Advice on areas to live.

[Dallas]

With my arrival getting all the more closer, I've been looking over a few sites trying to gather some useful information and resources regarding areas around Vancouver, but figured there would be no harm in getting advice from actual residents, who would be knowledgeable. I will no doubt be having a rough arrival staying in a hostel for the first week at the least, but to my questions.

Would any of the locals have advice to give on areas around the city? Major points of consideration would be affordable rent. $200-$300, would be the ideal range if that's at all possible. I will be unable to drive when I get there, so being close to public transit would also be a must. Safety would be another concern, what areas are best steered clear of. I will greatly appreciate any and all contributions.

Cheers.

[Ember]

You will not find a place to live for $200-$300.

Even with a billion roommates you wont be able to do it.

$400-$500 might be doable. Look for room mates, your best bet is around Surrey.

[Zen]

Unless you are rooming with people, expect to pay closer to $500 - $700 for rent.  That is, unless you live further out in Abbostford or Chilliwack, but commuting to the Vancouver area is over an hour, by car only.

Transit runs through and services Vancouver and Burnaby nicely.  Richmond and Coquitlam get decent service.  Surrey, Delta, Tswassen, North Van, etc all get lousy transit service.  You can check out http://www.translink.bc.ca for more info on the local transit system.

In terms of safety, stay away from East Hastings and East Vancouver.  The West End also, because that is at the edge of East Vancouver and Downtown and the #1 worst place in the area.  Whalley, in Surrey, is also pretty bad.

It mostly depends on where you end up working.  Vancouver suffers badly from urban sprawl, bottle neck traffic over the half-dozen bridges, but has good transit in certain areas.  I'd recommend looking more towards Burnaby for living and working, avoids the congestion of Vancouver and Downtown, is large enough to handle people, and has good transportation support.

[Ember]

In terms of safety, stay away from East Hastings and East Vancouver.  The West End also, because that is at the edge of East Vancouver and Downtown and the #1 worst place in the area.  Whalley, in Surrey, is also pretty bad.

Good advice except for this.

The west end is one of the nicest areas in town and no where near east hastings.

[BabyCheetah]

I think its safe to say that Vancouver downtown and some of its immediate surrounding areas are literally the most expencive to live in all of canada.

The west end in general is nice to live. I've lived in 12th and granville area, 13th and balaclava (Kitsilano), and now downtown. The lowest monthly rent in these areas begin @ $800 a month. Expect that kind of range and higher. Downtown, don't even think about it. I pay $1600 a month in rent and own a condo as well - worth it as an investor, but you gotta be making some serious dough in order to live downtown.

[Zen]

*facepaws* damnit, sorry about that.  I can't remember what the other nickname for the Downtown East Side (DTES) is, but I thought it was "west" something.

[Dallas]

Thanks guys. I'll take this all onboard.

[Silvermink]

*facepaws* damnit, sorry about that.  I can't remember what the other nickname for the Downtown East Side (DTES) is, but I thought it was "west" something.

West Hastings, maybe? The DTES goes across the West/East Hastings boundary.

But yeah, as others have said, the Vancouver area is an expensive place to live. Best of luck with finding a place that fits your needs and budget, though.

I live in East Van, and I'm going to disagree with what Zen said above about avoiding it. East Van is a big area. There are a lot of decent and reasonably-affordable places here (though less so in the specific area I'm in - 1st and Commercial - as Commercial Drive is really popular). However, there are also some iffy areas. If you're not sure about a specific area you're checking out, I'd recommend just asking about it here and people should be able to provide opinions.

A lot of the worst parts of East Van are right around the SkyTrain stations, which is a bit of a pain, but I'm sure there are exceptions to that rule, too.

[mediar]

In terms of safety, stay away from East Hastings and East Vancouver.  The West End also, because that is at the edge of East Vancouver and Downtown and the #1 worst place in the area.  Whalley, in Surrey, is also pretty bad.

Good advice except for this.

The west end is one of the nicest areas in town and no where near east hastings.

The West End is very pricey, and ya there are some bad parts of Surrey but we are just east of Whalley and it's not bad at all.

[Ravenwood]

Right.   Having lmoveded in Vancouver in 2nd grade, I've lived and traveled all over Vancouver and Burnaby for the better part of 25 years before moving to Surrey.

South-west Van (Grandville to Dunbar) has a lot of aprtment blocks as well as not too expensive houses for rental.  It's anolder part of the city and no incentive to gentrify.  Transit's decent with major bus corridors.

South Van (grandville to Victoria, south of 33rd) is much the same, but mostly houses and fewer apartments.

Mount Pleasent (Main and 16th) has a high density of apartments, especially in "The Triangle" (Main/Kingsway/16th ave). It's a good area, I grew up there, and would love to live there again.

The section of East Van between Clarke and Commercial, north of Broadway has exactlty 1 Metric Shit Ton of apartment blocks. Decent area.

Far East Van, (Rupert to Boundry, Grandville to 22nd) is mosty "Victory housing".  Fairly cheap, with good transit options.

North burnaby can have some decent rent, transit can be limited in some areas

On to Coquitlim.  There's a large cluster of about 20 or so blocks of flats north-east of Logheed Mall, which gives you the mall and Skytrain a few blocks away.

Surrey is hit-or-miss.  Some areas are good, some not-so, but generally, if you are away from the Skytrain in Surrey, it improves.  Whally isn't as bad as it used to be, but Newton (72 and King George) has always been a little dicy.

(And yes, I wrote all this on my phone.)

[Selkit]

At present, there are suites available for rent in my building, with two furry households already in here; The average going rate is $1,000 for two bedrooms, though you would likely need room-mates to carry that sum. Amenities are excellent; Hot tub, exercise room, underground parking, in-suite laundry, in-building management, and a commons room you may book if necessary. Skytrain access is readily available through one bus, or a 10 block bike-ride or walk, with Superstore available for groceries within 2 blocks, and two malls within 3 blocks. I'm out in Guildford in Surrey, presently, and I suspect the neighbouring police station does quite a bit to curtail Surrey's usual issues.

[Silvermink]

The section of East Van between Clarke and Commercial, north of Broadway has exactlty 1 Metric Shit Ton of apartment blocks. Decent area.

Yeah, the only caveat I'd add to that is to try to give Broadway SkyTrain a block or two of berth, because right around the station itself is a little bit sleazy. However, I've lived at 3rd and Clark and am currently just a couple blocks from 1st and Commercial and both of those places have been very liveable.

Our old building (1341 E 3rd) is about halfway between Clark and McLean on 3rd, and it's not fancy but was well-maintained when we were there and rents are reasonable for the area (~$700/mo for a 1-bedroom, though keep in mind we haven't lived there since 2006 so it may have gone up). We only moved because we were getting two cats from a friend and the building doesn't allow pets. The new one is about $1000/mo - stupid pet premium. It's also a bit closer to everything, though.

You might also look around the proposed Evergreen Line SkyTrain corridor in Coquitlam, though God only knows when they'll finish that project.

[Neox]

When looking for areas to live in the Lower Mainland, the first thing you need to consider is how rural/urban you want to be.  Rental-rates will increase as you go further into the city of Vancouver, and decrease as you move further out to Chilliwack and Hope.

I live in Chilliwack, which is smack in the middle of rural Hope and urban Abbotsford/Vancouver.  Chilliwack itself has its own urban sprawl but much less so than Abby or Van; you do not get the same amenities here as you would in the bigger cities.  However, the rent I'm paying is rather low ($650/mo) and I have a small house to myself.  I like it here because I work in Hope and I have plenty of friends in Vancouver, so I'm in the happy medium here.  The crime is relatively low here and I can literally walk to the grocery store or the nearby bar, as well as I'm only minutes away from some spectacular mountain-ranges and hikes and the nearby Fraser river.  Gas-prices are typically a whole 10-cents/L cheaper out here than Vancouver as well.

There are so many variables to take into consideration when moving out here, it's impossible for me to list them all.  I hope these few pointers help you decide. =)

[WerewolfRedX666]

im in burnaby the building im in is currently 780 for a one bedroom, pets allowed (no dogs), smart card laundry, right on a bus line and 20 min walk to holdom skytrain station. its an alright area i guess

[Dallas]

Thanks everyone.

All this has been a very big help to me in getting a better understanding of the city. I have now settled on Surrey as my place of residence. Be looking forward to meeting some new faces.

Hope you all had a good Christmas and will have a good one on new years.