Dirtyhip Posted May 24, 2020 Share #1 Posted May 24, 2020 How do people in Squamish afford Squamish? Where do the restaurant workers live? Cripes! ... and Vancouver island for that matter? 🤑 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingstar Posted May 24, 2020 Share #2 Posted May 24, 2020 27 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said: How do people in Squamish afford Squamish? Where do the restaurant workers live? Cripes! ... and Vancouver island for that matter? 🤑 Squamish used to be a lot cheaper than Vancouver. Where do they live..probably sharing, in basement apartments,etc… their dilemma is like the restaurant workers in Whistler, Banff and Canmore.. It's hard. Unless one is lucky to work for an employer who subsidizes some form of rental. Of course, you need to understand those areas have workers from Ontario, Aussieland, Germany...who come from very far, not knowing what to expect for local accommodation but attracted to the winter sports, wilderness for a few years before going back. You meet them working in the hotels, restaurants.. Zephyr might be able to answer Vancouver Island...not all parts of the island are the same accommodation wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur ★ Posted May 24, 2020 Share #3 Posted May 24, 2020 Squamish is for people who can't afford North Vancouver or Whistler. Many workers from Whistler live in Squamish and many are in co-habitat situations. Wages are higher in Whistler to offset living expenses and most employers have subsidized housing. Vancouver Island has a real variety pending on where you want to live. Victoria is high then comes Naniamo and surrounding areas and the further up island you go, the cheaper it gets. Nothing is cheap like in the US though. I remember when California seemed so out of reach. Now it seems almost reasonable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted May 24, 2020 Share #4 Posted May 24, 2020 Are there affordable housing rules in these areas? We have affordable housing here and workforce housing so that people who work here can live here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur ★ Posted May 24, 2020 Share #5 Posted May 24, 2020 1 hour ago, dennis said: Are there affordable housing rules in these areas? We have affordable housing here and workforce housing so that people who work here can live here. They have employee restricted housing so that effectively limits rent but not really to the point of affordability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyhip Posted May 24, 2020 Author Share #6 Posted May 24, 2020 Thanks for the replies. Interesting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingstar Posted May 24, 2020 Share #7 Posted May 24, 2020 4 hours ago, Wilbur said: Squamish is for people who can't afford North Vancouver or Whistler. Many workers from Whistler live in Squamish and many are in co-habitat situations. Wages are higher in Whistler to offset living expenses and most employers have subsidized housing. Vancouver Island has a real variety pending on where you want to live. Victoria is high then comes Naniamo and surrounding areas and the further up island you go, the cheaper it gets. Nothing is cheap like in the US though. I remember when California seemed so out of reach. Now it seems almost reasonable. Out of curiosity I was looking at some the California mansions of some celebrities. I have to say Vancouver and Vancouver Island retreat..can be more expensive...if you want more lush temperate greenery and way more (bigger) flowers or carpet of flowers, it's up at that end of Vancouver..along with the ocean view. If you want the rain at certain times of year...it didn't bother me much when I lived in Vancouver. Some others are affected by SAD. Everytime I return home there, I'm always amazed by the thick vegetation groundcover, huge tall hedges and abundance of many/larger flowers/flowering bushes. For sure, if you have such a largish estate, make sure there is budget for landscaping or many hours of your/family's time for gardening/pruning. It is a noticeable contrast from the drier/colder prairies where spring flowers don't start until..now. This is what disappointed me when I went to visit California coastline around San Francisco.... seemed like drier hills, less trees, etc. 3 hours ago, dennis said: Are there affordable housing rules in these areas? We have affordable housing here and workforce housing so that people who work here can live here. There is some affordable housing and there is a govn't organization that has overight. B.C. Housing. But have no idea about the "affordable" rent for such facilities. People move to Vancouver with probably slightly romantic dreams of active outdoor lifestyle options, scenery. It's great..if you have a job lined up/ savings for home/rental. But my opinion is coloured by having had a home, living and working in Toronto before Vancouver. Next door to our highrise in Vancouver, there is a midrise co-op. No idea about their costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingstar Posted May 24, 2020 Share #8 Posted May 24, 2020 4 hours ago, Wilbur said: Vancouver Island has a real variety pending on where you want to live. Victoria is high then comes Naniamo and surrounding areas and the further up island you go, the cheaper it gets. Nothing is cheap like in the US though. I remember when California seemed so out of reach. Now it seems almost reasonable. I was at a meeting in Vancouver just 2 yrs. ago. There was young man in his late 20's who was visiting home since he was working in San Francisco. He complained how expensive San Fransicsco, including housing. I thought he lost touch about Vancouver. Clearly his parents have lived/owned their Vancouver home for decades and wouldn't surprise me, his parents lived a modest lifestyle for ages in Vancouver. So his view of "costs" was probably outdated. People have bitched and complained about Vancouver and Toronto costlier than ie. Calgary. I don't think Calgarians know much if they haven't lived outside of Alberta. True, for housing is cheaper in Calgary only. For groceries..it is comparable or even cheaper than Calgary and restaurants in general in Vancouver and Toronto in terms of menu prices are abit lower, and choice is far better than Calgary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickinMD ★ Posted May 24, 2020 Share #9 Posted May 24, 2020 We flew to Vancouver a day ahead of time in 2002 and got a hotel room so we could spend a day sightseeing in Vancouver. We loved it - the parks along the water are so beautiful and the food in Chinatown is fantastic! We didn't get a chance to check out any high-brow stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyhip Posted May 24, 2020 Author Share #10 Posted May 24, 2020 49 minutes ago, shootingstar said: I was at a meeting in Vancouver just 2 yrs. ago. There was young man in his late 20's who was visiting home since he was working in San Francisco. He complained how expensive San Fransicsco, including housing. I thought he lost touch about Vancouver. Clearly his parents have lived/owned their Vancouver home for decades and wouldn't surprise me, his parents lived a modest lifestyle for ages in Vancouver. So his view of "costs" was probably outdated. People have bitched and complained about Vancouver and Toronto costlier than ie. Calgary. I don't think Calgarians know much if they haven't lived outside of Alberta. True, for housing is cheaper in Calgary only. For groceries..it is comparable or even cheaper than Calgary and restaurants in general in Vancouver and Toronto in terms of menu prices are abit lower, and choice is far better than Calgary. I just like the real estate that is close to ride areas. Don’t care about any of the city stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingstar Posted May 24, 2020 Share #11 Posted May 24, 2020 14 minutes ago, MickinMD said: We flew to Vancouver a day ahead of time in 2002 and got a hotel room so we could spend a day sightseeing in Vancouver. We loved it - the parks along the water are so beautiful and the food in Chinatown is fantastic! We didn't get a chance to check out any high-brow stuff. No need to check out high brow. One could spend 50% of their tourist time in the parks ...in Metro Vancouver (not just City of Vancouver) and go hiking in them for long stretches, and see a lot of different natural beauty/vistas...botanical gardens, some places have restaurants in a park overlooking a view, etc. Go for kayak ride either downtown or by Deep Cove in North Vancouver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikeguy Posted May 25, 2020 Share #12 Posted May 25, 2020 5 hours ago, Wilbur said: Squamish is for people who can't afford North Vancouver or Whistler. Back in 2006 in late June, we vacationed in Whistler. We hiked the area and day trips for other places to hike. We talked to some of the people working there. We certainly got the impression that most were VERY upset about the cost of living in the Whistler area. Many people couldn't afford the area and had to live 50 or more miles away. And they seemed even more upset that the 2010 Olympics were coming to Whistler. That was just going to make it even worse for the local people. And that's why I live in the rural area of my state, where corn and soybean fields are just 1 mile from my home. If my home was 50 miles closer to Chicago, or on river, or lake front, or ski resort area, I could never afford the home. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingstar Posted May 25, 2020 Share #13 Posted May 25, 2020 13 minutes ago, Bikeguy said: Back in 2006 in late June, we vacationed in Whistler. We hiked the area and day trips for other places to hike. We talked to some of the people working there. We certainly got the impression that most were VERY upset about the cost of living in the Whistler area. Many people couldn't afford the area and had to live 50 or more miles away. And they seemed even more upset that the 2010 Olympics were coming to Whistler. That was just going to make it even worse for the local people. And that's why I live in the rural area of my state, where corn and soybean fields are just 1 mile from my home. If my home was 50 miles closer to Chicago, or on river, or lake front, or ski resort area, I could never afford the home. Yup, that would be true for those living in Whistler, Vancouver, etc. It's pretty weird and ..stupid whenever one reads about the drop in real estate in Vancovuer...as if it's something horrible. Just ridiculous. There are some retirees in homes they've owned for decades but now they have a high property tax bill to pay. So sure, it's nice to live in a home assessed at very high value (if you sell it)...but then there's the property tax bill.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur ★ Posted May 25, 2020 Share #14 Posted May 25, 2020 2 hours ago, shootingstar said: No idea about their costs. They vary based on total household income. I forget the salary but at a certain point, you end up paying market rate. Low income though, co-ops are the place to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted May 25, 2020 Share #15 Posted May 25, 2020 18 hours ago, Wilbur said: They have employee restricted housing so that effectively limits rent but not really to the point of affordability. Here the affordables are affordable and the system works, but the waiting list can be long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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