We need all the help we can get. Specifically, about where to look for housing. We in the market for an upper middle class quiet neighbourhud, preferabbly newer housing. How are the house prices compare to Florida for e.g. Here we have a 4/3/3 (four bedroom, 3 bath, 3 car garage, 10yr. old home 2500sq. feet. The market value is about $400,000.

Go to mls.ca It will tell you everything you want to know. If there's anything further you need to know, ask me

Victoria is in the middle of a housing boom. It is the most expensive place to live in Canada. This isn't because of locals per-se, but mostly because of domestic and foreign investment. The climate and beauty of the island makes it a much sought after destination and it is becoming very popular with sports and movie celebrities who want to get away from it all. An average 3 bedroom home in a decent area is going to run at least $400,000 or more.
I absolutely adore living in Victoria, but it's this exact trend that is "changing" the island I love so much.

There are few jobs here, so it's mostly investors and people buying vacation and retirement homes driving the market.

Eventually the local economy won't be able to support the trend and the floor will fall out from under it all (meaning house prices will more than likely have a sudden drop). That would be the best time to buy...not when the market is at an all-time high.

You said it, Shaenee.

$400,000-$500,000 might buy a modest house in James Bay (next-to-downtown neighbourhood of Victoria). Prices in Oak Bay are averaging more.

My friends in Victoria (Oak Bay) just sold their house which sounds exactly like what you are currently living in. They were asking $859,000 and after a bidding war it sold for over $900,000.

That figure doesn't surprise me at all. You can't buy a broken down shack with an outhouse on the outskirts of the city for less than $300,000 these days.

I don't want to discourage you Catherine, but to get a similar house to yours, in an upper middle class neighbourhood in Victoria is going to be a heck of a lot more than $400,000. I would say you would be looking at the 500,000 to 800,000 range. If you want anything near the water (I'm not talking about a "view"...just near the water) you can add another 100,000 to those figures.

I wish you much luck with your endeavour. You won't find a more magical place to live and it may be well worth the money

Thank you for all your responses, however, it leaves me more confused then ever. Without your help we would have been in for a big shock. To overcome this huge price gap is going to be a challenge. I wonder if this trend is typical of the Island over all, or just Victoria.

I would say that Victoria and all of it's suburbs are all going to be extremely high. If you move into Sooke, about 30 minutes out of Victoria, you will find prices a little bit more reasonable. When I say "a little bit" that's what I mean...even there, things have escalated.
Just the other night on the news they were talking about "Nanaimo" (2 hours up island from Victoria) having a huge housing boom and while the prices there are slightly more reasonable, they are still extremely high and in my opinion, very over-inflated for the area.
I think your best bet would be to look into getting the best you could afford as close to the city as possible.
It would be best to rent for awhile until you find something suitablle. I wouldn't rush in to anything in the event that prices suddenly levelled out and you could have got a better deal.
Like I said, I don't want to discourage you, I just don't want to see you have unrealistic expectations.
Keep in mind that you may still be able to find a decent place in a nice area in the price range you want...nothing is impossible and I'm sure there are the odd listings that are reasonable and worth the price.
Don't give up hope.

Oh...I should mention that as far as "areas", you could look into places like Gordon Head, Saanich East & West, Esquimalt even has some nicer areas now, or even Sidney.

Places like Oak Bay, Fairfield/Rockland, the Uplands and the University area as well as James Bay are all going to be extremely high priced.

This is changing the subject, but have you looked into the points system to immigrate to Canada? Spouse and I have also looked into moving to Victoria/Oak Bay year round a few years back until we found out about Cs immigration rules. We had already looked into buying a new home on golf course near water, almost a done deal until we learned about the rude awakening. Now, the best we can do is think about buying a second home for retirement to use on a 6-month basis only. Just a thought.

Francie

Francie....what are some of the issues about immigrating - was it because of wanting to be employed ... would there have been issues if you were retired (ie spending $ there, not earning it?). I have dual citizenship with Canada and have though about moving to Victoria too (still have family there)-- but my impression was the tax issues with the US government. Do you know anything about this...or where there is any good info on it (ie do you know any US citizen living in Canada on a full time basis). Any info would be great....although I guess living there p/t would be ok. The housing prices may preclude that though!! Thanks for any info you can share.

Hello onthegogo,

I don't know what stage of life Francie is at (retired, still working, etc.) and what the other circumstances of her life are, so I cannot speak for her. (Francie, I hope I correctly guessed your gender when I referred to you as "her.&quot

Since I gather from Francie's post that she is not a Canadian citizen, she would have had to apply for immigration to Canada. As she discovered, that is not an easy process.

If you are still working, you can apply for permanent residence in Canada under the "Skilled Worker" category. In that case you are assessed based on your level of education, your level of fluency in Canada's two official languages, your age (after 40 your age starts counting against you), the demand that there is in Canada for your work skills, etc., etc.

Even if you pass that assessment, you have to get a police clearance certificate from every jurisdiction in which you've lived (to demonstrate that you don't have a criminal record), and you have to have a medical check up to demonstrate that you would not be an undue burden on the Canadian health system.

For a retired person who has no family connections to Canada, the only way to gain permanent admission to Canada, as far as I know, is to come here as an "Investor Class" immigrant. But in order to qualify for that category, you have to have a lot of capital behind you.

Since you have Canadian citizenship, onthegogo, you could move to Canada at the drop of a hat. If you are married to someone who is not a Canadian citizen, your spouse could apply for permanent residence as a "Family Class" applicant.

My understanding is that Family Class applications are processed much more quickly than Skilled Worker applications. I gather that Family Class entry visas are currently being granted in under a year (often in just a few months), whereas the average Skilled Worker application currently is taking in excess of 3 years to process.

Let me hasten to add that Americans come to work in Canada all the time. However, most Americans who come to Canada to work do so on temporary work permits that are issued under the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). That is not the same thing as getting a permanent residence permit.

I am not familiar with the ins and outs of the tax implications if a US citizen relocated to Canada fulltime.

I do know that the USA and Canada have a taxation agreement whereby residents of their respective countries are not subject to double taxation. That is, if you pay tax on interest that you earn from a Canadian bank account, you don't have to pay tax on it again in the USA.

There are Internet discussion forums for expats. They are dedicated to discussions about international relocation, and I believe they are better sources of information than travel discussion forums are. There undoubtedly are some posters here who know about the topic. But there would be a larger number of relocation-savvy posters on an expat forum.

After doing some initial homework on the Internet and perhaps in your public library, I would strongly recommend making an appointment with a financial advisor who is knowledgeable about financial issues in both the US and Canada. I can just about guarantee that, at a minimum, that person will save you the equivalent of his/her fee (and probably a lot more). He/she can help you to optimize the way in which you move your assets.

If you moved to Canada, there are quite a few things that would not be interrupted. For example, Social Security payments are made to US citizens living abroad. Americans living abroad may continue to vote in US elections. And so on.

My family has done the move in the other direction. We've done an expat assignment in the USA and then returned to Canada afterwards.

Hope that helps.

Judy in Calgary...thank you so much for such good information. I have tried in the past doing some info gathering on the internet but haven't come across anything really concrete as far as real info....guess that's why I'd love to talk to someone who is/has actually done this to see how it 'really' works. We go to Victoria about twice a year...and feel so at home there (of course there is family..and as a kid we went every year too). My DH feels he identifes alot more with Canadian as far as values go...and I agree. Its that darn $$ situation...we're close to retirement, but fairly young (boomers) and he'd like to keep working (he's a CPA -- a CA in Canada). Thanks again for the info.