Living in Extension

Extension is a small rural community in the hills southwest of Nanaimo, on ground that was mined for coal and never developed into anything larger. It is quiet, wooded and thinly settled, with rural property scattered along a handful of roads.

A Small Place in the Hills

Extension is quiet in a way that even the rural areas closer to Nanaimo are not. Wooded, thinly populated and set into the hills rather than spread across farmland, it feels further from the city than the drive suggests.

That seclusion is the appeal. Property here is generally cheaper than the comparable rural areas nearer the city, and the trade is fewer neighbours, more trees and a longer run for anything.

There is nothing here in the way of services. Nanaimo covers everything and the Cedar area is closer for the basics.

It suits people who want to be left alone with some ground around them, and it is honest about being that rather than pretending to be a community with amenities.

The Mining Ground

Extension existed because of coal, and the settlement grew and shrank with the industry. The mines are long closed and what remains is the ground they left and a scattering of rural property.

Historic workings are a recognised consideration in parts of the wider south Nanaimo area, and this is one of the places where the question is worth asking directly for a specific parcel rather than assumed either way.

It is generally a straightforward question to answer at purchase, and it is far better answered then than discovered later. For most properties here it will not be an issue.

How the other areas compare:

• LantzvilleA separate district municipality north of the city that stayed rural on purpose.
• Brechin HillThe rising ground above the Departure Bay terminal, close to downtown.
• CedarRural acreage and farm ground south of the city, toward Yellow Point.
• Central NanaimoThe middle of the city, with older housing and the best transit coverage.
• Chase RiverSouth of the centre, around Colliery Dam Park and the older mill ground.
• Departure BayThe ferry terminal, the beach and the established streets above them.

Servicing and What to Establish

Private systems only up here, with nothing to connect to. Ask the well what it gives and how it copes in a dry spell, and ask the septic its age, its design and the state of its field.

Getting in and out counts for more here than on flat ground. How long is the driveway, how steep, what is it surfaced with, who keeps the road up and what happens to all of it in January.

Power line runs are long and interruptions are normal. Backup heat and a generator are ordinary equipment for anyone living out here year round.

What Rural Property Costs Here

Land here is generally cheaper than the rural areas closer to the city, and the reasons are the distance, the terrain and the smaller pool of buyers. Those same reasons affect resale, which can be slower than in the Cedar or Jingle Pot areas.

Running costs are the usual rural ones with extra weight on access and tree management, since a wooded hillside property asks more of both than open ground does.

Who Extension Suits, and Who It May Not

Extension suits somebody who wants seclusion and trees, is self sufficient about a rural property, and values the price gap against the areas closer to the city.

It suits less well anyone who wants neighbours, services or an easy winter driveway. It suits less well anyone who has not asked the historic workings question on the specific parcel.

If the quiet appeals but the terrain does not, the Cedar area to the east is flatter and closer to services. If proximity matters more, the Jingle Pot areas sit right on the city edge.