We’re told by our readers and clients that these days, Right Sizing is more relevant than ever, and that we’re ahead of our time when we launched this publication, almost three years ago.
Due to people wanting to have more space and less interaction in crowded spaces, along with the many companies that have told their employees that they will be able to work permanently from home, smaller communities are seeing more people than ever moving to rural B.C., not only from Vancouver and Calgary, which is the trend we’re following, but also from other Canadian and international cities.
Countless recent media stories back up this trend. Booming Canadian e-commerce company Shopify declared itself “digital by default,” with employees who can work from anywhere–the Vancouver Tech Journal reported that Shopify Retail’s head of marketing is based in Vernon, for instance.
Deloitte has shut down four U.K. offices, asking 500 of its staff to work from home permanently. As the company says on its website, “What started during the pandemic, as a safety measure to keep employees from falling ill and spreading the virus, has been found to be productive indefinity. It may seem a step in the right direction when you factor in the travelling time, office expenses and related fatigues–a great example of meeting employee needs while satisfying company goals, efficiency and profitability.”
Many residential developers that we are in contact with are reporting entire communities sold out, or are scrambling to onboard new phases. Waterfront properties, in particular, were extremely popular buys last summer. Predictions are that ski-town properties will be even hotter this winter. To speak to this trend, we feature a great story on ski towns with access to co-working space, for entrepreneurs and workers that want to live the dream this winter, but also be connected with local-minded business people.
We’re also seeing a big trend in snowbirds from eastern Canada coming to B.C., as an alternative to the harsh winters in the rest of Canada, and many are contemplating whether to buy, sell, rent or keep a sun destination property south of the border.
This past summer, my wife and I had a wonderful exploratory road trip throughout B.C. gathering story ideas for the magazine, meeting with clients and quite frankly looking for smaller town options for ourselves.
An eight-day trip from Vancouver to Salmon Arm, Cranbrook and back through Nelson and Osoyoos covered two dozen towns. We also did similar tours on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast. I highly recommend exploring the province in this style. Outstanding scenic drives and vibrant communities with great restaurants, cafés, pubs and wineries (which we have highlighted in past issues). We feature a few boutique-style local hotels that I also recommend.
The options in our beautiful province are tremendous. Land values are still quite reasonable. Entrepreneurial business opportunities are abundant and amenities and investment opportunities are everywhere in right-sized communities.
