Why We’re Moving to Victoria
A few people have expressed dismay about our moving to Victoria and not back to Vancouver. Somebody even told me in an email that “Victoria was lame”. Is it? Maybe a little, but we have fond memories of living there during university.
More practically, we’re returning to the West Coast to build a house on some land we have on Pender Island. There’s much better ferry access to Pender Island from the Victoria side than the Vancouver side. There are far more trips, and the trip is much shorter (45 minutes instead of a 2 hour multi-island milk run).
Assuming it’s not a total disaster, we’ll live in the house we built. For how long? That’s hard to say. We’re already talking about renting it out and living abroad again, so we might live there for 6 months or 16 years.
We do have plans to make very regular trips by ferry or seaplane to Vancouver, so Vangroovy is not getting rid of me quite that easily.
January 30th, 2008 at 8:18 am
Let me know how the process of moving back and getting set up in Victoria goes. I’d love to move there someday.
January 30th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Victoria is not so bad, in fact, it’s my home town. It’s chief drawback is the fact that it’s on an island, and that the ferries can sometimes be a hassle. Pender and Victoria can be wonderful, but it will take a little time to get used to the slower pace of life there. Just remember, Malahat = Sea to Sky Highway ( Its not really all that dangerous!) and don’t drink Lucky Lager unless you want to be taken for an up-islander! Eating a Nanaimo bar, however, is perfectly OK.
January 30th, 2008 at 8:52 am
I don’t share anything like your expertise in the area, but one of my all-time favorite vacations was to Victoria.
So, if you’re looking for endorsements from random strangers - consider your move endorsed. ;)
January 30th, 2008 at 10:14 am
I wouldn’t call it dismay. More like confusion and disapproval ;-)
January 30th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Gee whiz, calling a move to Victoria lame? I think it’s a wonderful decision - especially now that you explain that you met your wife in university there, and having land nearby.
Vancouver offers a fabulous enough lifestyle but it’s just ONE city and when you’ve lived there as you have, it can be quite enough. Especially with all the cool cities your work allows you to operate out of!
January 30th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Poop.
January 30th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
I moved here to Victoria from Toronto 18 months ago. Sure, Toronto is nothing like Vancouver, but still, given the choice, I’m happy to be in Victoria. I know you’ll enjoy it.
January 30th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I frequently ponder moving to the Island. The problem is that, while my work is portable, my husband’s isn’t. There seem to be no software companies in the central Island.
January 30th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Victoria’s not so bad. You could be moving to Winnipeg and building an icehouse on Hecla island.
Good for you guys following your muse.
January 30th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Well I think Victoria is a great decision; it’s one of my favourite places to visit and I’ve considered living there to see how a year or two went. Regardless, I’ll be happy to see you living within easier visiting distance, so prepare for this freeloader to be calling on you when you settle.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:02 am
Hey, I’m not complaining :) Ok, maybe I am a bit biased.
Victoria is a great place, and the island is a huge and wonderful backyard to explore.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Do you have a builder lined up?? Finding one on Pender will be a bitch and paying for one from Victoria or Vancouver will be expensive! The building market is crazy (as I am sure you know) here.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Meg: We’re hoping it will cool down in six months, but who knows? Our architect has designed houses on Pender before, so he’s got some connections. The nice thing is that we’ve got the benefit of time. There’s no pressure on us to begin by a particular date.
January 31st, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Julia and I look forward to welcoming you and Julie to Victoria! You will be very welcome additions to the Victoria scene!
February 5th, 2008 at 8:54 am
It hasn’t cooled down YET… Michael got THREE calls for more work yesterday alone (and he has NEVER advertised = all word of mouth). He is currently running (contracting) three jobs… one is an “environmentally friendly” apartment being gutted on the waterfront in Ambleside (the view!!).
However, it is good you have a architect who has worked on Pender before… he should have solid contacts. Michael was looking at doing a job on Thetis last year as the clients didn’t want to wait 2 years for one of the local builders …they wanted a “mini cabin” to start with. Due to the expense they have decided to just go ahead with the house and the local builder (I think) and wait the 2 years.