supafly
Trad climber
vancouver, bc
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jan 2, 2013 - 06:10pm PT
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I'm casting the net wide here!
My wife and I currently live in Vancouver, BC but the arrival of two children has us running for hills to beat the rather expensive (read prohibitive) cost of housing around here.
I am in IT so presumably need to live near a city to find gainful employment; we have been thinking for a LONG time about moving to Squamish or possibly up the road in Whistler but I can't commit to the 1+hour commute to the city, and can't get by on the salaries offered in Whistler - I was offered a job and earned more than the IT manager!
We have been looking at Cochrane outside Calgary which is pretty close to Canmore etc. and near enough to the city to get me a job, but Calgary doesn't seem that popular amongst the outdoor crowd, I'm unsure why?
So here it is - where would you move your family if you were me. The big three are:
1) Reasonably affordable housing
2) Access to the outdoors (for skiing/climbing/biking/hiking etc.)
3) Reasonable weather (i.e. we don't want to live in -20C every day in the winter)
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Penticton......nice weather, nice access, pretty place, don't know about the cost of living.
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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^+1 okanagan
Calgary cold
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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What's wrong with Squamish? The commute is probably the same as if you were living in abbotsford or Langley... Ya it's not that much cheaper, but you have so many options!
Interior is nice too, maybe kelowna or kamloops might have some IT positions. Whatever you do, know that east=cold and less rock.
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grover
climber
Northern Mexico
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The west Koots.
edited to add: I'm not sure the Koots are the best place, but they do have a lot to offer.
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this just in
climber
north fork
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Drives are always worth not living in the city. Move to Squamish, I think there's climbing somewhere around there and maybe some skiing too.
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stevep
Boulder climber
Salt Lake, UT
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I'm with Donini. Penticton has decent weather, climbing, biking and skiing all close. And even wineries.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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lots of outdoors in sakk.
spend a winter there, and you'll understand why.
there's a reason that the canadian funhogs all live in bc and crank the real estate prices up and wages down.
if yr outdoor sports involve chasing wolves on skis, or fishing for walleye or muskie, or hunting bear/elk/etc., yr provincial preferences may vary.
otherwise, suck it up or emigrate.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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but Calgary doesn't seem that popular amongst the outdoor crowd, I'm unsure why?
Huh? If you have to live in, or near, a city, and are keen on outdoor activities, Calgary is great. Unless something has changed in the last few years, I can't see why you wouldn't want to live near Calgary. Every kind of climbing you might want (except granite) is nearby. It's close to the best ice climbing on the planet. Skiing is great (especially if you're willing to drive over to the Golden area).
I don't know about the cost of living there now, so can't comment on that, but from a climbing/skiing perspective, it's a hard place to beat.
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sac
Trad climber
Sun Coast B.C.
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Beat the crowds!
Check out PR (Powell River)
Apparently it's "The Pearl of the Sunshine Coast".
1) Reasonably affordable housing
2) Access to the outdoors (for skiing/climbing/biking/hiking etc.)
3) Reasonable weather (i.e. we don't want to live in -20C every day in the winter)
1) Yup
2) Yup.
3) Could be the "mildest" place in the country?
Oh, and no idea what an "IT" is,but w/ the house $ you save... no worries.
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Malemute
Ice climber
the ghost
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IT means Penticton, Kamloops, Kelowna, and especially Powell River are out.
Calgary is a good possibility, jobs & outdoors (just no ocean)
Calgary used to have 3 weeks of -30/-40 cold every winter (celcius), but global warming has knocked that back to a week. Why do you think the Calgarians are determined to dig up & burn every shovelful of tar in Alberta?
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Bruce Kay
Gym climber
BC
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squamish :
Pros:
close to giant metropolis ( good for your work I assume)
very good recreation ops, particularly lift skiing, ski touring, sledding, mountain biking, rock climbing, kite sailing, cross country skiing, hiking, kayaking
Decreasing property values, compared to vancouver anyway.
Cons:
Over time this place is going to get more busy / crowded recreationally.
Ski touring already is limited due to very poor access / over population of sledders.
Mountaineering is similarly limited by poor access. 2WD roads seldom break the 2000 ' ASL
winter weather blahs. Only escape is driving up into the snow.
Okanogon -
pros:
More arid / hotter if you like that
Outside of Kelowna property is cheapish.
Kelowna is a fair sized quasi real town for your work needs
Not bad recreation if your tastes run rather pedestrian - road biking, running, sport clipping, swimming and misc other flat water sports.
Generally not so busy and populated - except summer of course
Cons:
A bit boring recreation wise. Nearest real mountains are at rogers pass. No multi pitch. Rolling dry hills. crappy skiing
yawn.
I dunno. Its a matter of taste and work requirements. Ever thought of Terrace?
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alik
Big Wall climber
edmonton
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I would say that the big draw for living near the rockies as opposed to the coast range is the vast amount of easily accessible alpine terrain available to you. So if you prefer long alpine routes over short rock climbs and big ski mountaineering missions over tree skiing, it is the place to be in canada. If you're primarily a rock climber though, alberta definitely falls short of what you can have in squamish or the okanagan. The summers are short, and the rock takes some getting used to before it really becomes fun to climb on. Long rock routes tend to be more of the "adventurous" type. However the sport scene in the bow valley has really taken off in the last few years, and some pretty amazing crags are being developed if you're into that sort of thing. Winter is the big season in the rockies, so it helps a lot to be a keen skier or ice climber to really appreciate all that these mountains have to offer. Best ice climbing in the world, and incredible skiing in the colombia mountains (though 3 hours from calgary). Also tons of skiing possibilities in the rockies though a bit drier than the columbias. There is a huge outdoor community in calgary, with tons of people getting after it. The politics in alberta are pretty backwards, but that seems to have pretty minimal effect on my quality of life here. Of course ymmv.
Obviously there are a multitude of smaller communities that would be a hell of a lot more fun to live in (squamish, revy, golden, canmore, nelson, penticton etc.), but if you must live in a city you could do a lot worse than calgary.
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Adrian MacNair
Boulder climber
Vancouver
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I know plenty of climber doods who live in Squamish and commute to Vancouver. I wouldn't do it.
Alternately, anywhere along the TRansCanada is still close to SQuamish/Whistler. So, you can live in Maple Ridge where it's cheap(er) and it's only an extra 10 minutes than if you lived in VanCity. Or even Mission. WIth the price of gas, you're paying either way.
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Oplopanax
Mountain climber
The Deep Woods
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St Johns
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Bruce Kay
Gym climber
BC
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Each mile / minute added to your commute is an exponentially mutliplied curse upon your life. That goes for work or play.
Calgary fits that bill worse than Vancouver I think.
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Rolfr
Social climber
North Vancouver BC
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After living in both Vancouver and Penticton, the choices come down to your priorities.
Vancouver requires a dam good income to be able to play and pay for that lifestyle, not insurmountable but I don’t know your particulars.
Squamish has seen a downturn in the real estate market and if you don't mind the 40 minute commute to Van , that is a good option.
Penticton may not have the employment opportunities in IT, but I would also look at Kelowna as an option. The big plus in the interior , NO DAM RAIN, and a great climbing community.
If I was making that decision, I would shape my decision around my wife and families' preferences tempered by a reasonable proximity to climbable stone.
You knew the answer before you even asked, otherwise you wouldn't have mentioned family.
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Nohea
Trad climber
Living Outside the Statist Quo
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Blue River...a great small BC town and if Weigele needs an IT guy then your in!
My 2 cents... Wish you all the best, love Calgary too, plenty out doors.
Aloha, shorts every day here,
Will
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Gunkie
Trad climber
East Coast US
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You're in IT... here's your best friend so you can live further away (I'm currently purchasing the big brother, 12 port system right now for our lab). It's a "light's out" system allowing power cycling, baremetal OS installs, etc.
StarTech.com 1 Port USB PS/2 Server Remote Control IP KVM w/Virtual Media & Serial - Remote control device
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Riley Wyna
Trad climber
A crack near you
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I've lived in most of these places.
One thing to consider - when you live someplace basass you take it for granted.
No matter where you go - quality if life will probably drop a lot in relation to Vancouver - that said - I hate rain so that is something to consider.
I grew up in Alberta - Sister lives in Canmore.
Brother lives in Trail, BC
Best friend lives in Vancouver.
Of the three my best friend is the one who is unhappy - mostly for extreme lack of sunshine and nice hot weather.
I love Canmore - I'm throwing around the idea in my head of just moving the kids back there for good - I love the Rockies - the snow, rock, ice, hiking, ski touring, etc..
But The Rockies are not Squamish - people who like that climbing are rare.
Cochrane is nice - but it still isn't the mountains - you will spend a huge amount of your time - your evenings in Bow river valley/prairies with nothing much to do. Cochrane is Calgary for all intents and purposes and it is a nice city - you could do a lot worse.
i would think long and hard about the idea of living close to something - i have done that a lot - and it starts to suck you waste a lot of time doing nothing unless you can really aggressive about driving a lot.
A few thoughts:
Golden - pretty kick ass - Kicking Horse in my opinion is the coolest ski hill on the planet - ice is right there, climbing, alpine, amazing mountains..amazing snowmobiling, amazing rivers, lakes
Nelson - gorgeous area - hippy/ liberal town - some quartzite climbing locally - Valhalla's close by - amazing lakes - fishing..
Trail - Red Mountain ski hill - pow pow -
REvelstock - same as Golden - new ski hill - haven't been there yet
Okanagan -Kelowna, etc..
just outside Vancouver
Personally - if you can live in Squamish - I would just stay there...good enough!!!
As far as any other part of Canada - that is death in my opinion.
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