Posted by: jbazett
Some yummy stuff to check out:
Thanks. I'll work my way through that list!
Posted by: jbazett
Some yummy stuff to check out:
Thanks. I'll work my way through that list!
Posted by: Vikb
People do this weird thing [I've been guilty of it in the past] is to find a place to live that they don't actually really want to be and then spend all their time driving away from it to be better places. The solution is to live where you want to be.
I don't necessarily agree with this. I like going to the North Shore to ride my bike, but I would not want to live there. Plus there is the 'grass is greener' phenomena - regardless of where you live you will eventually tire of the local amenities and want to branch out. It's human nature. I like being centrally located to lots of great riding areas that I can travel too easily.
Posted by: Vikb
Posted by: tungsten
Except if I was on my road bike or lived near a trailhead.
Well it would be pretty dumb to go to all the trouble of moving to the island and end up somewhere that you weren't near a great trailhead. ;-)
People do this weird thing [I've been guilty of it in the past] is to find a place to live that they don't actually really want to be and then spend all their time driving away from it to be better places. The solution is to live where you want to be.
Totally agree Vik. We moved to the north shore because we loved being there (and still do). Had to decide whether to live close to work or close to play. We chose to live where we play. I ride from home and can carry my kayak to the river. I don't work on the shore, but I did find a job close enough to commute by bike.
Posted by: skooks
Totally agree Vik. We moved to the north shore because we loved being there (and still do). Had to decide whether to live close to work or close to play. We chose to live where we play. I ride from home and can carry my kayak to the river. I don't work on the shore, but I did find a job close enough to commute by bike.
Sounds like a great setup. The carrying the kayak to the river part got me jealous! ;-)
I'll be interested to see how more and more people working from home changes where people decide to live. You can be doing some high powered $$$$ job and live on Hornby Island or someplace even further afield.
Posted by: Vikb
I'll be interested to see how more and more people working from home changes where people decide to live. You can be doing some high powered $$$$ job and live on Hornby Island or someplace even further afield.
I've basically been doing that for well over a decade. Doesn't even need to be that high powered $$$$, just need the job and your personality to be compatible with remote work. I've done workations too, as far away as in New Zealand. Next one will be in Comox and who knows what will follow!
I've done a lot of WFH over the years. I used to feel like a special snowflake, but now it's dime a dozen! TBH I am happy for people. Being location independent and free from all the inefficiencies of working in an office is a huge win. Plus the employer can save money on facilities as well. I have always focused on earning $$ for value created vs. $/hr. If you are an efficient worker that really pays off.
If I didn't have my cat and my GF in the picture the last 10 years would have been a #VANlife Instagram bonanza.
I'll make up for it when my GF retires in 5 years and we finally get that travel van. Now to just keep my body in good enough shape to take advantage of the free time and the mobility! ;-)
Posted by: Vikb
Posted by: tungsten
Except if I was on my road bike or lived near a trailhead.
Well it would be pretty dumb to go to all the trouble of moving to the island and end up somewhere that you weren't near a great trailhead. ;-)
Well it'd have to be close to the water. Idealy I'd like to walk, ride (or row!) to my yacht (lol). Somewhere where there's a regular racing schedule so that means Maple Bay or Nanaimo. Victoria probably above my pay scale. Sidney would be too far from everthing except the water.
Posted by: Ride.DMC
Posted by: Vikb
People do this weird thing [I've been guilty of it in the past] is to find a place to live that they don't actually really want to be and then spend all their time driving away from it to be better places. The solution is to live where you want to be.
I don't necessarily agree with this. I like going to the North Shore to ride my bike, but I would not want to live there. Plus there is the 'grass is greener' phenomena - regardless of where you live you will eventually tire of the local amenities and want to branch out. It's human nature. I like being centrally located to lots of great riding areas that I can travel too easily.
The personal calculus on that can for sure go in both directions. I used to live at a great place on 17th and Yukon (2001-04 and again in 08). Good neighbourhood, close to a huge variety of restaurants, bars, and green spaces, and truly central within Vancouver. But every time I wanted to go riding on the shore - which was 3-4 times a week - I had to load up the car, dodge traffic on one bridge or the other, ride and return...every ride was a 4-6 hr adventure. When I was young, that wasn't the end of the world but even then the time commitment didn't feel sustainable (to say nothing for gas and in the interim traffic got way worse of course). Eventually I realized that as much as I liked being close to the city, I probably only really wanted or needed to be there 2x per week, whereas I wanted to ride way more than that. Moving to the shore allowed me to ride more with less effort. Easy. But for other people's lives, the opposite could be true.
In May my wide and I moved to Sechelt for all the same reasons that Niels is considering TCV and others already moved to the island. For us, the island was too far away from the lower mainland and Sechelt --> Van or North Van is not a bad day trip for work. Not to derail the thread but for those considering a move out of the lower mainland, but still want the proximity (and can't believe the prices in Squamish), the Sunshine Coast is turning out to be a very good option. We love it here. It's way different than North Van, but many of the things we loved about the North Shore are also present here.
Posted by: [email protected]
Posted by: Ride.DMC
Posted by: Vikb
People do this weird thing [I've been guilty of it in the past] is to find a place to live that they don't actually really want to be and then spend all their time driving away from it to be better places. The solution is to live where you want to be.
I don't necessarily agree with this. I like going to the North Shore to ride my bike, but I would not want to live there. Plus there is the 'grass is greener' phenomena - regardless of where you live you will eventually tire of the local amenities and want to branch out. It's human nature. I like being centrally located to lots of great riding areas that I can travel too easily.
The personal calculus on that can for sure go in both directions. I used to live at a great place on 17th and Yukon (2001-04 and again in 08). Good neighbourhood, close to a huge variety of restaurants, bars, and green spaces, and truly central within Vancouver. But every time I wanted to go riding on the shore - which was 3-4 times a week - I had to load up the car, dodge traffic on one bridge or the other, ride and return...every ride was a 4-6 hr adventure. When I was young, that wasn't the end of the world but even then the time commitment didn't feel sustainable (to say nothing for gas and in the interim traffic got way worse of course). Eventually I realized that as much as I liked being close to the city, I probably only really wanted or needed to be there 2x per week, whereas I wanted to ride way more than that. Moving to the shore allowed me to ride more with less effort. Easy. But for other people's lives, the opposite could be true.
In May my wide and I moved to Sechelt for all the same reasons that Niels is considering TCV and others already moved to the island. For us, the island was too far away from the lower mainland and Sechelt --> Van or North Van is not a bad day trip for work. Not to derail the thread but for those considering a move out of the lower mainland, but still want the proximity (and can't believe the prices in Squamish), the Sunshine Coast is turning out to be a very good option. We love it here. It's way different than North Van, but many of the things we loved about the North Shore are also present here.
you still fixing your bike before rides?
I don't follow - but that's probably because I don't know who this is...
I've biked through the Sunshine Coast in both directions on pavement and dirt. Seems like a great area to live in. I remember once reading the real estate flyer on a ferry to Powell River and being blown away by how affordable houses were. At the time we joked about retiring there. We ended up close by in TCV.
I have done the trip to/from the mainland for work a number of times while I have lived on the island. I wouldn't want to commute back and forth regularly, but it wasn't bad as long as you are within striking distance of the main ferry terminals. Back when we first moved to the island in 2010 we were a lot more concerned/connected with mainland travel. Over time that's faded and our trips off the island have become infrequent.
We like the Sunshine Coast and have spent a bit of time there on multiple occasions. I think talking to Pete earlier this year about his move to Sechelt helped speed up our thinking process but we wouldn't want to live there. On our last trip to Sechelt we explored the coast a bit and took it super slow due to my partner's health situation at that time and that made us appreciate the area a lot more - it's definitely a place to slow down. Also awesome riding and kayaking of course. But bottom line it just feels a bit too small and isolated to us. Also no usable airport like Comox.
Comox Valley area really felt like a good balance to us. I don't know if this makes sense but I lived in Northern California for a while and kind of felt a similar vibe. Small-townish and laid-back but still worldly and progressive. Need more time there to get a feel for open-mindedness / tolerance. One thing I liked in NorCal was that California is full of weirdos from all over the world so nobody blinked an eye about one more weirdo (me) and I really felt like I could just be myself there.
Having lived in a few different places around the world, in the end it's really personal and about feeling good about a place. The only way to find out is spending some time in that place so we'll do that.
Posted by: [email protected]
Comox Valley area really felt like a good balance to us. I don't know if this makes sense but I lived in Northern California for a while and kind of felt a similar vibe. Small-townish and laid-back but still worldly and progressive. Need more time there to get a feel for open-mindedness / tolerance. One thing I liked in NorCal was that California is full of weirdos from all over the world so nobody blinked an eye about one more weirdo (me) and I really felt like I could just be myself there.
The motorcycle riding in NorCal is amazing.
I based my recent move on the fact that I grew up in a small town (Sooke) and Port McNeill feels to me as Sooke did 25 years ago, only at the complete opposite end of the island which I find kind of funny. Having lived all over the Island the Comox Valley and Campbell River area are by far the best compromise to small town vibes and all the amenities you'd ever want. (The Courtenay Costco has to be the nicest Costco experience you can get) Nanaimo was good for quick access to the mainland for going to concerts or what have you, other than road trips I really have no reason to ever go over there so for me that doesn't matter much anymore and I just get tired of all the city traffic nowadays.
There is so much to explore in the area, I mean you have the Discovery Islands for boaty things, Strathcona Park and a shit ton of other mountain ranges in the vicinity for mountain hiking things, you all know about the biking scene already.. from what I gather you'd probably do really well in Cumberland/Royston but housing prices are going nuts so if you wanna make a move I'd do it quick.
The E/N railway grant starts in Campbell river, which is why most of the south eastern island is "private" timber company land (looking at your mosaic/whatever timberwest and island timberlands calls themselves now) so outside of Campbell the Backcountry access is pretty well endless as long as you got a truck for it which is my main hobby these days.
We had a look (on the internet) at apartments for rent in and around Comox. One "problem" we have is we currently have a really good deal here in North Van, we really lucked out with our landlord. He hasn't raised the rent since we moved in 9 years ago and has pretty much told us he won't. The result of that is that even in Comox every single place is more expensive than what we are currently paying. My partner remarked that for the difference in rent we could rent a nice airbnb in Comox for a couple of weeks every a year, lol. Something to think about.
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