As much as I love living in Nanaimo, no city is perfect. I surveyed the neighbours to find out our top downsides to living in Nanaimo!

I took a spin around my North Nanaimo neighbourhood and asked my community what they disliked about living in Nanaimo. 

Where Are All of the Doctors?!

It's nearly impossible to find a doctor in Nanaimo! BC already has a shortage of physicians, but finding one on Vancouver Island, particularly North, can take years. A lot of people have added themselves to waitlists but even then it can take a really long time to be seen by a family doctor. Adding to this frustration, a lot of clinics have even closed their wait lists. Luckily, I was given a heads-up to this and I kept my family doctor on the mainland. I mostly do phone consultations with him and there's also the Telus Health app that a lot of Islanders use. There are only a few walk-in clinics in Nanaimo as well, so when I found myself severely ill, I had to drive up to Parksville to their urgent care. One of my neighbours also mentioned the difficulty of not having a cardiac unit in Nanaimo and having to drive about two hours to Victoria to be seen. Another neighbour mentioned that they received excellent care at the Nanaimo Regional hospital, so I don't want to discourage you completely! Just make sure that if you intend to move to Nanaimo you have a health care plan in place.

Litter Bugs

Even in some of the nicer areas in Nanaimo, it seems impossible to avoid litter. I'm convinced that a lot of this garbage is from people passing through, but I'd love to see more of a community effort to keep our parks and sidewalks clear of garbage. Sadly there's also been an increase in discarded needles. What's more concerning, is one of my neighbours shared with me that they found some of these needles in a school zone. I personally haven't experienced this. I did experience it a little bit in Vancouver, which is to be expected a little bit more in larger cities, I just didn't expect to hear of that happening in Nanaimo. 

Lack of Waterfront Dining

In contrast to nearby Parksville and Qualicum, Nanaimo is seriously lacking some good Oceanfront dining! Which is a shame- because it's something that I truly enjoy! I'm not sure if this has to do with maintaining the integrity of our beaches but I'd love to see more options for waterfront patios. If you're from Nanaimo and would like to leave your best patio recommendation please let me know at ritafraserrealty@gmail.com 

Stranded on the Island?

I've mentioned this one a few times… but when you live on an island, there's that extra obstacle of having to leave! It's not a total drag and I've covered a lot of the details in some of my previous blog posts. If you'd like to know more about my experience commuting using BC Ferries I'd recommend you check out that blog post next! My Experience Using BC Ferries!

More Hockey!

People in Nanaimo want more Hockey rinks! I actually received this feedback from two separate neighbours! As my family is no longer involved in this sport, I didn't even realize this was an issue!

This feedback came from one of my neighbours who is a women's hockey coach. He expressed difficulty competing with youth to find his player's ice time. 

As an aside (just keeping with the winter sports theme) If you’re a skier, you’re still in luck! I researched how many ski mountains there are on Vancouver Island and found three. The most popular one is Mount Washington which is in the Comox Valley. Further up in Port McNeil there's also Mount Cain and in Port Alberni there's Aerosmith Mountain. I wasn't able to find a ton of information on this mountain online, so that's something that you'd want to check out if you're planning to visit. 

I try to be as transparent as possible about my relocation to Nanaimo which is why I like discussing things that might help you decide if living in Nanaimo is the best move for you so if there's a topic you'd like for me to cover make sure you let me know! 

There are lots of benefits to buying a newly built home that extends beyond appearance! I’m going to share where you can find new builds in Nanaimo, right now!

There are a lot of new homes going up into Nanaimo in areas that I will list in a moment. 

Firstly, If you're thinking of buying a brand new home, here are some things that you'll want to consider:

Home Warranty Insurance 

New homes built in B.C. are required to have third-party home warranty insurance when built by a licensed residential Builder. As a minimum, you're covered by “2-5-10 home warranty insurance”. 

This means- two years for labor and materials. Five years for the building envelope, which includes all of your building components that separate the indoors from the outdoors and includes water penetration. Ten years on the structure of the home, which are things like your roof, plumbing and foundation. 

Check out information on Home Warranty Insurance for  New Homes BC (since some limits apply to these warranties):

https://www.bchousing.org/licensing-consumer-services/new-homes/home-warranty-insurance-new-homes

GST

When purchasing a new home you will encounter GST, which you cannot include it in your mortgage- so you'll need to be prepared to pay! 

Deposit

Something else to keep in mind is your deposit. If you don't have 20% to put down as a deposit you'll need to stick to under a  $1 million budget, so that you can obtain title insurance through CMHC (Canada Mortage and Housing Corporation).

Property Transfer Tax

Property Transfer Tax is still applicable unless you are exempt.

Property Transfer Tax Exemptions for new homes info:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/property-taxes/property-transfer-tax/exemptions

You will see a new build option here, but this is for new homes built for under $750k, which let's be honest, isn't happening much these days! 

Hold Back!

With a newly built home, there's what's called a “hold back” of 10% of the purchase price, not including GST. This 10% holdback is released to the seller (home builder) once the deficiencies you have agreed upon are remedied. 

New Developments in Nanaimo 

I spoke about Hammond Bay in my last blog about North Nanaimo. As I mentioned, North Nanaimo is one of the top neighbourhoods and is seeing even more growth on Golden Oaks Crescent and Golden Oaks Drive. This spot was being developed when we were on our own home search here, and we loved the look of the (area albeit a little more cookie-cutter). With some homes still under construction, you're looking at over a $1 million budget. 

Golden Oaks is an area high up on a hill that overlooks Departure Bay. If the home itself that you choose does not come with a view of the ocean, you'll still be satisfied with what you can see strolling around your new neighbourhood! 

Jingle Pot Road is a long stretch of road that was the original Highway for miners in Nanaimo and runs from just below Long Lake, North to South-East, at the base of Mount Benson. 

As Jinglepot starts to run West to East, a small area below Westwood Lake would be considered “South Jingle Pot” and above that “North Jingle Pot” 

Just south of the number 19 Highway (or the new highway) is a subdivision with lots of new homes right on, or in the offshoots of Jingle Pot Road. North Jinglepot is so diverse in what kind of properties it offers. From more rural communities to areas like this that have a more “close-knit” community feel. Because Jingle Pot Road covers a huge section of the city it's super handy to have nearby! Having a quick way to get to South Nanaimo is great because that's where you'll find the Rec Center, Aquatic Center and Ice Arena! This is one reason why people love the South Jingle Pot Community as well. 

Speaking of South Nanaimo, there seems to be a lot of new homes popping up on Monga Road and the surrounding streets so f you like the charm and amenities of South Nanaimo, but want a home for under $1 million, this is an excellent area to consider! 

Upper Lantzville is an area to keep your eyes on! If you like the idea of being out of the city but close enough that it's still convenient, take a look at some of the new homes being built up on Aulds Road. I recently discovered this area while exploring the hiking trails at Copley Ridge with my dogs. You need to take a drive up there and explore the views for yourself! I'm sure this is one of the reasons prices hike upwards when exploring this spot, as prices here are over $1 million. I'm confident that development is going to continue and this place is going to be in high demand in no time. I'm excited to continue to update this list and look forward to keeping you all up-to-date! 

It's not always about the type of house you want but where it's located! Location is arguably the most important thing to consider when relocating to a new city which I'm sure is why you've landed on this particular post about North Nanaimo. 

North Nanaimo is highly sought after for people moving to the area for a few reasons. It's one of the newer areas of town, so homes you purchase here were usually built in the 90’s or 2000’s and are move-in ready in well-established communities. North Nanaimo is comprised of the Dover Bay, Uplands and Hammond Bay neighbourhoods. 

Shopping

I know I've said shopping isn't a top priority for me but it's so incredible to have things nearby when you need it, even within walking distance! The Dover Bay neighbourhood is at the most northern peak of Nanaimo, bordering Lantzville, and is home to Woodgrove Center, which is Nanaimo's largest shopping mall. Surrounding the mall are restaurants and other family-run businesses. And of course, it never hurts to live close to Costco! The Uplands neighbourhood isn't far from shopping either with both North Town Center (which has the largest movie theatre in Nanaimo) and Country Club Mall nearby. The Hammond Bay neighbourhood is unfortunately a “hop in your car and drive to shopping” sort of situation but you'll never have too far to go. Public transit also runs all along Hammond Bay Road, with Woodgrove Center being a large bus interchange. 

The Views!

It's hard to imagine moving to Nanaimo and not trying to get yourself a view while looking for your future home! While in Dover Bay you have shopping in close proximity to you on one side, you have the ocean almost as close on the other side with many access points to some of the best beaches in the city! If you're further away from the water, don't be surprised by some of the hilly streets leading down to the water. The beaches will make the hike back up worth your while! 

Likewise, some Hammond Bay Area homes are built on a cliff, giving you sweeping views of the Strait of Georgia. The Uplands neighbourhood has the benefit of some ocean views but also some amazing views of Long Lake, particularly in the Long Lake Heights Community. 

Off-leash Parks!

Two of my very favourite off-leash dog parks are located right here in North Nanaimo! I love May Richards Bennett Pioneer Park because it's a safely enclosed Trail in a small wooded area but you would never know you're right in the city! The terrain is an easy walk for any age but isn't boring, so you can easily lose track of how many Loops you've done and your dog is tuckered by the end! It's located near Woodgrove center right off Dover Road. 

My second favourite is Invermere Park, which is a designated off-leash area right on the water directly next to Blue Back Beach. It's very easy to find the access point, as the trailhead leading to the stairs that take you down to the water is at the base of Invermere Road. Be prepared for the hike back up as it's a lot of stairs- but it's a great workout for you and your pup! When the tide is low here it is Doggy Heaven… there's simply no better way to describe it! 

Schools

The public school system so far in North Nanaimo has been great for our family. While ideally, we would have liked to continue in French immersion, the school our son ended up in is a wonderful community and made the transition to a new school so much easier for him. 

While it might be pushing it to say this is still in North Nanaimo- I've heard that Hammond Bay Elementary has one of the best French immersion programs in the city. 

Of course, do your research if being in the right catchment for a certain school is important to you. With an influx of families moving to Nanaimo, it's important to make sure there's room for your child in the school that you want. 

It's Safe 

North Nanaimo is known as one of the safest neighbourhoods in Nanaimo. Without getting into the socioeconomic factors at play, it becomes more apparent when you're in this area that you aren't putting yourself in as much risk when you're walking alone at night, for example. My son often makes the trip to the corner store by himself during the day without me being concerned for his safety. 

I'm sure this isn't too different from other communities in Nanaimo in general but people really do look out for each other in North Nanaimo It's not unusual to see “found” signs in local parks from good samaritans wanting to return lost objects. Or, seeing neighbours trying to help each other out when someone else's dog is on the loose! 

There are my family's top five reasons for choosing North Nanaimo for our relocation to the city! I'll be covering other neighbourhoods in future blog posts, so you can decide for yourself which is best for you! 

Whether you've made the great decision to move to Nanaimo or you're just here for a quick visit, you might be wondering “What is there to do in Nanaimo?” Here are some of my favourite things to do in the area!

Shopping!

I thought I'd start out with this topic since it's not my favourite thing to do BUT I'm sure you might be wondering if there is some good shopping in Nanaimo. The answer to that is YES! I was super surprised when we moved here and I walked into our local shopping center called Woodgrove Center in North Nanaimo and saw all of the shopping that there was in the mall! I'd say that it's on par with some of the bigger shopping centers in Vancouver! There are stores inside Woodgrove Center like Lululemon, which began as a pop-up but I guess it was super popular and that one stuck around! In Nanaimo, you'll find all of your big box stores such as Canadian Tire, Lowe's, Home Depot as well as Walmart. Basically, anything that you would need is in the city. 

If you're like me and shopping at the mall is not your favourite, then I'd recommend maybe taking a trip downtown to Commercial Street. There, you can shop locally and explore some of the fun boutiques that downtown has to offer! I have found lots of unique gift ideas there and I would highly recommend it.

Kids Need to Have Fun Too!

My son has had no problems finding things to do in Nanaimo from indoor playgrounds like Jumping Jiminy’s to escape rooms like the Exit Room, there are so many things to do on the weekends! 

If you're a little more adventurous you can head out to Wild Play. It’s an outdoor adventure park, the type that's gained a lot of popularity in the last little while with zip lines and rope courses! It's something that the whole family can do together! 

There's also the Nanaimo Aquatic Center if your family likes to swim and the local skating arena where you can go and rent some skates and hang out for the afternoon. 

My kid LOVES Airhouse. It is an indoor trampoline park and the sessions that they offer are an hour and a half long. Spots fill up quickly, so I'd recommend looking ahead and booking your spot early so you can make sure you get in! If you're not into jumping on the trampolines with your kids, there are some really nice viewing areas where you can sit and have a good bird's eye view of what your kids up to in the park! Inside, they also have a mini skate ramp so you can book a skateboarding session. They often offer Pro D-Day or summer camps for your kids!

Enjoy the Harbourfront! 

One of my son's favourite activities that he took part in this summer was crab fishing! It's all he could talk about afterwards! Crab fishing takes place at Swy-A-Lana Lagoon Fishing Pier, downtown Nanaimo. While doing a little bit of research for this blog, I actually found out that Dungeness crab fishing is open all year round! This would make the perfect winter activity with Nanaimo's milder temperatures! While you're already downtown, you can explore the harbourfront and if you really want to make a day of it at that point, you could hop on one of the whale-watching tours that depart from the Nanaimo Harbour. 

Also departing from Nanaimo Harbour, you can hop on a 10-minute ferry ride to Newcastle Island. This island offers some really nice walking trails and a campsite in the summer; there's also a cafeteria if you get hungry! It's a really fun place to go beachcombing, check out some local Wildlife or even just take in the views of Nanaimo!

Nanaimo offers some really great museums. One of these is the Vancouver Island Military Museum. I had the chance to take some Cub Scouts recently for Remembrance Day. The guides at the Museum are very knowledgeable and do an amazing job of telling some of the stories of our local war heroes. 

So many lakes!

I know I talk about this a ton in my videos but you can always check out all of the amazing beaches in Nanaimo. If instead of the beach, you're looking for maybe a freshwater swim, Nanaimo has some really great weights that you can check out! I haven't had the chance to visit them all yet but we've been to Long Lake quite a few times as my son did a kayaking camp there! There's also Westwood Lake which is a popular swim spot and many more!

Leave the Kids at Home.

If you're craving some adult time there are a lot of local breweries to check out in Nanaimo! One of them that I recently had the chance to visit was Longwood Brewery. This isn't to be confused with “Longwood Brew Pub”... I did make the mistake of thinking I was meeting my friend there and had to turn around and go all the way down to the other location. It was such a nice little spot to sit outside and since they don't have food you can actually order food to be delivered to you, which is an added touch if you get hungry! I've got a long list of all the breweries I want to visit here in Nanaimo! 

Last but not least and I'm sure this list is going to grow but there are two movie theatres in Nanaimo. Both of them are located in North Nanaimo. One of them is “Landmark” which is a smaller movie theatre located in Woodgrove Center. The other bigger theatre is called Galaxy. That's your “big ticket” theatre with reclining seats - all the good stuff! 

I sincerely hope this has helped you come up with some fun activities to do if you're visiting Nanaimo or if you plan to relocate here! 

Sometimes, it's just nice to be told what to do when undertaking something as big as a move. Here's my checklist of things I wish I knew before relocating to Vancouver Island.

Am I new to the area? Fairly, we moved here a year ago in July. 

The good news is you can learn from my mistakes and use this checklist to make sure you're starting your big move on the right foot! 

I'd like to start off by saying that if you're considering relocating to Vancouver Island I'm so happy you're doing it now and not when we did. We sold our home in January of 2021 and spent the next six months not knowing where we would end up due to the crazy market. I'll spare you the details but any plan we would have made would have been useless due to how much we had the rug swept out from underneath us. Looking back and considering the current friendlier buyer environment here's what I think should help you on your journey. 

I'm going to go a bit deeper on this one, sort of a “pre-checklist”. When you're searching for a place to live on Vancouver Island, unless you have to be in a certain area I'd recommend opening up your map to a larger geographic area. Search in areas you've never considered! When we first thought of moving to Vancouver Island we had in mind that we wanted to move to an area called Maple Bay. We even did a day trip over and spent the majority of our time looking in that area.

I even remember declaring loudly at the dinner table one night that I would “never move to Nanaimo” but, I'm forever grateful that the housing market forced us to look in more regions because I know I'm so much happier here. Perhaps knowing that you'll have a more “leisurely” buying experience makes you want to narrow down more. I would encourage you to stay open-minded! The distances from one place to another on Vancouver Island are actually a lot shorter than you might think, so even though you end up in one location you might be closer to your desired location. You can do day trips there or visit and explore on your days off! 

Now while you're doing the fun part of shopping for a home it's essential to think of the transitions you'll have to make moving to the island. If you have kids, it's going to be important for you to look into schools and when registration is open in certain cities. You're going to need an address in the catchment where you're considering registering your child, so please think of this one early! 

Our child was in French immersion and although we put them on every single wait list in Nanaimo he didn't make it in. The school in his catchment was almost full at that point! I don't have all the answers for you and I'm sure I jumped through some hoops to get him into the school that we needed to but I'm just saying this is an important one to think of early. 

An important thing to mention is that it's almost impossible to find a doctor in Nanaimo or on Vancouver Island right now. If your doctor has moved to doing virtual visits since Covid I'd recommend maybe having a chat with them and seeing if you can stay on as a patient. Otherwise, you might be waiting a while.

If you're moving from out of Province, you'll have some additional things to consider. Think of things like setting up your BC care cards, your BC driver's license and also your ICBC auto insurance. On that topic, we found our insurance to be quite a bit less expensive than on the Mainland, so that might be a nice perk for you! Make sure you're prepared ahead of time for any deviances from what you're used to in terms of cost and service. (Some of these differences I'll be covering in a future blog regarding Nanaimo's cost of living) 

Plan to have things such as utilities like cable, internet and hydro installed on the day that you arrive. Think of your home insurance as well (this is a good one to shop around for!) 

Once you found your home and you know your possession date, make sure to book your mover early! This is essential because they'll have to book a ferry reservation - and they'll want to do that early in the day! We had a great experience with a company called One Pro Moving. They're experts at Island moves and we would highly recommend them! 

Scope out some local restaurants so that you can order takeout on the day of your move! 

Even if you're organized enough to bring food, you probably won't have the energy or have any of your kitchen stuff unpacked. Just trust me on this one! The good news is if you are relocating to Nanaimo there are tons of food options, so you will not be disappointed!

If you have a dog, make sure that you do some research to find out where you can take them along your journey and also once you've arrived at your new home. 

There are some really great off-leash trails in Nanaimo! One of my favourites is Pioneer Park. This one would be really good on moving day when you're short on time because the loop is fairly short but there are lots of fun paths for your dog to explore! Last but not least on my list: give your friends and family your new address and update all of your bank cards and online services. Canada Post also has mail forwarding for up to a year, for six people in your household. That's about $75.

When it comes time for your big move, you'll be so happy you thought ahead and I really hope this checklist has helped! Speaking of checklists, I made a free download on my website titled “Questions to Ask Your Realtor When Buying Your First Home”

Living on an island doesn’t have to make you feel STUCK. In this video, I’m going to share my tips for taking BC Ferries to Nanaimo.

Take it from me, someone who spent an entire year commuting to a job on the mainland, that using BC Ferries doesn't have to be as daunting as it sounds. As I mentioned in my previous blog post “Is Nanaimo a Good Place to Live?” being able to commute to and from the Island was very important to our family. I was still working in West Vancouver and we have kids that need to travel to and from homes in North Vancouver to us. Nanaimo was the perfect fit because of its proximity to two of the major BC Ferries ports.

Departure Bay

Departure Bay which will get you into Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver. The ride is an hour and 40 minutes long and ferries are regularly scheduled every couple of hours. The location of this port in Departure Bay is close to downtown Nanaimo. Keeping in mind that my times are approximate, it's about a 12 minute drive from North Nanaimo. If you take Island Highway (or the “old highway”) it's a pretty straightforward drive and very easy to find. 

When you arrive into West Vancouver there are Express buses that will take you into Vancouver and there are some other options too which will take you about 30 minutes to get you into downtown. I personally took a smaller route to get to my job in west Vancouver and it was only about 30 minutes door to door. More on this in a little bit!

Duke Point

A little further away is another port in Duke Point and this Ferry will get you into Tsawwassen. The sailing time is a little bit longer at about two hours. Once you get to Tsawwassen it’s also a little bit further away from downtown Vancouver. It will, however, take you a little bit closer to YVR which is Vancouver's major airport and if you are taking a car it's about a 30 minute drive. 

Options Options!

One of the nice things about BC Ferries is you can choose to either drive on or walk on. I'm going to focus mostly on Departure Bay because this is the route that I have the most experience with! 

When I was commuting I would leave Monday morning and take the ferry into Horseshoe Bay where I would then transit to my job in West Vancouver. Then, I would leave again on Wednesday morning, transit to Horseshoe Bay and take the ferry home. When I was commuting I was a walk-on passenger. I chose to travel this way mainly for cost savings. Driving on and off the ferry round trip would cost me about $160 each time (and fares continue to rise!). Walking on is an $18 fare each way which is a lot more economical not to mention much less stressful because you don't have to make a reservation most of the time. If you are planning to take your car and you don't have a reservation, you're taking a huge risk of having to wait a sailing or two or even more during peak season. Showing up early is essential in this case and adds a lot to your travel time, so walking on just eliminates a lot of that stress in general.

We've used the walk-on option also a lot to visit relatives for holidays and our kids often hop on and off to travel between the mainland and our home. Just keep in mind that the minimum age to travel alone is 12. 

All the views!

Travelling by ferry is an awesome way to take in the natural beauty of BC. You can sit outside and take in the views, which sometimes include whale sightings! I personally love a good “Moody” BC weather day where I don't feel so guilty sitting inside and I can watch the ocean on a rainy day! 

I would use my time on the ferry to get work done but keep in mind that BC ferries no longer provide Wi-Fi. You can use a personal hotspot from your phone to your device and for most of the trip, you'll have a connection.

There's also shopping on board and a cafeteria with hot and cold food. I loved packing my lunch but every once in a while those white spot fries called my name!!

Before you know it the ride is over and you're at your destination! All in all using BC Ferries hasn't been a problem for us. The occasional cancelled or full sailing can be a pain but if you plan accordingly and are adaptable, you'll be just fine. Make the most out of your trip and soon you'll realize that travelling this way can be a nice change from being stuck behind the wheel of your car!

Side note: Please bring headphones! Don't be that person listening to your media or your phone calls on speaker. (Pretty Please!)

If you have any tips or tricks for travelling on BC Ferries for anyone considering relocating to Vancouver Island, make sure to leave a comment! 

Have you been asking yourself "Is Nanaimo a good place to live?" Well, I'm going to give you my top 6 reasons why I think Nanaimo is the BEST place to live on Vancouver Island!

It's Stunning!

It goes without saying that if you're thinking of relocating to B.C. or, if you're lucky enough to be from B.C. that you're drawn to its beauty. Vancouver Island is no exception.

Nanaimo has surprised me with how much beauty is right in my backyard. I'm within walking distance to some of the most beautiful beaches and trails and I think my family and friends might be a little bit tired of how much I post pictures of sunsets and beaches... but honestly, sometimes it's visual overload. I'm so blown away by the amount of beauty here.

Warm Climate!

Part of what enhances the beauty of Nanaimo is the weather. We (My husband, 4 kids and dog) came from the North Shore mountains on the Mainland which do get a lot of rain and yes it does rain here in Nanaimo... I'm not going to lie. The climate is relatively the same as Vancouver, so very mild temperatures in the winter which is obviously a draw if you're from a colder region! We've noticed a huge amount of extra sunny days here on Vancouver Island and have really enjoyed the weather here in Nanaimo so far.

Road Trips!

Living in Central Vancouver Island makes it the perfect starting point for exploring.

Nearby, about 20 minutes away, you have a very popular tourist destination in Parksville. This spot is super popular for beachgoers and campers. It's a spot that we often take friends and family who come to visit and they love exploring the beaches there.

A little bit further out is a very popular spot many of you are familiar with- Tofino. It has arguably (and I will say) some of the most beautiful beaches in the world- and that's only about a two-hour and 40-minute drive. When you're already living in Nanaimo, you're dropping the ferry ride. It's such a close destination that you can go in the summer, or in the winter when you can get in some really good storm-watching!

If you're looking for a little bit more shopping, or maybe some different dining experiences, Victoria- which is the capital of BC- is only about an hour and a half drive away. You can drive down, spend the day shopping and exploring, looking at museums, and be back at home by dinner time.

Easy Access on and off Vancouver Island!

One of the main reasons we decided to move to Nanaimo was for the commutability. You might actually be thinking "how often am I going to leave the Island?". Well, wouldn't you rather be 10 to 15 minutes away from a ferry than let's say, an hour or two hours away from getting off of the Island?

Nanaimo has two major BC ferry ports. one of them is Departure Bay which goes into Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver. In fact, I spent a year commuting to my job in West Vancouver as a walk-on passenger! One of the other major ports is Duke Point which is a little further away than where we are currently in North Nanaimo. That gets you into Tsawwassen, so if you're going to the airport (YVR) it's a little bit closer to that location. So that's a bonus- I think it's really great to be able to hop on a less than two hour ride and get to the Mainland get to some extra shopping or have people visit you!

If you want to know more about the subject of BC Ferries, I am going to do another blog post on this topic in the near future!

Speaking of airports, Nanaimo does have an airport! It is a smaller airport but I consider this a positive thing- and this is coming from an ex-Flight Attendant. If you're starting off your vacation in a major airport it can be kind of stressful and what we have found is the Nanaimo airport is quiet. You can always find parking and security lineups are short. It's also going to connect you to any destination you need to get to! That is definitely a major bonus!

Get Places Faster!

Okay, I'm super surprised I didn't list this as number one! That's because when people ask me "how do you like living in Nanaimo?" my number one answer is always "I love that there is no traffic!!!". So, if you ask somebody who is from Nanaimo, they might disagree. They might tell you that it's getting busier and they find that their commute is a little bit slower. If you're from a large city, like we are, you will notice a huge difference! The main one being- you can actually plan how long it's going to take for you to get from point A to point B almost to the minute and I would say everything on average is about 20 minutes away, depending if you're going further out. You're not sitting in your car and I don't care how good your podcasts or audio books are... listen to those on the beach and spend less time in the car! 

Visitors!

My final reason why I love living in Nanaimo- and some of you may disagree, but we have had so many visitors come and see us! I think there are a few reasons for this, the major one being that Vancouver Island is a very popular tourist destination for people looking for a staycation. Oftentimes, they'll come into Vancouver Island via Nanaimo using BC Ferries, so we'll have a lot of people come in and stop in on us on their way to other places like Tofino or Parksville. They'll stay for the afternoon or sometimes they'll stay longer on their way home if they're a little bit too tired to make it all the way across on the ferry. The bonus is that we've been able to afford a little bit more house to host them so if they want to spend the night we've got the space for them! It's been incredible, we've had friends and family that barely visited us when we lived on the Mainland come and stay with us here. That's a big perk for me- it may not be for you- but I certainly love it!

Those are my top six reasons why Nanaimo is a good place to live. I can go on and on about this topic- and I will in future videos, so hopefully you will stay tuned! If you are thinking of relocating I hope this has helped!