You often hear the word “affordability” thrown out when people talk about reasons to live in Prince George. And that can mean a lot of things: cost of living, groceries, recreation, etc. But I want to talk about housing affordability.
Simply, you can buy a home in Prince George. No matter your age, where you’re coming from, your career path, or what you want out of life – you can buy. Sure, you can buy in Vancouver, but if you’re an average person, with an average career, at a home-owning age, what you’ll likely get in Vancouver is a 500 square foot condo or apartment. If that’s what you want, great. But…
Finding your space
Country views from my yard in autumn.
…People move to Prince George because they want space. And that’s what we have. I’m on my third home in Prince George. My first was a short-term starter; second was another starter in a better neighbourhood; and now that I have a family, I’m in what I’d call my “forever home” – the type of home I’ve always wanted. We bought our “space” last summer. We knew we wanted country living – no close neighbours, no noise, and to be surrounded by trees, with plenty of space to play.
Searching for your home
Hiking with my daughter near our home.
The process of buying a house here couldn’t have been simpler either. In a city this size, it’s pretty easy to find a realtor you either already know, or someone you know knows well. It took us less than a month to find our perfect space, and less than a week for that same realtor to sell our other house once we offered on this one. I recognize the process is different for everyone, and maybe our experience was a bit easier than is usual, but picking your location is the hardest part, the rest is a waiting game and the fun part of looking at different houses. I found that with every different house we looked at, we learned more about what we wanted and didn’t want. A solid realtor will be able to help guide you effortlessly through the process.
Our forever home
A deer! Spotting hanging out by my deck.
Now for much less than half a million, we have a beautiful, large, renovated 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom, two-level house, with a large garage and workspace for the hubby, and a studio for my side business, on over five acres, and I mean, just look at the view from my back deck (see photo). Sitting outside, what you hear isn’t traffic, sirens, or people, but birds, the occasional rustle as a deer wanders by, and silence. And we can literally go for long hikes in the woods from our backyard. This is country living, and we are less than 15 minutes from town. That’s quite the commute compared to what you’d expect in a bigger city (and it’s not bumper to bumper traffic driving home; it’s a scenic country drive where the only time I have to slow down is to let a bear or a fox run across the road). And we don’t have close neighbours, but we do have amazing neighbours – when you find the type of place you want to live, it’s pretty certain the other people who want to live there too will be people you’ll like and find common interests with.
Building the life you want
View from my deck in the winter.
A common theme through my posts is finding opportunity where you can (in growing your career, in an entrepreneurial endeavour, etc.), and a city like Prince George provides opportunity a lot more readily than you might find in bigger cities. Prince George certainly has that in the housing market. You can find the home you want, and still afford the life you want. Not all of our money goes to paying for this home; we can still go shopping, buy the toys (e.g. boat, camper, etc.), and go on trips. That’s an affordability in life that I can certainly celebrate!
Interested in buying a home in Prince George? Check out the ‘Move’ section on Move Up Prince George.
