Uprooting your family and moving to British Columbia is hard, as it would be with any new destination. After all is said and done, with the movers Vancouver bound weeks ago, the boxes unpacked, new plants purchased, and creature comforts in place, you may still not feel settled in. Rest assured, it’s totally normal. But how can you make your new location feel like home? Easy: get involved in your community! BC is chock-full of ways to get busy, and have fun.
Swimming Lessons
Let’s start with the basics. Since British Columbia is Canada’s west coast province, there are miles of coastline to explore. If you can’t swim, it’s time to learn—as soon as possible. Contact your municipality’s community or recreation center to see if they offer swimming lessons. Canadian Red Cross offers courses for any age or experience level across Canada, and has done so for the past 60 years.
Diving School
If deep sea diving is something that’s on your bucket list, you’re in luck: you’ve moved to a province with some of the best diving and most diverse marine life in Canada. There are various diving schools in BC, with the highest concentration of them located on Vancouver Island. You’ll be able to slowly and safely learn how to scuba. If you’re already an accomplished diver, take your gear out to the waters off of Chemainus, BC to explore the very cool Boeing 737 Artificial Reef. A 737 was purposely sunk to create a reef for both divers and marine creatures to enjoy. Wild!
Ski School
It’s a big statement but I’m going to go for it: skiing is probably better in BC than anywhere else in Canada. BC’s ideal location in the Rocky Mountain range makes for exhilarating skiing (and snowboarding). It’s a super fun sport for kids to get into during the winter, and a great confidence builder. Just wait to see the smiles when they get good enough to zip down those hills! Grouse Mountain and Whistler Blackcomb have great teaching facilities for both kids and adults alike. Because skiing is so popular in BC, you are sure to find a ski school close to your new home.
Adventure Skiing
For the more adventurous types and the more experienced downhill skiers, BC has heli-skiing and cliff skiing that will stop the hearts of even the more hardened downhill experts. In case you didn’t know, heli-skiing is the act of being dropped out of a helicopter with your skis strapped on. What’s the appeal? To be able to ski untouched powder in some of the rawest wilderness BC has to offer.
Now you have no excuse: get out there and experience all the activities your new BC community has to offer you. Grab your kids by the hands or feet and find something you love to do in your new home. Turn yourself into skiers, swimmers, shakers, and movers in Victoria, Vancouver, Coquitlam, or wherever your new community may be. You’ll learn to love BC!
