new member, which area to live in

[YJM]

Hi, I found this forum today and immediately signed up. Exactly what I was looking for!

I will be working at the Esquimalt base in the near future, and would like to read some ideas of good neighbourhoods to live in. Hopefully I don't sound too pie-in-the-sky, but I will just lay out all my wishes so you know what I'm hoping for. I would like to buy a house, but not on a busy street. Are there quiet roads that one can bicycle from home to the base? If not, I will drive. I would like to be within about 10km...15 at most. If I drive, max driving time 25minutes (is that reasonable?).
What are some of the nicer neighbourhoods? Ie. relatively low crime, no party houses, feel safe walking around in the evenings.
I'm open to all suggestions. I suppose the nicer areas may cost more, but will consider the dollar figure later.

Thanks in advance for your help! I am really looking forward to your feedback.

[aastra]

Your requirement to be within 10-15km of the base would include pretty much every area of Victoria (except for Sooke or Sidney), so I'd think you have a ton of options. Any neighbourhood in Esquimalt, Vic West, or the Gorge/Burnside area of Victoria (thanks to the trestle bridge) would offer you an easy bike ride to the base without obligating you to contend with any busy streets.

[gumgum]

What's you budget, YJM?

[YJM]

Budget...Hmm good question. I'm at the point in my life where I'm lucky to have equity in my home that I'm selling in another town, which should be worth 525K. But I still have a few years of work ahead of me, so could afford an additional mortgage. So maybe about 600-700K?

[gumgum]

Between 600 and 700 k, you could get something really nice in Equimalt. Something near Saxe Point Park would be right up your alley if you want to live really close and get the neighbourhood you want.

Fairfield, Oak Bay are really nice and a bit "nicer" than Esquimalt. For 700k you'd get a nice, move-in condition 3 bedroom without character (IE: A mid century bungalow.) They are within 15 minutes of the base by car.

[Baro]

Saxe Point is VERY nice and don't believe some of the snobby stuff some people in victoria will stay about "the malt" or "e-town". There's a few sketchy areas, but they are really only sketchy by Victoria standards.

[YJM]

Thanks gumgum, that is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. I really appreciate this.
Baro, I must admit I had heard about there being some sketchy areas. I'd like to avoid them obviously. Any specifics you'd care to mention? Or do you think if I stick to single family home areas that would tend to be nicer? Not that I have anything against apartment dwellers, I just personally prefer single home neighbourhoods. I like going for walks in the neighbourhood, chatting with people as they garden or wash the car.
Out of curiousity, what areas of town are considered the "best", something with mostly houses as opposed to apartments, and what price range are they in (houses, 2400-2800sq ft)

[G-Man]

Good question though you would get different answers from people that are not on this board. Close to town my favs for single family hoods are:

Fairfield - Quite expensive (700 - 800K for 2400sqft)
Fernwood - moderate (600 - 800k)
Oak Bay - Very expensive (700 - 1000k)
Oaklands - moderate (600 - 800k)
Quadra Hillside - low moderate (500 - 700K)
Vic West - moderate but getting pricier (600 - 800K)

All of these neighbourhoods are with-in driving distance of the base and have bonuses and negatives. Personally if I was working on the base I would look in Vic West its kind of quirky but you have the galloping goose trail grocery stores and and also the little village and you can easily bike to work in about 10 minutes.

[victoriabound]

Hi- We are also thinking of moving to the Victoria area. We have been struggling between Oak Bay, Elk Lake or other Saanich areas. Where would you recommend for a large family with active kids. We want a larger property in an area with good schools and lots of community spirit?

[gumgum]

What's your budget?

[Ms. B. Havin]

You know, it occurs to me that aside from physical aspects like housing, density, size of property, that sort of thing, there's an additional component to picking areas in Victoria, and that's microclimate. I don't know that I've ever lived anywhere else where the weather can be so different from one patch of town to another. Generalizing, I'd say that the peninsula has drier (sunnier) climes than the western communities, but even within those areas, the climate parses into micro regions.

I bet there's data on that somewhere -- it would be cool to have it in a visual format. Temperature differences, wind patterns / velocities, etc., at the microclimate level.

[jklymak]

^ The data is there at a wonderful project from UVic: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/. I don't see that they have parsed it out into averages, but you can take a peak at movies for the last few months. I asked them for some info before and they responded quickly. If you are interested in microclimates I bet they could provide you with monthly average temperature and rainfall maps w/o much difficulty.

From my quick look, there are certainly significant microclimates....

[gumgum]

^Interesting. Thanks!

[Ms. B. Havin]

^ Yes, thx for that link, jklymak.

[Caramia]

Rockland is a great area too if single family homes with gardens are what you are looking for as well as proximity to, well, everything - (it is about a half an hour from downtown, located between Harris Green, Fairfield, Fernwood and Oak Bay). The houses are meticulously kept, many heritage houses and old mansions that have been converted, the neighbourhood has a very 'grand' feeling but the housing prices are surprisingly low for such a posh area. If you are thinking about Oak Bay, take a look at Rockland.

Although one negative is it is missing one of the key ingredients that I personally consider critical to a great neighbourhood - which is a vibrant village centre.

[Holden West]

SFD in Rockland? Unless his job description at CFB Esquimalt is "Admiral" I don't think he can afford it. I'd suggest the Saxe Pointe area of Esquimalt; Rockland feel for less money.

[Caramia]

You'd think so wouldn't you? And with the various multi-million dollar mansions scattered around here I'd bet the average price is through the roof. And yet my family bought in Rockland three years ago because they couldn't afford anything comparable in South Fairfield or James Bay. There are quite a few modest single family homes scattered throughout the neighbourhood, and I see for sale signs everywhere.

However, for the gentleman working on the base I would agree, Saxe point is awesome!

[gumgum]

I don't know if your assessment is correct, Caramia. There's a higher ratio of modest homes and a higher selection in Fairfield as well as Oak Bay.

[Caramia]

Well my experience is anecdotal. So I will give you that.

[Ms. B. Havin]

$800K and under SFH in Rockland: $799,900 and a different $799,900, and a $739,000, and a $625,000 (with only 2 bdrms, ouch at that price -- but nicely redone inside).

Slim pickings, but Fairfield / Oak Bay is also really expensive these days.

It's interesting -- if you're able to afford an extra $150-200K, you get into much nicer houses: $849,000.

But that is a significant leap.

[gumgum]

Yeah, but it's pink.

[Ms. B. Havin]

:-) Pink? No problem... "Lick o' paint, lick o' paint," as Mr. O'Reilly (Fawlty Towers, episode: The Builders) would say....

(link goes to YouTube, part 2 of 3 of that episode. The sprightly phrase, "lick o' paint," which O'Reilly thinks will fix major structural cock-ups, comes at about 7min.58seconds.)

[Ginger Snap]

I am quite partial to James Bay, but there are quite a few apartment buildings and non-sfh in this neighbourhood. However, we find it is quiet, friendly, and the best of what we love about living in Victoria... close to downtown, ocean all around us, great parks, great shops and services, minimal need for driving. It's not cheap to buy a single family home in James Bay, but not as bad as Fairfield or Oak Bay for sure.

If I wasn't in James Bay, the other area I would choose to buy in , personally, is Oaklands... especially if you have a family, I think that is a great neighbourhood. And relatively reasonably priced. For $600K you could buy a whole lot of house in Oaklands. And almost entirely single family homes. Nice parks, nice cute streets and neighbourhoods, etc.

[Nparker]

Originally Posted by Ms. B. Havin

:-) Pink? No problem... "Lick o' paint, lick o' paint," as Mr. O'Reilly (Fawlty Towers, episode: The Builders) would say....

Funniest episode of funniest TV series EVER.

Sybil to O'Rielly: "Why are you smilng? Do you think I'm joking?"
O'Rielly: "Oh I do, I do".
Sybil: "Alright then, give us a smile" (as she beats him repeatedly with an umbrella).

Basil in response to O'Rielly's imminent departure after Sybil's beating: "You're not going to listen to her are you?"
O'Rielly: "I t'ought I might"

I am laughing now even as I think of this.

[Ron]

Rockland does offer good value for the money compared to Fairfield. The Fairfield area was originally designed as a more modest area while Rockland was for the gentry. The Fairfield area became more expensive/trendy per sq. foot because it is a waterfront neighbourhood while Rockland is not. Then, too, many of the old mansions were converted into suites and the wealthy has gravitated eastward and northward from there. That said, the architecture in Rockland is fantastic and it feels higher class than James Bay or Fairfield and is very close to Downtown. Another area that has surprisingly modest prices given the high class look of the place and size of the houses is Broadmead. Again, Broadmead wasn't a waterfront neighbourhood although designed from day one as an upper middle class area. Your dollar would go quite a bit further there than in the equivalent high class waterfront areas.