B.C. Best Places to Retire Thread.

Not by any skill or hard work. Just luck. The house we paid 315k for in 2005 should sell for $3-4M once the city gets its act in gear and has a plan for the rezoning, hopefully middle of next year.

If you're looking for folks to ride with in the Okanagan, check out the Valley BMW Riders. We have a wide range of riders, some mainly road, some GS and some on classic airheads. We welcome any type of bike, just like hanging with people who like motorcycles. No rules, just ride. I'm based in Kelowna. In addition to our scheduled events we have small groups that meet for breakfast on Wednesdays (retired guys) at EK's grill in Glenmore. We also have a pretty informal group that gets together for coffee on Wednesday evenings at Blenz in Glenmore. You're more than welcome to stop by and check us out.

Cheers, Wayne

Wow very nice.

Hey Wayne - I was up last year checking out Peachland but boy it is expensive there. Do you have any specific places with cheap lots (maybe even waterfront) where one could build an off-grid smaller home? I am originally from the central interior (100 Mile) and love the area, but I want those warmer climes so that I can ride more!

Hmmm..... cheap lots......waterfront..... those are two terms you would rarely hear in the same sentence. If you like the 100 mile area and want a warmer climate you might check out the Merritt/Nicola Valley area. I haven't looked at prices over there lately but I would think they would be a whole lot less than the Okanagan. I have a friend who lives on the Nicola River and he claims they get more hours of sunshine there then they get in Osoyoos. Another friend did build an off-grid home up in that area but he is at a bit higher elevation than Merritt so I'm not sure if that would qualify as warmer.

I moved here 13 years ago from the Lower Mainland and I thought prices here were high then. I'm happy where I am so I haven't really paid much attention to prices since then so I'm not much help to you.

So I took a day to scout the mid Island, and I'm tossing Nanoose Bay off the list. Half the area is owned/managed/strata'd by a giant golf course. The other half is very nice, with a lot of amazing views, but a bit odd. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Plus, it's a bit further(farther? Martha?) from civilization than I had pictured. I did like Lantzville and north Nanaimo, Hammond Bay, along with Jingle Pot Road. It's too bad a lot of the old-timer houses in Nanaimo are in the shittier areas. I'd love to retire in an old Edwardian house.
Nanaimo is still the place. I liked it. Big enough to have everything, small enough to not be a metropolitan nightmare.

I have visited Vancouver Island, and enjoyed it. Climate (as in very little snow, and reasonable amount of sunshine) seems great.

1 thing I wonder: I am used to driving where ever I want to visit family and vacation. BC Ferries charges so much to get off and back to the island, would a not-wealthy retiree feel constrained?

Car, driver and passenger is about $90 each way. Motorcycle was $28.50 last time I went. Over height and trailer starts getting pricy.

Where you save money is not buying food and stuff on the ferry. Otherwise you are looking at over $100 a trip.

I looked it up online a few month ago and those prices are pretty much what I recall.

At >$180+ round trip to the mainland, I sure wouldn't go often. Perhaps as a retiree, there isn't much reason I would want to leave the island?

When my parents retired to the Island,my dad complained about being held hostage by the ferry system ,which was amusing because he never left it after he got here .

I'm 10 yrs from retirement and rarely find a need to leave the Island, it's not like you can walk around it in a day, it is fairly large... We have all the same stores, good hospitals, lots of year around activities and warm summers... For me the held hostage feeling creeps in more when we get off the ferry in Vancouver than on the Island..That being said we do pop over on the ferry to Vancouver a couple times a year to visit the oldest daughter with the car, otherwise it is on 2 wheels where you have priority loading and cheaper fares..

The Missus and I do 90% of our camping and holidaying in the States so we are always taking the ferry to the mainland. When we pull the pin in a couple years we are selling up and leaving. The ferry ride takes at least a day out of vacation time each way. Time is short and we don't want to waste it sitting on a boat. Mind you, being retired I won't have to worry about 'vacation time' will I?

Except that there is lots more time to spend money.

Chiang Mai or Bali for half the year?

https://nomadlist.com/

Golly!! Surprised to hear this.

Not really. No money spent commuting 60 kms 18-21 days a month. Selling our commuter car, so one less insurance payment, vehicle maintenance etc. Less money on food for my work meals etc. Most people spend less when retired.

I'm thinking now if I can find a location that I can ride for more than 6 months out of the year I'd be a happy camper. I won't have enough to be a snowbird or anything like that and I'm not sure I'd want to leave Canada anyway. I've still got 20 years to figure it out....

drove from Victoria to Nanaimo yesterday.
the strong acrid smell of the mills would take your breath away - all the way from Cowichan Bay to Nanaimo.

It used to be real bad in Campbell River when the mill was operating, so much so that if it was still going we would of not even moved here..

7+ months riding? That opens up many areas for retirement. Most in southwest B.C..