Living in North Nanaimo

North Nanaimo is where the city has done most of its recent building. Subdivisions climb the slope above the Strait, a great many of them positioned for the view, and the largest retail concentration on the central Island sits at the heart of it.

Why the North End Grew

The north end had the land, the slope and the outlook, and the city expanded into it. What resulted is the most recently built part of Nanaimo, laid out as subdivisions rather than accumulated street by street.

For a buyer that means newer construction, modern building standards and lower early maintenance than the older parts of the city. It also means young landscaping and a more uniform look than the heritage quarter or the established central streets.

Families concentrate here because the schools, the shopping and the newer housing sit together. It is the most straightforwardly suburban part of Nanaimo and it does that well.

It is not walkable in the way the old city is. The retail is highway retail, the subdivisions are subdivisions, and a household here will drive.

The Slope and the View Premium

The ground climbs from the shoreline, and how high a property sits is the single biggest factor in what it is worth. An ocean view from the north end can take in the Strait, the Winchelsea Islands and the mainland mountains behind them.

That premium is real and it is specific. Two houses two streets apart can be very different numbers because of what is built in front of one of them. Tree growth changes it over time as well, which is worth thinking about on a wooded slope.

Waterfront itself is limited on this side and priced accordingly. For most buyers the practical question is how much elevation is worth paying for.

The rest of the city, for comparison:

• 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.

Woodgrove and the Commercial Base

The Woodgrove area carries the largest shopping concentration on the central Island, drawing from well beyond Nanaimo itself. Big box retail, the mall and the surrounding commercial strip cover almost everything a household needs.

For residents that means the weekly shop is minutes away rather than across the city. It also means traffic, particularly on weekends and through the corridor that serves it.

Being at the north end also shortens the run to Parksville, Qualicum and the Comox Valley, which matters for anyone whose work or family sits up the coast.

Servicing and Running Costs

Municipal water and sewer serve the subdivision areas, so none of the rural cost items apply. Newer construction generally costs less to heat than the older stock further south in the city.

The offsetting cost is the price of entry. The north end sits above the city average, and a view property sits above that again. The honest comparison is between what the elevation delivers and what the same budget buys in an established central neighbourhood.

Who the North End Suits, and Who It May Not

The north end suits families who want newer housing and schools together, anyone who values a view, and anyone who does most of their shopping in one trip. It suits people working north of the city as much as those working in it.

It suits less well anyone who wants character or mature trees, anyone who wants to walk to a coffee, and anyone whose budget is set on a view they have not yet stood in front of at the time of day they would use it.

If character matters more than newness, the old city and the central neighbourhoods have it. If the view is the point but the subdivision is not, Hammond Bay to the east sits on the coastal side.