a heartbeat.

Some things that I really liked about Vancouver:

-Fantastic mountain biking: Best in the world, if you don't mountain bike you should start, enough trails to keep you busy for yrs

-Great access to the outdoors: Unless you live in Surrey or White Rock you can be halfway up a mountain 20 mins after leaving your house

-Weather: definitely better summers than Calgary. Winter is a tie - it does rain alot whereas in Calgary its cold, either way you're indoors alot.

-Proximity to the USA: Not that I went down alot but there is great shopping and if you like to travel you can get really cheap flights out of Bellingham

- Golf: Lots of golf courses, green fees are much cheaper than in Calgary, and most are open year-round (and even have reduced fees in winter). I had some great rounds of golf in Dec/Jan where I was the only person on the entire course. When I lived in Cgy I rarely golfed because it was just too expensive/crowded, in Van I golfed almost weekly.



Some things I didn't like:

-Jobs - in my particular field there were far fewer jobs than Calgary, and the average pay was about 50% less. This was one of the main factors that caused me to move back to Cgy. Although from your post it sounds like you have a job lined up already?

-Cost of living: I found staples like rent, food, clothing etc to be very similar to Cgy, however there are certain things that are far more expensive. For example, owning a car. My insurance is almost exactly half as much in AB as it was in BC, gas is 30c more per litre, and you will also get far worse gas mileage there. I worked it out that it cost me over $1500/yr more to drive in BC than in AB. Also stuff like healthcare - not free like it is in AB, and HST - 7% more tax on EVERYTHING you buy which adds up fast.

-Real estate - as I said rent is similar, but if you are buying prepare to get ass-raped.

-Traffic - Much worse than Calgary.

-Ethnic diversity - if you are white and used to living in 90% white Calgary, it could be a shock to you to move to Van and find you are the only white person on your street. This isn't really a pro or a con, just something to be aware of.

[ddduke]

Originally posted by revelations


Everyone says it, but no one really does this on a regular basis.


A friend left Calgary for "greener pastures" in Vancouver - or so he thought. He ended up making 20% less in the same job and spending 20% more (food, insurance, housing).

The lower mainland is where the rich go to play. If you have a 100,000$+ year position ready, I would say take it.
Anything less, you will miss not having cash.

The alternative of course is to live 1.5hr drive away from work, which, assuming no bridge closures due to crashes (imagine a dozen Calf Robe potentials) is what most of the middle income people in Vancouver have to put up with.

I left over 3 years ago and shortly after came back. For almost this exact reason. Had to take a HUGE paycut, renting an apartment on beattie and smyth was $2100/month.

I worked in Coquitlam but had to live downtown due to my gf's schooling so it took me 90 mins to get to work during rush hour. I also party lots which is way more expensive, groceries are super overpriced too.

I love Van but would never move unless i was already set up with a great job down there.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by revelations

If you have a 100,000$+ year position ready, I would say take it.
Anything less, you will miss not having cash.


:werd:

A co-worker started in our company in Vancouver, he transferred to Calgary 8 years ago, then transferred back to Vancouver 3 years ago. He's now transferring to Edmonton (the only opening we've had since he went back), because he's getting absolutely nowhere financially.

This is especially true if you're single (or single income). There's no way a single person can get ahead there. You need two incomes to get a half decent home, and lifestyle.

[CanmoreOrLess]

Sometimes a move is made for other reasons than financial, which many are jumping upon as a reason to stay in Calgary. If a major reason for anyone to stay anywhere is financial, I feel somewhat sorry for them. Live where you really want to live, do what you really want to do. You can be a slave in Calgary on 100K a year and free in Vancouver on 30K. It all depends on needs v wants and the choices you are prepared to make to be fulfilled.

For you, no one can absolutely tell you one way or another if a new place is better than the old. There are so many variables involved. You could relocate to Pense, Saskatchewan and find a perfect life or stay in Calgary and rot inside.

Go to Vancouver, break out of the rut of the last couple of decades. You can make anyplace your own by being honest with what makes you happy. Getting rid of a bunch of old baggage and false expectations adds character and depth. A little airport goes a long way in achieving happiness and growth.

[Kloubek]

What people are saying is true. It is expensive and traffic is a nightmare. You end up living in the burbs because the actual city of Vancouver is so damn expensive - and as such, you deal with an hour and a half of traffic each way, each day.

The rain is a total downer. It makes everything dark and drenched sometimes for weeks at a time. If you get headaches caused by weather - I'd suggest spending an extended time down there first to see if you can deal with that.

But when it comes to "nice" places to live, I couldn't think of a better place than the BC coast. When the sun is out, it is absolutely gorgeous. And for me anyway, even though I know there is smog, the ocean smell made the air seem clean.

So if your opportunity is going to yield a great paycheque as well, I'd say go for it. And then you have an excuse to cheer for the best Canadian team in hockey.

[ddduke]

Originally posted by CanmoreOrLess
Sometimes a move is made for other reasons than financial, which many are jumping upon as a reason to stay in Calgary. If a major reason for anyone to stay anywhere is financial, I feel somewhat sorry for them. Live where you really want to live, do what you really want to do. You can be a slave in Calgary on 100K a year and free in Vancouver on 30K. It all depends on needs v wants and the choices you are prepared to make to be fulfilled.

For you, no one can absolutely tell you one way or another if a new place is better than the old. There are so many variables involved. You could relocate to Pense, Saskatchewan and find a perfect life or stay in Calgary and rot inside.

Go to Vancouver, break out of the rut of the last couple of decades. You can make anyplace your own by being honest with what makes you happy. Getting rid of a bunch of old baggage and false expectations adds character and depth. A little airport goes a long way in achieving happiness and growth.

He said any input would be appreciated. Everyone's giving the input they have.

Although money isn't everything, it's really important and it's hard to do anything without it. If you can't afford rent and food then you're not going to be happy.

[n1zm0]

Originally posted by revelations
The lower mainland is where the rich go to play. If you have a 100,000$+ year position ready, I would say take it.
Anything less, you will miss not having cash.


this imo is the single most important thing with moving there if you've lived here all your life, i guess depending on what industry you work in, but my brother just did this last year @ 24 ys/o, just up and said he wanted to live in Vancouver... WITHOUT looking for a job first, he had tons of surplus cash but quickly ( i mean within 3 weeks quickly) that Vancouver is damned expensive. i mean he's doing well now but his job field (industrial ecology) is pretty much 10x harder to get employment over there compared to his industry here. his rent is $800/m for probably an 800 sq/ft apartment iirc, but he got a deal on it from a friend where it also came fully furnished, it would've otherwise been $1500/m.

he was saying pretty much the price on everything was a small surprise compared to Calgary, food, supplies, gas in the core is almost a steady ~130.0/L, but he says the transit system is better than ours.

so i guess you can find out the hard way or the easy way if you can 'make it' in Vancouver.

now i guess it's all good cause he pretty much once a week finds new interesting places

[Sugarphreak]

...

[projekz]

Lots of good advice in this thread...

Except for this:


Originally posted by Kloubek
And then you have an excuse to cheer for the best Canadian team in hockey.


:poosie: :poosie: :rofl:

[tedstriker]

Thanks for the info guys,

I recently quit my job to go back to school, hence the new found flexibility. Right now I'm taking courses through Athabasca, but thinking of transferring to UBC/SFU. I have ample savings and income from Calgary rental properties to make it work (it'll be tight though). I've been looking at Coquitlam Centre as a place to find a place to rent. I have 2 small kids as well. They are small enough that the move wouldn't affect them too much.

It would be cheaper and easier to stay in Calgary, but in a few years with a new career and kids in school, the opportunity to move will most likely be gone. It feels like this is my best chance.

[masoncgy]

I would advise you to have steady, full-time, good paying employment established before you make the move. A lot of people from Alberta make the mistake of moving to the Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island without having work lined up and they move back to Alberta within 6 months because they couldn't find anything meaningful.

The BC economy is right in the crapper at the moment. Jobs are scarce. Taxes are high. The Vancouver housing market is starting to deflate and that poses it's own challenges in the near future.

I moved back to BC in 2010 thinking I would be happier out here. Nothing could be further from the truth. I can't stand living on the West Coast. lol.

[Cos]

.

[Merritt]

I know this girl who decided to move to Vancouver, she worked in Starbucks before she moved - and then she actually moved back to Calgary for some reason.

I guess it isn't all it's cracked up to be. You'd need to have an excellent job. Vancouver isn't for low income figures or young people pretty much.

[Penis McNickels]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak

Weather is all relative, rain seems bad.... unless you have an umbrella. You will learn to carry an umbrella in your car like all of the other Vancouverites and it will be all good ;)


I lived in North Van (which gets more rain than the rest of Vancouver) for over 10 years and never once used an umbrella.

I love the rain and would really enjoy taking hikes in the rain as much as possible. My high school years were spent drinking in the parks in the rain...


I would move back if I could buy a decent house out right... but then again, I don't know if I could handle the pay cut associated with moving back. A upper management position would pay what an older intermediate engineer would get paid here.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[max_boost]

Amazing City other than the hockey team. Absolutely love Vancouver but I really wonder how a lot of people get by. Food is so good, so much to do, it's been said, it comes down to $$$.

Luckily it's close enough that I can take a 1 hour plane ride or hop into the car for a nice 10 hour drive.

[sputnik]

The weather is the best and worst thing about Vancouver.

[masoncgy]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
By moment you mean the past 20 or so years right?

hahaha... I suppose... but the HST crap is causing slowdowns all over the place, especially in the construction (new build/renovation) sector, which is where my line of work happens to reside.

I would say my sales are off about 25% over last year.

Oh well, fingers crossed we're back in Calgary by March/April.

[tenth]

Originally posted by CanmoreOrLess
Sometimes a move is made for other reasons than financial, which many are jumping upon as a reason to stay in Calgary. If a major reason for anyone to stay anywhere is financial, I feel somewhat sorry for them.
I like Calgary, but would love to move to Vancouver. The reason we probably won't end up there for a long time (if ever) is entirely financial.

It's worth about $80k a year to us in salary over our careers, ignoring taxes and cost of living. Maybe living in a really nice place (as opposed to a pretty good place to live) is worth $2-3 million household gross to you over 25 years, but that's a massive difference in retirement age and standard of living getting there.

I don't mind paying more for better, but that doesn't mean there's no limit on what I'm willing to pay, and Vancouver stretches that currently beyond the limit.

[Sorath]

almost moved 5-6 years ago to van. Just seemed like such a good option, but after doing the research and time, I never ended up going. However i feel i have made the right decision so far by staying.

I definately agree with most of the people here saying that you should be well established before you move over. Financially especially

[Hash_man]

I moved to Van almost exactly a year ago now. I had a job lined up before moving, otherwise I wouldn't have made the move.

I was able to find a place close to downtown that doesn't cost me a fortune, and because of the mild weather (most of the time) I can either walk or bike to work every day not having to worry about freezing my ass off.

Now, I will agree with most, that Vancouver is expensive. I think I got lucky with my apartment. When searching for one I saw a lot of shitholes and a lot of places that were stupid expensive. Food can be a bit pricy, but there are also lots of places to eat somewhat cheaply, and so many damn choices for restaurants and such.

Also, people bitch about the traffic, but only when dealing with the Lion's Gate bridge coming out of North Van have I thought that traffic out here is worse then Calgary.

The rain can be a downer when it sticks around for a while, but for the most part it hasn't been too bad while I've been here, and the summer is amazing.

Overall Vancouver is not for everyone, but if you're still in school and can afford the move, and afford living in Van, I would say go for it, you're young enough that if you end up hating it you can always move back

[Skyline_Addict]

I agree on the well established part. When people say they want to move to Vancouver, they typically mean somewhere near the core (within 30-45 mins). Anything outside that and you will be living OUTSIDE Vancouver.

The weather isn't good enough there and the place isn't beautiful enough for me to want to drive 1 hour + to get to work.

I love the city but would only move there if I had everything set-up there financially and in terms of a job. I dream of owning a condo along Coal Harbour and be walking distance to work. I won't even consider moving there until I can comfortably afford to do that and such an opportunity actually materializes.

I'm not going to go there first knowing I can't meet these goals right away, and then see what happens. Calgary is a nice place to live and set my self up for that potential move in the future.

[projekz]

I'd wait for the LONG OVERDUE EARTHQUAKE :nut: and then it shall be affordable again:rofl: