Work would be close to the part where Coal Harbour is on West Hastings Street.

I think downtown would be the option, or live North and closer to the mountains and commute!

I think BC may work out better cash wise in the mid to long term. I don’t know much about schooling or sport apart from cycling to be honest. Their winters seem pretty brutal too. I can feel myself being talked out of it now for a long term thing, but short term, 1-5 years it might be alright I reckon!

The west end was ok if you were single or a young couple not sure I’d live there with kids. Coal Harbour is a bit sterile lovely views etc but a bit blah for actual living, you can liken it to a bit of Canary Wharf in London.

Schooling – Public schools are good and free to all BC residents, quality is high though the better schools are in the more affluent areas. We didn’t have kids back then so didn’t start looking into it much just what we heard from friends with kids.

Vancouver isn’t cheap per se but your money in North America goes a lot further.

Sports – take your pick – volleyball in summer, football, kayaking, climbing, slopitch, hockey, sailing, golf etc of course winter offers you 3 mountains Cypress Mountain, Grouse Mountain and Mount Seymour all within a hop, skip and jump.

Winters are mild and I feel it’s colder in the UK, though they are getting a lot more snow than usual in the mainland.

Winter is no worse than central Scotland, recent snow has been unusually bad, worst in about 8-9 years have been riding through the winter pretty much every year, summer is way better than the uk. Look at Lower Lonsdale in North Van and take seabus to work.

If you’re considering downtown is a realistic purchase budget wise, you’re happy with appartment/townhouse living and you have kids.. I’d seriously look at North Van. You could be walkable from home to the sea bus and walkable from the sea but to anywhere in coal harbour. That puts you living on the right side of the bridges too for family/rec.
Properties wise realtor.ca is the multiple listing service that all Realtors use to list their properties that are on the open market. This would be as a guide only though as many homes get sold before they even hit the MLS.
As Tuscaloosa said,this will get is far colder and consequently more snow than average. Vancouver typically gets a couple of inches a year of snow with at least a couple of days a winter where the city is carnage.
An average winter is mild and wet but even up in squamish were only forced off the bike for 6 weeks. Vancouverites can often ride right through the winter.
A 2 bed townhouse in North Van will start a 850k. Add to that the 15% non resident property purchase tax (depending on what status your work visa gives you) and a likely non resident mortgage requirement of 35% down payment. Now, a single family home with a garden or sizeable brands new duplex with green space in Squamish would be under that and not subject to that 15% tax. Squamish to coal harbour in about 45 minutes on a clear day. It’s worth considering.

@BearBack, you’re really selling Squamish to me. It does sound pretty sweet. Is there much to do in the winter if you’re not into winter sports and what if you’ve got young kids?

I have a 5 and 6 year old.
Sports center with swimming pool and ice rink at brennan park
Squishees soft indoor play area, Airhouse trampoline center, Indoor climbing facility with kid friendly zone, ninja training and other typical cost based classes. kids ski programs at whistler2 days a week for 3-5 year olds, Mondays for grade 1. Kids XC skiing at the olympic park, Outdoor kids bike skills park, bike/skate bowl and BMX track. Soccer fields etc etc. Local gondola with hikes and a tube park.
We have +1ft snow on the ground right now, same since before Christmas but I’ve managed 3 or 4 rides on the snow packed trails since new year. Last winter I had maybe 2 weeks off the bike, riding dirt otherwise.
Improving eateries, 3 breweries with pub/tasting rooms.
Touch bases with Courtney as a realtor for an idea of what Squamish has going on. She has 2 busy boys 6 and 8 and has bought them up through Squamish life. Her husband Darcy is Mr Anthill films too.. so understands bikers like no one else and absolutely shreds herself.

@BearBack thanks for taking the time to respond. Going to take a more serious look into this this year.

Oh God….not someone else moving to Squamish ha….

It’s pretty well full, although hopefully the completion of the latest round of boxes near downtown will relieve some pressure. If it wasn’t for the huge amount of illegal suites in people’s houses the service industry would collapse and it’d be a commuting ghost town.

That’s not to say that it isn’t awesome though! Moving here in one fell swoop might be a bit of a tall order unless you are absolutely loaded, or are happy living in a van (like seemingly all the climbers here…).