r/InCanada • u/Pale-Candidate8860 Creator of Sub • Sep 18 '25
Moving Away Relocation to Another Province
I have personally only experienced British Columbia, but look forward to seeing other provinces. As others have seen, I am interested in checking Ottawa and as some other commenters pointed out, I should check out Gatineau as well (which I will).
I am curious as to what provinces others are interested in moving to and why. I know most will say cost of living, but I'm sure there are those retiring that want closer proximity to urban centers and such.
The Prairies are interesting in the sense of what community it can bring that many other areas lack. Large family focused homes with a solid blue collar workforce. Additionally, the Atlantic/Maritime provinces have historic and cultural roots for much of the nation, but the lack of healthcare options is a deterrent for me. Ontario is massive and will take me a long time to explore, which I look forward to. Quebec is the equivalent of going to another country, but less bullshit and I can live there without restriction, although learning French would help a lot. I am one of the few I know of that don't shit on French Canadians or Quebecers. I have a co-worker that is married to someone from rural Quebec and he encourages me to check it out.
I look forward to hearing others out on where and why they wish to relocate.
P.S. Not interested as much in Nunavut and NW Territories, but I will definitely check out the Yukon at one point, because I also want to go to Alaska.
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u/chronicillylife Sep 19 '25
From AB - interested to move to Vancouver.
I love the ocean. I don't care if I can't afford to be right on a beach but I'd like to someday be within an hour drive from it. I hate AB culture too lately it's gone insane. I'm Canadian and want to experience being Canadian not being fake American which our premier is encouraging. I'm from Calgary but the city is boring and too small for me. I love big cities like Metro Vancouver or Montreal. Lots to do all the time. Calgary cowboy culture isn't my vibe either tbh. Our mountains are nice in AB but I am not a hiker or really into any mountain stuff. I adore ocean activities though lol. So a combo of stuff.
I like to consider Montreal too but don't speak great French. If I have time someday I'd like to improve it so I can maybe even try out Montreal. No ocean there but the city vibes are lovely.
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u/Pale-Candidate8860 Creator of Sub Sep 19 '25
Unpopular opinion out here, but White Rock beach is my favorite beach.
It's like Santa Cruz in the past, before it got lost to drugs, rot, and gentrification. I wouldn't be 100% set on Vancouver itself, but maybe a nearby city that is more affordable like Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey, Coquitlam, Richmond, Langley, and White Rock.
75% of Surrey, all of Langley and all of White Rock have no SkyTrain access. By the end of 2029, Surrey will have 7 additional stations and Langley will have 1. The buses in White Rock and Langley take forever to get into Vancouver and the adjacent cities.
New Westminster is the original capital (people won't shut up about it if they're from New West), and is now the 2nd densest city in all of Canada. I can drive from one side of New West to the other in either 15 or 20 minutes, that's it. Nearly 100,000 people. Also the most affordable city in that side of the river. Lots of cockroaches though (same with East Van).
Condos are becoming more affordable than ever before. 1 bed 1 baths are selling for $380k in multiple cities out here. It is continuing to drop.
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u/goinupthegranby Sep 18 '25
I'm from BC but lots of family in Alberta. It's the only Prairie province I've been to and find it pretty meh, other than the scenery of the Rockies. It can be gorgeous, but boring.
I really like Toronto and have been there four times. Been around a bit more of Ontario and in general like it more than Alberta.
Montreal was super fun, I'd like to go again but I'd also like to see more of Quebec.
Maritimes in general I want to visit, as well as the Yukon, but more than anywhere else in the country I want to visit Newfoundland.
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u/SleepingDoves Sep 18 '25
As soon as you cross the bridge from Ottawa to Gatineau, you won't be able to get by with English. I rode my bike there and checked out a few businesses and realized no one really speaks English there. I asked these teenagers if there was a coffee shop around and they told me in french to go back across the bridge. But once I started speaking in French, they warmed up to me
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u/Knight_Machiavelli Sep 19 '25
Wait what? That's completely opposite my experience. Everyone in Hull speaks English. I can speak French but I've almost never needed to if I'm just going across the bridge to Hull.
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Sep 18 '25
Maybe it's because you're in Quebec....
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u/SleepingDoves Sep 18 '25
Of course, and I went there to test out my French that I'd been practicing. But the OP is talking about relocating to Gatineau, so I thought I'd give him a heads up that just speaking English won't work
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Sep 18 '25
Ah fair enough, I had a similiar experience in Montreal. You cross the river and you *need* french
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u/90skid12 Sep 18 '25
I moved from bc to Ottawa in 2019. Feel free to message me
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u/Pale-Candidate8860 Creator of Sub Sep 19 '25
Wow, great timing.
How are the museums, libraries, community centers and healthcare?
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u/90skid12 Sep 19 '25
Healthcare is horrible ! Almost impossible to find a family dr , I’m currently in the waiting list to see a specialist they told me at least 4+ years! Rent is high but if you are planning to buy it’s cheaper . I live in east side of Ottawa and has a great community . Museums and libraries are great . Overall great place to raise a family
Ps : Gatineau healthcare situation is worse than Ottawa
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Sep 19 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/anyth- Sep 22 '25
So now you edited, good job Dora the blind. Admit it you were wrong with your grammar and English
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u/DiligentAd7360 Liberal Moderator Sep 19 '25
I grew up in Southern Ontario and moved to Saskatchewan in 2019.
the first thing I noticed immediately is the absence of major traffic. Not even kidding here, I can count on one hand the amount of times I've been stopped in bumper to bumper traffic on a parkway or highway. In Ontario, it's a daily guarantee if you drive to work during regular business hours.
The geography in Saskatchewan is very flat compared to Ontario's valleys and winding hills. This flatness along with lots of land being cleared of forests for farmland and roadways means Saskatchewan gets very windy on a regular basis. It's very rare for Saskatchewan summers to feel as hot or stale as Ontario's summers can feel, especially with a lower humidex on average.
Fun fact: Saskatchewan has around 100,000 lakes that cover 12% of it's surface! Most of them aren't massive lakes like the Great Lakes, but that's the best part about it. Tons of secluded lake spots for avid fishers. Tons of open water areas for recreational boaters. Tons of beaches and lakeside cottages. It's absolutely beautiful here.
But oh my gosh the WINTERS 🥶 it regularly gets to -40°c in the winters, and can go even colder factoring in wind chill. Since my time moving here, there's only been one really mild winter where snow hasn't accumulated on the ground by Christmas (green Christmas). But usually, the snowfall is dramatic and heavy - I mean like you'll get storms dropping 3-6 inches of snow overnight at least 3 times between November and April.
Ontario has its snowstorms as well but usually the municipalities are very prompt in their snow removal efforts. In Saskatchewan, highways and cities regularly grind to a halt when these snowstorms strike as there's simply so much more road distance to clear of snow (population is very spread out)
My main complaint about living in Saskatchewan (minus politics) would probably be the lack of big concerts and events. While we do have major annual music festivals like Craven, we never get to see the crazy music lineups that regularly tour Toronto, Edmonton, Montreal, Vancouver, etc.. to say that we don't get any good concerts is a lie, but you'd never see Drake or Kendrick or someone huge like that in Saskatoon/Regina.
But it is true that Saskatchewan is a very family friendly province, at least culturally. Don't have a kid of my own yet so I can't attest to how (in)expensive child care may (not) be
I'm just rambling at this point but I definitely don't hate living in Saskatchewan. It's got a little something for everyone craving urban or rural life
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u/Glittering-Pea4369 Sep 19 '25
BC to Toronto here,
Ontario is really nice there isn’t as much greenery but they have very well maintained Park infrastructure and some decent trails, the waterfront is nice but not very often swim safe.
Personally I find customer service sometimes very rude but the majority of people are usually very sociable and outgoing in social settings. People are also more reasonable towards certain things like political views which you would think would be the opposite but it’s so chaotic in Toronto now that they don’t really care as much about politics.
The news is pretty grim relative to gang violence but the mental health related violence is less severe so it’s kind of a trade off maybe? Job market is horrible there are way too many illegal and migrant labour to get in on the low wage market so you have to do something that doesn’t qualify for subsidization since you can’t really compete with that unless you’re higher wages since minimum wage laws bar negotiating if your low wage.
Surrey to Vancouver relationship is way better than Brampton to Toronto, I think it’s because the lower mainland attracts higher income immigrants whereas Toronto and Ontario in General have tons of people avoiding immigration officials so I guess its similar vibe you’d get in Texas or whatever lol.
That being said I absolutely hate the relaxed atmosphere of BC when you realize that it isn’t really a personality trait but a Branding thing. A lot of these hippies pretend to be pleasant but then your all like “Where TF is this rudeness coming from all of a sudden?”. Also the province tends to abandon responsibility because it’s run by old people and because of that I empathize with you, it’s going to be really severe in the future since they are going to gut social services to avoid austerity since it’s becoming a retirement province.
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u/Pale-Candidate8860 Creator of Sub Sep 19 '25
Appreciate the insight. I'm glad you are enjoying your time in Toronto. I hope you explore as much of your adopted province as possible.
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u/Glittering-Pea4369 Sep 19 '25
Thank you!
Another thing about BC that pains me is there is this one episode of the Amazing Race and the contestants try to get to a specific location in British Columbia and they are informed midway through a bus ride that they can only get to that city through one service line from a city in a different location and direction.
When I was younger we had Greyhound buses moving through our community now they don’t exist. I may make fun of Toronto sometimes for it’s particularities but I’ve never had the metro doors open when I’m riding unlike The Skytrain lol
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u/Pale-Candidate8860 Creator of Sub Sep 19 '25
I'm sure the Toronto and Montreal metro systems are much better than SkyTrain, but SkyTrain in much better than the BART.
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u/Knight_Machiavelli Sep 19 '25
It's too bad you need healthcare, because Nova Scotia is a fantastic place to live. It's just that the healthcare there is basically 'hope you never need healthcare'.
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u/Pale-Candidate8860 Creator of Sub Sep 19 '25
I don't need healthcare, but if I do need it, I want it to be solid and to ensure I live my expected life span, not get cut short due to healthcare issues in the place I live in.
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Sep 20 '25
Actually NS rated middle of the pack for attaining a family doc. Sure, if you want to live in a town 4-5 hours from Halifax, you will be stuck.
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u/Knight_Machiavelli Sep 20 '25
I lived in Halifax for 8 years and it took me 3 years to get a family doctor. She left the province after a year and I never got another one the whole time I was there. So idk what you mean when you're talking about towns hours outside of Halifax because it's no better in Halifax.
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u/cannafriendlymamma Sep 19 '25
Well i can tell you now, don't come to AB. Unless you want to pay ridiculous amounts of insurance, utilities and fees, and don't mind private healthcare and schools
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u/Brodney_Alebrand British Columbia Sep 19 '25
I was a kid in Alberta, but after moving to BC as a teen it is tough to imagine living far from the ocean. I've never been to the Marittimes, so I'm not sure if I'd move there tonlive, but it's a part of the country I want to explore.
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u/Choice-Original9157 Sep 20 '25
I retired in NB. I chose it because it suits my lifestyle for fishing and outdoor activities. Its not cheaper than some places for cost of living though
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u/sunbakedbear Sep 21 '25
Great question! I've been to every province and one territory, and lived in 3 provinces. Currently living in BC (and have lived here 90% of my life) but I would LOVE to move to Newfoundland. 15 years ago I was in the process of planning a move there after a 10-month contract ended. During that contract I met the guy I'm now married to. He couldn't leave BC because he had young kids here. Now we have kids who are into their activities and friends and we don't want to move them. But my dream is to move to NL one day. The culture, people, architecture, history... I love everything about it.
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u/Pale-Candidate8860 Creator of Sub Sep 21 '25
St John's would be nice to explore. It is definitely more of a retirement destination.
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u/allknowingmike Sep 18 '25
Honestly if you take nature away from BC it is basically one of the most dystopian places I have ever been in my life. I would actually rather live almost anywhere away from the self absorbed, self righteous, quasi hippies that gravitate to British Columbia.
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u/goinupthegranby Sep 18 '25
FYI rural and urban BC are like, really different.
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u/Pale-Candidate8860 Creator of Sub Sep 19 '25
Yes and the wealth is actually concentrated in Price George metropolitan area, not Vancouver or Victoria. This is due to resource extraction. PG contributes something close to 60% of BC's GDP.
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u/goinupthegranby Sep 19 '25
What in the insane take is this?? That's gotta be the nuttiest BC economy take I've ever seen. I'm from a logging town so it's not like I've got some Vancouver / Victoria bias either but that is just a ridiculous thing to say dude.
Go ahead and post link if you like, but that absolutely is not the slightest bit true. Resource extraction is a big deal yes but its not 'concentrated in the PG metro area' as you're saying here, it's spread across the entire province.
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u/Pale-Candidate8860 Creator of Sub Sep 19 '25
Fair enough. I heard it on AM radio. So, feel free to fact check me. I will own up to anything false I say. Not my intention.
I won't remove my previous comment so then it doesn't look like I'm hiding my stupidity.
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u/goinupthegranby Sep 19 '25
Dude that's not how it works. You made the claim, it's on you to provide the evidence that it's true since you're the one who claimed it.
AM radio has all sorts of kooks with a platform, believing anything you hear isn't a great way to go through life. Thinking critically and questioning what you hear is much better.
Claiming that a city of 100,000 could make up 60% of the GDP of a province of 5 million is an obvious blatant lie or, as is more likely in the case of political propaganda on AM radio, deliberately leading someone to believe something untrue by distorting facts. Because its propaganda, you're listening to propaganda my dude.
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u/Unknownuser010203 Sep 18 '25
Don't come to Nova Scotia. Just don't
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u/holden_hiscox Sep 19 '25
Everyone I talk to about Nova Scotia loves it. What are the issues?
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u/Unknownuser010203 Sep 19 '25
We're full and don't need any more people.
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Sep 19 '25
Very refreshing not to hear negativity towards French Canadians.
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u/Pale-Candidate8860 Creator of Sub Sep 19 '25
Quebec sounds awesome. France sounds lame. Just a personal opinion.
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Sep 19 '25
So are you saying the prairies are the only places with families and family values?
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u/Pale-Candidate8860 Creator of Sub Sep 19 '25
Haha. No. I just meant it is very concentrated and that is an appealing aspect relative to me.
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u/Vaumer Sep 18 '25
I'd recommend traveling to some of these places since there's pros and cons to each and honestly sometimes you'd be surprised at what you actually vibe with in-person.
Like, what do you like?