People sometimes ask: ‘Don’t you feel isolated living on an Island? What do you do if you need to go somewhere?’ Well, let’s compare:
Nanaimo’s central location works to its advantage in a lot of ways, enabling convenient travel to renowned urban, rural, and wilderness attractions. Downtown Vancouver is only a 20-minute float plane/Helijet or 70-minute ferry ride away. Victoria, BC’s capital, is only a 90-minute drive and it’s a 30-minute drive to resort towns like Parksville and Qualicum Beach. If you’re after more adventure, a scenic 3-hour drive will have you in spectacular West Coast destinations of Tofino and Ucuelet.
What do YOU do if you need to go somewhere? No matter where you are, you are closer to some things and farther from others. In Nanaimo, we are close enough to engage with BC’s large economic hubs and just far enough away to still enjoy none of the drawbacks of living in a big city.
The City’s demographics are evolving with a considerable recent influx of people aged 25 to 44 – a trend expected to continue for the next decade. As one of the fastest growing cities in Canada, attraction to Nanaimo is driven by our central location, enjoyable west coast lifestyle, employment opportunities, close proximity to cities of Vancouver and Victoria, and our stunning natural environment of ocean and mountains.
Nanaimo is comprised of 20 distinct neighbourhoods. Brechin Hill, for instance, perched overlooking Departure Bay and Saysutshan (Newcastle Island), a 900-acre marine provincial park accessible by boat, is one example, a hillside neighbourhood with lovely ocean, gulf island and mountain views. Another is the Old City Quarter with its quaint collection of shops and eateries, period homes and multi-family density just up the hill from Nanaimo’s historic downtown and active waterfront. Hammond Bay is characterised by waterfront and hillside view homes with easy access to beaches at Piper’s Lagoon and Rocky Point while Jingle Pot offers acreages for your pet projects.
Whether you are looking for rural, suburban, or urban living, Nanaimo offers an array of attractive options from small apartments to character homes and luxury condos to hobby farms. One thing is for sure, wherever you choose to live in Nanaimo, your days of sitting in traffic or in long-distance highway driving are over! Per the 2023 Vital Signs Report by the Nanaimo Foundation, 43.8% of Nanaimo’s workers travel less than 15 minutes to work and 81.2% travel less than 30 minutes. Just think what you’ll be able to do with all that found time!