Colene has asked on her blog what we all like and dislike about where we live.
I live in the Brentwood area of Burnaby – and I love it.
I find it an ideal area for someone who doesn’t have a car. I’m a block or less away from just about everything a person needs to get on with daily life. A grocery store, two small malls, restaurants, Canadian Tire, Home Depot and a community fitness center are all within a 10 minute walk.
I’m also a block away from a major transit hub (Brentwood Station) meaning I can get to most points north/south/west/east of here really quickly, with buses and skytrains leaving frequently, and most routes are fairly direct.
On top of that, the neighbourhood still feels really safe. I’m not scared to walk a block to the bus station or go to the store after dark. Being out of the city, residences tend to be larger and less expensive. This area also contains almost exclusively condominium properties – no rental buildings (aside from the retirement home) – which makes for a neighbourhood where more people are invested in and care about where they live.
The only things I’m not a huge fan of:
– There’s no beach (hey, you can’t have it all I guess)
– No video store nearby, although that may change with a number of business spaces for lease. In the meantime, there’s always DVDFlix.ca if I get desperate
– It’s not Vancouver, where most of my friends live. And, like most Vancouverites, they’re usually a bit loathe to leave the confines of the city, which means I’m on the road whenever I want to visit. This isn’t to say people never come by though. I just have to invite them.
– It’s a bit too hilly for rollerblading. I can’t just strap on the blades and go – I’d have to head across town to the translink pathway under the skytrain in south burnaby. Again, only a 10 minute bus ride, and like the beach, it’s not a dire necessity.
Overall, my goal is to see how the neighbourhood develops (3 new residences went up in the past 2 years, and there are 4 more that are under construction) and probably purchase here eventually. It just feels like home.
