Where to begin for Vancouver metro area?

[future_canadian]

Hi everyone, we are waiting for our FSW application to be processed and if approved we think we'd like to live in Vancouver metro area though if we can find jobs beforehand we'd go wherever the jobs are. Probably not in the central city of Vancouver. We've visited Vancouver and Victoria and love them and we would be willing to live on Vancouver Island too but mainland is the preference. I just don't really know where to begin finding a home that suits us as we aren't familiar enough with the area. Is there any good web site, or do people on here have recommendations or suggestions of people we can talk to?

We are professionals in our 30s, one American and one Hong Kong Chinese, with 2 young kids and a dog.

I don't know whether we'll rent or buy immediately but if we rent it would be a stand-alone home or maybe an apartment unit but not a high-rise... had enough of those in Hong Kong. I want my kids to have some space to play.

Our preferences in rough order of importance are:

-- Neighborhood friendly to children and pets, including parks and walkable areas
-- Good schools! If public are good then no need to go private.
-- Reasonably affordable (trying to stay under $1 million for something like a 2000 square foot 4-bedroom)
-- Reasonably close to SkyTrain and/or not too bad of a commute to main business areas of Vancouver. Can be suburban so long as it's still in a neighborhood not a wasteland, and we won't be sitting in traffic for hours a day.
-- Reasonably close to Richmond so the kids can get in a weekly Chinese lesson and stay connected to their Chinese heritage (they are currently bilingual and I'd like them to stay that way), or ideas on where else to do this if not in Richmond

I don't ask for much do I?

Please tell me other things I ought to consider if you think I am leaving something out.

Thanks!

 

[steaky]

Coquitlam and Port Moody of Metro Vancouver are some of the places you can consider. There is even a Mandarin (Chinese) Bilingual program in the local school district (SD43) where your children can learn Chinese. There are lots of greenbelts, trails, parks, beach and other open spaces (probably more than Richmond) for all ages including elderlies, children and their dogs to go around. You shouldn't have difficulty in finding 4 bedrooms homes of 2000+ square feet under 1 million. The sky train connecting the two cities to downtown Vancouver via Burnaby is currently under construction and expect to be in service in the summer of 2016. In the meantime, you can take the Westcoast express (the commuter train) to downtown Vancouver.

If you compare the fraser institute school ranking, you would notice some schools in SD43 scored better than some in Richmond.

For more information home prices, check mls.ca for listings!

BTW, where in Hong Kong are you living now? Especially in Lantau and the south side of HK Island, there are lots of spaces for children and pets to play around.

 

[future_canadian]

Coquitlam and Port Moody of Metro Vancouver are some of the places you can consider. There is even a Mandarin (Chinese) Bilingual program in the local school district (SD43) where your children can learn Chinese. There are lots of greenbelts, trails, parks, beach and other open spaces (probably more than Richmond) for all ages including elderlies, children and their dogs to go around. You shouldn't have difficulty in finding 4 bedrooms homes of 2000+ square feet under 1 million. The sky train connecting the two cities to downtown Vancouver via Burnaby is currently under construction and expect to be in service in the summer of 2016. In the meantime, you can take the Westcoast express (the commuter train) to downtown Vancouver.

If you compare the fraser institute school ranking, you would notice some schools in SD43 scored better than some in Richmond.

For more information home prices, check mls.ca for listings!

BTW, where in Hong Kong are you living now? Especially in Lantau and the south side of HK Island, there are lots of spaces for children and pets to play around.

Thanks, this is already a good start! Coquitlam looks nice.

We live on HK Island but in a crowded part. There are some nice places for kids here such as Discovery Bay, but for a number of reasons we prefer to move to Canada.

If anyone else has suggestions we're happy to hear them.

 

[joycece]

If you want a similar life style, great Chinese food, easy access to malls, grocery, safe, you want your kids speak Cantonese as their mother language. I would suggest Richmond. Either South Richmond (Steveston Village Area or Blundell at between No. 1 to Heather St) or North West Richmond Terra Nova Area. These area is not totally Chinese occupied which would be ideal for new immigrants.

In my opinion, Coquitlam is not ideal for people from Hong Kong. It is cold in winter than other area, heavy snow and not easy to drive around uphill and downhill if you do not experience it before. Terrible highway traffic.

If you are sicking tired of Chinese Culture, and like to live in a quiet, less Chinese faces, peaceful, no night life style kind of life. South Surrey or White Rock is a good choice. It is 20-30 minutes drive to Richmond where you can get Chinese stuff (2 options for highway access). 10 minutes drive to US Boarder where you can get cheap gas, grocery. People in these area are mostly local, well educated, rich. It is also a safe area to live comparing with North Surrey. House are cheaper than Richmond/Coquitlam and larger in some area around South Surrey. If you can afford a great investment house in white rock. Highly suggested. Semiahmoo school in White Rock ranks okay, and quite a lot of Chinese students. South Ridge Private School in South Surrey rank #1 in greater Vancouver area. A very beautiful school.

Hope it helps and feel free to contact me if needed more information

 

[steaky]

n my opinion, Coquitlam is not ideal for people from Hong Kong. It is cold in winter than other area, heavy snow and not easy to drive around uphill and downhill if you do not experience it before. Terrible highway traffic

Well, there are lots of people from Hong Kong who are living/working in Coquitlam/Port Moody. You don't have to drive around uphill and downhill if you don't want to. Highway traffic is a problem everywhere - not only in Coquitlam and PM.

Have you really been to that area?

 

[Ponga]

Agreed. There's not nearly as much snow in the Ikea parking lot as there would be up on the Westwood Plateau (and both are part of Coquitlam).

 

[future_canadian]

If you want a similar life style, great Chinese food, easy access to malls, grocery, safe, you want your kids speak Cantonese as their mother language. I would suggest Richmond. Either South Richmond (Steveston Village Area or Blundell at between No. 1 to Heather St) or North West Richmond Terra Nova Area. These area is not totally Chinese occupied which would be ideal for new immigrants.

In my opinion, Coquitlam is not ideal for people from Hong Kong. It is cold in winter than other area, heavy snow and not easy to drive around uphill and downhill if you do not experience it before. Terrible highway traffic.

If you are sicking tired of Chinese Culture, and like to live in a quiet, less Chinese faces, peaceful, no night life style kind of life. South Surrey or White Rock is a good choice. It is 20-30 minutes drive to Richmond where you can get Chinese stuff (2 options for highway access). 10 minutes drive to US Boarder where you can get cheap gas, grocery. People in these area are mostly local, well educated, rich. It is also a safe area to live comparing with North Surrey. House are cheaper than Richmond/Coquitlam and larger in some area around South Surrey. If you can afford a great investment house in white rock. Highly suggested. Semiahmoo school in White Rock ranks okay, and quite a lot of Chinese students. South Ridge Private School in South Surrey rank #1 in greater Vancouver area. A very beautiful school.

Hope it helps and feel free to contact me if needed more information

Thank you I may indeed contact you.

It's not that I especially want to live in a Chinese area, or don't want to live in a Chinese area. I want to live in a good area for our family, with good school the top priority, and convenience (especially to SkyTrain?) or maybe family-friendliness second. But I do want to make an effort to help keep them connected to their Chinese heritage without becoming too insular about it. If that makes sense. There is a reason we want to move back to the west from HK. The Coquitlam school that has a half-day Mandarin program, mentioned earlier in this thread, looks amazing. Is there anything similar in other areas of Vancouver metro area? Unless there is really a need to go private I am perfectly comfortable going public, I believe the public schools in Vancouver metro are high quality, am I correct? Again, one of the reasons we are getting out of HK.

I grew up in a snowy area of the USA so no problem driving. My wife will take some time to get used to it.

I am willing to spend money on a good house but not just because of wildly inflated property prices. I want the value to be there. I searched some very nice looking homes in Coquitlam for $750K-$1M. How much down payment is required in Canada and what are typical mortgage terms? Where are some other good places to look for nice homes? It would be nice to finally have some space again. I'd like a home with some personality, not just a cookie-cutter standard developer property-values-are-high-let's-build-houses house.