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Summary

People Who Moved From Ontario To BC Are Getting Real About What It’s Like & Which Is Better

They are not holding back!

Welcome to British Columbia sign with trees and mountains in the background. Right: U-haul moving truck on the road.

Welcome to British Columbia sign with trees and mountains in the background. Right: U-haul moving truck on the road.

Editor

Moving across Canada is a big decision, and it turns out there are some serious differences between Ontario and B.C. to keep in mind.

A Reddit thread is fuelling the legendary rivalry between Toronto and Vancouver — asking B.C. locals some serious questions about the two provinces that they're in.

The Reddit user who started the threat is living in Ontario and considering going to B.C. Before committing to the journey though, they wanted some honesty about what to expect.

Thus, they posed three important questions to locals:

"1. Do you prefer BC to Ontario? 2. Would you move back to Ontario if given the chance? 3. And why and what do you love or hate about BC more than Ontario?"

Of course, it's Reddit — so no one held back on giving their honest opinions.

It's called Beautiful British Columbia for a reason, and locals really leaned into that! It's not quite enough to make everyone stay though.

One user said: "We moved from a mid sized city in BC to Ottawa and it was a significant upgrade in every way. Better quality of life, more green space within the city, better health care, more diversity and services, etc."

They added that it's not exactly a smart move, budget-wise, though.

"Can you afford the Lower Mainland? If not, are you willing to live somewhere with fewer services than what you may have now? And the job market is a factor too," they said.

There were some die-hard B.C. lovers in the thread.

Another user gave a full breakdown of the pros and cons of each province. The top of their list for B.C. was "better sushi," the "mountains and ocean," "fun road trips to the US due to proximity to the border," and "cooler summers and warmer winters."

Their main pros for Ontario were better healthcare and a better cost of living.

Healthcare was mentioned by a few people in the thread but seemed like it was outweighed by the stunning nature in B.C. that Ontario just can't live up to.

Most people were a hard no when it came to moving back to Ontario — or "Onterrible" as one person called it.

A few people who actually were considering a move back to Ontario mentioned housing costs.

Even with the housing market, nothing can compete with the scenery in B.C..

"Just got back from Ontario after spending 3 years. I can’t describe how grateful I am to be back in BC," said one user.

They added that the "scenery is like going from a nondescript mostly flat farm with trees only where the rich live, to an actual fairytale wonderland I walk out of my door every morning and a smile is painted across my face because of the mountains and the view."

Lifestyle also stood out as being wildly different in the two provinces — leading to different spending habits.

The battle for the title of the best province continues, but in this thread at least — B.C. seemed to come out on top!

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    • Editor

      Morgan Leet (she/her) is an Editor for Narcity Media Group. After graduating from Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication, she jumped into fulfilling her dream as a journalist, merging her passion for travelling with writing. After working in the print media world on Canada’s East Coast, she joined Narcity with a move to B.C., drawn to the beauty of Western Canada. Since then, she's documented her experience moving to Vancouver, covering everything from local events to bucket-list travel destinations across Canada's West Coast.

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