Relocation from Calgary to Victoria

[The_Rural_Juror]

Now I want to move to Victoria too. What are the Victoria equivalents for these neighbourhoods?
1) Forest Lawn
2) Britannia
3) Bel-Aire
4) Mount Pleasant
5) Falconridge
6) Kelvin Grove

[Mitsu3000gt]

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Now I want to move to Victoria too. What are the Victoria equivalents for these neighbourhoods?
1) Forest Lawn
2) Britannia
3) Bel-Aire
4) Mount Pleasant
5) Falconridge
6) Kelvin Grove

Why do you want to live in the slums? You forgot to ask about the Aspen equivalent.

[The_Rural_Juror]

That's easy. Beach Drive?

[beyond_ban]

With $650,000 being affordable, i was curious what you get for "unaffordable".

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/1...WMqZf4Uhmn8FZs

[revelations]

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It's been a year and a half since I moved out to Victoria from Calgary, and figured i'd provide an update on a few things.


Cost of Living:
- Higher in some things (eg. insurance, gasoline, meat) but a lot of other things cost less (kids activities cost less, utilities are less, even lower property taxes out here). Overall, I think i'm further ahead financially despite making less money.
- Since we moved here, we estimate the value of our home is now ~20% higher than our purchase price, so either I got a really good deal on our home or the market here is a bit crazy. It might be a bit both because the homes in my neighbourhood are selling within a week of being listed, and my friends think i got a good deal on this home.

The big cost of living items in BC:

ICBC
HST
Price of Gas, if you drive a lot. Its 1.25/L in the GVA.


I dont doubt for a second that other prices are a bit lower, but I doubt your claim that the average cost of living is less than Calgary - esp. given our depressed economy here right now and the active economy there.

[The_Rural_Juror]

Jobs wise, I have a choice to switch to funeral services or forklift driving? That's a tough decision.

[R-Audi]

Obviously not a great time to look for jobs anywhere.. but doesnt seem to be a whole lot in Victoria and housing is super expensive. (Look every now and then, as Ive always wanted to live on the Coast.)

[bjstare]

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The big cost of living items in BC:

ICBC
HST
Price of Gas, if you drive a lot. Its 1.25/L in the GVA.


I dont doubt for a second that other prices are a bit lower, but I doubt your claim that the average cost of living is less than Calgary - esp. given our depressed economy here right now and the active economy there.

Don’t underestimate the impact of the “kids activities” line item in the budget. If this is a lot lower on the coast, that might make a noteworthy diff.

[The_Rural_Juror]

We can always buy a 4-plex together.

[firebane]

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The big cost of living items in BC:

ICBC
HST
Price of Gas, if you drive a lot. Its 1.25/L in the GVA.


I dont doubt for a second that other prices are a bit lower, but I doubt your claim that the average cost of living is less than Calgary - esp. given our depressed economy here right now and the active economy there.

ICBC isn't THAT much more expensive than what we would be paying for in Alberta and since utilities and such are MUCH cheaper in BC you get a bigger offset in costs.

[revelations]

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ICBC isn't THAT much more expensive than what we would be paying for in Alberta and since utilities and such are MUCH cheaper in BC you get a bigger offset in costs.

ICBC is a travesty. I was paying 1200$ a year for a vehicle worth 2500$ and then went to 500$ a year in Calgary. Same coverage/deductibles/etc.

Its a crap shoot right now - Victoria/Calgary isnt as obvious a comparison as city of Vancouver/inner city Calgary (no contest, Vancouver).

Mortage and rent will be the biggest costs followed by kids (eg. daycare) or vehicle purchase/operation.

Just given the fact we are in a slump here and the island is in a boom - I would argue its a reverse the year 2013 situation.

[ercchry]

Libs have made killing ICBC part of their election platform

[hampstor]

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Now I want to move to Victoria too. What are the Victoria equivalents for these neighbourhoods?
1) Forest Lawn -> There really isn't one of those here. I would say maybe... far west side of colwood? Or parts of Gordon head.
2) Britannia -> Anywhere along Beach drive/Dallas Road / south end of view royal
3) Bel-Aire -> Fernwood / Oaklands
4) Mount Pleasant -> View Royal / Vic West / Esquimalt / Fernwood / Oaklands
5) Falconridge -> colquitz/strawberry vale
6) Kelvin Grove -> View Royal

my best guess above. List based on how my subjective scale of how each neighbourhoods 'feel' when I am in them in my 1.5 years of living here.

[D'z Nutz]

Holy shit, I can't believe it's been 1.5 years already.

[The_Rural_Juror]

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my best guess above. List based on how my subjective scale of how each neighbourhoods 'feel' when I am in them in my 1.5 years of living here.

Thanks man! I am researching. Most of the homes appear to be old style and the best schools are catholic.

[hampstor]

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The big cost of living items in BC:

ICBC
HST
Price of Gas, if you drive a lot. Its 1.25/L in the GVA.


I dont doubt for a second that other prices are a bit lower, but I doubt your claim that the average cost of living is less than Calgary - esp. given our depressed economy here right now and the active economy there.

I can't judge based on what Calgary's current cost of living is like as I don't live there anymore - i'll compare to what it was when we left Alberta before middle of last year. When i'm talking about cost of living, i'm talking about specifics that apply to me. Here's the biggest differences i've seen:

- My mortgage is an additional $500/month.
- Property tax is $2,400 /year in View Royal vs. $3,800/year in Calgary.
- Gasoline: I drive significantly less in Victoria. 1 tank of gas lasts me almost 2-3 months (91L tank in a 1/2 ton truck). In Calgary, a full tank of gas was 2 weeks. That's a huge difference right there - saves me probably $150/month in gasoline. 15 minutes is considered a long drive here.
- Kids activities: Taekwondo costed me $400/month for 2 kids in Calgary. I pay $150/month here for both kids.
- Utilities: Gas/water/electricity: $250-300/month on the high end. In Calgary i was pushing $500-600/month on the high end (winter).
- ICBC: $1600/year for my truck. That's $400/year more than it was in Calgary.
- Food: Red meat costs more (10-30% more). We eat less red meat now and more chicken/fish/eggs. I also go crab fishing out in sooke once in a while too (license costs $24/year).
- General activities: We spend more time doing 'free' family activities. Spending an afternoon at a beach, going for walks/hikes regularly. This is a huge change for us as in Calgary we would often 'go to a movie, go walk through cross iron, go to a kids play place' - all of which we ended up spending money.

A big thing here is you have to change your lifestyle to suit the area. I didn't try to keep all the things about my Alberta lifestyle. For instance everything is a short drive here, so you can make a decision if you would rather walk instead. I used to take the bus/cycle to work.

[revelations]

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Libs have made killing ICBC part of their election platform

Should have been done decades ago.

I recall when I got a 50$ ICBC cheque because their investments made too much money - money which the BC liberals then used for their own projects and accounting.

[hampstor]

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Thanks man! I am researching. Most of the homes appear to be old style and the best schools are catholic.

oops. I forgot that Saanich is fucking huge. It has all those areas in it (lower income/rental to huge acerages).

If you want a newer "move up" home built within the last 2 decades, you're going to be looking in the west shore (langford/colwood/Royal bay). Very few of those anywhere else.

[The_Rural_Juror]

$10MM to live like the unabomber in View Royal.
https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/2...royal-hospital

[taemo]

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Jobs wise, I have a choice to switch to funeral services or forklift driving? That's a tough decision.

1st one, you'll always have a customer.
let me know if you need a digger.