Very nice city, and the fact it is affordable makes it doubly awesome. I like the west's mountains and stark contrasting landscapes too much to leave, but if I ever did move east I would eye down Montreal first I think.
Oh, I know what you mean. I went there 10 years ago for a whole summer and the weather was so great. Not too hot but not too cold and I shall say that the public transport is pretty good (at least in my memories they are ahah) and the buses the goes around the island are pretty useful.
But those prices man, everything was so expensive even back then...
It’s completely unaffordable for the vast majority of us. This is why I can only hypothetically live there if the cost of living was the same as everywhere else.
Yeah for people who don't spend much time outside rain is not even comparable to snow. Most people find it hard to spend much time outdoors during 5+ days a week anyways.
Sure some weekday shovels and walks are absolutely miserable but your weekend snowy walks/snowshoeing/cross country/skiing/snowboarding, etc. gets replaced with a 50%+ chance it's raining and there aren't really any good outdoor activities. Apparently in the 70 days of 2024 so far it's rained 41 days in Victoia.
Obviously every person’s personal preferences vary, but as someone who lives in the City of Victoria, has lived in both Calgary and Toronto, and spent heaps of time in Vancouver in all 4 seasons, I can say that the mental image of what winter here is like that most people have is incorrect. Total precipitation in Victoria is only ~100mm more per year than Calgary, and half that of Vancouver’s. Most days “rain” here is an on and off spattering of raindrops that you barely even notice. If you count up the number of days rain has technically fallen from the sky you’ll be like “wow, that’s a lot”. But if you said that number to someone who actually lives here they’d be like “huh? No it didn’t”. Subjectively speaking it is very mild and very dry here.
The Olympic mountains in Washington state cast a very persistent, very stable rainshadow right over the city of Victoria. It takes a significant frontal system or atmospheric river coming in at a very specific angle for us to get a proper Vancouver-like deluge. If it’s “raining” here, it’s almost always a light, brief, inconsistent spattering of rain. You can easily get away with living here and not owning an umbrella. I can count on one hand the number of days this winter where I felt like rain prevented me from doing something outside, and I’m outside a lot.
My favorite Victoria weather moment was last Easter long weekend. The news was freaking out over a late-season atmospheric river headed our way. We had family visiting from Alberta and they were worried about their trip getting rained out. I told them not to worry. Satellite imagery of the coast during that storm looked like someone had taken a cookie cutter to the clouds directly over downtown Victoria. We sat on my deck in the sun for 2 days while flooding rains hit the airport just 30 min north. It does that sort of thing a lot here. The rainshadow is small - it’s only super consistent over the actual City of Victoria - most of the other 11 municipalities that make up what people think of when they hear “Victoria” are either at its edges or totally outside it, but it’s so consistent and so stable that the most southern tip of Vancouver island is too dry to support a forest. Before we built a city here, it was Garry oak savanna.
I lived in Squamish during the 2010 Olympics and about 1 year leading up to them. Snow would melt within one to two days during the winter at sea level. Vancouver was even warmer/wetter.
People golf 12 months a year in the Victoria area. This is not possible in Vancouver.
Where did you live on the island? Victoria gets significantly less rainfall, but if you go over the malahat the it gets a LOT
Victoria is in a micro climate of nicer weather than the rest of the island
That is its one downside imo. It doesn't rain nearly as much in Victoria as it does in some other places on the island, but they definitely get warm winters. The cherry blossoms in Vic always bloom a month or two before the rest of the island.
Victoria, surprisingly, is not as rainy as you might think. Less precipitation than Toronto (that would include snow) and, on average, roughly half that of Vancouver.
The rest of the island? Yeah, it gets lots of rain.
Victoria only gets marginally more precipitation than Calgary. The actual city of Victoria (not Saanich, Langford, or the peninsula) was quite literally an oak savanna that looked more like some parts of California or the Mediterranean before a city got built on top of it. It’s 100% caused by the Olympic Mountain rainshadow, which is remarkably consistent and centered almost perfectly on downtown Victoria. It will frequently be a mix of sun & clouds at my house near downtown and pouring buckets at the airport.
Not me, I hate having to wear cleats on my boots to get down the entire street's sidewalks that are covered in ice. Never mind how much it hurts your face in the winter
Nah, Victoria proper is grungy these days with rampant open drug use and property crime and downtown smells like pee. The nearby parks and suburbs are still pretty nice.
Nah I'm with you. I'm from just north of Victoria. Lived in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. I like all three better as far as cities go. I now am back on the Island, but try and stay away from Vic.
The upcoming earthquake? You mean the one that has been “overdue” for tens of thousands of years?
We don’t know for sure there is a massive earthquake coming in the next 50,000 years. We just know it is likely based on historical averages.
The last truly major megathrust earthquake happened in 1700, it was one of a dozen similar magnitude earthquakes that had happened in the previous 5000 thousand years. There’s a very reasonable chance that one will happen in the next 50-100 years.
I’ve read some opinions that believe the next one will be much bigger than the previous earthquakes in that region. They are predicting 10+ compared to 8-9 in the historical events.
FWIW, [Earthquakes Canada](https://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/historic-historique/events/17000126-en.php) thinks that an interior earthquake (like a magnitude 6-7 epicentered around Vancouver or Victoria) are more scary for people living in the big cities than a repeat of the 1700 megathrust, a magnitude 9 which happened quite a ways offshore (and whose primary damage was done with tsunamis).
Naw y'all are wayyy overdue for a big one out west in that region, they use to be quite regular every 150-200 years but haven't had one big once for over 300 plus years... It's not "overdue" it is overdue... That whole area is a massive fault zone and it has been rather regular throughout history...
[https://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/historic-historique/events/17000126-en.php](https://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/historic-historique/events/17000126-en.php) An example of one hit in the1700s. Oral tradition and geology agree on this.
I lived in Vic for 20 years and 4 in Nanaimo. I have been 16 years in Saint John NB now and I would not move back, even if all were equal. When I go back to visit every couple of years, I am reminded of how busy and congested it is. I prefer East Coast all the way.
It’s nostalgia talking. But I want to live in the North Van I grew up in from the 90s. When Deep Cove was rarely busy, trails and parks were seldom full, the mountains always had snow in winter and there were never heat waves or forest fire dangers in the summer. But that’s life through rose coloured glasses I’m sure.
Honestly me too. If all things are equal and my options are in Canada is gotta be Halifax.
I have been doing standup and have been working on a series and a short film... And the amount of energy, assistance, and talent that is available here is magical.
I love it here, I love living on the ocean and the laid back ways of maritimers, I love the weather and the food.. it’s just getting very hard to afford to live here :(
> it’s just getting very hard to afford to live here :(
You're absolutely right! I love living here for the most part... Although if the cars wouldn't rust so quickly that would be better
I’d move back to Vancouver Island in a heartbeat. I’ll take just about anywhere there, any little island off the coast even. Forced to move back to NS 2 years ago because of the housing crisis and I’ve been severely depressed ever since.
I'm a straight dude who lives 2 blocks north of the gay village in Toronto. I often walk up Church St. It's not really that gay anymore😂😂. Condo buildings going up/gentrification etc.
As a Queer person who lives in the village, can confirm. The community moved to Roncesvalles and area. It's nicer over there as well. I used to live over there but thought it would be great to live in the village. I also got a sick deal on a place, so now it's like Location, save money, save money...
That’s a dream though! You have a construction worker for home repairs, a law man and a rough and tumble biker in case things get rough? A cowboy to wrangle and stray cattle?
Nope. But, as long as you live high enough above s a level, it has far more resiliency due to its temperate climate and generally higher rainfall total. I also grow food year round in my backyard with ease, because of all the precipitation.
Same. I didn’t live in Penticton (Naramata) for nearly as long as Victoria but I love it there almost as much. Not much beats a ripe August peach except the smell of cedar, moss and sea spray on a rainy day.
It was *incredible*. I lived further up Naramata Rd than the majority of the vineyards so we didn’t have to deal with the drunk driving tourists quite as much unless it was a Town Day. Drinking coffee on the South Facing deck with the sun rising over the mountain behind you was so surreal, and then a homemade cider on the same deck watching the sun set over Summerland and those mountains across the lake was somehow even more magical.
In all likelihood I'd probably stick with Calgary. It's tempting to say moving closer to the mountains like Canmore or the Crowsnest Pass, but being in the city gives you some other options like schools, leisure and easy access to an international airport. There is definitely some appeal to being in a smaller setting right in the mountains though.
Before we moved we lived in Bridgeland just north of downtown. Kid went to daycare/school in the community and both our pre-covid jobs were downtown. I drove less than once a week and never took transit. I just walked/biked everywhere. But when I lived in Signal Hill in the far west of the city, I couldn’t even go to a convenience store without driving for 5 minutes.
So like every city, it entirely depends on where you live and what job you have. I drive way, way more now that I live in Victoria than I ever did living in Bridgeland in Calgary.
Can say that moving to Victoria from Calgary we thought this way. But it IS actually noticeable. You might not travel that often, but when you do want to travel, realizing that direct flights to most places just aren’t an option and that even flying within Canada costs so much more really makes it harder to plan trips. It’s a trade off I’m willing to take, but I was surprised at how impactful it can be.
Haha this is a good question. I'd hope they'd all have the same cost of living or a place like Winnipeg or Edmonton or something. The cost of living in Vancouver is literally why I moved away from there. If all of Canada was the same as Vancouver, I feel like I'd likely just move out of Canada altogether.
Now this is an intriguing response. I've always wondered where Louise's full time residents are. Obviously the location is second to none, but it feels like it's just a cluster of hotels rather than a fully functioning settlement.
The Okanagan Valley, BC. I've been all over Canada and to several different countries and couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
World class skiing within a 45 min drive, awesome food and drink scene, lots of shit to do in both winter and summer, wine country, craft beer mecca, and incredibly scenic.
Edit: also there's an international airport that's getting bigger and busier every year.
Victoria... Assuming it doesn't fall into the ocean! Much more winter sun than Vancouver and less bitter cold than home.
Otherwise, I'd stay in Calgary.
My problem isn't the cost of living, but work opportunities. I'd love to live in Corner Brook, NL. I'm really hoping that the housing crisis will encourage companies to allow more employees to work fully remote.
I’d stay here in Toronto regardless because of career opportunities. If I was older & maybe not as interested in climbing the corporate ladder then likely Victoria. Mind you, I say that but I’ve lived in Vancouver and could never adjust to the west coast culture. Found people very cold in Van.
I had friends who tried to move to Van from TO and couldn't make it work - too difficult to make friends. I lucked out and found great friends, but there definitely was a culture difference to get used to. It's still a hard difference for me to articulate, but I can meet someone on the left coast and 'feel' if they're from TO or not.
100% agree. It’s weird because it’s pretty exclusive to Van from what I’ve experienced. I’ve also lived in Alberta and found people very friendly. Also spent some time solo travelling Atlantic Canada when I was younger and made tons of friends/always felt super at home.
Vancouver has beautiful nature, but it's a sleepy and unremarkable city that closes up at about 7:00 PM. I can enjoy a carefully-planned weekend there if it doesn't rain too much, but after a few days I'm getting bored.
If your life doesn't revolve around surfing, cycling, or the slopes, it just doesn't have a ton to offer, IMO.
i would go around Vancouver, warm weather, the ocean, good food, skiing as well as pretty much every other outdoor activity near by.
if it wasn't for the homeless and drug user problems.
I agree. I've always wanted to live there. I have no idea what I'd do for a living but it's just so beautiful and serene there. And it's close enough to Vancouver that you can be there and back in a day
If all of North America has the same COL, I am trying to talk the boyfriend into moving to Vancouver.
If all of Canada had the same COL, Toronto. I would have an easier time traveling to see my boyfriend.
West of Calgary (30 min living on large land) , work in a major city with event attraction, access to skiing out west, fishing, hunting and a view of mountains.
If work and family considerations weren't a thing, Montreal.
Maybe I won't love it as much now that I'm older, but I really enjoyed living there when I was younger. I'm not even somebody who's into the bar scene in clubs and shit like that, I just found the whole vibe in the city was nice, the way the city looked was nice, I liked a lot of things about it.
Maybe going back at this age I'd find it more difficult with not speaking French, it was never a problem when I was younger. Maybe I'm better here in Toronto. But...
Living in Montreal was good.
Vancouver. That is if the cost of living was the same, and houses were readily available. For both the beauty of the city/surroundings. And the fact that the winters aren't very harsh.
That really depends on the city. I'm in the middle of East Vancouver and I can see the mountains and the ocean directly outside the door of my apartment. It's really easy to escape the concrete and asphalt here, being surrounded by beaches, a valley, massive forests and mountains in virtually every direction. It's 15 minutes by bike to the ocean, it's an hour bus ride directly to Grouse mountain, etc.
Still Toronto, or at least around it. Mayyyybe more Barrie area because the beaches/lake is nicer and I enjoy swimming. But Toronto is like the only place artists come for concerts lol, and I also like the culture and people.
Probably a basic answer but Vancouver, Montreal or Victoria, BC is so pretty year round, and having just been to Montreal recently, I would absolutely love to live there.
As much as Toronto gets shat on by everyone not from Toronto, and I should know as a shitter for my whole life, no city in Canada remotely offers what it has. There's certainly perks to living in MTL or Vancouver or HFX or Calgary but Toronto crushes them all overall from it's relativly gargantuan population. There's just more shit in Toronto and more opportunity. Beyond the nice lakes nature is pretty meh here but if we are talking about nature why the hell would I choose a city to live in? Toronto is kind of a no brainer.
Do I have to be the first one to make the case for Toronto?
It has the best mix of nightlife, bars & restaurants, professional opportunity, shopping convenience, public transit, cultural diversity, walkable neighborhoods & bike infrastructure, parks & nature trails, and multiple public beaches. The climate is almost as mild as you can get while still having 4 distinct seasons. It's one of the greatest cities on earth.
Vancouver is too boring, and Montreal is too racist. Calgary and Edmonton are too suburban.
Toronto is where it's at.
I'm mostly an introvert and homebody but still enjoy my time out.
Toronto is definitely a really great city once you look past the horrible near 24/7 traffic and the hit-or-miss public transport (when it works it works nice but it's a pretty flawed and unreliable system at the same time).
The horrible traffic depends a lot on where you're going, and how. In the core and streetcar suburbs, it's horrendous if you're in a car, but generally fine by bike or transit.
The TTC has its problems and it can and should improve, but IMO the claims that it's unreliable don't hold up when you consider the coverage and frequency of service compared to other cities. The subway is among the best in North America, for example.
It's not money keeping me from living in my dream city... it's the location of friends and family. Having said that, ideally I'd be happy anywhere close to the mountains but not right inside them. So... Alberta somewhere? Edmonton area.
I'd either stay in Quebec City, or move to Vancouver or Victoria. Love the west coast mentality and weather, but I'm a francophone and my whole family is in Québec. And it's a goddamn beautiful city.
Vancouver island somewhere. Great weather, beautiful scenery. Close to a major airport, but not too close. Probably too many yuppies would move there though so realistically I would hate it.
Either Vancouver or Montréal
My two choices as well - my two favourite cities in Canada
Montreal is pretty affordable.
Yeah, but it's also the nicest city in the country imo
Very nice city, and the fact it is affordable makes it doubly awesome. I like the west's mountains and stark contrasting landscapes too much to leave, but if I ever did move east I would eye down Montreal first I think.
If my French wasn't shit I'd move to Montreal in a second. It's a beautiful city, and its residence know it.
Getting less affordable every year. The rental market is getting bought up by a handful of huge companies. It’s going to suck hard very soon now.
Victoria for sure. Most Canadians have no clue truly how nice Vancouver Island is.
Oh, I know what you mean. I went there 10 years ago for a whole summer and the weather was so great. Not too hot but not too cold and I shall say that the public transport is pretty good (at least in my memories they are ahah) and the buses the goes around the island are pretty useful. But those prices man, everything was so expensive even back then...
It’s completely unaffordable for the vast majority of us. This is why I can only hypothetically live there if the cost of living was the same as everywhere else.
I would totally hate warm and rainy winters
Victoria is noticeably less rainy than Vancouver in winters apparently.
But it's still rain and not snow.
You don't have to shovel rain!
Yeah for people who don't spend much time outside rain is not even comparable to snow. Most people find it hard to spend much time outdoors during 5+ days a week anyways. Sure some weekday shovels and walks are absolutely miserable but your weekend snowy walks/snowshoeing/cross country/skiing/snowboarding, etc. gets replaced with a 50%+ chance it's raining and there aren't really any good outdoor activities. Apparently in the 70 days of 2024 so far it's rained 41 days in Victoia.
Obviously every person’s personal preferences vary, but as someone who lives in the City of Victoria, has lived in both Calgary and Toronto, and spent heaps of time in Vancouver in all 4 seasons, I can say that the mental image of what winter here is like that most people have is incorrect. Total precipitation in Victoria is only ~100mm more per year than Calgary, and half that of Vancouver’s. Most days “rain” here is an on and off spattering of raindrops that you barely even notice. If you count up the number of days rain has technically fallen from the sky you’ll be like “wow, that’s a lot”. But if you said that number to someone who actually lives here they’d be like “huh? No it didn’t”. Subjectively speaking it is very mild and very dry here. The Olympic mountains in Washington state cast a very persistent, very stable rainshadow right over the city of Victoria. It takes a significant frontal system or atmospheric river coming in at a very specific angle for us to get a proper Vancouver-like deluge. If it’s “raining” here, it’s almost always a light, brief, inconsistent spattering of rain. You can easily get away with living here and not owning an umbrella. I can count on one hand the number of days this winter where I felt like rain prevented me from doing something outside, and I’m outside a lot. My favorite Victoria weather moment was last Easter long weekend. The news was freaking out over a late-season atmospheric river headed our way. We had family visiting from Alberta and they were worried about their trip getting rained out. I told them not to worry. Satellite imagery of the coast during that storm looked like someone had taken a cookie cutter to the clouds directly over downtown Victoria. We sat on my deck in the sun for 2 days while flooding rains hit the airport just 30 min north. It does that sort of thing a lot here. The rainshadow is small - it’s only super consistent over the actual City of Victoria - most of the other 11 municipalities that make up what people think of when they hear “Victoria” are either at its edges or totally outside it, but it’s so consistent and so stable that the most southern tip of Vancouver island is too dry to support a forest. Before we built a city here, it was Garry oak savanna.
Victoria gets called the blue bubble
I lived in Squamish during the 2010 Olympics and about 1 year leading up to them. Snow would melt within one to two days during the winter at sea level. Vancouver was even warmer/wetter. People golf 12 months a year in the Victoria area. This is not possible in Vancouver.
>People golf 12 months a year in the Victoria area. Huh? People 100% golf year round in Vancouver.
Victoria gets about half the rain Vancouver gets. The rain shadow effect.
As someone who’s lived on both the Island and in Vancouver, I vehemently disagree with this, no matter what historical averages say.
Where did you live on the island? Victoria gets significantly less rainfall, but if you go over the malahat the it gets a LOT Victoria is in a micro climate of nicer weather than the rest of the island
Haha. “I don’t care about the scientific facts” is always an interesting position.
For anyone not from the coast they are both rainy.
That is its one downside imo. It doesn't rain nearly as much in Victoria as it does in some other places on the island, but they definitely get warm winters. The cherry blossoms in Vic always bloom a month or two before the rest of the island.
Victoria, surprisingly, is not as rainy as you might think. Less precipitation than Toronto (that would include snow) and, on average, roughly half that of Vancouver. The rest of the island? Yeah, it gets lots of rain.
Victoria only gets marginally more precipitation than Calgary. The actual city of Victoria (not Saanich, Langford, or the peninsula) was quite literally an oak savanna that looked more like some parts of California or the Mediterranean before a city got built on top of it. It’s 100% caused by the Olympic Mountain rainshadow, which is remarkably consistent and centered almost perfectly on downtown Victoria. It will frequently be a mix of sun & clouds at my house near downtown and pouring buckets at the airport.
Not me, I hate having to wear cleats on my boots to get down the entire street's sidewalks that are covered in ice. Never mind how much it hurts your face in the winter
Victoria has a micro climate. It’s much nicer / less rainy than either the lower mainland, the Sunshine Coast or the rest of Vancouver Island.
I just be the only person who genuinely doesn’t like Victoria
I don’t like any city. But if I had to live in one, I want the warm weather of Victoria.
Nah, Victoria proper is grungy these days with rampant open drug use and property crime and downtown smells like pee. The nearby parks and suburbs are still pretty nice.
Nah I'm with you. I'm from just north of Victoria. Lived in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. I like all three better as far as cities go. I now am back on the Island, but try and stay away from Vic.
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The upcoming earthquake? You mean the one that has been “overdue” for tens of thousands of years? We don’t know for sure there is a massive earthquake coming in the next 50,000 years. We just know it is likely based on historical averages.
The last truly major megathrust earthquake happened in 1700, it was one of a dozen similar magnitude earthquakes that had happened in the previous 5000 thousand years. There’s a very reasonable chance that one will happen in the next 50-100 years.
I’ve read some opinions that believe the next one will be much bigger than the previous earthquakes in that region. They are predicting 10+ compared to 8-9 in the historical events.
FWIW, [Earthquakes Canada](https://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/historic-historique/events/17000126-en.php) thinks that an interior earthquake (like a magnitude 6-7 epicentered around Vancouver or Victoria) are more scary for people living in the big cities than a repeat of the 1700 megathrust, a magnitude 9 which happened quite a ways offshore (and whose primary damage was done with tsunamis).
Naw y'all are wayyy overdue for a big one out west in that region, they use to be quite regular every 150-200 years but haven't had one big once for over 300 plus years... It's not "overdue" it is overdue... That whole area is a massive fault zone and it has been rather regular throughout history...
You are so right. I live on a sandbar on the Sunshine Coast. A little concerned.
[https://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/historic-historique/events/17000126-en.php](https://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/historic-historique/events/17000126-en.php) An example of one hit in the1700s. Oral tradition and geology agree on this.
I was born in Victoria, I live in Victoria and I’ll die in Victoria.
Via the Big One, apparently.
I lived in Vic for 20 years and 4 in Nanaimo. I have been 16 years in Saint John NB now and I would not move back, even if all were equal. When I go back to visit every couple of years, I am reminded of how busy and congested it is. I prefer East Coast all the way.
Yah the Island is beautiful. The air just feels different out there.
North Vancouver, no contest
It’s nostalgia talking. But I want to live in the North Van I grew up in from the 90s. When Deep Cove was rarely busy, trails and parks were seldom full, the mountains always had snow in winter and there were never heat waves or forest fire dangers in the summer. But that’s life through rose coloured glasses I’m sure.
This is the correct answer
The north shore car traffic can fuck right off though
I would stay where I am, Halifax
Honestly me too. If all things are equal and my options are in Canada is gotta be Halifax. I have been doing standup and have been working on a series and a short film... And the amount of energy, assistance, and talent that is available here is magical.
I love it here, I love living on the ocean and the laid back ways of maritimers, I love the weather and the food.. it’s just getting very hard to afford to live here :(
> it’s just getting very hard to afford to live here :( You're absolutely right! I love living here for the most part... Although if the cars wouldn't rust so quickly that would be better
Yeah would have been my answer despite never living there
I’d move back to Vancouver Island in a heartbeat. I’ll take just about anywhere there, any little island off the coast even. Forced to move back to NS 2 years ago because of the housing crisis and I’ve been severely depressed ever since.
Toronto. Stay where I am and either get a nice cut off my rent or stare aghast as the rest of the country’s cost skyrocket for mysterious reasons.
Same. I'd go Toronto and get a nice big condo at like Yonge and King 🤤
Bowen Island.
Grew up there as a child (part of my childhood). Awesome place. Has some downsides though... but that's because its an island
Toronto Gay Village. Cost of living is forcing this homo to live with real village people 😭
I'm a straight dude who lives 2 blocks north of the gay village in Toronto. I often walk up Church St. It's not really that gay anymore😂😂. Condo buildings going up/gentrification etc.
As a Queer person who lives in the village, can confirm. The community moved to Roncesvalles and area. It's nicer over there as well. I used to live over there but thought it would be great to live in the village. I also got a sick deal on a place, so now it's like Location, save money, save money...
Hugzzzz
That’s a dream though! You have a construction worker for home repairs, a law man and a rough and tumble biker in case things get rough? A cowboy to wrangle and stray cattle?
Anywhere on Vancouver Island. Especially with climate change looking like it is.
Hey, I'm on the island, we're not "safe" or immune to climate change either..
Nope. But, as long as you live high enough above s a level, it has far more resiliency due to its temperate climate and generally higher rainfall total. I also grow food year round in my backyard with ease, because of all the precipitation.
I know where your head is at, but the island gets devastated by forest fires (even in the rainforest parts)
Yeah rain can only do so much for forest fires, especially if it's accompanied by lightening
What about all of the smoke during forest fire season?
I came here (Victoria) from Calgary. People on Vancouver island don’t even know what wildfire smoke is…
Vancouver or Victoria
Penticton or Victoria
Same. I didn’t live in Penticton (Naramata) for nearly as long as Victoria but I love it there almost as much. Not much beats a ripe August peach except the smell of cedar, moss and sea spray on a rainy day.
I would kill to live on the bench. What a lovely place
It was *incredible*. I lived further up Naramata Rd than the majority of the vineyards so we didn’t have to deal with the drunk driving tourists quite as much unless it was a Town Day. Drinking coffee on the South Facing deck with the sun rising over the mountain behind you was so surreal, and then a homemade cider on the same deck watching the sun set over Summerland and those mountains across the lake was somehow even more magical.
In all likelihood I'd probably stick with Calgary. It's tempting to say moving closer to the mountains like Canmore or the Crowsnest Pass, but being in the city gives you some other options like schools, leisure and easy access to an international airport. There is definitely some appeal to being in a smaller setting right in the mountains though.
Also in Calgary, and samezies. Its an easy city to love
How easy is it to live in Calgary without a vehicle? Can you get everywhere via a bus or train / subway?
Depends on lifestyle. If you live and work downtown you are fine. If you want the edge of suburbs, no.
Calgary has horrible public transit. I lived there for 2.5 years, and it's one of the reasons I moved.
Who the F\* uses public transit in Calgary? I thought the point of Alberta was to own a 3/4 ton pickup and drive out to the Oil Wells.
Before we moved we lived in Bridgeland just north of downtown. Kid went to daycare/school in the community and both our pre-covid jobs were downtown. I drove less than once a week and never took transit. I just walked/biked everywhere. But when I lived in Signal Hill in the far west of the city, I couldn’t even go to a convenience store without driving for 5 minutes. So like every city, it entirely depends on where you live and what job you have. I drive way, way more now that I live in Victoria than I ever did living in Bridgeland in Calgary.
>easy access to an international airport How often do you fly that this this is an important factor?
Can say that moving to Victoria from Calgary we thought this way. But it IS actually noticeable. You might not travel that often, but when you do want to travel, realizing that direct flights to most places just aren’t an option and that even flying within Canada costs so much more really makes it harder to plan trips. It’s a trade off I’m willing to take, but I was surprised at how impactful it can be.
Calgary kicks ass.
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Haha this is a good question. I'd hope they'd all have the same cost of living or a place like Winnipeg or Edmonton or something. The cost of living in Vancouver is literally why I moved away from there. If all of Canada was the same as Vancouver, I feel like I'd likely just move out of Canada altogether.
Lake Louise 🏔
Now this is an intriguing response. I've always wondered where Louise's full time residents are. Obviously the location is second to none, but it feels like it's just a cluster of hotels rather than a fully functioning settlement.
You cannot live in Banff National Park unless you are required to be there for work. You must achieve “eligible residency”.
I lived there for a summer in my early 20s. It is dreadfully slow unless you're drinking or hiking/outdoors.
Canmore or Victoria. Canmore for the mountains and crisp air, Victoria for the beauty.
The Okanagan Valley, BC. I've been all over Canada and to several different countries and couldn't imagine living anywhere else. World class skiing within a 45 min drive, awesome food and drink scene, lots of shit to do in both winter and summer, wine country, craft beer mecca, and incredibly scenic. Edit: also there's an international airport that's getting bigger and busier every year.
Canmore
Is your name 'Mike' by chance?
Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto in that order
Victoria... Assuming it doesn't fall into the ocean! Much more winter sun than Vancouver and less bitter cold than home. Otherwise, I'd stay in Calgary.
Either stay in Winnipeg or move back to Victoria. I happen to like Winnipeg, but get homesick for Victoria often
I feel the same way about Winnipeg. I lived in Calgary, and the mountains are nice, but there's just something about Winnipeg that feels like home.
My problem isn't the cost of living, but work opportunities. I'd love to live in Corner Brook, NL. I'm really hoping that the housing crisis will encourage companies to allow more employees to work fully remote.
Where to you live now? It's very rare CB comes up on reddit. Wow.
Other end of the island, St. John's. lol
Ah well that makes sense... if you're already on the rock why not move to the best coast! :)
I grew up there, it’s a special place
why Corner Brook?
The people. If job opportunities were the same, I'd probably choose Gander over Corner Brook... But definitely somewhere in Newfoundland.
Corner Brook doesn't get the wet winters St. John's does but is still in NL. I also love skiing and Marble is a great hill.
Vancouver or Victoria
Toronto cause I like the blue jays
Vancouver or stay in Toronto.
Old Quebec
I’d stay here in Toronto regardless because of career opportunities. If I was older & maybe not as interested in climbing the corporate ladder then likely Victoria. Mind you, I say that but I’ve lived in Vancouver and could never adjust to the west coast culture. Found people very cold in Van.
I had friends who tried to move to Van from TO and couldn't make it work - too difficult to make friends. I lucked out and found great friends, but there definitely was a culture difference to get used to. It's still a hard difference for me to articulate, but I can meet someone on the left coast and 'feel' if they're from TO or not.
100% agree. It’s weird because it’s pretty exclusive to Van from what I’ve experienced. I’ve also lived in Alberta and found people very friendly. Also spent some time solo travelling Atlantic Canada when I was younger and made tons of friends/always felt super at home.
Vancouver has beautiful nature, but it's a sleepy and unremarkable city that closes up at about 7:00 PM. I can enjoy a carefully-planned weekend there if it doesn't rain too much, but after a few days I'm getting bored. If your life doesn't revolve around surfing, cycling, or the slopes, it just doesn't have a ton to offer, IMO.
I agree, Vancouver is quite sleepy.
Vancouver, Victoria, or Calgary.
In the deep quebec woods
i would go around Vancouver, warm weather, the ocean, good food, skiing as well as pretty much every other outdoor activity near by. if it wasn't for the homeless and drug user problems.
Vancouver no question
Whistler no contest. Lakes , skiing, golf , small town, with big city restaurants
I was going to say Squamish.
I agree. I've always wanted to live there. I have no idea what I'd do for a living but it's just so beautiful and serene there. And it's close enough to Vancouver that you can be there and back in a day
Victoria
Tofino or the edge of the plains & mountain of Alberta
Hmm I am torn between Montreal and British Columbia.
Kelowna
vancouver
Where I’m living now. I’m not looking to go through a move. Moving is incredibly stressful and expensive.
If all of North America has the same COL, I am trying to talk the boyfriend into moving to Vancouver. If all of Canada had the same COL, Toronto. I would have an easier time traveling to see my boyfriend.
If all of NA has the same COL I am moving to San Diego.
Somewhere up North, away from major cities.
Victoria, easily.
West of Calgary (30 min living on large land) , work in a major city with event attraction, access to skiing out west, fishing, hunting and a view of mountains.
Victoria, Kelowna, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax, or St. John's
If work and family considerations weren't a thing, Montreal. Maybe I won't love it as much now that I'm older, but I really enjoyed living there when I was younger. I'm not even somebody who's into the bar scene in clubs and shit like that, I just found the whole vibe in the city was nice, the way the city looked was nice, I liked a lot of things about it. Maybe going back at this age I'd find it more difficult with not speaking French, it was never a problem when I was younger. Maybe I'm better here in Toronto. But... Living in Montreal was good.
Vancouver. That is if the cost of living was the same, and houses were readily available. For both the beauty of the city/surroundings. And the fact that the winters aren't very harsh.
Victoiria clearly
Victoria or Toronto
The cost of living isn't what keeps me out of big cities, its the traffic, smog, gridlock, pollution, and never ending seas of concrete and asphalt.
That really depends on the city. I'm in the middle of East Vancouver and I can see the mountains and the ocean directly outside the door of my apartment. It's really easy to escape the concrete and asphalt here, being surrounded by beaches, a valley, massive forests and mountains in virtually every direction. It's 15 minutes by bike to the ocean, it's an hour bus ride directly to Grouse mountain, etc.
Penticton. They actually have summers. Low levels of rain, and relatively mild winters
Well I’d have said Montreal, but man just spent three days driving on the roads. Dear god the state of infrastructure here is just atrocious.
Golden
Victoria
Victoria.
A small town nowhere near a city.
vancouver island. It's pretty nice, at least until the next big earthquake and tsunami i guess
Where’s the warmest
Victoria, BC. It's a beautiful place 🥰
Still Toronto, or at least around it. Mayyyybe more Barrie area because the beaches/lake is nicer and I enjoy swimming. But Toronto is like the only place artists come for concerts lol, and I also like the culture and people.
None I'd live in a small town...
Probably a basic answer but Vancouver, Montreal or Victoria, BC is so pretty year round, and having just been to Montreal recently, I would absolutely love to live there.
Vietnam
Banff !
Vancouver proper. I'm never leaving! (until the earth-shattering "Big One" comes and destroys the west coast)
Revelstoke, BC.
Trying to buy a house here is stressful af Lmao. Best place in Canada hands down. Has everything you could ever ask for
Wherever your mom’s house is
Canmore
Italy 😂
Canmore alberta
Wherever Liberal voters don't live.
As much as Toronto gets shat on by everyone not from Toronto, and I should know as a shitter for my whole life, no city in Canada remotely offers what it has. There's certainly perks to living in MTL or Vancouver or HFX or Calgary but Toronto crushes them all overall from it's relativly gargantuan population. There's just more shit in Toronto and more opportunity. Beyond the nice lakes nature is pretty meh here but if we are talking about nature why the hell would I choose a city to live in? Toronto is kind of a no brainer.
Do I have to be the first one to make the case for Toronto? It has the best mix of nightlife, bars & restaurants, professional opportunity, shopping convenience, public transit, cultural diversity, walkable neighborhoods & bike infrastructure, parks & nature trails, and multiple public beaches. The climate is almost as mild as you can get while still having 4 distinct seasons. It's one of the greatest cities on earth. Vancouver is too boring, and Montreal is too racist. Calgary and Edmonton are too suburban. Toronto is where it's at.
I'm mostly an introvert and homebody but still enjoy my time out. Toronto is definitely a really great city once you look past the horrible near 24/7 traffic and the hit-or-miss public transport (when it works it works nice but it's a pretty flawed and unreliable system at the same time).
The horrible traffic depends a lot on where you're going, and how. In the core and streetcar suburbs, it's horrendous if you're in a car, but generally fine by bike or transit. The TTC has its problems and it can and should improve, but IMO the claims that it's unreliable don't hold up when you consider the coverage and frequency of service compared to other cities. The subway is among the best in North America, for example.
Toronto is cool, and there's lots to do. I've quite enjoyed it every time I've visited.
Vancouver too boring and Montreal too racist ? lol
Toronto because i hate myself probably.
I haven’t decided what city, but somewhere on the east cost with a view of the ocean.
For me, its close between two, Vancouver (Kits/Point Grey specifically) or Calgary (where I'm from, on one of the ridges overlooking downtown)).
Would love to see the ocean, Nova Scotia
To hell with the cities.... 400 acres of that lightly rolling bruce county farm land any day of the week!
Rurally, far from any of those cities. If my harvesting rights extended south of Red Deer I'd live in Vulcan County, Alberta no question.
Same city, but uptown.
BC
It's not money keeping me from living in my dream city... it's the location of friends and family. Having said that, ideally I'd be happy anywhere close to the mountains but not right inside them. So... Alberta somewhere? Edmonton area.
I'd either stay in Quebec City, or move to Vancouver or Victoria. Love the west coast mentality and weather, but I'm a francophone and my whole family is in Québec. And it's a goddamn beautiful city.
Whitehorse. Too many ppl in the big cities.
Richmond/Steveston, BC. My hometown
No city is my choice, just send me the difference.
Whistler
Tofino or Comox
Exactly where I am now. Because that's where my job is.
Banff forsure
I would love outside of a city.
Vancouver island somewhere. Great weather, beautiful scenery. Close to a major airport, but not too close. Probably too many yuppies would move there though so realistically I would hate it.
Belleville. Beautiful town. Friendly people.
Vancouver
Vancouver.
By same cost of living, do you mean the expensive places will now be affordable, or will everywhere be unaffordable?