What have you heard about the process of moving to Vancouver Island that has you apprehensive about what the process is like, and is it worth it? I’ll be busting the top 5 myths about moving to Vancouver Island. 

Starting with…

You Need to be Here to Buy

I want to start off by saying that in an ideal situation, being present on Vancouver Island for your home search is highly recommended. A home purchase is likely the biggest you will make in your life and you want to make sure you’re as certain as possible that not only are you in the right home but also the right location. For this reason, I think making an exploratory visit if you’ve never been here is a great plan. That’s what we did, and I was glad because we were able to narrow down that we really only wanted to live in Nanaimo vs other areas. With all that in mind however, it’s entirely possible that although you aren’t physically present, a property you like can come on the market and you don’t have time to visit, especially if you’re from further away or out of province. In this case, having a realtor do a virtual showing for you is a great way to get into the home for a viewing. Should you decide to write an offer on a home you haven’t seen in person you and your realtor can decide if you need to negotiate a second viewing so that you can physically see the home. It’s possible that this strategy might make your offer less appealing but it’s important that you know the risks involved in buying a home sight unseen and you and your realtor will need to have a serious discussion about this. Whether you see the home in person or not, so much of what we do these days can be done remotely such as signing contracts virtually, wire transferring of funds for deposits etc etc. 

You Don’t Need a Real Estate Agent

While this might be true in theory- you don’t need to have representation when purchasing a home- that also comes with a laundry list of risks- I would argue that it’s especially important that you have a real estate agent with local knowledge and community ties that can act as your buying agent, especially if you’re from out of province. If you don’t know where to start but have someone near you that you like and trust, they can always refer you to an agent on Vancouver Island that will take care of you.

Getting set up with an agent early can be beneficial for a few reasons. You can be set up right away with a home search on the MLS which will prepare you for a possible visit and home tour. What you don’t want to do is show up in a town on Vancouver Island and see homes for sale and expect someone to just let you in to see them. Have someone who can set these appointments up beforehand as homeowners need notice to prepare their homes for viewings. While you can also go to Open Houses while here it’s always nice to have a skilled professional with you to help guide you on these viewings. 

Another benefit to having a realtor on Vancouver Island when you’re buying from out of province is that they most likely already have relationships with professionals you will need during your home purchase process, such as a home inspector, and will be able to recommend their services and facilitate appointments. This can be especially beneficial when you are on a tight time frame and can expedite the process.

Having someone who works locally can work out in your favour if they have good relationships with other realtors in the area. Realtors will always act in your best interest as part of their fiduciary duties. However, when it comes time to negotiate that process can be so much smoother communication wise etc when both parties have a pre-existing relationship or have worked together in the past. 

It’s Too Expensive

I’m talking housing here. We all know BC is one of the most expensive provinces to live in Canada. Even still, cities in BC are amongst some of the fastest growing populations including Nanaimo, which is the 5th and also located on Vancouver Island. While the median home price in Vancouver is $1,188,000, Nanaimo is lower at $738,250. Think this is still high? There are many other places on Vancouver Island that deliver the quality of life and the beauty you expect here for less. In Port Alberni, a small city about an hour outside of Nanaimo on the way to Tofino, homes sold a median price of $535,000 over the last 90 days. It’s considered the most affordable city on Vancouver Island but has great outdoor living and many amenities. Some other areas have lower home prices, some of which I spoke about in my video “Small Towns on Vancouver Island you can move to”. My point is you can work with a realtor to find something that works within your budget, you may just not end up in larger cities like Victoria if you want a cheap single-family detached home. 

You Will Be Isolated

No doubt you will have some apprehension about moving to an Island. How remote! How Isolating! Well, it’s not actually like that at all. Vancouver Island is about 460 km’s long and has plenty to offer in and of itself. Many Islanders don’t have the need to leave the island often as you can find almost anything you need right here. 

If, however, you do need to take a trip to the mainland you have many options for travel. You heard about my personal experience using BC ferries to commute to work in West Vancouver for an entire year and BC ferries terminals can be found all over the west coast of the Island. 

Additionally, and you may have already heard, a new passenger ferry service called Hullo connecting downtown Nanaimo to downtown Vancouver in 70 minutes is coming in late August! 

If you’re not into taking a boat you can hop on a float plane via a few different services like Harbour Air. There are also airports all over Vancouver Island, some with commercial services like Nanaimo and Comox. 

However, if you choose to travel I have no doubt you won’t feel as cut off from the world as you might imagine. This place offers so much and it’s hard ever to want to leave at all!

You Won’t be Welcomed

I admit that I was weary of our reception to moving to Nanaimo. It’s common to hear people comment that the Island is overpopulated and that they don’t want any more people moving here. It’s true that the island is seeing a lot of growth… Nanaimo itself grew by 10% between 2016 and 2021. Every time I would meet new people I would hesitate to tell them we had recently relocated from the mainland but when I finally did I found that the other person was either a transplant themselves or they were happy to have us! Honestly, what you see online are usually just cranky people hiding behind their keyboards and wouldn’t say the things they do to you in person. I can only speak from my own experience but I have found people in Nanaimo to be some of the friendliest and my friend circle has grown tremendously since relocating here.

So there are my top 5 myths about moving to Vancouver Island and why it can be one of the best decisions you will make! I hope to see you soon on Vancouver Island!

Today’s neighbourhood feature is an area called Uplands, located in the northern central part of Nanaimo just above Long Lake. You will drive by Long Lake if you’re taking Island Highway north and the homes on the ridge are what is considered Long Lake Heights. More on this later!

The Uplands location is really great for a few reasons! It runs parallel to the highway so you can easily get to areas like downtown in no time, but the highway is on the other side of Long Lake so it’s not noisy. It’s the location for two of Nanaimo’s larger shopping centers, North Town Center and Country Club Center. Both of which have everything you need- from groceries to liquor stores, fashion and a movie theatre and each one is just a 5-minute drive from the other. Woodgrove Center, the largest shopping mall on Vancouver Island, is also very close.

Homes in Uplands were mostly constructed between 1961-1980, many on tree-lined and flat residential streets but also some interesting cliffside and rocky terrain, mainly in Long Lake Heights. Long Lake Heights is a Bareland Strata community located on Long Lake. This freshwater lake is a hot spot for kayaking, swimming on a sandy beach and fishing! The views of the lake and beyond Mount Benson are really great as you feel perched up above the city taking everything in! A downside to this is the hilly landscape makes the roads in the neighbourhood very steep and dangerous in the wintertime. If you’re not familiar with what strata living entails, make sure you get in touch with a real estate professional like me. We looked at a few homes in Long Lake Heights before realizing they were strata and ultimately decided it wasn’t for us. The Knowledge I’ve gathered from those I’ve met is that it’s a well-run strata and a well-maintained area, including frequent snow removal for the steep roads I spoke about.

Single-family detached homes in the Uplands community over the last 30 days were sold at a median price of $672,500. There are also many condominium and townhouse complexes, making it a great starter neighbourhood for families. 

There are other great reasons that make Uplands a great neighbourhood for families! It’s rated highly for being quiet and safe, and the school here is called Uplands Park Elementary which is a feeder school for Wellington Secondary not too far away in Departure Bay. Both schools are highly regarded in the city of Nanaimo. Uplands is home to one of the city's best recreation centers, Oliver Woods Community Center. So many of Simon’s summer and school break camps take place here and he’s always enjoyed them and the camp staff are amazing with kids! It doesn’t have a pool but facilities can be rented out for birthday parties and events. 

There are some great local parks in Uplands that you can walk to and the neighbourhood is home to a smaller hike called Rutherford and Radar Ridge, a 3.5 km loop up Cottle Hill where you can take in views of the Valley below from the top. 

If you’re looking for somewhere to eat on date night, consider Eve Olive. This is the best plant-based restaurant in Nanaimo with a cozy vibe you’ll really love!

If this sounds like somewhere you’d like to be and are considering a move to Nanaimo or Vancouver Island, be sure to get in touch with me soon!

It’s essential to know what you’re getting into when deciding to relocate to a new city. The things that matter to you the most might not correspond with your ideal home and its location. Today I’ll be diving into areas you might want to avoid when moving to Nanaimo BC

Before we relocated to Vancouver Island, I had never spent a substantial amount of time in Nanaimo. It was just a starting point for us to access other areas and I really had no idea what living here would be like. Like everyone, I had an idea of what my ideal neighbourhood would be that would fit my ideal criteria such as access to parks and trails, lower density and safety. In this video, I’ll cover a few of these and list areas you may want to avoid.

1. High-density and traffic

If you’re looking for a quiet place to live, then I would definitely avoid anywhere near downtown Nanaimo. Although Nanaimo’s city center is quite small, it still has a higher volume of apartment buildings and condos because of how many businesses and shops there are. The streets are small as well, so driving can be trickier to navigate although I will say parking isn’t as bad as it is in bigger cities. If you’re in any of the harbourfront buildings, expect bustling crowds of tourists, especially in the summer months!

Areas like The University district and Central Nanaimo around Bowen Road (which is a super busy street) are also higher density due to a mix of residential, commercial, recreational and learning institutions. Keep in mind that someone seeking proximity and walkability to amenities will also favour these locations!

Many neighbourhoods in Nanaimo are expanding to meet the housing demand and influx of people moving to Vancouver Island. The BC government has also announced it’s “Homes For People” action plan, part of which will legalize secondary suites province-wide and allow for zoning of 3 to 4 units per lot. This is great news for housing in Nanaimo but things might get a little tighter as they are province-wide.

If you’re looking to be removed from the Hustle and Bustle, I’d recommend looking into communities such as Cinnabar Valley, Extension and North Jinglepot.

2. Crime

This one is a touchy subject. I personally consider Nanaimo to be a safe place to live but as in any city, there are areas that you might want to be extra cautious in or maybe avoid altogether if you want to avoid things like vandalism, theft and drug use. 

Old City (downtown) is one of these areas for sure and trickles out to other areas around central Nanaimo and the hospital. There is a police station located on Milton Street which adds a sense of security and many neighbourhoods have enrolled in the block watch program. I also found this interesting crime map online but it isn’t updated very frequently so your best bet is to follow the Nanaimo RCMP online and just be active in your community.

Many neighbourhoods that are considered to be family-friendly, such as Diver Lake, I have heard have a higher occurrence of smaller crimes but it’s believed this is due to the population of teenagers in these areas. And again if you’re watchful for your neighbours this can really help.

3. Walkability

Is being able to walk places important to you? Nanaimo is a very long city, and although getting from one end to the other by car isn’t excruciatingly long it’s nice to know you have things close by that you can reach without driving far or even better, walking.

I touched on this when I covered the Hammond Bay neighbourhood. You’re just not close enough to anything to dart out at a moment’s notice to walk where you need to be and it helps to have a car there. This is also super relative to what you’re needing to walk to. Like in Hammond Bay, your walk to parks and beaches is very short which is the same as Westwood Lake but again you’re close to the lake so it’s a nice trade-off! Also in South Nanaimo, College Heights which has some of the most impressive views in the city isn’t your ideal walking area due to it being up on a ridge, the same as Upper Lantzville.

It’s gearing up to be an amazing summer in Nanaimo. Plan your visit around these fun Nanaimo events and activities!

Summer is the best time to visit Nanaimo, as the beaches are the highlight of this oceanside city and the community really comes alive with festivals and family-friendly activities! Today I’ll be sharing just a few of the things I look forward to this summer in Nanaimo!

I shared about the fun events Nanaimo organizes in my “Don’t Move Here” blog post where I talk about the things locals know that make this place so special. The Bathtub races are a true staple to Nanaimo summer, beginning back in 1967!

Another event that I can’t wait to check out with my family this year on July 16th is the Silly Boat Regatta!

This community-sponsored event is to raise funds for the Nanaimo Child Development Center.

The rules are pretty simple! You sign up your team and together you have 4 hours to assemble a boat out of recycled materials only. It needs to carry at least 2 people and only be propelled by people or wind! The Regatta takes place in Mafeo Sutton Park with the race itself leaving from Swy-A-Lana lagoon into the Nanaimo Harbour. 

Keeping on the theme of Boats the Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival is in its 20th year and happens this year on July 8th and 9th also at Maffeo Sutton Park! This is a 500M paddle with around 70 teams participating this year, in support of the BC cancer foundation with their “Make every second count” campaign. Come enjoy a market, food trucks and a beer garden!

If you’re already at Maffeo Sutton Park why not try WildPlay’s downtown Zipline which shoots you 300 feet across Swy’a’lana Lagoon? You can do one zip is $14.99 and $7.99 each time after! 

Speaking of WildPlay, this is a place I mentioned in my “Things to do in Nanaimo” blog post and is a definite must if you have kids this summer! Maybe go bungy jumping over the Nanaimo River (a 150-foot jump!) and then calm yourself at the river’s edge after where so many Nanaimo locals spend their summer days. It’s a great spot to pack a lunch and hang out in the sun with the option to cool off in the freshwater. 

My next fun Nanaimo activity is The Dinghy Dock Pub on Protection Island. Sure, pubs are great… but why not go to a floating pub? This is supposedly Canada’s only floating pub and was originally built as a bait shop and marina in 1989 and has since transformed into a family pub where you can take in views of Nanaimo and the harbour. As of June 19th, it will be open 7 days a week and you can get there by using the Protection Island Ferry from front street, downtown Nanaimo. You can also take small watercraft like kayaks to the pub, and tie up along the dock! I went for a visit here last summer and the atmosphere was awesome! Such a nice place to sit in the sun and drink a beer with some food. Take the time to explore protection island afterwards as well! I’ll be doing an upcoming post on this really cool place soon. 

If you’re thinking of staying cool inside this summer, a great option is axe throwing at Axe & Grind! I love the slogan as you enter their website “There’s a lumberjack in all of us”, although I might be the exception haha. Regardless, it’s something different that you and your friends can do together and not just your average hang-out. Maybe save the beers for afterwards, though. 

I will sign off by highly recommending you check out my other blog posts “Things to do in Nanaimo” and “Is Nanaimo a good place to live?” as I deliver some other really fun options you can do while visiting Nanaimo. And if you decide you want to call Nanaimo home make sure you get in touch!