Chilliwack is a popular Canadian city in British Columbia, and it happens to be the seventh-largest city in British Columbia. In times past, the history of Chilliwack was centered on agriculture as the dominant means of sustenance. But now, the city is basking in modernization with a lot of outdoor activities, sports and tourist places for visitors to enjoy. Currently, Chilliwack city boasts 83,788 people in population.
To promote cultural diversity and peaceful coexistence, a little above 11,000 immigrants contribute to the total population in the city. And the vast majority of these immigrants are from Europe.
Over the past few years, Chilliwack has witnessed a continuous increase in population, with an average growth rate of about 8%. This is expected as the city is blessed with mild climate, improved quality of living, and progressive culture. In fact, this growth pattern is expected to continue in years to come.
Aside from a mild climate and improved quality of living, the city is also surrounded by recreational and mountain areas like the Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park and the Cultus Lake.
Now that you are considering taking residence in Chilliwack, it might be essential to consider the good sides and the bad sides so that you can make a better decision.
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PROS:
1. Lot of things to do
One thing about Chilliwack is that there are loads of fun activities for you so that you never run out of fun things to do. For extroverts that love going out a lot, this is their place.
You can take your family for a light walk on a cool Saturday morning or for sightseeing. Some of the activities residents of this city love so much include Snowmobiling, mountain biking, ATVing, and a lot of other fun stuffs.
There are few kilometers of forest road for your exploration, and for catching fun moments. If you like exploring new things, you can consider RVing. RVing involves exploring the town or going on vacation in cool places located within the town in your recreational vehicle.
RVing is not especially common in Chilliwack because the cost of purchasing a decent recreational vehicle is currently on the high side. Notwithstanding, there are lot of other fun things to enjoy with family and friends.
2. Affordable housing
It is not contestable to say that one important factor to consider when you are planning to relocate to a new city is the housing cost. If the costs to get a house in the place you are travelling to is too high, you might perhaps have to reconsider unless you are financially okay.
That said, Chilliwack has affordable housing when compared with other cities, especially Vancouver where the living cost is obviously high to start with. This is why you will see many families relocating from Vancouver to Chilliwack even though Vancouver has more things to do than some places in British Columbia.
3. Amazing Restaurants
One thing about Chilliwack is that you can never go hungry outside your home. This is because there are many restaurants to give you the feeling of being home even when you are actually far from home.
For beers lover, there are abundant breweries to go around. Beer is not that expensive in Chilliwack when compared to Vancouver and some other mainland cities. While many people resort to beer for relaxation.
4. Green and lovely environment
Almost everywhere in Chilliwack is surrounded by trees and plants of diverse species. This helps in cleaning the air, and providing better habitation for the residents.
The lovely trees that abound the cities also protect the city from threats such as heartquakes and also give shade from the intense heat of the sun. The green environment is also one thing that makes Chilliwack a beautiful place to live.
5. Lively community:
It is not uncommon to find people who share the same interest as you all over the city because of the diverse range of people and immigrants. It is often said that a vibrant and cooperative community is central to the peace and stability of the city and that of the country at large.
The residents of Chilliwack enjoy coming together for community works. And this often creates a lively and supportive atmosphere for everyone to thrive.
4. Less traffic:
There is usually less traffic to deal with most of the time. So, commuting between your home and your place of work won’t be enervating like it used to be in Vancouver and some other bigger cities in British Columbia.
It is not always fun to be caught up in traffic when you are taking your kids to school, or finding your route to work. This is why it is safer to live in places like Chilliwack where traffic is not much of an issue.
5. Employment opportunities
Per hour, the average salary is 20.93 dollars. Some of most common occupations in Chilliwack are certified Dental assistants and Bookkeepers which pay a decent salary per year.
While it is understandable that Chilliwack is not as forthcoming as Vancouver when it comes to job placement, the relative size of population and companies in both cities differs also. Places with more facilities for industries to thrive tend to have more job opportunities.
6. Less pollution
An area that is densely populated will experience an increased pollution rate than another area that is moderately or scarcely populated. Chilliwack runs on agricultural activities, and the number of industries is not as high as other cities. Hence, Chilliwack will experience less pollution when compared with other cities in British Columbia.
CONS
For everything that has its advantages must also have disadvantages, and that could mean that there are downsides to living in Chilliwack just as there are good sides. The following are some of the downsides of living in Chilliwack;
1. Dirty Environment
Dairy farming and consistent agricultural practices on the farmland can sometimes cause most of the areas to be littered with dung and manures from the animals. This is especially worse during spring up till fall. This can be really discouraging to passersby.
If you know you won’t be comfortable with a setting like this, you can consider relocating to other interesting areas where this is not a common occurrence.
2. Limited road network
One bad thing about this can be seen when there is an accident on the main road. People can get stuck on traffic when the other roads have been occupied by other users.
If there is a big event taking place or a repair happening on highway 1, you can expect traffic congestion to happen which is not really cool.
3. High crime rate
The rate of crime in Chilliwack is something of concern. This is because security is the responsibility of all and sundry. The crime index statistics in Chilliwack is 66%.
Crimes such as theft, breaking into homes, vandalism, drugs, and others are on the high side.
4. Boring nightlife
There are no really fun activities going on during the nighttime. You might have to travel down to Vancouver which takes about 1hr from Chilliwack to enjoy nighttime things.
5. Bad transportation
If you are looking forward to being visiting Vancouver every day from Chilliwack, you have to know that the transit system is not that great from Chilliwack to Vancouver.
Bottom line
Making decisions about whether to relocate to a particular place or not can be sometimes confusing. This is because you might know whether the place you are going to has so much of the things you love to do or see. But if you are trying to live in Chilliwack, the pros and cons described above should allow you to make the right decision.