 Poster: A snowHead
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just starting to plan a trip to vancouver and british columbia in july/august this year, a week of which we plan to spend looking at locatations for a 2nd home in around vancouver, apart from the obvious trip to whistler and vancouver island , would like to hear people's thoughts on places to see and visit whilst over there. we will have another week free to explore . flying direct to vancouver with the option of retuning from calgary.
cheers 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hope you've got plenty of cash - Vancouver seems to be increasingly rising up the charts of world's most expensive cities. and there's a dodgy real estate agent on the North Shore you might avoid 
Hiking up around Joffre Lake region north of Whistler good, Tofino on the island (don't know what whales migration like that time of year), climbing at Squamish if that's your thing, MTBing almost anywhere.
If you really want to sightsee you can do a lot between Vancouver and Calgary - take 99 through to Cache Creek from Whistler for starters , 5 up to Mt Robson/Jasper via Wells Gray, Icefields parkway back down to Lake Louise, but its probably pushing it to try to do the island as well in just a week.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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carbon_copy, where do I start? We did a big 2 week road trip last summer followed by an Alaska cruise, wish I was going back!
Vancouver - Stanley Park by bike if you can, Granville Island for the Brewery Tour, English Bay beach.
Whistler - you could go there on the Rocky Mountaineer train. Hike, bike. Keep an eye out for the free summer activities, last year we saw the Barenaked Ladies in the Olympic Stadium. Ride the Peak 2 Peak with the glass bottom and look out for bears. If bears are your thing do the Michael Allen guided bear tour (I missed it but got my fill of bears in Alaska fortunately).
For your extra week if you have time, consider a couple of days in Kelowna at a lakeside resort, Lake Okanagan is stunning and there are loads of wineries to tour.
Drive the Icefields Parkway and take the glacier tour on the Ice bus.
It's a lot of driving but so enjoyable, we spent hours in the car as we drove Vancouver to Banff and return but did different routes each way. I think I spent the entire time gazing out at the scenery.
I might think of more stuff but that's a start. Very 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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The dubious North Shore realtor on here is Parlor, although he doesn't post on here too much these days. His business is called Mr and Mrs Price so maybe google them and drop him an email.
There is a lot to be said for the N Shore in terms of access to the local ski hills and Whislter. The downside is that it rains a lot more there than it does in the S of the city and getting into the city centre can be a pain at peak times because all the traffic piles up on the 2 bridges linking N&W Van with downtown
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Arno, Cheers , am in touch with the elusive "mr price"
sarah, Great info cheers
fatbob, You're right Vancouver property prices only seem to be going one way for the last few years, thanks for the tips , I will try and fit a look ate the island in the first week maybe
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Instead of driving all over the place, you can also hop on the ferry to visit a couple of the numerous islands off the coast of vancouver. Even better, you can even hire a kayak and go around the smaller islands. You may see whales if you're lucky.
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I would be tempted to hang around locally within a couple of hours drive and get out to spend some time on the island. Do a couple of the smaller islands and a bit of a tour round the main island. We will be centre north in August. Parksville/Campbell River and then Salt Spring. Two years ago we did Galiano, Sooke, Uceulet and parksville.
But its not clear how long you are actually going for? The vancouver / calgary trip is long and really worth it but not if your trip is short.
Property v expensive in Vancouver; there is also some sort of purchase tax as well. Realtors here offer the full package and there won't be any buying costs for you; they are paid by the seller and will split the overall comission. So they will fall over to help you and may be quite useful in picking you up from airport; driving you round etc. generally lots of smoozing. Really quiz your realtor hard when going round properties; get them to actively point out obvious defects as they may not be obvous to the uninitiated brit as the house construction is different. Get him to give details on reselling; in case the whole market dives and you need to get rid of it quickly I would want a USP in Vancouver.
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gryphea, sound advice thanks , we are going for two weeks in total 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Arno wrote: |
The dubious North Shore realtor on here is Parlor, although he doesn't post on here too much these days. His business is called Mr and Mrs Price so maybe google them and drop him an email.
There is a lot to be said for the N Shore in terms of access to the local ski hills and Whislter. The downside is that it rains a lot more there than it does in the S of the city and getting into the city centre can be a pain at peak times because all the traffic piles up on the 2 bridges linking N&W Van with downtown |
I also live in North Vancouver, though am not a dodgy realtor
I live near Deep Cove which really is quite a pleasant part of the world, and not as expensive as West Van and the West side (Kitsalano, Point Grey, etc).
Actually getting into the city centre from N Van isn't that hard at all, MrsH works downtown and the drive is 20-30 minutes. The lions gate bridge gets backed up, but the second narrows bridge only really gets bad if there is an accident. Alternatively public transport is decent enough (bus and/or seabus and/or skytrain).
It is about 1.5 hour drive to Whistler
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stuarth, i'd get really fat on Honey's donuts if i lived in Deep Cove
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Vancouver - Stanley Park & Aquariam, Granville Island, BC Place, Grounse Mountain (try Grouse Grind) North Vancouver go to Capilno Bridge
Vancouver Island - Cedar Grove, Tofino, Campbell River, Power River, Comox, Nanaimo and its capital Victoria
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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carbon_copy, if the budget will stretch, Kitsilano is pretty cool. Nice neighbourhood, good access to beaches and downtown. You do have to cross the Lion's Gate on the way to/from Whistler which can be a pain
stuarth's hang-out Deep Cove seems lovely (based on one visit). I am also quite taken with the East End (quite funky by Vancouver's standards) and Lonsdale Quay seems interesting. you can use the boat to get to downtown, good access to Whistler and seems like a decent place in its own right but probably cheaper than some of the really prime places
Vancouver locals feel free to tell me this advice sucks
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You know it makes sense.
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I have family in North Van and the Lynn Valley area is ia close to local mountains, easy access to Whislter and downtown I found no problem. I will echo the Deep Cove sentiments, great all year and the Donuts are awesome!!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| carbon_copy wrote: |
stuarth, not to worried about the commute into the city , as i am not planning on doing any work whilst there, looking for a good locatation with good access to all activities inc skiing,walking, mtb, shoppping , eating out and coffee 
looking at finding a second home to spend upto six weeks in the winter and the same in the summer over the next few years extending to twelve weeks of each later on , but want to be near to the city rather than actually living in a ski resort |
Yes, that was what I was thinking too, no need to worry about commuting, it was just to answer the previous point about the bridge traffic (true for the Lions Gate Bridge but it has half the number of lanes)
Here are a few pics of Deep Cove I took a while back... http://sdrv.ms/M6O5Kc
It is pretty good second home territory. It is out of the way enough to have a peaceful village feel, yet actually not very far away from anything... and as Arno points out does have a few good coffee/brunch spots including Honey's for donuts - fortunately there are enough activities going on to burn off a few 
Kitsalano is nice enough but you need really big bucks to get anything special there, and is further away from the N.shore mountains where your hiking/biking all happens. West Van. hits the spot for those too, and is slightly closer to Whistler, and there are some really nice very upmarket places, but again it is very pricey indeed.
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Poster: A snowHead
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We have loved visiting the wineries in the Okanagan in summer and in winter skiing at the resorts in the area. Its warmer and drier then Vancouver on the summer and colder and drier in the winter.
We have driven from Vancouver to Calgary a few times, if you take the southern route to Calgary ( Crows nest pass) have a look at Nelson, Franks slide and Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump and all those wind turbines along the field edges.
Vancouver Island we stayed for a week last year and still did not see half the things we wanted to, we stayed in Victoria went whale watching in Sydney near the ferry dock that was a great afternoon lots of porpoises, grey whales and killer whales. Went to Ucluelet and Toffino and long beach park and 2nd whale watching trip to the Broken Islands. Then drive back to the ferry across to Horseshoe Bay then drive to Whistler.
Enjoy your time there it took us a couple of years to find what we wanted but its worth it.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I am posting in this thread to confirm the denial.
Obviously this is the Internet so every aspect has now been covered and there is nothing left for me to ad.
TBH once you get to Honey's nothing else really matters.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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carbon_copy, that's all part of my master plan. Pack insulin.
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Just sat in lounge at van int airport , so thought would just post a quick report on our trip
Vancouver city was fab , walked for miles , highlights were a walk around the sea wall to stanley park ,Granville market , good food out , had a bit of rain but did not affect any plans .
North Vancouver was excellent , did the grouse grind , saw bears on grouse mountain , canoed from deep cove ( with donuts) and capilano suspension bridge.
Great freeride mtb action on mount seymore , Lonsdale quay and market was a great place to visit , ate out really well every night .
Spent three days, under the guidance of the charming mr & mrs price ( defiantly not dodgy ) viewing a few property possibilities in north van and was very impressed with the area , but prices are very strong , but a few seeds were sown for future plans
Then ferry over to the island and a great drive over to Tofino , where we stayed at the wickanish inn , which was a great stop , went sea canoeing , paddle boarding , surfing and very large tree hugging , and did some of the most scenic beach walks ever , , then drive down to Victoria with for a couple of days whale watching and some fun city stuff .
Then off to whistler , and wow !!!! Five days of sunshine ,hiking, beer , bears , and bikes , spent four of the best days ever in the bike park , can't really put the runs , thrills and spills into words , but am now completely hooked on downhill mtb 
Last but not least back to Vancouver for our last night and what a night , early tea then down to sunset beach to watch the fireworks , then lazy mornings stroll around the sea wall followed by watching the gay pride parade through the city which was great fun.
Loved our time in BC in the summer and now plan to return this winter for another trip
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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carbon_copy, glad you enjoyed it. heading over myself in a couple of weeks - can't wait!
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carbon_copy, sounds almost a "carbon copy" of our trip in 2004... When we returned I named it the one city I'd like to move to if I could move anywhere in the world. Still think that 8 years on... still no closer to moving there and probably never will be.
Will def be back for a trip in a couple of years though.
Next time you go, make sure you take a trip down to Seattle. You can get the ferry from Victoria which would be some trip. Also try and get across to Orcas Island. It's beautiful and friendly in a quiet sort of way.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Seattle is a great city. Very similar to Vancouver but a little further from the mountains. Very interesting place though. I have family there on queen Anne hill. I can tell you some great places to go if you do make the trip.
Just a very cool corner of the world
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