What's the story with Victoria?

[Red Mile Style]

Howdy CPers!

I need help on a pretty big question, my future is in your hands!

I have about 10 days to decide whether or not I'm moving to Victoria for grad school, but I've never even visited. I'm pretty familiar with Vancouver/Whistler, and I am told Victoria has better weather than Van but it's an older demographic and the city doesn't have as good of a nightlife.

Is there anyone that has actually lived there? Is the cost of living as crazy as Van? Would you recommend it?

Thanks!

[evman150]

Well, I'm the resident Victorian on this site, so I guess I should try and help you out.

It is true that it rains less here than in Vancouver or Seattle, but I don't think many people care about that. The weather here is outstanding. 8-23 degrees all year, only rarely above or below that range. Lots of rain, but what's rain? Maybe it's because I've lived my whole life here, but I don't really care about the rain.

Older demographic than Vancouver? Maybe, I don't really know. I think it depends on where in Victoria you are. Where I live (and the municipality UVic is in) in Oak Bay, there are A LOT of old people. But if you go out to the newer suburbs like Langford and the Highlands, it is much younger (and more affordable). The downside is there is a commute from those places to school (~30 mins) whereas for me it's a 6 minute drive.

Obviously Victoria's nightlife is not like Vancouver's, a metro population six times greater. For the size of the city though, the Victoria nightlife is not bad at all. I've never really experienced the nightlife elsewhere, but I don't really have any complaints. And I've never heard complaints about the city's crappy nightlife.

Victoria is expensive. There's really no getting around that fact.

I may be biased, but I think this is the best city in the country. It is Vancouver minus all the bad things about Vancouver (overpopulation, pollution etc). It is also home to a first class post secondary institution.

Perhaps someone who has visited the city and has not lived here their whole life like me can give you a more objective analysis.

Personally, I would not want to live anywhere else, and I am very happy attending university here.

[evman150]

http://www.tourismvictoria.com/

http://www.city.victoria.bc.ca/common/index.shtml

http://www.uvic.ca/

Good UVic slideshow (Edit: nice Victoria slideshow as well): http://www.uvic.ca/gallery/index.html#

[@theCBE]

Only been to Victoria once and loved it. I've only heard good things about the school and the partying that goes on there.

[kermitology]

I lived there for a year with my mom while she did her PhD at UVic. Plus I spent much of my summer there for about 4 years. I hate the place. I haven't been back in 6 years. I found it boring as hell and the only thing I enjoyed was some of the physical activities you can do there.

But hey, I was a teenager who was away from his friends all summer, so I might have been bitter. Anyways, I know that the school is pretty damn good, and from people I know who live here, but go to school there.. they love it.

Definitely a lot of old people. I lived in View Royal and it was still filled with old people, but Oak Bay should probably have the highest concentration.

[Vulcan]

When I worked there,many moons ago, it had the reputation that it rolled up it's sidewalks at 9PM. It looked a lot more vibrant when I visited last year.

[nfotiu]

I went to UVic for 5 years and loved it. Overall, the favorite place I've lived. I would have stayed after school if I could find a decent job. No complaints about the weather. One year was quite rainy, but other than that, weather was great. Summer lasts so much longer than Calgary. The weather from March to November is great. The winter is a bit miserable. The dampness is bone chilling. But at least it is very short.

If you are into hiking and stuff, there is so much to do within a few minutes of the city.

I partied pretty hard while I was in school. I didn't find the nightlife lacking at all. It was expensive to live, but so is Calgary now. I usually was living with 3 or 4 roomates most of the time.

[Red Mile Style]

Hey thanks guys!

I am not sure about the program I was accepted into, it isn't my first choice for grad school, so I might not take it, but thanks for the info if I do.

Cheers,

[Crazy Flamer]

I was in Victoria for a wedding about three weeks ago and stayed for about 5 days. Gorgeous city, but if definately seemed to have a much older demographic. My brother lived there for almost a year and just moved back to Calgary 2 months ago. He loved it there as well. Great weather, year round golf. But he didn't go out much and said the night life isnt as great as it is here. Unfortunately he had to move back because there just isn't much opportunity for young people to find work.

It depends what you are looking for. I could definately see myself living there one day, but maybe when Im close to retirement. It seems to be a slower paced city, so you will avoid a lot of the hustle and stress of big city life. More of a laid back existence is what I got from it.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

one of my best friends is going into year 2 at UVic doing his MA in History. He loves it, has nothing bad to say about the place, and is tries to convince everyone to go out and visit because it's so amazing.

I'd say take it, it's a life experiance, try something new

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Victoria is indeed a very beautiful city, but there are 2 things I dislike about visiting there:

1) It's expensive. As evman says, there's no getting around it.

2) Getting off/on the Island. Not a massive deal if you're just going to be staying put while you're there, but if you want to go to Vancouver with any regularity you'll find the ferries are a pain in the arse and quite expensive. Not sure what rates are for people going on foot, but the times I've driven there I was not impressed with the costs associated with driving over there.

Love visiting though, awesome scenery, nice restaurants, nice museum, IMAX theater.......costs aside, it's a nice place to visit.

[Kjesse]

I lived there for 3 years going to school, and did my undergrad in Calgary first (where I currently live) so I'll toss in my 2 cents.

First, the climate is so much better in Victoria, Calgary can't even compete. It can get a little wet in the winter months, and there is usually snow for a bit. I enjoy running and was able to run outside year around. Being close to sea level and humid, the air quality was awesome. Calgary is much too dry.

The atmosphere is much more laid back in general. There certainly is an older demographic, but I found the nightlife fun (though not as active or as crazy as Calgary tends to get), and during weekend days, you can't beat Victoria's downtown/harbour atmosphere.

The university is good. It seemed to be more relaxed and less competitive than what i was used to. I found the whole place fairly touchy-feely, which was nice but unexpected. Some of their programs are highly rated, others just average (which is of course still very good in Canada). For the size of the city and surrounding area, the university is much better than one would expect.

There are two reasons I moved away after school. First, with what I wanted to do with my career, I needed to be in Vancouver, Calgary or Toronto. Second, and although it wasn't too bad, being a prarie boy all my life, I started feeling land locked -- the ferry is a pain, especially on long weekends. You don't just get up and go somewhere-- you gotta plan for the ferry.

A great place to live overall. Especially if you're just going there for school for a few years, it can't be beat.

[Vulcan]

If you're into bikes, motored or not, you can ride all year round.

[evman150]

The ferry is actually reasonable for foot passengers, about ten bucks one way. It balloons to $40 or more when you're driving, then add on the cost of any passengers...taking a car is really expensive.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by evman150

The ferry is actually reasonable for foot passengers, about ten bucks one way. It balloons to $40 or more when you're driving, then add on the cost of any passengers...taking a car is really expensive.

Motorcycles are about $25 and you're first on and first off.

[Circa89]

UVic is a great school and as Mr. Fotiu said I never would have moved back to Calgary either if I found a decent job. I went from working part-time to full time at Sport Chek after a Honours degree in Psychology (BSc). The Island is slow, quiet and very laid back. That is good, however it takes at least a year to get used to. I highly recommend Victoria and the Island in general. Here is a good rule of thumb when dealing with Victoria. It is a great place to BE rich, but a crappy place to GET rich.

[FLAMESBURNOIL]

just spent the winter in Victoria, here are my thoughts

The Bad
1. Boring as hell after a month or so
2. the weather, i thought wasnt all that great - i didn't see alot of sun all winter - and it rain (sprinkled) quite often - Even though the temperature rarely was below freezing, it was still felt really cold. Also it was often really windy out which didnt help
3. Expensive - renting was comparable to what i paid in calgary, but for a place that was much smaller and not as nice.
4. The streets change names quit often - maps are required
5. Getting to the ferry without a car even from UofVic if you miss the Friday Express bus was a 2 hr trip - taking the car was 60 bucks one way for 2 people.
6. The city is full of panhandlers, bums and drifters, its an real problem there
7. lots of jobs if you want to work for mininal wage.

The Good
1. Green all winter long
2. When the sun did shine through and the temperature was in the teens, it was great.
3. Loads of flames fans - went to a Salmon Kings game - there was a silent auction - no bids for a naslund jersey, loads for iginla.

[icarus]

All I got to say is: karaoke at the HoJo!

[Hakan]

Do not go.

Victoria is fricking BORING.

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by icarus

All I got to say is: karaoke at the HoJo!

There's a slanted bowling alley at Tillicum mall I think.. I can't remember the name.

Originally Posted by FLAMESBURNOIL

6. The city is full of panhandlers, bums and drifters, its an real problem there

Those are actually kids who are bored of school and go back to their Oak Bay homes when they get hungry.