What I Love About Victoria

 

I have been here for more than a decade and my friends and family often ask what it is about Victoria that keeps me after I had been such a nomad for decades. This is what keeps me here.

Weather – hands down, Victoria receives the best weather in all of the country. It is pretty stable, with very few surprises. In Jan-March, we have rains that come as the gardens are starting to bloom. We have had cherry blossoms as early as January, and everything turns pink! We may get a lot of rain but it never rains all day and we usually have a sunny break on all rainy days when the weather moves off. In April to June, weather is warming up, rains are lessening and we all get busy in our gardens. July and August – warm summer months, rare to get really HOT days, so we average about 22C most summer days, which is perfect to me. September is usually not much cooler than August, but the rains start falling a few days per week. October, the leaves change their color and fall to the ground, and the rains come more often, but again, most days it rains, we also have a sunny break. November and December are the darkest days, with more rain, and one or two snowfalls. On occasion, we will get a snowstorm, but the snow melts rather quickly and because they do not plow, most do nothing about it. I don’t own a winter coat because I do not need it here. Victorians dress in layers as we can see all four seasons in one day!

  Scenery – well there are numerous FREE beaches, mountains all over the place, although the mountains we see from Victoria are American. Having that mountain view as you drive through the city just does something for me, as I take in the majestic profile against a blue sky. The beaches are plentiful and stunning and I never have to pay for parking at any of them. There are pebble beaches, rocky beaches, sandy beaches, and mixes of all three. They are never crowded and there is always another beach to go to. We also have several lakes that people swim in during the summer. Those do get rather crowded so I don’t tend to go often.

 Paddling opportunities – because we are an island with many waterways, we have so many places we can put in our kayaks and paddle about. My daughter and I have paddled at several and there are still so many left to explore. The weather is often calm enough on the ocean to paddle and the lakes are always a joy, especially Thetis Lake (Upper and Lower). We also really enjoy the Gorge Waterway as it winds itself through the city. We have been able to paddle year-round here as Victoria is ice free in winter. We also have enjoyed paddling off to the wee islands in the area.

4.        Culture – Victoria is a very multicultural city with people from all ethnic backgrounds and countries of origin. The city has embraced it with many parks, restaurants, cafes, organizations, clubs, festivals, etc. where people can learn and enjoy many different cultures. There is also, of course, a huge amount of beautiful west coast Indigenous arts located around the city to enjoy and learn about.

5.     

The BIG trees – and when I say big trees, I mean gigantic compared to east coast and Ontarian trees that I was used to. There still remains some old growth trees in the forest, but even the ones a few hundred years old are just massive! I just love being in the forest among them.

6.       

Architecture – the Victorian style homes and colonial architecture are one of my favorite things about Victoria. I live in an old Victorian era home built in 1912 and my street is lined with them. Walking in my neighborhood or downtown, I see so much beautiful architecture, which in my opinion, looks far better than the concrete and glass era we are in
these days. Chinatown is particularly lovely with a beautiful archway.

7.        Hiking trails – there are so many hiking trails here I could take a different one each week for a year and still not run out. My daughter and I have checked out many of them and I have checked out several with friends as well. They are accessible all year round and we go all year round – because we can!

8.        My apartment – I am in the basement walk-out suite in an old Victorian House. I have a patio that I just love. I will write a separate post about my apartment as it needs some new updated photos taken as lots has changed since the last photos I took when I moved in.

C    Camping - so many opportunities for camping with lovely campgrounds to camp at, most of them year round. I have been several times this year and can't wait to go again soon. 

9.        Last but not least – my two favorite family members, my sister and my daughter both live in British Columbia and my daughter lives right here in the greater Victoria area so we see each other all the time, which is probably my most favorite things about living in Victoria now.