I’ve had lots of questions recently from soon-to-be Nanaimo college students so I thought it was time for me to do a bit of research on this topic. I did not attend school in Nanaimo so I’ll be going based on what I know and imagine to be true about college life here. 

Firstly- Nanaimo’s largest industry currently is construction and was forestry for many years before that. Nanaimo’s colleges have excellent trades programs that people from all over the world come to attend.

If you are an international student or coming from out of province, Nanaimo is a city located on the east coast of Vancouver Island, about 60 km east of the city of Vancouver. The easiest path is to fly to Vancouver or Calgary and connect by another flight to Nanaimo. Option for BC ferries or float plane. 

Internationally, you can also fly to Seattle which isn’t far from Vancouver Island and connect to B.C.’s capital, Victoria, by either flight or ferry and drive about 2 hours north to get to Nanaimo. You can also drive from Seattle to B.C. , crossing at the Peace Arch border crossing which is just over a 2-hour drive. Don’t forget your passport!!

One thing I want to quickly mention is the application process for international students is different than for domestic students so make sure you check out your respective college’s admissions page for details and links on how to apply!

Now onto your Nanaimo Colleges:

Sprott Shaw Community College is a BC-based college with campuses throughout the province. The Nanaimo campus is located downtown on Terminal avenue. This college offers no waitlists with monthly start times. They provide accelerated programs which earn you a diploma in under 2 years with programs ranging from health care assistant, business and administration, early childhood education and, trades and design.

If you're a brand new student in the city you will be happy to hear that according to their website, The Nanaimo campus is known for an engaging student lifestyle with events and holiday celebrations throughout the year. 

The Nanaimo Campus does not offer residential living but later in this post, I will summarize the rental costs in Nanaimo.

Discovery Community College is a career training college located on Dunsmuir street in downtown Nanaimo. Their mission statement reads

 “Discovery Community College is committed to hands-on training and to graduating work-ready students who are sought after by employers.”

They use a hands-on “work by doing Philosophy” in fields such as business and finance, healthcare such as medical and dental, community support work and justice and community safety work.

Vancouver Island University

VIU was founded in 1969 as Malaspina College, they formally became Vancouver Island University in April 2008. The main campus is in Nanaimo, University district or Harewood. VIU’s core programs range from master’s degrees, to one-year diplomas and there are 120 to choose from. From business to science, arts, trades and social work you can learn a skill in almost any field here. Additionally, VIU offers English language certificate programs for English as a second language (ESL) students for the thousands of international students Nanaimo welcomes each year.

They also have really great exchange programs, co-ops, and practicum programs for schools all around the world and sister school agreements in Japan, Korea and Thailand.

Vancouver Island University has an acceptance rate of 60-70%.

VIU gives you the opportunity to live on-campus in one of their 10 residence buildings, housing up to 500 students. I’ll provide a link to the VIU res site in the description of this video.

Renting in Nanaimo

VIU provides Tenancy information for Nanaimo provided by VIU - because rents are high here you can find information on boarding and finding roomates. https://services.viu.ca/housing/off-campus-housing

These options are worth taking a look at If plan on studying in Nanaimo as rents here are not the most affordable. Over the past month, the average rent for a studio apartment in Nanaimo is $1,495. The average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment is $1,653, and the average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is $1,995.

Transportation

If you’re off campus and do not own a vehicle, you have a few options to get around if you aren’t within walking distance of your destination. 

The obvious is the Regional District of Nanaimo transit system. You’ll be happy to hear that VIU has a bus exchange, and if you’re at another campus the bus system seems pretty thorough and spreads across the city of Nanaimo. I’m not so sure about their schedules but if you have personal experience with BC Transit in Nanaimo I’d love to hear about it!

They also offer students a semester pass for $170 for 4 months. This equates to only $42.50 a month- saving you money compared to if you were to just buy a $50/monthly pass.

Although Nanaimo as a city has been extremely slow at introducing larger ride-share companies as a transportation option, a new Canadian owned and operated company called U-Ride launched on Dec 2nd of 2022. And from what I can tell people are loving it!

Jobs

If you’re student workload allows you the time for a part-time job, there are plenty in Nanaimo. Just scroll any job posting board and you’ll see many services industry jobs here as just like everywhere else in the province it seems, they are severely understaffed at the moment. Of course, if this isn’t what you want to do then there are other options out there too!

Food

Nanaimo’s got anything you’re looking for in terms of yummy food, from my personal favourite, poke, to ramen, sushi, fast food and big chain restaurants. Eating out can obviously be expensive but so can groceries here. My recommendation for groceries at a low cost is Superstore or hit up Costco. I always find their fresh berries and salads to be less expensive and you get so much more for your money! You will need a membership to shop here though.

As always I hope this video has helped you if you plan on studying in Nanaimo. There’s so much to do here in the outdoors and if you like road trips, check out my most recent trip to nearby Hornby Island! 

I relocated to Nanaimo in the summer of 2021 and spent a hectic and enormous amount of time house-hunting here. In our home search, I’ve come to be familiar with which neighbourhoods are a little more affordable than others. Some of the more expensive places to live here tend to have some proximity to the water with ocean or mountain views and are located near to amenities. Hopefully, that isn’t a surprise to you. But I know you’re here to find the most affordable spots to find a home, so here we go!

Old City

Old City is the area downtown Nanaimo which has so much charm. There are many small businesses downtown like boutique shopping, restaurants, and cafes. Just like most downtown core areas, there isn’t a lot of extra space for large parcels of land to build homes onto. The average price according to my MLS system for a single-family detached is $614,913…. But that’s if you can even find one. There's a very small number of detached homes for sale in this area which comes as no surprise because of the location. Condos for sale and apartments in Old City average $652,949 and outnumber detached homes by almost triple.

While you might want to avoid certain areas due to crime. And yes- Nanaimo just like any city has crime, the Old City Quarters is a really charming and well-maintained part of downtown Nanaimo. Living here also has you living close to Maffeo Sutton park (a community favourite) as well as the seaplane terminal and soon-to-be high-speed ferry service between Nanaimo and Downtown Vancouver. Hello Canucks games!

South Nanaimo

South Nanaimo encompasses the area just above Old City, south of The University District and Westwood Lake.

The average-priced home here (today) is $682,956 which is well below the city of Nanaimo’s Median price of $919,900. Unlike Old City, there are many more detached homes in this area. 

Being more removed from the downtown area makes it a more appealing spot for a family home. And with the prices the way they are and proximity to the University, is somewhere to consider buying an investment property as well! South Nanaimo is where you will find Colliery Dam park which I will highlight in an upcoming blog post. You’re also only about a 7-8 minute drive to the Aquatic and Ice centers. 

Chase River!

Coming in at $753,016 for a single-family detached home, this area of Nanaimo makes it our third most affordable neighbourhood in Nanaimo. You’re about a 10ish minute drive south of Downtown and about a 25-minute drive from the North end of the City, just off of the “new Highway”, so it’s an easy place to get to and from. Chase River is a mix of older but well-built homes and some new developments, which has caused prices to rise slightly in this area. If your looking for a quieter lifestyle this is a nice balance of outdoor space, parks and shopping with lots of amenities right in the neighbourhood. If you need to get to the airport you’re a 10-minute drive away. Chase River is also situated at an even distance from both Departure bay and Duke Point ferry terminals.

I’m extremely happy we made the move from North Vancouver to Vancouver Island as it was much more attainable to afford a detached home here. I’m going to finish this video by saying I KNOW I’m going to get comments about these prices not seeming very affordable by most standards. B.C.’s home prices are some of the most expensive in the world, we are well aware of this but for some of us, we just can’t imagine living anywhere else! If you want to live the island life make sure you get in touch!