# Moving to Vancouver, BC from Colorado, US, done some research, have questions



## mcoyote (Jan 31, 2014)

Hi there,

I'm considering relocating to Vancouver, BC and have lingering questions after some online research. I'd be grateful for input on any of these (feel free to cite by number, if only responding to one/a subset):

(1) Family of four (myself, wife, two kids) that likes to live in older, more interesting urban neighbourhoods. Think the denser parts of West Seattle, an inner DC suburb like Hyattsville, Westside Colorado Springs, or perhaps Brooklyn (all places we've been and liked). These tend to be less expensive, have smaller, walkable places to eat/shop, etc. What might be equivalent neighbourhoods in/around Vancouver?

((Based on the "Vancouver Neighbourhoods" wiki page, etc. places like Commercial Drive, Hastings/Kensington-Sunrise, or Dunbar seem like good ones to start with?))

(2) Any rural community alternatives in a 30-60min commute radius (e.g., we've rented old farmhouses)?

(3) I'm a software engineer with 20-odd years experience in the industry and have been interviewing with smaller, local companies who are interested in a direct hire. My impression is the most straightforward version of a work permit for me (US citizen) is the NAFTA "Computer Analyst" slot. Does this seem a likely approach, or will the standard work permit with the LMO, passport round trip, etc. be required?

(4) Given this is BC and this province has a skilled worker nomination program or three, is it more worthwhile to go that route?

(5) Any notion how difficult it would be to transition from a NAFTA (or other work) visa to permanent residence, should everything go swimmingly?

(6) Any, known gotchas for work permit holders with families (single earner -- wife doesn't work at the moment), especially with respect to access to healthcare and childhood education?

(7) One of our children (13) is dyslexic and we understand the public schools in Vancouver are both under-funded and don't have much in the way of special education options. Does this ring true and/or what might be a good resource for finding a not-brutally-expensive alternative?

(8) We have an older, fully paid-for Ford van and a motorcycle for transportation. Based on a survey of the government websites these shouldn't present a technical problem getting on the road but I'm unclear on fees/taxes upon import. Any rules of thumb or anecdotal experience?

(9) We don't have a ton of possessions are inclined to toss them in a truck rental and drive it. Would showing up at border like this, assuming the visa, etc. were sorted already, present obvious problems?

(10) In that same vein, we're also inclined to not bring furniture and pick up lightly-used stuff at around town (it's worked before). Does this seem likely and/or does Craigslist a good place to start?


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## arcticchar (Feb 2, 2014)

*TSawwassen or Point Roberts 98281*

Consider Tsawwassen or if kids under grade 3 or Point Roberts WA where primary goes to grade 3 but after commute to Blaine or switch to TSW schools and pay tuition. If wife has no CDN status as can work in Pt Bob. Rush hour commute to Vancouver is not good though. Pt Bob Housing and rural land costs are about 1/5 of those in TSW or Vancouver. Cost of living also cheaper. WA Medical available from Costco and may cover CDN docs or hospital in Ladner BC - check details as changes going on.


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## JohnSoCal (Sep 2, 2007)

Unless you are familiar with Vancouver, you are going to have sticker shock. Vancouver is very expensive.

Do you have a particular reason for moving to Vancouver? As a software engineer, you would be much better off in Seattle where the pay is higher and it is cheaper to live. There are much better job opportunities in Seattle.


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## GordonG (Jun 17, 2012)

I agree with John SoCal about sticker shock - According to a recent article in the Vancouver Sun, Vancouver is currently ranked the second most expensive housing market in the world after Hong Kong. Since 1992 we've enjoyed living in the Hastings-Sunrise area, certainly not a high-end neighbourhood, but where it would be very difficult at the moment to find even a small "handyman special" bungalow under $600,000 (Can). Vancouver is still popular with Canadian retirees and immigrants, especially from China, and demand keeps pushing prices up.


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## gwnorth (Feb 13, 2014)

Langley is one of the closer communties to Vancouver that is nice and has many farms/acreages one could rent at a reasonable price.It's about 30-40 minutes from d/t Vancouver.You won't find many older,hip urban areas other than in Vancouver and then you will pay a tremendous amount of money to live there.


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## LizS (Jan 16, 2014)

Hi mcoyote,

1. Kitsilano (Kits) and Commercial Drive are pretty good choices for what you describe. But as the others have said, if you're looking to buy, you may be priced out. It's not the houses here, it's the land, and it is ridiculous! There are no "cheap pockets" in Vancouver itself with any character. Have you considered renting? You may have more luck there if the neighbourhood feel is extremely important to you.

If you go outside Van looking for farmhouse type houses, you may have a nasty commute, particularly if you're coming in from the east.

10. Craigslist is well-used here. I'd go that route.

Housing is tough, but it's a great place to live!
Liz


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## twee (Feb 1, 2014)

Housing is EXTREMELY expensive in Vancouver City. 
There is a bit of a difference in housing costs between the east side of Vancouver and the West Side of Vancouver City.
Main Street divides the city into East and West.

Dunbar is on the West side and a 33 ft wide lot is going to cost you over 1 million just for the lot.
You would be hard pressed to find a house there for under $1,200,00.00

Commercial Drive area on the east side is becoming very trendy now but fits into the type of area that you say you are looking for.
It has lots of coffee houses and small unique shopping. 

As for schools in Vancouver district. All schools have an LAC ( learning Assistant Centre ) in them but those centers are very crowded and your child may only get one 40 min session in the LAC a day. The rest of the time they will be in a regular classroom. Also, I should point out that Vancouver has a large number of new Canadians. All these new children of arrivals to Canada from foreign countries are also needing LAC help with learning English, so are referred to the LAC for extra tuition by their home room teachers.

The provincial government has cut back on spending to all school districts in the province so funding is not there for extras or hiring more teachers.
Also, class sizes are large.

I should point out though that Vanc does have some of the best private schools in the province but be prepared to pay large tuition fees.
Dunbar is very close to many of top private schools. A few names, St George's Boys School ... Crofton House Girls School ... York House Girls School.
Plus there are many religion based private schools too. 

If you are looking for a bit more rural setting, check out Langley. Lots of schools and a few farms.
There is a bit of a commute each day though getting into Vancouver by car from Langley. 
However you could drive to the rapid transit station in Surrey and take the Sky train into Vancouver. 

Good Luck with your decision.
Like others have said, I think living in Seattle or North West Washington is a better choice and commuting to Seattle for work.


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## twee (Feb 1, 2014)

Check out this site for schooling of a dyslexic student.
This school goes up to Grade 12 

www.fraseracademy.ca 



This is an article you may find interesting reading from the Vancouver Sun Newspaper.

http://www.poynerbaxter.com/Educational-Support-2005-12-05-Teaching-the-Dyslexic.pdf


All the very best with your relocation, where ever that may be.


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## LilyLeeb90 (Feb 23, 2014)

HEY MCOYOTE,

I would suggest an area like White Rock, BC
It is a bit further than Tsawwassen but if your children are young they will have a lot more to be involved in a higher level of education neighbourhood that is far enough away from Vancouver to be considered somewhat affordable.

It is beautiful and extremely close to beaches with a pier, extremely family oriented and is perfect for an aging couple too.

Hope this helps!

Lily


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## luvcanada (Nov 10, 2011)

Lillianharvey said:


> Hello, I will suggest you to move Vancouver. If you do not found good neighborhood Then you can also use to Navut website for searching good neighborhood. Basically i did use it when i move to Vancouver from Bangladesh. navut.com is also help me to find good neighborhood with higher level education area. Thanks. You can try it..


Don't even consider navut.com. Lillianharvey also said the samething about using Navut when moving to Toronto. I think there is some self-promoting going on here.


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