My fiancee and I are considering a move to Victoria, but are not really familiar with the city. We are thinking of buying a mobile home, since it is so much cheaper than buying a house or apartment, and renting is difficult with pets. Can anyone give us the scoop on the different neighbourhoods in Victoria?
Victoria is so awesome. I lived there for a year and a half.
With around 330,000 people, I found it to be a perfect size: Large enough to have pretty much anything you need and small enough that parking and traffic aren’t horrendous. It can be a bit expensive, but, like most things, you get what you pay for.
It has, arguably, the best climate in Canada. Summers are warm (with half the rain of Vancouver) and winters are very mild (but very rainy). I went for a comfortable jog on X-mas day. Mopeds year-round. But I’m sure you know all this.
As for neighbourhoods, downtown is bordered by the ocean to the South. East of downtown is Oak Bay, which is fairly upscale and VERY upscale along the water. There are $10 million homes out there. To the West of downtown and across the harbour sits Esquimalt, which is somewhat less polished than downtown but still not too bad. Saanich is to the North of downtown and is comprised largely of regular-style middle-class neighbourhoods. UVic is also out this way. Further out and to the Northwest lay the suburbs of Langford, Metchosin, and View Royal, which I don’t know to much about.
There are some long-time Victoria residents on this board who will probably come along to correct me on all of this, but all-in-all, Victoria is an awesome place, no doubt about it. A charming, beautiful, and beautifully-set city.
On thing to keep in mind, and something I was prone to forget, is that you will be living on an island. This point was driven home when I learned of a death in the family on the mainland at about 11:30 at night. I rushed out and jumped in my car to make the emergency drive to my parent’s place when it dawned on me that I was stuck on an island and the first ferry wasn’t until the morning. Seeing as my helicopter was out of gas, I had no choice but to wait. Fairly excruciating. So keep that in mind.
I live in Victoria but I’m a student and have never thought much about the real estate market (other than to note how wildly expensive it is!) and I don’t go anywhere much out of the city centre, between downtown and Gordon Head. (I have actually never been to Langford or Colwood, for example.) I’m guessing the mobile homes aren’t located in the neighbourhoods I know. But if you have any questions about an area I would be happy to tell you anything I know or have heard, or just to talk about the city in general. 
Sure, I would love any advice for Victoria living (especially tips on how to live less expensively!).
We visited Victoria a couple summers ago, and we will definitely be going back - Vancouver didn’t interest me, but I loved Victoria. Good choice.
(Savannah! Paging Savannah!)
I live in Victoria, have for about seven years now. Moved from Vancouver, there is definitely way less rain here. As I write this, it’s sunny and 12c with a healthy breeze.
I live in the Fairfield area, fairly nice and close to downtown. I can walk to just about anything I need. Rent is just under $800/mo for a regular sized one bedroom. I don’t know where you’d put a mobile home but there must be somewhere.
Not many tips on how to live less expensively…this is a great city for cycling so you may be able to save on transportation but that’s all I can think of.
Best wishes on your decision process and if you do move here, welcome!
As always you may also want to look for information at City-Data (Dot) Com
I live in (Greater) Victoria, and in a mobile home, actually. There aren’t a whole lot of parks around; we are in Langford. Apparently, we’re in one of “the nicest” parks in the area, however. (No, it’s nothing like Trailer Park Boys, my friend calls it “Pleasantville” because it’s cute and well-kept up.)
Housing in Victoria is expensive; our real estate market never slowed down much in the current economic downturn, and it’s going back up. Because it’s a university/college city, you will find your best option for seeking a rental is during the late spring/early summer. Rentals with pets are hard to come by–I worked in residential property management, and we had very, very few pet-friendly rentals.
Favoured neighbourhoods are James Bay, Fairfield, and the Cook Street Village.
For mobile home parks, you will likely be looking in Esquimalt, Western Communities, Sooke, and east Saanichton.
If you live either east (toward Sidney/ferries) or west (Langford/Colwood) you will be facing a commute on the highway, and it can be tiresome. (It’s probably nothing like a “big” city, but it’s still a pain sometimes.)
Check out the mls.ca listings for Victoria to get an idea of house prices, and to understand why we’re living where we are. (Which also has its upsides: a yard, lots more room than a condo, no shared walls, and my back yard flows into Mill Hill Park, making “a walk in the park” a matter of mere steps.)
I recommend checking out vibrantvictoria.ca – it’s a messageboard with lots of friendly people, and information about the city and its neighbourhoods. I know there have been threads there for/by people looking to move here.
Property management companies will use Craigslist.org and UsedVictoria.com to advertise rental properties, and the local paper, Times-Colonist, is online as well, if you’re looking for a place to live or a job.
Hope this helps; feel free to ask more questions!