How do you go about moving to a big city?

[BigToque]

I'm from Winnipeg, MB. A nice big house ~1500 Sq. Ft. will cost you anywhere from 150 to 250K depending on the part of the city you live in.

I went to Vancouver last week and I absolutely fell in love with the city. I want to move there, but a similar size condo will cost anywhere from 450 to 1 million depending on the part of the city.

A stand alone house is 1 million+.

I certainly wouldn't want a 1+ hour drive to work because I live in some town outside of the city. It defeats the whole purpose of being in the city in the first place!

How the hell can anyone ever hope to live in the city if they don't already have millions of dollars?

 

[aswedc]

Rent?

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: BigToque
I'm from Winnipeg, MB. A nice big house ~1500 Sq. Ft. will cost you anywhere from 150 to 250K depending on the part of the city you live in.

I went to Vancouver last week and I absolutely fell in love with the city. I want to move there, but a similar size condo will cost anywhere from 450 to 1 million depending on the part of the city.

A stand alone house is 1 million+.

I certainly wouldn't want a 1+ hour drive to work because I live in some town outside of the city. It defeats the whole purpose of being in the city in the first place!

How the hell can anyone ever hope to live in the city if they don't already have millions of dollars?

you cant.

you either have to be there b4 the boom, or live in less than satisfactory housing. (ie: 1+ hr away, smaller place and/or bad neighborhood)

alternatives:
1) rent out a storage locker @$100/month. buy mini-fridge and camping burner for food. join gym ($50/month) to use shower + excersie.

2) buy camping bag and sleep in your office. buy mini fridge to put under your desk for cold cuts. since u cant cook food, the $ you save from renting storage locker could be used for McDonalds $1 menu. join gym for excersie and shower.

 

[eldorado99]

You could live in the Greater Vancouver area like like Burnaby or Coquitlam and be about 20 minutes by freeway from Vancouver itself... Burnaby is a nice place and the real estate is far cheaper. Or if you're really looking for a house on the cheap live out in the Abbotsford area (about an 45-1 hour by freeway from Vancouver). Still a fairly nice area though far less citified, but the real estate is dirt cheap. Langley is nicer IMO (where I live ) and closer to Vancouver, but a little more expensive than Abbotsford, but the Langley city centre is nicer than most.

 

[Mavrick]

Living in Vancouver is too expansive right now (it even discouraged me to go there). Maybe you should think about moving to another nice city with cheaper real estate (Montreal and Ottawa fit these criteria). Remember that Montreal is the closer you'll get to a New York lifestyle, at a Winnipeggish price. Really the best deal you can get

 

[PascalT]

Since i've been living in Montreal for about 12 yrs, I can fill you in if you want. Vancouver is damn expensive. In Montreal you'll find very nice houses for 110-130k. Apartment rent goes from 400 to 900 a month.

 

[JinLien]

I'm living in Victoria and housing is a bit less than Vancouver, however job opportunity & wages is less than Vancouver. The only way is to be here before the crazy boom or makes your money somewhere else and retires here.

Like others has mentioned Ottawa & Montreal fits the criteria and same goes for Edmonton & Calgary (getting expensive because of the oil boom), but they don't have the mild weather of Victoria/Vancouver.

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: JinLien

I'm living in Victoria and housing is a bit less than Vancouver, however job opportunity & wages is less than Vancouver. The only way is to be here before the crazy boom or makes your money somewhere else and retires here.

Like others has mentioned Ottawa & Montreal fits the criteria and same goes for Edmonton & Calgary (getting expensive because of the oil boom), but they don't have the mild weather of Victoria/Vancouver.

calgary is the only canandaian province w/o tax?

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: JEDI

Originally posted by: JinLien

I'm living in Victoria and housing is a bit less than Vancouver, however job opportunity & wages is less than Vancouver. The only way is to be here before the crazy boom or makes your money somewhere else and retires here.

Like others has mentioned Ottawa & Montreal fits the criteria and same goes for Edmonton & Calgary (getting expensive because of the oil boom), but they don't have the mild weather of Victoria/Vancouver.

calgary is the only canandaian province w/o tax?

i'm not sure what canandaian is, or why you think calgary is a province,

but alberta has no provincial sales tax

 

[JinLien]

I didn't know that Calgary is a province, but you are correct that Calgary/Edmonton of Alberta do not have provincial tax.

 

[cmv]

Here is how you do it:

1) Find a good job.
2) Find an apartment.
3) Look for a better job.
4) Learn about the neighborhoods and the real estate market.
5) Sock money away and keep looking for a better job if you're not happy with your salary.
6) Buy property.

 

[Sphexi]

I'm in Victoria as well, very nice place, if you have a decent enough job there are plenty of nice apartments for under $1k a month that are large and well taken care of. I have a slightly smaller place, but it's more than large enough for myself and my wife, it's just down the street from where I work, and is near a large mall, and a couple of other shopping centers. Heat and hot water included for $760/month, I'm not complaining.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Just curious. Are people talking USD, or Canadian $ here?

 

[bennylong]

You'll have to live in a jail box. Learn with live with less and in a crime ridden area

 

[DaTT]

If you want to move to Vancouver, there is only test you must pass:

If you answer YES to the following, you may move there,

Are you Asain?

 

[Molondo]

Don't Become a fan Of the canucks. You will be dissapointed.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
Just curious. Are people talking USD, or Canadian $ here?

I'd assume CDN$, but with the current exchange rate it's not as big of a difference as the stereotypes you're familiar with.

- M4H

 

[sandorski]

Sell your place in Winterpeg and Rent in the Vancouver area until you can afford a Condo. You could try finding a place along the Skytrain route to ease any Commute concerns. Some of your friends probably want to escape as well, consider sharing a place with them to ease Cost.

 

[n7]

Come move to Edmonton; it's wayyy cheaper to live here

Unfortunately, there's not nearly as much to do & winters suck, but we do have a nice river valley with a huge amount of trails for hiking, biking, blading, & enjoying nature right inside the city.

That's pretty much why i still live here.

 

[Firus]

Vancouver is just too much for me, way too expensive, way too busy, not worth the wages, no matter how much you save, you will never get enough for a house (unless you have rich parents, or already have lived in a house there). If you want somewhere more beautiful, not as big and a little bit more affordable, come to the Okanagan Valley. Kelowna is a great place to live. Not so many people, that you can actually enjoy its beauty instead of wishing you could.

Either that or rent a run-down basement suite for $900/mo in vancouver and commute an hour to work everyday...most of my friends have moved there and that;s what they all have settled for.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

I lived up in Vancouver and Richmond for a couple of years and hated it. Canadians, from what I experienced, hate Americans with a passion. People in general were not that friendly compared to where i'm living now, Bellingham.

 

[JinLien]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
Just curious. Are people talking USD, or Canadian $ here?

We made CAD therefore we are talking CAD not USD, and at the moment the USD doesn't fetch as much CAD as it use to be.

1 CAD = 0.8977 USD

 

[JinLien]

Originally posted by: DaTT
If you want to move to Vancouver, there is only test you must pass:

If you answer YES to the following, you may move there,

Are you Asain?

Why so?

There was a survey a few years ago pecking Asian (including East Indian) population in Vancouver at 22%, and the out lying area at much lower percentage. White still is the predominate group with British descendent & German at the top of the city population.

 

[Ameesh]

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal
I lived up in Vancouver and Richmond for a couple of years and hated it. Canadians, from what I experienced, hate Americans with a passion. People in general were not that friendly compared to where i'm living now, Bellingham.

dude bellingham is in the middle of no where, although im not sure i would want to live in canada, bellingham is defintely not on the list. what do you guys do for fun? hang out at the local walmart?

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Originally posted by: Ameesh

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal
I lived up in Vancouver and Richmond for a couple of years and hated it. Canadians, from what I experienced, hate Americans with a passion. People in general were not that friendly compared to where i'm living now, Bellingham.

dude bellingham is in the middle of no where, although im not sure i would want to live in canada, bellingham is defintely not on the list. what do you guys do for fun? hang out at the local walmart?

There's actually a lot to do in Bham. No where that i've experienced has as many places to enjoy outdoor activities as here. The ocean is walking distance, Mt. Baker is an hour away, there's trails for hiking and biking minutes from anywhere, camping within 30 minutes, and plenty of bars . People here are very friendly too. I've always said to myself, friends, and family, that this is the place where I would want to raise a family. Where in WA are you?