Looking for progressive communities in B.C.

[Fiendish Thingy]

Considering emigration, and wondering about towns in the greater Vancouver area and Fraser Valley. I don't think it matters as much if the district has a conservative MP (which can happen even if there are more Lib/NDP voters, right), but more on the local level as far as tolerance, local politics, education, etc. Even slightly left-of-center would be OK.
Reference point- I currently live in Santa Cruz, CA which is as liberal as Berkley IMO...

Edited to add- considering Maple Ridge; close enough to commute to Vancouver if need be, but far enough to afford housing...

[400Years]

1. why are you leaving SC?

seems like a cool place.

[1620rock]

3. ...yup, cool as in liberal. One of the first places...

...the storm troopers will land. :hide:

[applegrove]

26. Rumour has it there is so much pot smokes in Nelson.. that that is why

the crime rate is so low.

[Fiendish Thingy]

7. It's very cool, but I've got this thing about representative

Democracy and the Constitution and stuff like that. What it comes down to, is I don't want to pay taxes to support an illegal war, torture, and a "Unitary Executive", all without the confidence that my vote has been counted accurately. I haven't made up my mind, as I'm hoping that if we fight, and the Democrats show some spine, and perhaps a Deep Throat and/or Woodward & Bernstien surface, we'll get back on track and start cleaning up the mess. If not, if another election is stolen, if illegal wiretapping is allowed to stand, if checks and balances don't return to our government, then, once my son graduates high school in 2008, we're BC bound...

[dutchdemocrat]

2. Consider the Gulf Islands

My dad lives on Saturna. It's a great place.

he loves it. Me too.

Personally I am moving to Brazil.

cheaper and warmer. And open to boomers.

[acmejack]

5. Which area?

I have been to Rio and Recife, both too long ago. I have considered it, but really have no idea which area to go to.

[HEyHEY]

19. I was shocked the voted con though

But I used to live there...great place... try nelson too

[V. Kid]

22. It's because of Saanich...

...well North and Central saanich are right of centre, South Saanich is a little more centrist.

[SnowGoose]

4. Vancouver - Kitsi

Or rather Kitsilano. More laid-back and funky than the downtownier areas, but a quick bus-ride. It's a nice place where you could actually imagine living.

Good luck!

[Spazito]

6. Try Nelson, it is very progressive, a real mix of lifestyles that live

together without conflict. It is located in the West Kootenay, nestled in the mountains. Here is a link to info about it:

http://www.nelsonbc.ca/

The Gulf Islands are also very progressive and absolutely beautiful, imo.

[Fiendish Thingy]

8. Nelson and Gulf Islands, very small communities, no?

How's the job market? My wife and I are both professionals (psychotherapist and medical technologist), so there'd at least have to be a hospital around...

edited to add- just checked out some Nelson sites; sounds like a great place to visit, but SIX MONTHS OF CONTINUOUS SNOW? I'm from the central coast of California, remember...Thanks for your feedback so far, keep it coming...how about Surrey, Abbotsford, Chilliwack? I'm just going by housing prices I've seen...

[Spazito]

9. There are hospitals in Nelson, Trail and Castlegar, with Trail being

the main one, Trail is about 45 minute drive from Nelson.

Here is info on the Kootenay Lake Hospital in Nelson:

http://www.med.ubc.ca/education/md_programs/md_ugrad/clerkship_electives/Community_Hospitals/Kootenay_Lake_District_Hospital.htm

Here is info on the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail:

http://www.kbrh.ca/

Yes, the population of Nelson stays around nine thousand but draws from the rural areas for various services so the number one could look at, in total, would be around fourteen thousand.

I don't know the population numbers for the various Gulf Islands but I don't believe they are high either.

The job market in Nelson is poor unless one has specialty skills to offer, as you and your wife do.

Here is a link to info on medical specialty jobs available across British Columbia, I hope it helps:

http://www.medhunters.com/jobs/british-columbia-canada.html

[Fiendish Thingy]

10. Any thoughts about Maple Ridge?

How about Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford or Chilliwack? Any other Fraser valley communities.
Thanks for the info, keep it coming...

[arikara]

11. It looks like you want a more urban setting then

Victoria or Nanaimo. Not as congested as the lower mainland, and not as much commuting.

[canuckforpeace]

12. Surrey has better access to beaches

also known as Whiterock and Crescent Beach.

Maple Ridge, Abbottsford, and Chilliwack are a long commute to Vancouver. Abbottsford and Chilliwack are also bible belt country and more right wing I think. Plus Chilliwack smells like cow manure.

[Vote NDP]

13. Surrey?

Who wants to live in the trashy suburb that spawned Bill Vanderzalm? *vomits*

[canuckforpeace]

14. The OP asked about specific municipalities

Not all of Surrey is trashy. There are some very upscale areas and Whiterock and Crescent Beach may be of interest to the OP being from California and all.

There are trashy areas in Vancouver too, so would you tell people not to move there?

[Fiendish Thingy]

15. Great feedback! Thanks a million!

I've visited Vancouver twice, though not in the past 15 years, and also took a detour to Harrison hot springs 20+ years ago.
All this info is helpful, even that with some "bias". All I can do is look on the internet at community websites, which mostly make any place look like a great place to live...figured I could get the nitty gritty from you guys.

I keep coming back to Maple Ridge because 1) there's more affordable and new construction housing and 2) I though I read something about a rapid transit link from Maple Ridge to Vancouver. If we move, it's not a given we'd be working in Vancouver, but it looks like there's more jobs there...

I did get the sense that Chilliwack and Abbotsford were more conservative; pity, as the housing's even more affordable, and the job market looks OK for our fields too.

Any other suggestions?

[applegrove]

27. Look into the crime. Lots of drugs in downtown vancouver and lots

of car thefts in the suburbs. Look up crime rates before you move. Like California.. Vancouver has so many new inhabitants from all across the country that it is a magnet for creeps too. Also housing can be expensive.

[CanuckAmok]

16. It looks as if no Cons got elected anywhere in/near Vancouver.

Maple Ridge, Abbottsford, Surrey. All traditionally right of centre. Abby is the hub of the Christian Right in BC.

Rule of thumb: the further away from Vancouver you travel, the more Right it gets. Mission, Port Coquitlam, Langley, Maple Ridge... all went Con.

Vancouver proper went Liberal/NDP. Seems the more affluent the riding, the more likely it will go Liberal. Makes sense, as with half-million dollar starter homes even in "middle" neighbourhoods, there's an abundance of "chequebook liberals" in Vancouver.

North Surrey went NDP, but South Surrey/White Rock went con. No surprise there. Surrey is margianlly right of centre traditionally, but the immigrant community is so huge there that the anti-immigrant cons never hold a chance. Liberals always get the nod. I'm surprised (and happy) that Priddy got the NDP seat in North Surrey.

The closer suburbs, like North Van and Burnaby, all elected Liberal Party candidates.

Looks like NDP took all the lower-income areas of Vancouver proper. No surprise there.

Victoria and suburb Esquimalt elected the NDP.

BC outside the cities is a far cry from urban BC.

[Fiendish Thingy]

17. So were cons elected by a majority or plurality?

i.e did the combined NDP/Lib vote outweigh the con vote, even if the cons won the riding? That would tell me more about who lives and votes in that particular community than what party their MP is, don't you think? Anyone have a link for local results?
Thanks again!

[Cascadian]

18. Tofino?

I was there a few years ago and it struck me as kind of a progressive small town. A lot of hippy types live around there and I could only assume that it is on the progressive side of things. I was rather surprised that the riding for Tofino is seated by a Conservative. It must drive Tofinans (Is that what they are called?) crazy. It is truly one of Canada's most beautiful places and I look forward to visiting again.


John

[CanuckAmok]

20. Tofino is weird.

Lots of "hippie types" but also lots and lots of wealthy people. It's really gentrified in the last couple of years.

Plus much of the riding is outside Tofino proper. Lots of those communities are fairly right-wing, not particularly socially, but on issues like soverignty, etc.

[V. Kid]

24. Really?

It doesn't look that way politically, cause they voted NDP provincially, and in the federal election the only reason the Cons won that riding was because of North Nanaimo and Qualicum Beach and it's Alberta retiree contingent who are right-wing. I've heard it's been a bit tourist-erized, but not so much gentrified.

[CanuckAmok]

25. Yeah, my mom lives in Nanaimo.

It's actually a nice-looking city, but 'gentrified', it ain't! It's the drug hub of BC, and probably allways will be.

It has a really nice seawall.

[V. Kid]

29. Well, the northern part is more upscale isn't it?...the rest of town...

...is still the same isn't it, from what I understand.

[Fiendish Thingy]

21. Thanks for the feedback- I'm coming from a "hippie" town,

Although it's more in reputation from the UCSC student body than a hard core community of "hippies". Santa Cruz is politically progressive/liberal, tolerant, artistic,diverse, but has it's share of right wing anti-tax, pro-coporate, wealthy Silicon Valley stock options rich citizens, plus some gangs, rednecks- you know, a real melting pot, just with a progressive majority ;-).

That's kind of what I'm looking for in a Vancouver/Fraser valley area community.

[V. Kid]

23. Maple Ridge...

...I know it pretty well, it's like a second home to me.

Its not that right-wing. It's a swing area. Provincially there is 1 NDP'er, and 1 Liberal. The Liberals are centre-right provincially, they're a coalition of anti-NDP liberals and conservatives. Here are the results:

http://www.elections.bc.ca/elections/ge2005/fresults/mrm.htm

http://www.elections.bc.ca/elections/ge2005/fresults/mrp.htm

Federally it's a swing area too.

http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes/riding/290/

This is one of those places that federal Liberals will need to vote strategically for the NDP if they want to get rid of the Conservatives.

But enough about politics, the place it's self is decent. There's a lot of big box retailers, but there's some small-town charm too. It seems like a pretty middle of the road place, not so much leaning either way. There are some nice rivers and lakes around, like Lake Whonnick (sp?) (well that's not as nice anymore), the Stave river and others.

As for transport there isn't a skytrain now, nor do I think there will be one for at least ten-fifteen years, at the earliest. They'll be building one to Coquitlam soon, but that's still a few years off. There is the West Coast Express, a train for commuters (ie: mornings and evenings) but it's expensive! I'd say just drive instead, its a nice train, but I don't know. Anyways here's a link to translink for more information:

http://www.translink.bc.ca/

Mission is decent too, but again, only the West Coast express, so you'd have to drive to Vancouver. It's a little further out, and there's less Bus Service because it's not technically in Greater Vancouver.

[Fiendish Thingy]

28. Thank you very, very much, this is helpful! n/t