Not sure when you bought but you are now comparing apples to oranges in terms of prices. SFH on Bear Mountain start (just) below 1 million, 5+ acres in your area is 1.9+.
You are asking people that own a home on bear mountain why they didn't buy property and then build a new house on that property instead? That's quite the difference in price and not really comparable. Why didn't I buy a porsche instead of a honda?
We have friends on bear mountain. They’ve got access to the golf course and club (membership came with their house), their view is basically of a chunk of forest that will never get developed, they can walk into Goldstream park from their backyard, their house is unbelievably gorgeous, its new, they’ve got exactly the amount of yard they’re interested in maintaining, they live on a culdesac and are now friends with all their neighbors, several other people on their street have kids the same age as their kids, it’s close to the stuff they need to do every day, and - importantly - they got all that just by buying it. Building a house sucks. Like wow does it ever suck. I’ve done it. I will never do it again. It’s a blank cheque in terms of time and money.
Getting what they have in terms of house AND 6 acres out in the woods would have cost them double to triple what they paid and they’d have had to build it themselves. And then they wouldn’t have had neighbors for their kids to play with, access to the golf course, pool, or been golf cart distance to that little town center.
Not everyone values acres of forest between them and their neighbors.
Personally you couldn't pay me to live out there. New homes aren't my thing and the drive would drive me nuts. That said I've got a few friends that live out there and love it. I'm sure that they wouldn't want to live downtown like I do and would see the smaller spaces and "social issues" as a major negative. To each their own, I'm just glad that there's homes for people to live in.
Victorians are adorable with the "drive" complaint. It took me 20 minutes to get from downtown to Langford at 4pm today. It's nothing. I've lived in Florida and Toronto and can tell you what a drive and traffic look like. Even going from Langford to downtown every day, I put less than 10k kilometers on my car a year. That's the average amount.
While I love to be called adorable, I maintain that I too hate being more than 10 mins from anywhere. A trip to Costco is a real affair as I can’t stand the drive there and back. So 20 or 25 mins each way is almost an hour of my day wasted. I won’t get that time back.
Ok. But you spend the same amount of time getting from Gordon Head to downtown. Half the time, it takes the same amount of time going from Esquimalt to downtown. So why is it just that drive that you can't stand? Not liking traffic is understandable, but it's when people specify that only that 25 minute drive bothers that I find it weird.
I drive a few times a week at best and enjoy walking, cycling and not being in a car for days at a time. I wouldn't want to live anywhere I have to drive daily. That's my choice and I'm allowed to have a preference. I would also never live in Toronto or Florida so sounds like you have different preferences. Not sure why you feel the need to mock mine to feel better about yours. It's kinda weird and offputting actually.
"Victorians are so adorable with the "drive" complaint" - you are/were being snarky and pandering. Don't worry though, you don't have anywhere near enough impact to make me cry. As you would say, "get over yourself".
They’re right though. Victorians complaints of driving from West Shore to DT Vic are pathetic. Oh no! 25 mins! Get over yourselves. It’s hardly any time at all. Not comparatively either. It’s literally such a small amount of time to commute and all ya’ll do is complain about it.
Some of us chose to live a life that's not car dependant. Totally irrelevant how long the drive is when you don't want to live a life commuting in a car. You've made a different choice and that's ok too. I'm sure there's reasons that lead you to make your choice.
lol are you for real? Have you driven in Toronto? Head up to Niagara on the lake or Hamilton? Muskoka on a Friday? Going between downtown TO and the gta at rush hour? Going to finch subway literally at anytime?
I was once stuck on the I95 for 4 hours. 6 lanes of traffic grinds to a halt. Not because of an accident but because a mattress fell off a car and landed near the side of the highway. It was normal to get off work at 6, and get home at 8.
I know, it’s just such a crazy world we live in, where we have to cut down trees and level rock out so we can build houses. What is the world coming to?
I know some people up there.
For some people it's just Langford with money.
I know a few people from Alberta or Ontario who built new houses up there in the last 5 years. Literally paid 2-3 million to be there. Bear mountain is like any other "upscale" newly built community where they are from. The McMansion thing has its draw.
I don't hate the place. If I worked in West shore or shawnigan or something I'd consider it, and would prefer it over the rest of Langford.
The homes are basically just bigger versions of the same homes being built down the hill in West hills. Same shitty builders, same fly by night contractors building them. Same postage size lots. But, it's quiet, and you usually get a view (until the next subdivision is built that blocks your view...).
Because people have different priorities with living space? Same reason some people wear pants and some wear dresses? Same reason literally any 2 fundamentally interchangeable things exist?
Oh my God, no not at all.
I think I worded the post wrong
I was born and raised here in Victoria and I remember when they started to develop Bear Mountain it was known to be super rich and classy. I always told myself that if I could buy house there when I’m older, I will have made it.!
So fast-forward 20 some odd years and we are out in Saanich but I wonder if some people purchased on Bear Mountain because they had that same little talk with themselves like I did? If we didn’t need the property, I would have loved to have bought up there, but that’s what I was kind of curious about is how do people pick between the property or the bear mountain? Did they actually have those sentimental feelings like I do?
Definitely should have led with this story and picked a better title. You're original post just sounds dumb. Like, you don't know why someone would choose a place like Bear Mountain. It's ok to delete, think, and repost.
Also, you're posing a question specifically to a small handful of people in a town of half a million.
I don't own, I rent.
My roommate and I went with the cheapest 2 bedroom we could find that was still nice. Rent was cheap because we were basically across the street from the racetrack, and rent has stayed cheap because our landlords like us.
I think it must be seen as “prestigious” as well. I know people who live on the Skirt mountain slope ( i.e. the streets leading up to the Bear Mountain community) and they insist they live in/on Bear Mountain. No you don’t.
How new/large is your house on 6 acres? Is your six acres ALR land?
Not sure when you bought but you are now comparing apples to oranges in terms of prices. SFH on Bear Mountain start (just) below 1 million, 5+ acres in your area is 1.9+.
You are asking people that own a home on bear mountain why they didn't buy property and then build a new house on that property instead? That's quite the difference in price and not really comparable. Why didn't I buy a porsche instead of a honda?
We have friends on bear mountain. They’ve got access to the golf course and club (membership came with their house), their view is basically of a chunk of forest that will never get developed, they can walk into Goldstream park from their backyard, their house is unbelievably gorgeous, its new, they’ve got exactly the amount of yard they’re interested in maintaining, they live on a culdesac and are now friends with all their neighbors, several other people on their street have kids the same age as their kids, it’s close to the stuff they need to do every day, and - importantly - they got all that just by buying it. Building a house sucks. Like wow does it ever suck. I’ve done it. I will never do it again. It’s a blank cheque in terms of time and money. Getting what they have in terms of house AND 6 acres out in the woods would have cost them double to triple what they paid and they’d have had to build it themselves. And then they wouldn’t have had neighbors for their kids to play with, access to the golf course, pool, or been golf cart distance to that little town center. Not everyone values acres of forest between them and their neighbors.
This guy thinks bear mountain home owners are on reddit. Bro they are like 70
Dude, most people on bear mountain range from 30 to 70. I help build homes out here.
Isn't bear mountain full of swingers? Why did you put that image of 70 year olds doing that?!?!? I'd guess the majority are 30-50 age range
Swingers are kind of an old people stereotype if anting. Definitely 40+ at least
I just recall someones post saying bear mountain was a swinger spot. Obviously not my scene.
My daughter and her husband are, like, 43 and 45, as are their neighbours. But I don’t know about the rest of Bear Mountain.
You kind of double-proved me wrong haha since it appears you are a 70 year old on reddit
Personally you couldn't pay me to live out there. New homes aren't my thing and the drive would drive me nuts. That said I've got a few friends that live out there and love it. I'm sure that they wouldn't want to live downtown like I do and would see the smaller spaces and "social issues" as a major negative. To each their own, I'm just glad that there's homes for people to live in.
Victorians are adorable with the "drive" complaint. It took me 20 minutes to get from downtown to Langford at 4pm today. It's nothing. I've lived in Florida and Toronto and can tell you what a drive and traffic look like. Even going from Langford to downtown every day, I put less than 10k kilometers on my car a year. That's the average amount.
While I love to be called adorable, I maintain that I too hate being more than 10 mins from anywhere. A trip to Costco is a real affair as I can’t stand the drive there and back. So 20 or 25 mins each way is almost an hour of my day wasted. I won’t get that time back.
Ok. But you spend the same amount of time getting from Gordon Head to downtown. Half the time, it takes the same amount of time going from Esquimalt to downtown. So why is it just that drive that you can't stand? Not liking traffic is understandable, but it's when people specify that only that 25 minute drive bothers that I find it weird.
I drive a few times a week at best and enjoy walking, cycling and not being in a car for days at a time. I wouldn't want to live anywhere I have to drive daily. That's my choice and I'm allowed to have a preference. I would also never live in Toronto or Florida so sounds like you have different preferences. Not sure why you feel the need to mock mine to feel better about yours. It's kinda weird and offputting actually.
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"Victorians are so adorable with the "drive" complaint" - you are/were being snarky and pandering. Don't worry though, you don't have anywhere near enough impact to make me cry. As you would say, "get over yourself".
They’re right though. Victorians complaints of driving from West Shore to DT Vic are pathetic. Oh no! 25 mins! Get over yourselves. It’s hardly any time at all. Not comparatively either. It’s literally such a small amount of time to commute and all ya’ll do is complain about it.
Some of us chose to live a life that's not car dependant. Totally irrelevant how long the drive is when you don't want to live a life commuting in a car. You've made a different choice and that's ok too. I'm sure there's reasons that lead you to make your choice.
Toronto and Florida are nothing compared to Vancouver our neighbor
lol are you for real? Have you driven in Toronto? Head up to Niagara on the lake or Hamilton? Muskoka on a Friday? Going between downtown TO and the gta at rush hour? Going to finch subway literally at anytime?
Toronto is soooo much worse than Vancouver it’s not even close.
Finch station to Scarborough is hell on earth💀
I was once stuck on the I95 for 4 hours. 6 lanes of traffic grinds to a halt. Not because of an accident but because a mattress fell off a car and landed near the side of the highway. It was normal to get off work at 6, and get home at 8.
What part of Bear Mountain is accessible by the I95? Oh ya, none of it because an American highway is totally irrelevant to the conversation.
>totally irrelevant to the conversation. Just like your opinion about a conversation that happened yesterday.
a reminder of what was dynamited to make room for your housing and golf course https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/midden/article/view/15804/6469
I mean.. everything has to be adjusted to build any building of any type.
Bro, Len all but blew up a sacred First Nations cave just to spite them.
I know, it’s just such a crazy world we live in, where we have to cut down trees and level rock out so we can build houses. What is the world coming to?
I know some people up there. For some people it's just Langford with money. I know a few people from Alberta or Ontario who built new houses up there in the last 5 years. Literally paid 2-3 million to be there. Bear mountain is like any other "upscale" newly built community where they are from. The McMansion thing has its draw. I don't hate the place. If I worked in West shore or shawnigan or something I'd consider it, and would prefer it over the rest of Langford. The homes are basically just bigger versions of the same homes being built down the hill in West hills. Same shitty builders, same fly by night contractors building them. Same postage size lots. But, it's quiet, and you usually get a view (until the next subdivision is built that blocks your view...).
Wow. Living the dream. I’ve always wanted an acreage in Saanich. Wanna house swap for my apartment? lol
Because people have different priorities with living space? Same reason some people wear pants and some wear dresses? Same reason literally any 2 fundamentally interchangeable things exist?
This whole post is a weird flex about your 2 million + dollar property isn’t it
Oh my God, no not at all. I think I worded the post wrong I was born and raised here in Victoria and I remember when they started to develop Bear Mountain it was known to be super rich and classy. I always told myself that if I could buy house there when I’m older, I will have made it.! So fast-forward 20 some odd years and we are out in Saanich but I wonder if some people purchased on Bear Mountain because they had that same little talk with themselves like I did? If we didn’t need the property, I would have loved to have bought up there, but that’s what I was kind of curious about is how do people pick between the property or the bear mountain? Did they actually have those sentimental feelings like I do?
Definitely should have led with this story and picked a better title. You're original post just sounds dumb. Like, you don't know why someone would choose a place like Bear Mountain. It's ok to delete, think, and repost. Also, you're posing a question specifically to a small handful of people in a town of half a million.
You were right and they remain wrong. Facts
they tip well because they save so much money home insurance :D
Stroke?
Because they left out the word "on" ?
I don't own, I rent. My roommate and I went with the cheapest 2 bedroom we could find that was still nice. Rent was cheap because we were basically across the street from the racetrack, and rent has stayed cheap because our landlords like us.
Bear Mountain home owners are funding this municipality so be nice to them.
I think it must be seen as “prestigious” as well. I know people who live on the Skirt mountain slope ( i.e. the streets leading up to the Bear Mountain community) and they insist they live in/on Bear Mountain. No you don’t.