VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Would like some info. My wife and I are Cdn expats in UK http://www.essexkitesurfclub.co.uk for past 8 yrs and keen kiters for past couple of years. We are going to buy some property to move back to this fall. Any idea which has more kiteable days a year to be based in; Victoria or Squamish? many thanks

It also depends if you like kiting beautiful ocean swells or choppy icy murky glacial runoff. Nice gravel beaches vs. dusty crowded rocky spit, smooooth ocean breeze vs gusty holey hell. as far as kitable days goes i dont think its even close, squamish is windy in the winter but its like -15 outflow, victoria has more of a year round season.
There are a few great reasons to live in squamish like the climbing, mtn biking and hiking/skiing opportunities but i lived there for a year and almost quit sailing. That place only gets a good rep because for a lot of vancouver sailors its the only option.

bweaty sollocks wrote:Would like some info. My wife and I are Cdn expats in UK http://www.essexkitesurfclub.co.uk for past 8 yrs and keen kiters for past couple of years. We are going to buy some property to move back to this fall. Any idea which has more kiteable days a year to be based in; Victoria or Squamish? many thanks

kind of a no-brainer ... i vote for the island! ... 360 degrees of choices as opposed to ummm squamish ?

although I am partial to northshore mtn biking and the glaciers, mtns. If this is equally important, West Van or Lion's Bay is a great place. Not sure about Squamish where the sun sets at 1200 noon in the winter though....I LOVE VICTORIA and have never run into anyone who doesn't, but I do miss the skiing/mtns and, believe it or not, rain on some days.

If you are a bigtime skier, boarder, living in Vic is a challenge cuz Mt. Washington is NOT 2 1/2 hrs away like some dreamers say , more like 4, and 4 hrs is not a quick buzz up island, more like a real drag and $$$ for fuel. Some local hills offer short ski touring opportunities within an hour or two, mostly a couple days a year though.

Real estate is about similar in that it's nuts, but being a devoted kiter family I am sure you don't mind living out of a pick-up camper, eh? Have a look at the photos section to get a flavor of this area. Kus

Many thanks for the feedback.

Actually I grew up in N.Van but moved away after high school in '82 (joined army for 4.5 yrs, ran around in woods with leaves on head with gun etc. and then went to University) and haven't lived back there since but used to enjoy biking on North shore mts and skiing at whistler so was looking for places to kite and general outdoor lifestyle when we move back(with as little working as possible). Although UK has been very good to us for past 8yrs (and great kiting) we would like to move back to Canada. Was leaning towards Island as have visited over there a lot and always liked it, seems like pretty good kiting with lots of access to Mt biking, kayaking etc.

Regards

Oh ya, forgot to ask. Which is the best part of greater Victoria to be based in for kiting locations?

Many thanx

It's a little known fact that it rains 3x as much in Vancouver than Victoria.

Mt Washington is in fact under 3 hours with the new roads but does not compare to Whistler (Disneyland as I like to call it). There are a few backcountry spots on the island as well, the closest about an hour away. http://www.clubtread.org/kludahk.htm Other than that I think Victoria wins hands down. From my place in Vic West it is a 45 minute bike ride out the Goose to superb Mountain Biking (20 minute car ride) .http://www.simbs.com/html/wer2ride/wer2ride.htm, 5 minutes away to great kayaking, 55 minutes to great Surfing/Surf Kayaking, 10 minutes away to a boat launch for fishing etc, 15 minutes to Cook Street for great kiting/windsurfing, 2 1/2 hours to Nitinat for camping and kite/windsurfing, 4 hours to Long Beach for same. . All in all we are fun hogs around here. Traffic is minimal, it seems you can access everything in less than 20 minutes by car. It is also quite a bit sunnier than Vancouver, and real estate although expensive is not quite as bad as Vancouver. You are still looking at $300,000 plus CAN for an average home.

Wow, vitual encyclopedia's. You guys gettin kickbacks from the tourism board?

Seriously, extremely helpful. Is Vic west the same as on this MLS map?http://www.mls.ca/map.aspx?AreaID=752 $300,000 up is actually pretty cheap compared to prices in the Southeast of UK where we are. We own a 1 bed shoe box apartment (flat as they call them here) that we rent out and we recently had it valued at £90,000 ($220,000 CDN).

many thanks

Sooke!!!!

jimmy lewis wrote: Sooke!!!!

nice place to visit, but i wouldn't want to live there!

Yes, Victoria West is the correct term. My wife is a realtor, she'll sell you a house when you get here! (Shameless plug)

Thanks for info and the shameless self promotion of wife. I will put gears to my wife and make a trip out and drop you an email as soon as we can get our act together to look at houses.

cheers

LB

squamish has more sailable days a year and has the best mt biking in BC and is close to whistler/diamond head and is a climbing mecca and has way cooler views of mountains

oh and no driving long distances to get to wind