If you could move anywhere....
 

Just a bit of background for those unaware. A few years ago I moved my family up to Yellowknife to start a new career. Now we've reached the point where, when my wife's contract expires next june, we're available to move out. Something never before imagined has occured. I have received at least 20 job offers, from all over the place, and ALL at good salaries.

We realized, we can go ANYWHERE we want. Anywhere.

Where would you go in Canada if you could pick your place? To add to the fray keep in mind, the wife wants to stay west of Winnipeg, and we have two young girls. Beyond that, the wife is happy just to get the hell out of mosquitoe land.

We've looked at Saskatoon, its beautiful and houses are dirt cheap, we could afford a mansion lol. We looked at Grande Prairie/Dawson Creek. BEAUTIFUL country. We looked at Kamloops, but good god its hot there. Lastly we looked at Vancouver island, but Victoria is really expensive and the economy seems dead outside it.

Toss me some ideas. Is there some hidden gem I'm missing out on that I should consider?

Somewhere where you can really afford the type of property and neighbourhood you want - ergo, not Toronto or Vancouver! Somewhere the economic prospects will remain good for years to come. For my money, that means Alberta. Houses are still affordable and the economy is booming and will likely continue to do so. BC is nice, however. Personally, Sask and Manitoba just don't so it for me.

Try the North Okanagan/Shushwap area around Salmon arm or Sicamous. You get the nice warm summers with the lakes and short winters with great skiing nearby. Kelowna, yuck, I hate the place. Cranbrook or Nelson, or any town in the East Kootenays for that matter, is an area worth considering.
Vancouver Island has some nice places to live, but dealing with the ferry system sucks in a big way.

Oh well, there's goes my suggestion of Charlottetown!



I have a friend ( a Haligonian by birth, Kingstonian by formative years, and Ottawan for most of his career) who has found himself in a beautiful home in Kelowna.

He made the move west because his wife was suffering from the poor air quality in Ottawa, due to the weather systems that end up funnelling a continent's worth of pollutants up to the area. The air in the interior is dry and apparantly the economy is fine.

the biggest adjustment that he has had to make is trying to form an allegiance to a western conference team (a die hard Habs fan, he until recently supported those Sens...)

But from my tree planting days, I must agree with Splk, Sicamous/ shuswap is amazing...

I'm biased, but I think the interior of BC is one of the most spectacular places in the world to live. IF you like the outdoors. If you want a big city feel, read no further.

The interior has some of the best mountain biking in the world. World class ski resorts, thousands of lakes for fishing or boating. The Shuswap and Oakanagan lakes in particular offer spectacular outdoor experiences.

Kamloops is a very central location and offers access to pretty much anything you could want within an hour drive (on the outside).

Housing costs are high in BC, so you're looking at 200k plus for a house for your family... but that's not that unusual anywhere in canada now.

I'm biased as well, but I suggest Saskatchewan. Saskatoon is a very beautiful city.. but so is Regina. Housing prices are increasing in all of those areas.

I live in a small town SW of Calgary right now... I would hesitate to suggest Calgary because of the cost of living, housing, etc. at this time.

I am Saskatchewanian by birth, and can't wait until I can move back. There's something about that province that just continually draws me back. The people... the pace of life, the wide open spaces, the FANTASTIC fishing.. <GRIN> I love it. They need to work on their politics there, though, and allow small (and large) business the opportunity to make a go of it.

On the other hand, if I have my druthers, I'm retiring to Vancouver Island. HOLY CRAP is that a fantastic place to live...