Who is doing the Colwood crawl?

[JL]

Good points Randy ... & it's great to have an enthusiastic photographer in the neighborhood !!!

[nanmoo]

The tough part for us younger folk is that your modest rancher on a .25 acre is likely worth well over $600k JL!!!!

[downwind dave]

i just remembered, on saturday at CB i noticed one of the beach side houses just north (you know, where you wash in) is up for sale. i didn't pick up a flyer or anything.

edit;

here's the place, 700K
act fast before the yard washes away

http://www.realestatebook.com/agent/lis ... BC-V9P1Y1/

[more force 4]

Rapid rail would be the only development that might entice me to live in Western Communities. Metchosin/Sooke would be OK if you didn't have to commute to downtown (I like the idea of retiring to summer at Gordos, winter at Baja ! Alas, I'll probably never be able to afford to retire). If you are set on acreage, though Nanmoo, Metchosin might be the best affordable option (and lobby like hell for rapid transit!) I also know that while the bottom price has come way up, the price for acreage has not kept pace, so you get a lot of bang for an extra 100,000 or so over a house on a minimum lot. Even low-maintenance natural acreage takes a lot of work that could be better spent windsurfing, unless you are willing to let the invasive species take over. I know all about that!

[JL]

$ 450,000 if you look @ a more 'modest' situation Nanmoo: http://www.realtor.ca

http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.a ... 1312146165

http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.a ... 1080438372

[nanmoo]

Even low-maintenance natural acreage takes a lot of work that could be better spent windsurfing

Point taken, but for me, I spend more time on my bike than windsurfing, so part of the appeal of the acreage is to set up my own dirt jumps and build a half pipe - two things I had in Nanaimo but I miss dearly in Victoria. Nothing beats being able to come home from work in the winter and just head out to the backyard for a shred under some work lights.

[more force 4]

Dirt jumps. About that shoulder........

[TheLaw]

I would say I am an expert on this topic. My credentials are I live in Duncan and work on Keating Cross road.

I have spent a lot of time figuring out when to leave so I miss the Millstream Road to MacKenzie traffic.

The traffic should be broken in to morning and afternoon commute.

Morning: In the morning the traffic starts in the worst case at Millstream, but a normal start is between Thetis Lake and Helmcken over pass. From MacKenzie into Victoria it is not bad. Also, for the Summer months there is almost no traffic in the morning.

What I have found is that it takes me the same length of time to get to the traffic no matter what time I leave (Duncan to the traffic is pretty close to a constant time). Where I hit the traffic totally depends on the time I leave though. To avoid the traffic completely you would need to be starting work downtown close to 7am or 10am. An 8-8:30am start time would get you peak traffic time. A 9:30 start would get you to the back of the traffic around the inlet area just past the Helmcken over pass, which would be about a 5 minute crawl.

I don't have any input for the Sooke road part of the trip or Millstream road area.

Afternoon: The traffic is in two places. First is the area of Tillicum and Mackenzie. This is bad place and will take a long time to get through and stays backed up for quite a while. Second spot is Spencer road. This one isn't too bad for most of the year but can really suck on a Friday afternoon in the Summer, but if you lived in the Westshore then you can avoid most of it.

The Malahat isn't really that big of a deal most of the days. From start to finish on a normal day it only takes about 15 minutes to drive. The constant pain in the ass is the traffic going into Victoria

Hope this helps.

[nanmoo]

Thanks! That is the sort of information I was looking for! Everyone looks at the traffic as they drive the other way and think it is horrible, as it is really hard to gauge how fast it is actually moving as you zoom past at 80 km/h. I've often found the people actually doing it, though they do not like it, apprieciate the ability to have some land, live in a smaller town with a truer sense of community, and be closer to the places:(ie. warmer ocean and rivers in summer - or Mt. wash in the winter) that suite their lifestyle better on the days off (this doesn't even take the financial considerations into account).

How many days a week are you doing the commute?

[more force 4]

Maybe the time just slows down that much more when you're trying to get from town out to Gordons on windy summer mid-afternoon! Stuck in traffic for 20 minutes just SEEMS like 2 hours?

[nanmoo]

Haha, well I've done that drive to Gordos and I am thinking it is 45 minutes on the weekend, and 1-1.25 hours on a weekday. But that drive is probably worse than to cobble hill, because you have to keep battling traffic on slow two-lane traffic controlled roads. As thelaw pointed out, spencer road slows you down a bit, but after that it is pretty smooth sailing right to duncan, not quite the same story heading out through sooke.

Then again, I think I only got 2 days out at Gordons this summer... so not sure it even matters!

Maybe what really matters is the ability to save enough money to head to maui/oregon/nitinat/PA for days at a time, and really get in some quality days rather than worry about whether cook/gordons or IV is considered local.

[TheLaw]

I do the commute 3-4 days a week. I can/do work from home the other days. Also, because I am going to Keating area I take the Brentwood Bay ferry a lot of the mornings and then drive around in the evening. I find the mornings to be the worst for traffic.

I do like living up here but the commute does suck!

-Mark