# Thoughts on Victoria...



## MrsRose (May 23, 2012)

We don't live in Canada, and have never been there, but I'm just curious about the City/area of Victoria. I've seen photos and it looks beautiful. 

My questions are:

1. If you live in Victoria or have been there...What is it like? (People, weather, economy, etc...)

2. What's the cost of living like?

3. Is there a lot to do? (outdoors, activities, parks, etc...)

Any information on the area would be appreciated. 

Thanks.


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## Freddy_uk (Feb 11, 2012)

i can't comment on everything but I've been to victoria a few times and i love it, and there's plenty of things to do. If i had the money i would love to live their.


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## MrsRose (May 23, 2012)

Is it very cold there?

How does it compare to the US in the way of jobs, housing, cost of living, etc?


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## NewtoVictoria (Jan 10, 2011)

MrsRose said:


> Is it very cold there?
> 
> How does it compare to the US in the way of jobs, housing, cost of living, etc?


Hi MrsRose,

I've been living in Victoria for 2 years now and can answer some of your answers based on my own experience:



1. If you live in Victoria or have been there...What is it like? (People, weather, economy, etc...) In general people are quite friendly when you get talking to them at e.g. store, park, bust stop etc. However after 2 years, I still haven't managed to make many friends. I have one friend who I treasure as it can be hard to move to a country and not to have any family or friends around. I've spoken to quite a lot of expats here on the island and all say the same, that it took them years to make friends on the island. Actually only today I was talking to a lady from Alberta who's lived on the island for 20+ years and now that she's retired is finding it quite lonely as she doesn't have many friends outside of her old workplace.

The weather in some ways isn't too unlike what I was used to in Ireland. We get our fair share of rain though definitely not as much as Vancouver. You can get some nice days in spring and fall. Winters are relatively mild compared to most of Canada. I've had two winters here now and we had no more than 2 weeks of snow in total each year. At that, we're not talking huge amounts of it either. I think we had one week in February where it snowed quite a bit, enough for the kids to enjoy it and build snowmen but then it was (thankfully) done with. Basically the winters don't tend to get too cold, the summers not too hot and in between you can have nice days alternate with wet days. 

With regard to ecomony and jobs, I've met quite a lot of people who either work in healthcare or in government jobs since Victoria is the capital of BC. I guess it depends what field you're looking for work in. This time of year, you'll also see quite a lot of tourism related jobs advertised. 

2. What's the cost of living like? It certainly isn't cheap to live here. Our biggest expense is our rent. I suspect that Victoria is not far behind Vancouver when it comes to the cost of housing. Again how much you spend depends on what kind of house/condo/suite you want to live in. My husband's company put us up initially in a 3 bedroom house (which had a suite attached in the garage rented out to a young couple for CAD900 pm) near downtown Victoria which cost CAD3000 pm. We now live a bit further out in Saanich in a whole house with 5 bedrooms, a big backyard, pay much less rent and are still only 15 mins drive from downtown. To get an idea of house prices, check out craigslist and usedvictoria Also car insurance is quite expensive compared to what we paid in Ireland. Even with a discount after producing documents from our Irish insurance company we were paying something like CAD2000 on a Dodge Grand Caravan in the first year in Victoria. With regard to groceries, I tend to do a monthly trip to Costco and then shop locally at Thrifty's or Fairways for day to day things. 

3. Is there a lot to do? (outdoors, activities, parks, etc...)
There is lots to do in Victoria, it's what a lot of its residents love about living here. Especially when it comes to outdoors activities e.g. hiking, biking and water sports. We have 2 kids and there are so many different parks to take them to and there are plenty of trails to take walks or ride your bike. From a quality of life viewpoint, Victoria is indeed a great place to live. Just wish it was a bit easier to make friends. Lord knows I've tried my best over the past couple of years. 

Hope this gives you an idea of life in Victoria. Any other questions just let me know


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## fletcher m (May 9, 2012)

NewtoVictoria said:


> Hi MrsRose,
> 
> I've been living in Victoria for 2 years now and can answer some of your answers based on my own experience:
> 
> ...


We are coming to Victoria, or somewhere near, we are coming for a recce in October, perhaps you would like to meet for coffee when we visit?
Youy never know, we might be your next best friends! We have 6 days in Van and 2 nights at Abigails Hotel. Best regards. Trevor & Jo


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## IHateTaxis (Jun 30, 2012)

Hi. I live in Sidney, about 1/2 an hour from downtown Victoria. I've been here 2 years, after 30 years in Vancouver. Sidney is lovely, but a bit too quiet for me....

Compared to Vancouver, Victoria is way cheaper. Lots to do, no matter what your interests are. I find it very friendly, and easy to meet people. I haven't made a lot of close friends, but that probably due more to my circumstances (caring for a parent), than anything else.

When I got here, I thought I'd return to Vancouver... but my thinking has changed. I will stay 'here', but expect i will move into the city at some point. 

Roberta


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## fletcher m (May 9, 2012)

IHateTaxis said:


> Hi. I live in Sidney, about 1/2 an hour from downtown Victoria. I've been here 2 years, after 30 years in Vancouver. Sidney is lovely, but a bit too quiet for me....
> 
> Compared to Vancouver, Victoria is way cheaper. Lots to do, no matter what your interests are. I find it very friendly, and easy to meet people. I haven't made a lot of close friends, but that probably due more to my circumstances (caring for a parent), than anything else.
> 
> ...


We have seen a lovely house in Sidney, the coffee invite is also open to you!

REALTOR.ca -Property Details 306410

Trevor & Jo


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## NewtoVictoria (Jan 10, 2011)

Trevor and Jo, sorry for not replying earlier. Broke my laptop over the summer when I dropped it in the kitchen ;-( so haven't been online much.

I agree with Roberta that it's easy to meet people... my point is that I'm finding it hard to make friends. I get talking to people everywhere I go but find it hard to get beyond the friendly chit chat. Especially in my first year, I tried my best to put myself out there to meet other mums with children. I took my kids to playgroups, children's programs and strong start (kind of like a pre preschool program) at least 4 days a week. I am not a shy person at all but found that the people I met were already settled and had their circle of friends. I guess the trick is to try and meet other new arrivals. My husband has just been notified that his company is relocating him back to Europe so we only have a few months left in Victoria Ironically I met a scottish family last week who are new in Victoria and I invited them to join us at the park this week and will have them over for a playdate next week.

I think long term you will eventually make friends but I do think it takes a while. Even my own GP who incidentally is Irish told me that 25 years ago it took him and his wife about 2 years to really settle into Victoria. 

I have been told by some islanders that outside Victoria e.g. Sooke or up towards the Malahat (perhaps even Sidney, which btw is a lovely seaside town) that people are certainly warmer and easier to befriend. I can't really comment on that personally as I've only lived in Victoria since arriving here.


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## fletcher m (May 9, 2012)

Good luck back in Europe. We are there in 3 weeks, can't wait.


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## MrsRose (May 23, 2012)

thanks all for your input so far. 

I'm looking for more information specific to the Victoria/Sydney area. 

We're gonna be spending the next year continuing our research and visiting New Zealand and the BC area of Canada as possible places for our family to move next fall/winter.

We have a little girl and plan on having more children, so we're looking to make the best decision for their futures as well. So any information/opinions, good or bad, (especially from those who live, or have lived, in BC) would be great... schools, weather, outdoor/family activities, housing, economy, people, healthcare, cost of living, etc...

thanks.


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