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Things we love

How do we feel about life? Why do we love calling BC home? What makes our local communities great places to live?

Most of us feel good about living in BC. We share a positive outlook on life, and feel our lives have meaning and purpose. We love the natural beauty of our province, enjoy our quality of life, and appreciate having friends and family close by.

We feel positive most of the time

7.4/10

74

Q2. In general, how often do you feel positive? (0=Never, 10=Always)
Total respondents = 7,137

We lead purposeful and meaningful lives

7.4/10

74

Q15. In general, to what extent do you lead a purposeful and meaningful life? (0=not at all, 10=completely). Total respondents = 7,137

Feeling positive about life is something we share across BC, regardless of where we live. We also share a sense of leading purposeful and meaningful lives – a feeling that increases as we get older.

Top 5 reasons we love our communities

We asked people to choose from 21 things they like most about their community.

#1 Natural beauty / scenery 0
#2 Overall quality of life 0
#3 Friends and family close by 0
#4 Walkability / easy to move around 0
#5 Climate 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

We love nature, enjoy our quality of life, and appreciate friends and family.

Natural beauty is the top reason we love BC

Metro Vancouver 0
Outside Metro Vancouver 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137. *Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Our love for nature is even greater when we live outside Metro Vancouver

We choose natural beauty as the thing we love most about our community in 11 out of 16 regions – highest in Coast Garibaldi (62%), East Kootenay (56%), North Interior / Northwest (54%).

Natural beauty was ranked highest by people from British (42%) and Aboriginal (41%) ethnic and cultural origins.

We value our quality of life particularly highly in Coast Garibaldi (44%) and Central / North Vancouver Island (42%). We also rate quality of life higher if we are retired (39%) or self-employed (38%).

We value our quality of life in BC

Metro Vancouver 0
Outside Metro Vancouver 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three). Total respondents = 7,137 *Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Vancouver Island Camping by Mike is license under CC BY 2.0

We appreciate having friends and family close by

Metro Vancouver 0
Outside Metro Vancouver 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

People living in the North East (39%) and Richmond (36%) particularly value this aspect of their community.

We enjoy our communities in different ways

We value walkability and ease to move around as the thing we like most about our community in Vancouver (47%) and New Westminster / Burnaby (35%). We also rate walkability and ease to move around higher if we live alone (28%) or are renting (26%).

Walkability and ease to move around important in Metro Vancouver

Metro Vancouver 0
Outside Metro Vancouver 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Lifestyle and recreation opportunities enjoyed more outside Metro Vancouver

Metro Vancouver 0
Outside Metro Vancouver 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

We particularly like the lifestyle and recreation opportunities in East Kootenay (47%), North Interior / Northwest (27%), and North Shore / Sea to Sky (25%).

Fresh Air by Sébastien Launay is license under CC BY 2.0

Floe Lake, Kootenay National Park 037 by Adam Kahtava is license under CC BY 2.0

Climate appreciated more in some regions

48

Okanagan

39

Southern Vancouver Island

32

Central / North Vancouver Island

19

British Columbia

Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Parks and public spaces enjoyed most in Metro Vancouver

Metro Vancouver 0
Outside Metro Vancouver 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Communities that particularly value their parks and public spaces include Fraser North (27%), New Westminster / Burnaby (26%), and Fraser Valley East (23%).

West End and Lost Lagoon by -JvL- is license under CC BY 2.0

More things we love about our communities

Find out which regions rated certain aspects of community life the highest.

Natural beauty and scenery

Coast Garibaldi 0
East Kootenay 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three). Total respondents = 7,137    *Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Overall quality of life

Coast Garibaldi 0
Central and North Vancouver Island 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three). Total respondents = 7,137 *Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Friends and family close by

Northeast 0
Richmond 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three). Total respondents = 7,137 *Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Covered Bike Parking by Paul Krueger is license under CC BY 2.0

Walkability / ease to move around

Vancouver 0
Burnaby / New Westminster 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Good place to raise a family

Fraser North 0
Thompson / Cariboo / Shuswap 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Parks / public spaces

Fraser North 0
Burnaby / New Westminster 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Cost of living / affordability

North East 0
Fraser East 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Lifestyle / recreation opportunities

East Kootenay 0
North Interior / Northwest 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

DSCN2562 by Richard Baer is license under CC BY 2.0

Local food / farmers markets

Okanagan 0
Richmond 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Clean environment / good air quality

Coast Garibaldi 0
North Interior 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Climate

Okanagan 0
South Vancouver Island 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Picnic at D’Arcy by John Freeland is license under CC BY 2.0

Sense of Community

Coast Garibaldi 0
East Kootenay 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Restaurants / shops

Richmond 0
Vancouver 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Cultural diversity

Vancouver 0
Burnaby / New Westminster 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.

Safety

North Shore 0
Richmond 0
British Columbia 0
Q2. What do you like most about living in your community? (Select up to three).
Total respondents = 7,137
*Items were selected from a list of 21 choices.