Beautiful British Columbia

[Meadbh]

Here are a few pictures from my journey from Victoria to Vancouver on BC Ferries yesterday. This was my first visit to Victoria and I had expected it to be veddy veddy British, but in fact I found it refreshingly unstuffy and relaxedly Canadian. I love this province and it has become my ER location of choice.

 

[Meadbh]

More pictures

That's Mount Baker in the background.

 

[itsmyparty]

I love B.C. too.....would love to retire there. I know real estate is very expensive on the mainland and on Vancouver Island too.....did you take a look while you were there?

 

[Moemg]

I've been looking into trips there . It looks beautiful .

 

[itsmyparty]

We usually take a trip up there about once a year....and its lovely. If you do fly into Vancouver and want to go to Victoria...taking the ferry is the preferred way (not flying) as the scenery is fantastic and the trip relaxing! Haven't been up there since the US $ is at par or less than the CDN$, but even when ours is worth more...its expensive there, because things in general just cost more. As I said it helped when the US dollar was worth more...but not it would be downright expensive. But its worth it....wonderful place!

 

[Free To Canoe]

Not many things finer than BC when the sun is shining.

Super Natural British Columbia!

Free ... to Canoe

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Beautiful photos of a beautiful place. Everyone should visit BC and Banff befoe they die.

 

[Meadbh]

I love B.C. too.....would love to retire there. I know real estate is very expensive on the mainland and on Vancouver Island too.....did you take a look while you were there?

Not this time. I do have a vacation place in the Interior and am there now. The real estate market in BC has been overinflated and it is now cooling, with increased listings and just lately, price reductions. No crash, just a slowdown so far. If I did move to Vancouver I would probably take a leaf out of kcowan's book and rent.

 

[bbbamI]

A new destination on my trip wish list. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Purron]

Wow. Your pictures are simply stunning! For sure on my list of places I must visit.

 

[Dreamer]

So many places, so little time. Looks like a beautiful place. I hope to make it there one day.

 

[Meadbh]

And then there's the Interior....

Okanagan Valley and Shuswap Lake

 

[jambo101]

Nice pics,hope you dont mind if i use them for wallpaper.I havent been to Vancouver since 1972 but we are on a country wide trip starting July 14 destination Duncan BC on Vancouver island

Rich_in_Tampa Banff is in Alberta.Beautiful place and should be on any trip to BC's itinerary.

 

[mh]

For all you brewpub fans out there. There's a place called
spinnaker's in victoria that has real 'hand pulled' ale.
which is, in my opinion , heavenly.

Welcome to Spinnakers - Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub and Guesthouses, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

 

[Moemg]

Beautiful country ! I definetely put it on my to do list .

 

[Meadbh]

Nice pics,hope you dont mind if i use them for wallpaper.

You're welcome!

Rich_in_Tampa Banff is in Alberta.Beautiful place and should be on any trip to BC's itinerary.

Banff is in Alberta. It's about 700 km from Vancouver. About 10 hours by road (my estimate; I have not driven the whole route). A good way to go would be to fly to Calgary, see Banff, drive west to the BC Interior via the Okanagan wine country, then continue to Vancouver, Whistler and take the ferry to Vancouver Island. Fly home from Victoria or Vancouver.

 

[happy2bretired]

My daughter and I just loved Vancouver and Victoria. Loved the gardens and parks among many other things....food being one of them. We had tea at the Fairmont Hotel (one of the pictures in the original post) in Victoria. So much fun. I think we both would love to go back again.

 

[Meadbh]

Here are a few Okanagan pictures, some taken in early Spring.....

The last picture shows one of my favourite summer activities: parasailing.

 

[HFWR]

Thanks for the beautiful pics. I'm stuck here in decidedly non-scenic north Texas...

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Interesting! We were in Victoria about the same time you were. The weather was great. The whole island was so beautiful. The ferry trip between Tsawassen and Swatz Bay through the islands is so great.

Did you notice that BC just implemented a new carbon tax on their gasoline, but the gas on Vancouver Island went up even more than the tax? It was $1.529/liter (= $5.67 US/US gal).

I love this province and it has become my ER location of choice.

It is a great place, but unless you have a familial connection to Canada, you can't stay there indefinitely. No retirement visas anymore and no state health care for foreigners. You could live up there as a tourist up to the limit (about 6 months/year, if memory serves--but you better check that for yourself), then go elsewhere for the rest of the year, though.

By the way, I am expecting a property value crash in Canada similar to the US in a year or three. When the jobs engine sputters, a lot of property speculators are going to be trying to sell. Keep your powder dry and cash on hand.

 

[laurence]

We loved our vacation in Victoria, we stayed in a bed and breakfast right behind that famous hotel you have pictured.

I highly recommend the zodiac trips to see the pods of killer whales. Getting that close to something that big and fast is simply amazing.

 

[Meadbh]

It is a great place, but unless you have a familial connection to Canada, you can't stay there indefinitely. No retirement visas anymore and no state health care for foreigners. You could live up there as a tourist up to the limit (about 6 months/year, if memory serves--but you better check that for yourself), then go elsewhere for the rest of the year, though.

I am a Canadian citizen.

By the way, I am expecting a property value crash in Canada similar to the US in a year or three. When the jobs engine sputters, a lot of property speculators are going to be trying to sell. Keep your powder dry and cash on hand.

Exactly.

 

[itsmyparty]

With regard to real estate values in Canada....the values could come down in next couple of years as has been suggested. But I'm thinking that British Columbia is a little different in that that province, at least in many areas, has the best climate Canada has to offer and I think that gives it some protection. I will definitely take a look, with cash in hand, if the values do dive.

BTW, I'm a Canadian citizen and an American citizen.

 

[laurence]

With regard to real estate values in Canada....the values could come down in next couple of years as has been suggested. But I'm thinking that British Columbia is a little different in that that province, at least in many areas, has the best climate Canada has to offer and I think that gives it some protection. I will definitely take a look, with cash in hand, if the values do dive.

BTW, I'm a Canadian citizen and an American citizen.

Replace BC with San Diego and you'll be saying what all my neighbors said 2 years ago! People will pay a premium for a house in a good climate, all else being equal, but pretty soon the math becomes inescapable. Our local bubble got way out of hand though, so it may not be so bad up there.

 

[Meadbh]

Our local bubble got way out of hand though, so it may not be so bad up there.

globeandmail.com: Ottawa tightens mortgage rules to avoid 'bubble'