Posted by Jim & Wanda
Our lot location is in one of the newer subdivision, about 1 km north of the town of Chemainus (known as the “City of Murals”). The thing that attracted us to the Chemainus location is that it’s a small seaside town (with a population of approximately 3000) and it offers both rural and suburban living. It’s built around a working wharf but has few industries so commercial traffic in the area is minimal. A coastal town, it provides its own interesting attributes such as ocean views, a public beach, and a ferry port. Stuart Channel runs along side the town and its wharf accommodates a working harbor. Because of it’s depth, larger freighters from around the world can dock, load and unload their products. We always stop by the Chemainus viewpoint in front of the museum to see who’s in port as it’s so interesting to watch.
Chemainus
In the 1980’s Chemainus reinvented itself from a working mill town to it’s present status as a well-recognized arts community, which supports a healthy tourism trade. Chemainus is also well known for its building’s murals (click here to read more) depicting the town and area’s history along with its Aboriginal heritage. It is a strong artistic community and has many art shops and unique eating establishments that make for a quaint, easy-going atmosphere, all within easy walking distance. The artistic aspect of Chemainus is very exciting for Wanda and she looks forward to becoming a part of it.
What we really like is Chemainus’ location in relation to other centres. While it is small, it provides all the basic amenities: There is a new shopping mall with a modern grocery store, pharmacy, liquor store, and bank. It also includes a new tap house, and the Riot Brewhouse is currently under construction (it reminds me of Regina’s Rebellion brewery). There is a fire hall with ambulance service, and an urgent care Health Centre/Hospital. There are a couple of vehicle service stations, and gas stations nearby. And of particular interest to me, is the Brentwood Golf Course and Fuller ice arena.
But even with all this, the jewel of Chemainus is beyond a doubt it’s professional theatre, which was opened in 1992. The Chemainus Theatre is an astonishingly big and beautiful complex (for such a small community) and its busy year around lineup attracts audiences from around the island and beyond.
Duncan & Ladysmith
About 15 minutes south of Chemainus is Duncan (The City of Totems) with a population of just under 5000. Despite its smaller population it has more services than Chemainus, but is still small enough to call it a rural community. It’s a town that serves the larger surrounding population of Cowichan Valley with a population of approximately 80,000. It has a full service hospital, bigger shopping centres and malls, several new car dealerships, an Island University Campus and a cool downtown area filled with heritage buildings. Duncan also has a well-attended farmers’ market, which runs every Saturday. Upon arriving in Duncan, the first hint of it being a larger centre is the Tim Horton’s and a mall complex that includes a Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, Mark’s, Home Depot, Best Buy and a large BC Liquor Store – I call it the Man-Mall!
About 10 minutes north located on the 49th parallel is Ladysmith with a population just under 8000. A pretty seaside town with many beautiful views because of the hilly terrain. While the hills create the amazing views they also make it difficult for walking in most neighbourhoods, in Ladysmith a car is your best friend! Most things can be purchased in Ladysmith. They have large food stores, drugstores, a Motorcycle and Sports centre, restaurants and even a Tim Horton’s. In 2016 we came to visit the island during the first week in January. Ladysmith had an amazing Christmas light display in which most of the downtown vendors were participating. We even had a bit of snow when we arrived which added to the festive glow.
Nanaimo
Known as the “Harbour City” has a population of just over 83,000 (2011) and is a city about 30 minutes north of Chemainus. You can drive the entire way on the Island Highway which takes you north to Nanaimo, or spend the first 10 minutes on the Seaside Route – Chemainus Road. The recently revitalized wharf area is beautifully done and is enjoyed by tourists and locals alike.
Nanaimo has a strong arts and music culture which put on many festivals throughout the year such as the Summertime Blues Festival and the world renowned Nanaimo Marine Festival with it’s Bathtub races, and these are no ordinary bathtubs !
There are many larger malls and shopping centres in Nanaimo where you can buy many of the things that you cannot find in the smaller centres. A lovely downtown area with plenty of restaurants and fun quirky shops to enjoy!
Naniamo has an airport with flights from Regina (via Calgary) and two Ferry terminals to get you across to the mainland (Vancouver City). The cost to cross one way in a car with two passengers is approximately $80.00.
We always visit Nanaimo when we are on the island and a walk on the wharf just as the sun is setting is the perfect end to the day!
Victoria
Victoria “The Garden City” is in the top twenty cities of the world for quality-of-life. It’s located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island and has a population of about 80,017. The metropolitan area of Greater Victoria has a population of 344,615. A trip south to Victoria from Chemainus is about a 1-hour drive (during normal traffic times, it can be considerably longer if you’re in high traffic). The city has a large population of non-local students attending the many universities and colleges and art programs in the community. Victoria bustles with tourists during the high season, as it is a popular tourist destination. There is so much to see in Victoria with an amazing array of places to shop! They even have a haunted walk you can check out. If your not into scary they also have historical walks which are a popular and entertaining way to learn about Victoria’s past. Here there is an international airport and ferries to get you over to the mainland.
Vancouver
The city of Vancouver has a population of 603,502 with 2.4 million in the Greater Vancouver area (2011 census). A trip from Chemainus would take around three and a half hours including a ferry crossing from Duke Point BC to Tsawwassen BC.
Duke Point to Tsawwassen BC
The city of Vancouver is consistently listed in the top five worldwide cities for livability and quality of life.
Vancouver is one of the youngest cities in British Columbia only incorporating as a city in 1886. Today the city of Vancouver truly has something for everyone and is a great get away with so much to see. It also has an international airport for easy access to international flights worldwide.
A great place to go for a weekend get away as there is so much to see and do.
Location, location, location!
So as you can see we’ve put a lot of thought (and research) into this and we are pretty confident that setting up our home in Chemainus gives us the best of all worlds; living in a lovely slow paced seaside community within 2 minutes to three hours from shopping or sight seeing…perfect!
Fraser Adventure . com 