Relocating From Another Province

Those moving to Burnaby from another province are in for a bit of a shock, and the farther east that province is the greater that shock is likely to be. Burnaby and British Columbia's Lower Mainland are unlike anything else in the country, although there are some similarities that can be drawn to some of the Maritime areas.

First up for discussion are the prices of houses and other pieces of real estate in Burnaby. While you might think that Toronto condos are expensive, the reality is that Vancouver ones can be just as pricey. The city has been ranked behind Toronto in lists of Canada's most expensive places to live, but that is only in the aggregate. A more telling statistic comes from Forbes magazine, which ranks Vancouver, including Burnaby, as the second most overpriced real estate market on the continent. That means you are paying more for comparable homes in Vancouver than anywhere else in Canada!

So, make sure you get a good price for that piece of Whitby real estate before you come west looking for a new base of operations in Burnaby. You should also take a look at the provincial and municipal tax structures of Burnaby and compare them to the province and area from which you are coming; many people are a bit surprised at how much money governments in British Columbia take off any revenue generated by an individual, be it through work or sale of personal property or business.

Central to any relocation are, of course, jobs. Gatineau and other areas of the Quebec City - Windsor corridor are currently being hit quite hard by the global recession. Burnaby, the Lower Mainland, and the province of British Columbia in general seem not to be feeling the pinch quite as fiercely as central Canada. Nevertheless, you do want to make sure you have a job before coming to live in a place billed as one of the most expensive to live in!

The only way you are in for a severe downsize shock when you relocate to Burnaby is if you are coming from the sprawling metropolis of Toronto to the east. All this means is you won't find some of the higher end services that a place like Toronto has to offer, although right now the only things we can think of are the MLB and NBA. In most other areas, from expensive retail to companies specializing in search engine optimization, Toronto and Vancouver are very comparable.

For more tips on relocating to Burnaby from outside the province, ask your Toronto estate agent. Toronto based or Burnaby based, odds are she will have a few good ideas when it comes to cutting costs and settling down in your new home.