“I live in Victoria, which is only 3/4 as stupidly expensive as Vancouver. My wife and I are both dual citizens and have lived and worked in both countries. We have family in Victoria, Vancouver and Seattle. How we decide where to settle has less to do with being near in-laws or love of country and more with where we can do the best for our own little family and get the most value for our money.
Here in Vic, I can buy a 100 year old, 2bd 1 ba, 700 sq. ft. POS house that needs asbestos remediation in a neighbourhood I wouldn’t want my wife walking around after dark for $400,000. That same $400,000 in Seattle buys me a 5 year old, 4bd 2.5 ba, 2000 sq. ft. house in a very desirable neighbourhood with some of the best public schools in Washington state.
I lived in the States before, during and after the bubble. When that sucker burst it was ugly and has created a permanent underclass of bubble buyers. If that were to happen here it might make real estate less expensive but I’m not sure people are prepared for the inevitable economic and political fallout. The cheaper house prices will be a wafer-thin silver lining on an otherwise very dark storm cloud that will hang over this region for many years. I’d rather not live through that again.
I don’t think any price drop would get me to stay. Mind you, I’m in a different situation than most as the border is not an obstacle and we’ve got family all over, but I would still encourage those who don’t have US citizenship to explore their options and keep an open mind when considering where to settle.”
– ‘nobody you know’ at VREAA 3 Dec 2011 10:09am [A follow up to ‘We Came; We Saw; We’re Leaving’ statement by ‘nobody you know’ 2 Dec 2011.]