Besides moving to Nanaimo for obvious reasons, is it even worth it cost-wise? Allow me to give you the scoop on Nanaimo's cost of living!
We moved to Vancouver Island because we couldn't (and didn't want to) keep up with the rising costs of North Vancouver living. The allure of a substantially sized home at a much better price point was very appealing. This was during the pandemic and we didn't know it at the time but it seemed everyone else was preparing to jump ship for Island living.
British Columbia is a very expensive province to live in and it's been that way for a long time. You're still looking at more affordable housing prices in Nanaimo than you would be in let's say Vancouver or Toronto. Now that the buying frenzy has calmed down a bit, you'll be in a better position to snag something that you really like at a better price. No settling! To summarize, when buying a home in Nanaimo, you'll likely be buying a bigger and newer home on a larger lot.
Taxes Taxes
Property taxes in Nanaimo are similar to what they will be on the mainland. The difference is in the area that you choose to live in. For example, the price differences you'll see if you compare North Nanaimo to South Nanaimo would be similar to what you would see if you compared North Vancouver to let's say, Langley or Aldergrove.
Gas Prices
Now on to everyone's favourite topic to talk about besides the weather: gas prices. Gas prices are crazy these days! Luckily, in comparison to some larger cities, there will be a slight decrease in what you're paying for gas here in Nanaimo. This is because we don't have all of the same tax levies as well as Transit taxes. As of this video being filmed gas prices today in Nanaimo are $179.9. I compared this to some other prices on Vancouver Islands such as Victoria, which currently sits at $188.9 and Comox gas prices today are $182.9. When I looked on the mainland, Vancouver and Langley were both $183.9. Abbotsford was sitting at a little less at $181.9. And then, just out of curiosity, I went further east and checked out gas prices there. On the same day, Toronto was $150 and Halifax was $173.
I did just briefly touch on Transit Taxes: public transportation in Nanaimo isn't what it is in bigger cities. It's not the worst, but unless you're within walking distance from what you need you'll want to have a car. For this reason, living on Vancouver Island I feel like your eyes are always on gas prices.
A silver lining to this is that we found that our car insurance was substantially less expensive in Nanaimo!
Commuting
Parking your car in downtown Nanaimo in my opinion is completely stress-free! This is because the average hourly rate is about $1.25 to park your car downtown. Compare that to Vancouver which is between $1-$7… that can definitely add up! Out of curiosity, I looked at Burnaby which was $3 an hour and then at Victoria which was about $2 an hour.
As I mentioned in my blog “Is Nanaimo a Good Place to Live?” The Nanaimo airport will connect you to almost anywhere you need to go but without the added Airport Improvement Fee that YVR has, which adds about $20-$25 extra onto your ticket.
An important thing to mention when considering your cost of living on Vancouver Island is your commuting cost coming off of the island using BC Ferries. A one-way ticket with a vehicle is about $80 and that's only for one person!
Food!
Unfortunately, for someone who likes to eat as much as I do, the cost of food in Nanaimo is high. The price of groceries is increasing and unless you're buying local, your food probably had to make the extra journey to the island, adding to its cost. One way I like to look at it is by being able to snag yourself a larger plot of land, you'll hopefully be able to plant yourself a lovely garden, relieving some of that cost!
Fitness
So this is a fun one: according to my research, it's about 53% less expensive to obtain a membership at a fitness studio here in Nanaimo! I know many of you are not aware of my background but I used to manage a boutique Fitness Studio in west Vancouver called The Bar Method. I had a little bit of investor interest in opening one of these studios here in Nanaimo. Upon my research, I noticed that renting space was much more affordable than in the city. This isn't a surprise but this is probably why these Fitness studios are charging less for their memberships due to less overhead, which is a bonus for you!
After hearing all of this and considering Nanaimo's cost of living, I want you to strongly consider the value that you place on things like quality of life and know that this is entirely in your hands!
