The Great Canadian Skyline thread for CMAs 1 million and under - Page 247

Metro-One · #**4921** Posted **Aug 27, 2023, 1:58 AM**

My Uncle lives in Fernwood, what a great little neighborhood! I'm so jealous that 40 years ago you could buy a house there for next to nothing...

So I was in Kelowna literally 2 days before the fire.

I drove in from Vernon at around 11pm, the entire way the temp was above 30 (hitting as high as 34 in spots). Driving along the lakeshore / hillsides at night in that heat was amazing, it felt like I was driving along the Baha.

Anyways, the next day was pretty nice, hazy, but could still feel the sun strong in the sky. Was about 37. I took the drone out and still got some decent pics.

I'm an odd person where I actually enjoy a little haze at times in the summer, gives it an LA / California vibe. Maybe that is just from growing up watching so many films made in LA and the warm feeling the setting always has with the haze.

Downtown Kelowna Summer Vibes by Ian, on Flickr

Downtown Kelowna Summer Vibes by Ian, on Flickr

Downtown is definitely looking a lot more dense these days with a nice mix of mid and high rises.

ssiguy · #**4922** Posted **Aug 27, 2023, 6:29 PM**

Victoria is just a gem. Nanaimo doesn't get near the respect it is due. It's a lovely setting and has a very nice, historic, and vibrant downtown.

someone123 · #**4923** Posted **Aug 27, 2023, 8:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Victoria is just a gem. Nanaimo doesn't get near the respect it is due. It's a lovely setting and has a very nice, historic, and vibrant downtown.

I go to Nanaimo pretty frequently. It must be the most underrated town in BC. It has a somewhat bad reputation and, yes, it has some bad parts, but it's in a nice spot, is a bit of a hub, and has what feels like a nice small town downtown. It would be my #3 pick in BC after metro Vancouver or Victoria.

Kelowna is in a pretty spot but is has a lot of issues. It's mostly already built up, ALR, or forest fire zones, the smoke is pretty bad there, and the road network isn't very good. The main highway there dumps into downtown and I assume the main roads there have a fair amount of through traffic. 97C is very high elevation and gets hit with very bad unseasonal weather. I've had times I planned to visit but ended up cutting it due to traffic and a lot of people I know are hesitant to go to the interior for summer trips due to the smoke. Like North Vancouver it is one of those areas where you wonder if it's really suited to handle much growth.

Metro-One · #**4924** Posted **Aug 27, 2023, 11:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Victoria is just a gem. Nanaimo doesn't get near the respect it is due. It's a lovely setting and has a very nice, historic, and vibrant downtown.

Nanaimo is very understated. I will be positing more pics of the downtown soon. It is also located in one of the few areas of BC that has a nice climate and a huge swath of land prime for growth. The east coast of Vancouver Island centred around Nanaimo could actually easily host an urban area the size of Seattle.

MonctonRad · #**4925** Posted **Aug 28, 2023, 12:36 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Nanaimo is very understated. I will be positing more pics of the downtown soon. It is also located in one of the few areas of BC that has a nice climate and a huge swath of land prime for growth. The east coast of Vancouver Island centred around Nanaimo could actually easily host an urban area the size of Seattle.

Better get ready to build that fixed link then.

Tone · #**4926** Posted **Sep 8, 2023, 8:21 PM**

Love the Québec and BC shots, Nanaimo is the only one i haven't been to (yet).

WarrenC12 · #**4927** Posted **Sep 8, 2023, 9:04 PM**

Nanaimo isn't called "Surrey by the Sea" for nothing.

esquire · #**4928** Posted **Sep 8, 2023, 9:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Nanaimo isn't called "Surrey by the Sea" for nothing.

I have a friend in Victoria whose mom and dad are posh White Rock folk... when I met them during a visit to the Island last year, they were absolutely aghast when I told them I took my family on a day trip up to Nanaimo (with stops along the way at the Malahat Skywalk, Cowichan Bay, etc.). I thought Nanaimo was really nice! But for some reason its reputation is terrible.

Metro-One · #**4929** Posted **Sep 9, 2023, 12:05 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tone

Love the Québec and BC shots, Nanaimo is the only one i haven't been to (yet).

It is worth a visit, especially if you are going to Tofino / Pacific Rim Park. Calling it "Surrey by the Sea" is bullshit IMO. It is a blue collar town and does have some problems, but it actually has a really nice older urban core that still acts as the heart of the city.

Some more pics I took last month from Nanaimo:

Downtown Nanaimo, Canada by Ian, on Flickr

Downtown Nanaimo, Canada by Ian, on Flickr

To be honest, Nanaimo's built form feels nothing like Surrey.

Wigs · #**4930** Posted **Sep 9, 2023, 12:08 AM**

Nanaimo looks really interesting!

Nouvellecosse · #**4931** Posted **Sep 9, 2023, 5:07 AM**

That looks really, surprisingly interesting. With all the colour, the hills and the winding streets it's like a sort of St. John's of the west.

theman23 · #**4932** Posted **Sep 9, 2023, 7:37 AM**

Nanaimo is quite small and not that interesting. There's 13 photos in that set, but most of them are taken from within literally a 5 second walk of each other. A lot of them are of the exact same building at a different angle. Its downtown also really quiet and dead.

Metro-One · #**4933** Posted **Sep 9, 2023, 12:34 PM**

How did I know before looking that theman23 would have some negative bullshit to say. For its size of just over 100, 000, the downtown of Nanaimo is quite interesting. Lots of cute shops and cafes, not to mention the nice waterfront (which I didn’t get to this time).

Like, seriously, how fucking expansive are you expecting it to be? I don’t know many towns of the same size that aren’t just a few major streets downtown without a few minutes of walking distance (honestly, that is a good thing in many ways) There is also another older district of shops and cafes across the small escapement.

And there sure seemed to be a good number of people walking around / dining at the patios when I was there.

Again, not dead at all for a city of its size.

Hawrylyshyn · #**4934** Posted **Sep 9, 2023, 2:55 PM**

Hamilton, ON - same location 12 years apart

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomax

2011 vs. 2023

Google Street View

9/3/2023 by Joe, on Flickr

It's quite cool to think that there is still at least one more Mac building that is going to squeeze it's way into that second photo.

MolsonExport · #**4935** Posted **Sep 9, 2023, 4:04 PM**

quite a big improvement. No longer soul sucking.

MolsonExport · #**4936** Posted **Sep 9, 2023, 4:05 PM**

Like those Nanaimo shots. It has been 20 years since I last visited.

esquire · #**4937** Posted **Sep 9, 2023, 4:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

That looks really, surprisingly interesting. With all the colour, the hills and the winding streets it's like a sort of St. John's of the west.

Yeah, that's a good way of putting it. I guess it's easy to overlook a place like Nanaimo given that it is in the shadow of two much larger cities in Canada, let alone what exists a short drive away over the border.

Metro-One · #**4938** Posted **Sep 10, 2023, 12:42 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

Yeah, that's a good way of putting it. I guess it's easy to overlook a place like Nanaimo given that it is in the shadow of two much larger cities in Canada, let alone what exists a short drive away over the border.

I think the largest shadow cast over it is Victoria. If Nanaimo were more isolated it may have more recognition.

Nanaimo has a pretty good climate and it actually has lots of space to expand, unlike most cities in BC, so it surprises me it doesn't have a higher growth rate than it does. (It is growing, but you could put a Seattle sized city where Nanaimo is on the east coast of the island.)

theman23 · #**4939** Posted **Sep 10, 2023, 1:19 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metro-One

How did I know before looking that theman23 would have some negative bullshit to say. For its size of just over 100, 000, the downtown of Nanaimo is quite interesting. Lots of cute shops and cafes, not to mention the nice waterfront (which I didn’t get to this time).

Like, seriously, how fucking expansive are you expecting it to be? I don’t know many towns of the same size that aren’t just a few major streets downtown without a few minutes of walking distance (honestly, that is a good thing in many ways) There is also another older district of shops and cafes across the small escapement.

And there sure seemed to be a good number of people walking around / dining at the patios when I was there.

Again, not dead at all for a city of its size.

Just my opinion, no need to resort to expletives. I think it's fair to point out that the walkable area in the city can be covered in a few minutes since photos can be misleading.

I thought about moving to Nanaimo a few times but just couldn't do it. You're right that the waterfront is pretty, and its not bad (but also not great) for a Canadian city of 100,000. But it also feels like its missing its potential for a city with major ferry terminal and probably one of the best natural settings in the country.

MonkeyRonin · #**4940** Posted **Sep 10, 2023, 1:48 AM**

I've spent a fair bit of time in Nanaimo over the past few years, and I can't say I see much appeal either. The historic downtown core is nice (worth stopping in for lunch or something if you're passing through), but tiny even for a city of its size, and not particularly vibrant. Its surrounded by parking lots, and then the rest of the city is pretty much all horrible suburban sprawl. Somewhere like Nelson has a better, more substantial downtown and it's 1/10th the size.

Sure, the setting and climate are nice, but so is everywhere else on Vancouver Island - that doesn't excuse the lacklustre urban environment (especially when you can get an actually good one with an even better setting/climate down island). Nanaimo is basically BC's version of Barrie: a small town that's grown into a sprawling exurb for people priced out of Toronto/Vancouver.