Relocation services for British Columbia, Canada

News sources

If you are in the UK, and are like us, you probably want to get information and inspiration about your future life in Canada. Here are a few suggestions of ways of keeping in touch with what is going on and of being able to keep your spirits up while you are waiting for your visa or your house to sell.

Newspapers

The major newspapers tend to give the big picture of what is going on in Canada and/or BC. They can be disappointing to read if you are in Canada and want news of the UK - there will not be much.

The regional and community papers can be a better bet to get an idea of what is going because they do not usually have subscriber only sections and they are full of human interest stories. They can be a way of researching areas that you are considering.

Major newspapers

The Vancouver Sun has a good coverage of what is going on in the lower mainland (in and around Vancouver). The electronic version has headline stories and you can subscribe too, if you want access to more.

The Globe and Mail is a national Canadian paper, so doesn't cover local stories quite as much as some of the other papers. Electronic addition has subscriber only elements, but you can get headlines by e-mail.

The Province is another Vancouver centred newspaper.

The Times Colonist is a Victoria based newspaper.

Victoria News is another Victoria based newspaper

Regional newspapers

Lower Mainland papers:

• Abbotsford Times
• Burnaby Now
• Chilliwack Times
• Coquitlam Now
• Delta Optimist
• Langley Advance
• Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows Times
• North Shore News
• New West Record
• Richmond News
• Surrey Now
• Vancouver Courier

Vancouver Island papers:

• Oak Bay News
• Saanich News
• Esquimalt News
• Sooke News Mirror
• Goldstream Gazette
• Peninsula News Review
• Other BC Community Papers

Other regional papers:

There are a huge number of regional and community papers. See a list at:

• BC Newspaper Group

Other papers:

The Georgia Straight is Vancouver's art and lifestyle weekly free paper. Worth a read to see what is happening from a slightly left wing perspective. Good for restaurants, movies, theatre, music, books and bars. Has back issues online and is searchable.

Real Estate Papers:

The best way to research real estate is through the real estate boards (see our article on house buying), but the local papers can also give you an overview of what is going on in an area.

• North Shore Real Estate Weekly covers Vancouver's North Shore, and has a listing of houses for sale and open houses.

• Prince George Real Estate is basically a link to the MLS

Radio stations

When we were waiting to go to Canada, we sometimes enjoyed listening to some of Vancouver’s radio stations. Again you can get a feel for a community from some of the DJ's banter or the calls that come in.

Here are a small selection of radio stations to choose from:

• CBC Radio BC (news and talk from BC, Vancouver and Victoria)

Vancouver

• CKNW (News, talk radio)
• Jack FM (Playing what they want in Vancouver)
• Rock 101 (Rock station in Vancouver)
• Z 95.3 (Pop station in Vancouver)

There are many other radio stations with web sites (e.g. see the Jim Pattison Broadcasting group’s station list) but we haven't found any that we can recommend.