So after two years of being back on the prairies, I've decided to move to the coast. My contract is up in April '09 and I will be immediately moving when that occurs.

The title of this thread isn't quite accurate though; I plan on living in Squamish, which is a small city forty minutes south of Whistler on the Sea to Sky Highway. The only reason I plan on living in Squamish is for the reduction in cost of living. I still plan on boarding/partying in Whistler as much as I can.

So my question is this: would coastal BC totseans please tell me everything they know about the Squamish/Whistler area. Any useful information on either community would be appreciated. Jobs, cost, nightlife, hidden gems, anything. I need info!!

Also, Whistler is the sickest place in NA, no?

No, Whistler is full of West Vancouver Yuppies and Asians. Fuck that place it is so over rated.

WHISTLER SUCKS!!!

when i was doing my snow trip through canada i went to about 7 resorts and whistler was the worst. its full of fuckwits from my own country and dickhead americans, which result in pissed off canadians who are grumpy cos their home is full of dickheads. the snow is pretty crap to, come afternoon its like trying to board on a giant slurpie. the only thing whistler has going for it is its size. its just my opinion.

So...Victoria is off your list?

What about other ski hills in BC? I was seeing that Mt. Washington near Courtney is having a hiring fair for their Dec. 5 opening. Though I imagine Fernie, Sun Peaks near Kamloops or Kimberley are more developed. Are you just being swayed by the Whistler hype?

Sure, Wh/Squa/Van are more central & cosmopolitan. The Okanogan, with Big White, Silver Star etc. is interesting too & a short flight to Van.

One thing about all that snow that falls on Whistler? Squamish be all up down at sea level? Soooo...all that snow, isn't always snow when it's heading inland past Squamish. I think it rains less at Pemberton, but it's prob too small & boring there.

Its spelt Okanagan, sillyfuck.

Silverstar and Big White are both great hills.


Victoria lacks West Van yuppies and a large Asian population. Whats your point?

Any plans on what you'll be doing for work? I've got some friends that work in Squamish's campgrounds in the summer. It's a nice place, though there isn't a whole lot there.

So...Victoria is off your list?

Yeah, as much as I'm sure I would enjoy living on the island, I don't like the idea of having to take a ferry whenever I need to go to the mainland. Plus I got a hot tip that all Victoria is is junkies and old people.


What about other ski hills in BC? I was seeing that Mt. Washington near Courtney is having a hiring fair for their Dec. 5 opening. Though I imagine Fernie, Sun Peaks near Kamloops or Kimberley are more developed. Are you just being swayed by the Whistler hype?

Swayed by the Whistler hype..? Probably.

But is it really just hype? You guys are pretty much the first ones to tell me anything negative about Whistler (other than cost). Everyone else seems to think that it's the best place in the world. That being said, I'm probably going to value your opinions more than some columnist in Transworld, but is yuppies and Asians the only reason you (or spam man sam) say it sucks? I don't usually mind the tourist scene, I mean it can get old, but I would gladly live amongst tourists than live somewhere that I wouldn't enjoy.

And I don't want to live in the Okanagan because my ex lives there and I just don't really wanna live near her.


Any plans on what you'll be doing for work? I've got some friends that work in Squamish's campgrounds in the summer. It's a nice place, though there isn't a whole lot there.

As of yet, I don't know. I have a Power Engineering certificate so if I can get something with that, I'd be laughin, but somehow I doubt it will be that easy.

I'll probably end up doing something along the lines of unskilled labour like your friends. Do they live in Squamish? What do they do in the winter? Can you tell me everything you know about their situation? Sorry, I just really need to pick your brain so I can figure my shit out and set some clearly defined goals.

They migrate to Whistler for work in the winter. There are jobs for the asking in Whistler. In the summer, they work in the campgrounds in Squamish. You have to apply for those ones and do a brief interview. Housing is cheap and the people are friendly.

They bank a fair amount of money, when they don't party it all away. All you really need in that area is to be clean cut and have your own vehicle.

If you find money calling, you've always got other options.

Even the steadfast people that love tourism seem to get sick of Whistler after a handful of years. However, there's nothing saying that you have to stay there forever.

Since you're hitting there at the end of Whistler's season, why not stop off somewhere like Sun Peaks or Fernie? At least you're more liable to get the last powder. Though I think W lasted a bit longer last season because of the cool Spring.

Then if Sqa/Wh still looks good, you can head there for the Summer & if it suits you, be there... Well, checking the Goog, it seems Fernie ends in mid-April, same as W., though I guess it depends on the weather somewhat. Come time to head West, you can see which places look best for EoS. May as well see, might be W will be as good or better than other places. A chance to meet people soon leaving & who'll be back in a few months.

At least that stinking pulp mill across the Sound is gone. Gave people work, but sometimes you could smell it all the way to Van. Summer in S is sure a lot drier than Winter. Otherwise I wonder if climbing/bouldering/hiking would be so popular... :D

Whistler is the shit. Every time I've been there I've had a blast.

Unless you're a yuppie, I'd suggest not to. Squamish isn't all to good either. I'd suggest the Camloops or Kelowna personally, because of no rain, no chinks, and no police. Or if you really want to live coastal, go to North Vancouver if you want to live in the city's suburbs. If you want to live a bit more secluded, the sunshine coast is a pretty quiet place, with absolutely amazing nature, lots of cheap weed, and generally great people.

Whistler is all hype. Sure its great for dirt biking and stuff, but you can do that other places aswell, and take the occasional vacation to Whistler aswell. BC is for sure among the greatest places in the world to live. I don't know all to much about Whistler, but last time I was there I saw this skate boarding competition. The one guy fell pretty bad, so went to take a pause and smoked some weed. He just got blitzed and couldn't continue, trying to act all tough. Just says a bit about the type of people that are there.

It all depends on if you like Chineese, like the big city, how much money you have, what you work as and so on. Kelowna pays good money if you're a tradesman, and has comparatively cheap housing compared to Vancouver. In North Vancouver you'll easily end up paying 1000$ a month for a one bedroom/bathroom/kitchen apartment, so if you don't have much to start out on I'd suggest you don't move to Vancouver. Sure it has a great party and drug environment, but it has its cost.

I've been quite a few places in BC, having lived there half my life. And I would higly suggest the sunshine coast, unless you have a grave desire to live in a city. It really is a fresh of breath air, got good access to weed (you won't be paying much for it, as they produce tenfold of what they consume due to export).

Squamish is more expensive than Vancouver for purchasing property.

i love whistler, you can disappear almost anywhere you go, or head to the village to have a good time with your friends.

Victoria is boring as hell honestly, no night life, its cool to pass through but i would not live there, too many old people and homeless.

Tofino is awesome as shit, its wayyyy more secluded then whistler, but you have the ocean and its the best surfing spot in canada

Whistler is the SHIT if you ski and can deal with the fucks that go there. I wouldnt wanna live there though, with all the yuppie/rich asshole types.

Go to jackson hole, WY. WY has dirt cheap taxes, and at jackson, they party just as hard, and the skiing is SICK.

If you like getting FUCKED out of your MIND, whistler is fuckin' heaven... The cops here are pretty chill, and if you head into the village after 1 am, i GUARENTEE you're gonna get a couple free drinks, probably a hot australian chick. Only problem is, there's no WAY you're getting up next morning to go skiing.

If you like getting FUCKED out of your MIND, whistler is fuckin' heaven... The cops here are pretty chill, and if you head into the village after 1 am, i GUARENTEE you're gonna get a couple free drinks, probably a hot australian chick. Only problem is, there's no WAY you're getting up next morning to go skiing.

Ya but its still gaytown. And you can get fucked out of your mind anywhere else in BC, without waking up with a cock in your ass. And those couple free drinks aren't worth it when drinks normally cost 5 times what they cost elsewhere in BC.

Well, I've changed my mind again.


I think I'm moving to Burnaby.

Anybody wanna tell me why Burnaby sucks ass?


...seriously.

Well, I've changed my mind again.


I think I'm moving to Burnaby.

Anybody wanna tell me why Burnaby sucks ass?


...seriously.

One reason, Chineese. Fucking Chineese are everywhere in Burnaby. And contrary to popular belief, their women are ugly fuckers. Only the 1% of them which are actually hot, get on the internet and TV which gives an extremely bad impression of their actual hotness. Say if you lived in China all your life, and the only white people you saw were on TV, you'd have the impression that all whites looked like those, right? Well you probably got that impression with Chineese. Also, its way to expensive really, the consumerism in Burnaby just makes me cringe everytime I am there. Langley is a much more calm place then Burnaby, and is rather close, with much cheaper living. I'd highly recommend Langley instead.

Well, I've changed my mind again.


I think I'm moving to Burnaby.

Anybody wanna tell me why Burnaby sucks ass?


...seriously.

Fuck man, its like the Chink's headquarters. Move into Vancouver proper, or West/North Van.

Huh. Why not do what I said way back: take a few months & look around Southern BC & the Island? Sure...though you have some bank & can take a saunter around, you're cash won't last forever & you'll have to score a job? If you don't have to rent a room in a hostel/motel every night, you could stretch your cash while searching online for jobs too.

One thing that might keep you grounded is that with the slowing economy you might want to hook up with a job before too long... Stop you from drifting for too long in a Lotus Land fog of good times & BC Green. Heck, in a pair of weeks you could (unless you've already driven all over there) leisurely drive all the highways of BC, Kamloops to the border & the Island from Victoria to Campbell River.

Though perhaps only a place in Van or it's suburbs interests you? I know that that though Metro Van interests me me, I'd never live in Richmond or the low part of Delta? I'm too paranoid about earthquakes & floods to want to live in those sea level places. :eek:

If you're set on being in/near Van. Why Burnaby? You could investigate the other 'burbs online & even drive around the whole local area over a couple of days. Traffic is no joke in the Lower Mainland. So, being near the Skytrain might cross your mind as regards to work. If you end up needing to drive. So be it. Something to consider though.

Lots of different views of the mountains/ocean/river to consider, depending on where you live too. Let alone, some areas are more towards one immigrant group or another. I don't know about the Commercial Drive area of Van, but it's supposed to be pretty hip. Though if your "rainbow" side is coming out? The West End is where you want to be... :eek:

You ever peruse http://www.bcmag.ca/ ?

Huh. Why not do what I said way back: take a few months & look around Southern BC & the Island? Sure...though you have some bank & can take a saunter around, you're cash won't last forever & you'll have to score a job? If you don't have to rent a room in a hostel/motel every night, you could stretch your cash while searching online for jobs too.

One thing that might keep you grounded is that with the slowing economy you might want to hook up with a job before too long... Stop you from drifting for too long in a Lotus Land fog of good times & BC Green. Heck, in a pair of weeks you could (unless you've already driven all over there) leisurely drive all the highways of BC, Kamloops to the border & the Island from Victoria to Campbell River.

Though perhaps only a place in Van or it's suburbs interests you? I know that that though Metro Van interests me me, I'd never live in Richmond or the low part of Delta? I'm too paranoid about earthquakes & floods to want to live in those sea level places. :eek:

If you're set on being in/near Van. Why Burnaby? You could investigate the other 'burbs online & even drive around the whole local area over a couple of days. Traffic is no joke in the Lower Mainland. So, being near the Skytrain might cross your mind as regards to work. If you end up needing to drive. So be it. Something to consider though.

Lots of different views of the mountains/ocean/river to consider, depending on where you live too. Let alone, some areas are more towards one immigrant group or another. I don't know about the Commercial Drive area of Van, but it's supposed to be pretty hip. Though if your "rainbow" side is coming out? The West End is where you want to be... :eek:

You ever peruse http://www.bcmag.ca/ ?


Good post, very helpful.


At this point, I am caught in limbo. I know I'll be going to the GVA because not only do I just really want to, but that's probably the only place in BC that I'll be able to find a job in my line of work.

I suppose I would be content with any of the suburbs, or even right in Van.

Where exactly do you live?

Whistler is so fucking expensive. I have a bunch of friends that migrate there every winter, and while they can find decent jobs fairly easily, housing is IMPOSSIBLE. If you want to live in a resort town, Big White might be a better bet... but I guess the Okanagan is a definite no for you.

If you're going to live in the GVA, just go for Vancouver. It's by far the best city in the lower mainland, and very nearly worth the money. And Burnaby isn't that bad. Yeah, heaps of Chinese... but... it's the Lower Mainland. That will be anywhere. Unless you want to be surrounded by knife-carrying South Asians, in which case you'll love Surrey.

You should seriously consider Victoria. It's a beautiful city with a very moderate climate, and it's only a $17 1 1/2 hour ferry to Vancouver if there's some show or event going on you'd like to see.