Binge watching your videos! We have lots of family there on the coast. I really enjoy seeing the familiar places and some new ones too. We'll have to check some of those out during our next visit. I want to learn as much as we can about the area in case we want to move there after we retire. Very interesting video! Many thanks!!
I love what you guys are doing and how much this businesses here on the coast are giving back to the community. Lets all support local, when ever we can.
Agreed - local businesses have gone above and beyond in the last year. Shopping local is where it's at! All the cool kids are doing it! 😂😂 Thanks for the comment and the compliment!
There are a number of medical clinics up and down the Sunshine Coast so you're able to see a doctor without heading to the city. Same with dentists, optometrists, chiropractor, physio, etc. Sechelt has a pretty good hospital with an emergency room, and imaging like x-ray, ultrasound, CT scan, etc. Some (but not all) specialists will visit the Sunshine Coast regularly. Depending on the doctor, they'll have local appointments 2-4 times a year. If you do have to go to the city, you can get a TAP form which lets you ride the ferry for free. Thanks for the question. 😊
👋 I don't think Sechelt is boring. I guess it depends what you're into. There's lots of outdoor stuff, and restaurants and pubs, and basic shopping and some small concerts at halls like the Legion. And there's a theater. There's no dance clubs. 😄
For quite a few years we had a buying club in Garden Bay this enabled us to buy at 10% Above Wholesale ,the whole order had to be above $700 for it to be worth the while of 'Nation Wide ' the wholesaler we bought from ,yes we saved money but it became nitpicky with the membership ,some one had to go to vancouver to pick up the order then host the dropin buyers who ordered a case of this a bag of that ,where it broke down was in the Split case buying & 1/2 - 1/4 bag sharing .a 10% fee had to be added to cover the bare cost of ferry & gas after a while the lack of gratitude took the joy out of doing this and the buying club petered out . Jean's Organic in Roberts Creek now does most of this specialty bulk buy service , Yes it cost more here on the coast & yes it is convenient to by locally
The enjoyment *does* tend to drain out of a project when it feels like your efforts aren't being appreciated. Sounds like the buying club was a great idea while it lasted. :)
Awesome as always! I would like to know more about costs such as; Car insurance Property taxes Utilities, to name a few. Another one that comes to mind is the rental market, how difficult is it to find somewhere to rent, and what would one expect to pay? Keep up the great work guys
All great suggestions. We've got something about car ownership coming later this spring. We'll also be posting a video that touches on the current rental market in a couple of weeks. The Sunshine Coast is in the midst of a housing crisis right now. There's a lot of demand from Vancouver and other parts of Canada and our housing supply can't keep up (both for renters and buyers). There are a number of construction projects either underway or about to break ground but that relief won't come for months or even years. It reminds me a lot of the Edmonton market in 2006/2007. As far as current rental rates, I don't have any data but anecdotally, we're seeing rents for 2-bedroom/2-bathroom condos starting around $1,800/mth. For a standard house, you're $2,200/mth and up (plus your utilities). If you want something fancy, you could easily be looking at $3,500mth and up. It's a good time to be an owner but less good for those looking to rent or to buy.
That was the biggest surprise for us, too. My gut feeling is that Calgary and Edmonton would be close to identical but I have nothing to base that on. Maybe we should makes this an annual video and cast a wider net with our comparisons. Maybe include the capitals of each province and territory. Thanks for the comment. 😊
I have moved from BC to Southern Alberta to a small town. I find groceries twice the price from what I'm used to paying in southern BC. I was paying around 154 dollars every 3 months for water, garbage pickup and recycling pickup to the town I lived in. In the little town where I now live I pay around 150 month to the town and there is no recycling pickup. And they don't even plow the streets in the winter like they did in the town I lived in in BC. There are only 3 things I find cheaper in Alberta. Car insurance, gas for my car and houses. Everything else is more so I'm thinking of moving back to BC.
It's interesting how seemingly small things add up and impact one's cost of living and one's quality of life. When we moved to BC, our insurance was initially higher but now, it's lower than it would have been in Alberta. The cost for a litre of fuel is more on the Sunshine Coast but we use less of it here so our monthly expense isn't much different than it would be in Edmonton. But yes, the cost of housing is a tough one to swallow. A person can afford to buy a lot of "expensive" groceries in small town Alberta when they're saving $1M on a house. Our qualify of life is so much better in Gibsons than it was in Edmonton but we got really lucky when we bought our home. If I had to get into the BC market now, I don't know if I'd feel the same way. Lots to consider. Thanks for the comment. 😀
Interesting comparison of prices! 15% more on the Coast doesn't really tell the whole story, in my mind. If I'm going to the city to shop for groceries, I wouldn't be going to the same chain as available on the Coast - I'd be going to either a Walmart Supercentre or a Real Canadian Superstore. You have butter at 7.49 on the Coast, while it's 4.97 at RCS. 5kg of flour for $13.49 vs 6.98; Nabob coffee for 9.98 vs 15.99. The one that really gets me is the Cracker Barrel pkgs of shredded cheese - $9.59 at IGA and $6.78 off the Coast. The Island has cheaper groceries and a more expensive ferry ride.
We agree that there are a bunch of different ways to try to make the comparison. Our goal wasn't so much to compare whether it's cheaper to travel off-coast to buy groceries, but to see how local grocery costs compare to each other region to region. You're right that groceries at Walmart or Superstore are likely cheaper than at our local stores but presumably, if one of those two chains opened on the Sunshine Coast, their lower prices would mirror their lower prices in Vancouver. One of the reasons we didn't try to compare absolute lowest prices is because it wasn't clear where we would draw the line in that scenario. Should we include the cost of the ferry? An hourly rate for our time? Wear and tear on the car? Fuel costs? And how much money would we need to be spent to make it worth our while to go to the city to specifically go shopping? If a person only buys $100 worth of groceries at a time, then it likely doesn't make sense to make a dedicated trip to Vancouver. But if a person buys $1,000 worth of groceries at a time, maybe the savings are worth the effort? Lots of moving parts in that scenario that I'm not smart enough to figure out! 😄 Thanks for watching the video and for the comment. We appreciate it!
Do you have a favourite store-brand product that's BETTER than its name-brand counterpart?
Very interesting! Well done Paul!
Thanks Louise! 😊
Binge watching your videos! We have lots of family there on the coast. I really enjoy seeing the familiar places and some new ones too. We'll have to check some of those out during our next visit. I want to learn as much as we can about the area in case we want to move there after we retire. Very interesting video! Many thanks!!
That's awesome! Thank you for watching. Yes, there's lots to see and do here! Retiring on the Sunshine Coast is a good goal to have!
I love what you guys are doing and how much this businesses here on the coast are giving back to the community. Lets all support local, when ever we can.
Agreed - local businesses have gone above and beyond in the last year. Shopping local is where it's at! All the cool kids are doing it! 😂😂
Thanks for the comment and the compliment!
Can you advise on medical, dental, and optimist availability on Sunshine Coast? Must you travel back to the lower Mainland for all specialists?
There are a number of medical clinics up and down the Sunshine Coast so you're able to see a doctor without heading to the city. Same with dentists, optometrists, chiropractor, physio, etc.
Sechelt has a pretty good hospital with an emergency room, and imaging like x-ray, ultrasound, CT scan, etc.
Some (but not all) specialists will visit the Sunshine Coast regularly. Depending on the doctor, they'll have local appointments 2-4 times a year.
If you do have to go to the city, you can get a TAP form which lets you ride the ferry for free.
Thanks for the question. 😊
Is the life good in sechelt or boring ?! Their is things to do for life ! I hope anyone to answer me
👋 I don't think Sechelt is boring. I guess it depends what you're into. There's lots of outdoor stuff, and restaurants and pubs, and basic shopping and some small concerts at halls like the Legion. And there's a theater. There's no dance clubs. 😄
For quite a few years we had a buying club in Garden Bay this enabled us to buy at 10% Above Wholesale ,the whole order had to be above $700 for it to be worth the while of 'Nation Wide ' the wholesaler we bought from ,yes we saved money but it became nitpicky with the membership ,some one had to go to vancouver to pick up the order then host the dropin buyers who ordered a case of this a bag of that ,where it broke down was in the Split case buying & 1/2 - 1/4 bag sharing .a 10% fee had to be added to cover the bare cost of ferry & gas after a while the lack of gratitude took the joy out of doing this and the buying club petered out . Jean's Organic in Roberts Creek now does most of this specialty bulk buy service , Yes it cost more here on the coast & yes it is convenient to by locally
The enjoyment *does* tend to drain out of a project when it feels like your efforts aren't being appreciated. Sounds like the buying club was a great idea while it lasted. :)
Awesome as always!
I would like to know more about costs such as;
Car insurance
Property taxes
Utilities, to name a few.
Another one that comes to mind is the rental market, how difficult is it to find somewhere to rent, and what would one expect to pay?
Keep up the great work guys
All great suggestions. We've got something about car ownership coming later this spring. We'll also be posting a video that touches on the current rental market in a couple of weeks.
The Sunshine Coast is in the midst of a housing crisis right now. There's a lot of demand from Vancouver and other parts of Canada and our housing supply can't keep up (both for renters and buyers). There are a number of construction projects either underway or about to break ground but that relief won't come for months or even years. It reminds me a lot of the Edmonton market in 2006/2007.
As far as current rental rates, I don't have any data but anecdotally, we're seeing rents for 2-bedroom/2-bathroom condos starting around $1,800/mth. For a standard house, you're $2,200/mth and up (plus your utilities). If you want something fancy, you could easily be looking at $3,500mth and up.
It's a good time to be an owner but less good for those looking to rent or to buy.
Great video! I'm also surprised Edmonton's grocery cost was so comparable to Vancouver's! I wonder if Calgary is different.
That was the biggest surprise for us, too. My gut feeling is that Calgary and Edmonton would be close to identical but I have nothing to base that on.
Maybe we should makes this an annual video and cast a wider net with our comparisons. Maybe include the capitals of each province and territory.
Thanks for the comment. 😊
I’d like to see a comparison between the lower coast and upper coast (Powell River)
Thanks for the feedback. We'll keep Powell River in mind if we ever do an updated version of the video.
I have moved from BC to Southern Alberta to a small town. I find groceries twice the price from what I'm used to paying in southern BC. I was paying around 154 dollars every 3 months for water, garbage pickup and recycling pickup to the town I lived in. In the little town where I now live I pay around 150 month to the town and there is no recycling pickup. And they don't even plow the streets in the winter like they did in the town I lived in in BC. There are only 3 things I find cheaper in Alberta. Car insurance, gas for my car and houses. Everything else is more so I'm thinking of moving back to BC.
It's interesting how seemingly small things add up and impact one's cost of living and one's quality of life. When we moved to BC, our insurance was initially higher but now, it's lower than it would have been in Alberta. The cost for a litre of fuel is more on the Sunshine Coast but we use less of it here so our monthly expense isn't much different than it would be in Edmonton. But yes, the cost of housing is a tough one to swallow. A person can afford to buy a lot of "expensive" groceries in small town Alberta when they're saving $1M on a house. Our qualify of life is so much better in Gibsons than it was in Edmonton but we got really lucky when we bought our home. If I had to get into the BC market now, I don't know if I'd feel the same way. Lots to consider. Thanks for the comment. 😀
Interesting comparison of prices! 15% more on the Coast doesn't really tell the whole story, in my mind. If I'm going to the city to shop for groceries, I wouldn't be going to the same chain as available on the Coast - I'd be going to either a Walmart Supercentre or a Real Canadian Superstore. You have butter at 7.49 on the Coast, while it's 4.97 at RCS. 5kg of flour for $13.49 vs 6.98; Nabob coffee for 9.98 vs 15.99. The one that really gets me is the Cracker Barrel pkgs of shredded cheese - $9.59 at IGA and $6.78 off the Coast. The Island has cheaper groceries and a more expensive ferry ride.
We agree that there are a bunch of different ways to try to make the comparison. Our goal wasn't so much to compare whether it's cheaper to travel off-coast to buy groceries, but to see how local grocery costs compare to each other region to region. You're right that groceries at Walmart or Superstore are likely cheaper than at our local stores but presumably, if one of those two chains opened on the Sunshine Coast, their lower prices would mirror their lower prices in Vancouver.
One of the reasons we didn't try to compare absolute lowest prices is because it wasn't clear where we would draw the line in that scenario. Should we include the cost of the ferry? An hourly rate for our time? Wear and tear on the car? Fuel costs? And how much money would we need to be spent to make it worth our while to go to the city to specifically go shopping? If a person only buys $100 worth of groceries at a time, then it likely doesn't make sense to make a dedicated trip to Vancouver. But if a person buys $1,000 worth of groceries at a time, maybe the savings are worth the effort?
Lots of moving parts in that scenario that I'm not smart enough to figure out! 😄
Thanks for watching the video and for the comment. We appreciate it!