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My fiance and I are considering a move to Canada from the US, to either Alberta or BC. I have family from Ontario, but i want to be in the mountains. We only have about a 300k budget (Canadian), and the only listings I've looked for are significantly higher (we've only looked at Banff so far, so that kinda makes sense). Any help is greatly appreciated!
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MLS.ca
Okay, wait. Is that really the only consideration? Being in the mountains? What's the allure of the mountains? Would you settle for smaller mountains than the Rockies?
e: Look, there are a lot of cities here from which you can escape to the wilderness. You say you've come from the mountains, where property is cheap, and you want to go to the Canadian version of that. The Canadian version of that is actually less dramatic than the Rockies: A mountain range that was flattened by the Laurentide Ice Sheet over millions of years (The Canadian Shield). Yay, history lesson.
If you want a city surrounded by pristine wilderness, and with affordable real estate, check Sudbury, Thunder Bay,
Kenora, Fredericton, Moncton, Halifax. If a switcheroo (rural area with city accessible) is okay, the Bruce Peninsula is short drive, by Canadian standards, to Toronto. e: Kenora is between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg, so I guess that goes in switcheroo territory, as well. We have an endless supply of small cities and towns where houses are cheap. You've just set your sights really high. In fact, there are a lot of retirees from the GTA that sell their overpriced houses, buy one in the middle of nowhere for 10-20% of that, and live just fine.I guess it also depends what you consider a city, as many of ours are cute by American standards.
I'd give it a year or so, the Alberta home market is just starting to crash. Whatever you buy today will be worth far less next year.
I'm noticing that my money doesn't go nearly as far up there as I thought. That budget here would get us a 2500 sq ft house with an acre of land. In Banff, it's a shitty 1 br apartment. We're also looking at Squamish and Vancouver. Calgary is a possibility, but low on the list. We're outdoor mountain type people, so a good combo of wilderness and city is kind of what we're hunting for.
FYI you are looking at some of the most expensive and over valued markets in all of Canada.
Not for that kind of money, not yet at least. Anything within an hour of a major city and not run down is going to be extremely expensive.
I see that. And we wouldn't move soon. This really hinges on Trump winning the presidency. If that happens, we're gone. It's either Canada or Germany. Here in the states, a lot of the mountain towns aren't that expensive. The resort towns are, however (Whitefish, MT; Lake Tahoe, NV; etc.). Maybe my lack of knowledge of western Canada is the issue.
I think its also the population density, Alberta is about double Alaska's or 1/3rd Wyoming's, ditto for BC.
Look at the Kootenay Valley in Creston or Nelson even castlegar there will be lots of cheap properties in be you can hunt down
An hour east of Vancouver is fast more affordable. You could get more for your 300 in cities like Mission or chilliwack. Both have lots of mountain activities in your backyard. Mission had a commuting train into Vancouver if you need. Chilliwack had bigger mountains.
Do you have the legal right to work in Canada?
Also note that residency in Banff is limited to those who work there.
My fiance is looking into getting her nursing license for Canada. We'll be married at the time we move, if we move, and while I'm sure I can legally work there, I have income coming in that means I don't have to work, as that income is guaranteed to me for the remainder of my life.
You won't be able to live here more than six months a year without citizenship, permanent residency, student visa or working visa.
On that note, is it possible to get dual citizenship with the US? This is a long way out and just a thought at this time. We probably won't end up moving out of the US.
Yes. Canada doesn't care how many other citizenships you have. I know dual Canadian-American citizens. But it's not easy. The closest friend I have who is dual came up here, met a girl, fell in love, got kicked out, got back in to go to school, did a four year degree, got married, had two kids, and only then was he able to get his citizenship. His American parents had to pay his school tuition (higher for out of country students) and bankroll him for a long time, because first he couldn't work at all, and later, he could only work in jobs on campus. Finally he got permanent residency (it helps to marry a Canadian) and then was able to work anywhere.
These are important questions because we get a ton of Americans posting in this sub saying things like "gonna move to Canada, help me choose what city to live in" or "gonna move to Canada, can I also get paid by your government to be an interpretive dancer when I arrive?" Canada is a different country than the US. American citizens have no legal right to be here for longer than six months (up to six months is visa free, as it is for us down there), and you can't work here without specific legal permission, and we have tens of thousands of Americans, Brits, Aussies, Pakistanis, Indians, Chinese, Ukrainians, Nigerians, etc. etc. ad nauseum currently in the legal process of trying to secure legal status to live and work in Canada. So for a random redditor to come on here and say "I'm going to move to Banff," well, I want to make sure you understand that's not the same as you moving to Hawaii, or even Puerto Rico, I suspect.
And FYI the magic of being an American is that you have to file and potentially pay tax to the IRS regardless of where you live and work - the only country in the world with this rule. So even if you move to Canada and work here, you still have to file in the US, forever.
I mean, there's obviously research to be done. But a big advantage for me is that 90% of my income is (legally) tax free. So that's not really an issue.
Live in Calgary and hit up the mountains a 1.5 hrs away.. Or less. Live in Malbourgh, you'll be able to live there like a king.
Why stop at Marlborough when Pembrooke Meadows is so close by?