Living in Cumberland

Cumberland sits above the valley floor west of Courtenay, and it is the most distinctive community in the Comox Valley. It began as a coal mining village, it kept its heritage main street, and it has become one of the better known mountain biking destinations on Vancouver Island.

A Village With Its Own Identity

Cumberland does not feel like part of Courtenay, and residents do not describe it that way. It is a separate municipality with its own council, its own main street and a culture that grew out of a mining history rather than a suburban one.

Dunsmuir Avenue is a genuine village high street. Restaurants, a brewery, shops and services sit along a short strip that people walk rather than drive, and it functions as the social centre of the community.

The mining history is legible in the town. Street layout, house sizes and the position of the village against the hillside all follow from what it was built for, and the local museum keeps that record.

Courtenay is a short drive down the hill for the hospital, the larger shopping and the services the village does not carry.

Heritage Housing and Newer Building

The older village housing is small, close together and often over a century old. Miners' cottages and their descendants make up a good deal of the core stock, and many have been renovated over the past two decades as the town's popularity grew.

Newer development has been added around the village, which broadens the choice considerably. That said, Cumberland is small, and the supply of any particular housing type at any given moment is limited.

Buying heritage stock here means buying a project or buying someone else's completed one. Foundation, wiring, plumbing, insulation and structural condition are the questions on anything from the mining era, and a proper inspection matters more here than in most of the valley.

How the other communities compare:

• ComoxThe peninsula side of the valley, with the marina, the airport and the air force base.
• CourtenayThe commercial heart of the valley, where the rivers meet and most of the shopping is.
• Town of ComoxThe incorporated town itself, with its own council, downtown and waterfront.
• Comox PeninsulaThe rural coastal ground beyond the town, toward Point Holmes and Kye Bay.
• City of CourtenayThe incorporated city, its boundaries, its services and its downtown core.
• East CourtenayNewer subdivisions, the hospital and the highway retail on the city's east side.

The Trails and What They Changed

The trail network in the forest around Cumberland has made the village a destination for mountain biking, and that has reshaped the local economy. Cafes, a brewery, bike shops and accommodation all follow from it.

For a resident who rides, living here means the trails start at the edge of town rather than at the end of a drive. That is the single strongest reason people choose Cumberland over the rest of the valley.

It also means visitors. The village is busy in the riding season, and the character of a summer weekend is different from a wet Tuesday in November. Both are worth seeing before buying.

What an Older Village Property Costs

The village is served by municipal water and sewer, so the rural cost items do not apply. Lots are small, so yard maintenance is minimal.

The building is where the cost sits. A century old house that has not been upgraded is expensive to heat and carries a maintenance schedule that a newer one does not. Where the work has already been done, that is reflected in the price, and the honest comparison is between a completed renovation and a project plus its budget.

Who Cumberland Suits, and Who It May Not

Cumberland suits somebody who wants a small community with a real identity, a walkable main street and the forest at the edge of it. It suits riders above all, and it suits people who value character over floor area.

It suits less well anyone who wants a large modern house on a large lot, anyone who needs to be near the hospital, or anyone who would find a small village socially claustrophobic. Housing supply here is thin, which also means less choice at any given moment.

If the character appeals but the scale does not, the older parts of Courtenay have mature streets with more housing choice. If the riding is the point and the village is not, West Courtenay is closer to the city and still on this side.