Have kids and want to know where the best place to live as a family is in Nanaimo? Keep reading as I cover schools and family-friendly Nanaimo neighbourhoods!
So many families, like ours, have been deciding to relocate to Nanaimo in recent years. If that’s you, amazing! I’m so glad you found my blog as that’s exactly what I help people do. My name is Rita and I’m a local realtor in Nanaimo and the surrounding areas on Vancouver Island. Today I’m going to share my top picks for family-friendly neighbourhoods and schools!
You’ll see some numbers when I mention schools as I’ll be using the Fraser Institute school rankings website to give scores for each neighbourhood school. The website ranks schools between 1-10 using academic markers like reading, writing and numeracy. It also ranks them compared to all other schools in the province of British Columbia.
As helpful as this is I would still strongly suggest that you do your own research when looking at which schools fit your child’s needs and please feel free to leave a question in the comment section for others to help!
So in no particular order, let’s get started
Departure Bay
Departure Bay is the area where the ferry terminal which leads into horseshoes bay is located. The median price for a home during the last 3 months was $684,900 and people really love this area due to the family-friendly vibe it gives off. Driving down many of these residential streets you’ll spot “slow down kids playing” signs but this is also a popular spot for retirees as residents who’ve lived here for years have stuck around this well-established neighbourhood. You’re far enough from the downtown area to feel much safer, but close enough if you want to visit some museums and theatres.
In Departure Bay you are within walking distance of many beautiful parks such as Sugarloaf Mountain and Kinsmen Park which is right off the beach.
The Sherwood Forest area of Departure Bay is a really neat little spot with all the street names coming from Robin Hood. I really love the uniqueness of the homes here and some of them have killer ocean views. Living here, I’m sure kids, and big kids, would love seeing the ferries returning and leaving Departure Bay each day.
The catchment for Departure Bay gives you the option of Departure Bay Elementary (Score 5.5/ Ranking 521/870), Rock City Elementary (Score 4/Ranking 750/870) and Wellington Elementary (score 4.7/Ranking 201/252)
Diver Lake
This neighbourhood is full of young families with small children for your kids to play with and also lots of teenagers around. As the name suggests the neighbourhood surrounds a small lake which hosts fishing, small trails and even a bike park with jumps.
Most of the homes here were built between 1961 and 1990, with the median sale price at around $770K. A new development at 2229 Boxwood Road is underway with a proposed 31-unit Townhouse complex as well. I’ll be following this closely!
This centrally located neighbourhood is close to Country Club Mall and restaurants and you’re right in between both highways making commuting that much easier. You also have Beban Park which has a public pool and driving range.
The elementary school here is Coal Tyee Elementary, but actually, it was recently renamed Syuẁén'ct Elementary School which means “our traditions” in the language of the Snuneymuxw First Nation. (Score 2.9/Rank 832/870)
North Nanaimo
What can I say? I love North Nanaimo! I love it so much that I dedicated an entire blog post to my neighbourhood which you should definitely watch next!
The neighbourhood is very safe, safe enough that I don’t worry about my son walking to the store with friends or to and from school. And speaking of walkability, this area is great for that. Nearby you have beach access, Woodgrove Center, and plenty of restaurants to choose from for a night out with the fam! There’s also a really great skatepark for kids to enjoy.
If you have a family, you know your best bet with shopping is always Costco which is located here as well!
Homes sold at a median price of $866,500 these last 3 months and people continue to move to this area of Nanaimo. I think one reason for this is the schools here are really great.
You have Mcgirr Elementary (Score 6.1/Ranking 399/870), Dover Bay Secondary (Score 7, Ranking 63/252) and Randerson Ridge Elementary (Score 6/Rank 417/870).
I can speak from experience here when I say that the sense of community at these schools is excellent and my son has flourished since his transition from his previous school.
I hate to cut this list short as I do strongly believe there are other wonderful family neighbourhoods here in Nanaimo. If you’re from here and I missed one, and want to let us know what you love about your neighbourhood, share it with us in the comments!
If you’re thinking of relocating here and have questions about what spots can fulfill your family’s wish list, be sure to get in contact with me! As always if you liked this video don’t forget to give it a thumbs up and subscribe so you never miss one of my weekly updates!
