Can somebody tell me about Victoria in BC (in Canada)?

Question

in a year my parents are moving to Victoria, BC (i will be entering university then) I am probably going to go to University of Victoria i was wondering if somebody could tell me about Victoria.
What are the fun things to do there when you're 18? Are there lots of malls? many clubs? bars? exciting things? are there many teenagers or more old people? Does everyone spend a lot of time at the beach? What does the average person there do for fun? And what's the temperature like? Does it change a lot throughout the year? I'm SO worried! Oh and is there a lot of nature (lakes, rivers, mountains, forests?) or is it more like buildings and polution? Do you suggest living there?
Hopefully somebody will be able to tell me about Victoria, thanks so much!♥

I absolutely Love nature so i'm very excited, thanks a lot for the answers!♥

Answer 1

If you like nature you'll fall in love with Victoria and all of Vancouver Island. There is a trail that runs all the way from Victoria to approx. 60 miles up the west coast. It's called the Galloping Goose Trail and you can walk, bike or horseback ride the whole way through the forests and ocean front. People are very much into outdoor activities on the Island. It rarely snows, so if you don't mind wearing rain gear and dressing for the weather you can camp, hike, fish, rollerblade etc. all year round. One of the things thats popular to do is going to the ocean front on the edge of the city and sitting with friends around a campfire on the beach or camping. There are a lot of retirees in Victoria but a very active night life for the younger residents as well. Most of the pubs are hopping on the weekends and are mostly full of younger people and there are a lot of them scattered all over the city. Pubbing is quite popular in Victoria.There are festivals everywhere in the summer and tons of places to explore in the winter so it's hard to get bored there.
Victoria has malls but unlike a lot of cities the downtown area is very lively and full of the coolest little shops and a fabulous place to shop or just browse around. You can go down to the harbour downtown and watch the buskers and musicians perform. There are gorgeous beaches in Victoria but a lot of people frequent beaches 1/2 an hour to 1 hr outside of town. East Sooke Park and French Beach are very popular sites with the younger crowd.
Victoria is surrounded with rain forests of douglas fir, and even the city has tons of green space, gorgeous parks and boardwalks along the ocean and is spotless. The University is beautiful and people come from all over the world to attend because of it's reputation.
The weather on Vancouver Island is the mildest in Canada. It rarely snows but rather rains all winter. A heavy handknit sweater, or a sweater and jacket and light boots will get you through the winter very nicely. The thing to remember is that when you go to the ocean front any time of year it will be cooler, and it cools off in the evenings so make sure to take a sweater. The following links on Victoria and some of the more popular places might be of interest to you.
http://www.victoria-bc-canada-relocation.com/?gclid=CJ_A2Ynh2oYCFQvuPgodOhGY5A
http://www.tourismvictoria.com/
http://www.victoriabc.com/
http://www.uvic.ca/
http://www.victoriabcguide.com/photos.htm
http://www.crd.bc.ca/parks/east_sooke.htm
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=SUNA,SUNA:2006-09,SUNA:en&q=french+beach
http://www.10best.com/Victoria/Nightlife/Pubs/index.html

I hope this gives you a better idea of the laid back lifestyle of this beautiful area. I lived there for 12 years and can't wait to get back. It's a fantastic place to live.

Answer 2

Victoria is on Vancouver Island, about an hour and twenty minutes by ferry from the mainland. You often see pods of whales near Active Pass during the crossing. There are malls, clubs, bars and other exciting things to do, but it's also a very sedate place. Victoria has been described as a 'little bit of Olde England' and it's a very apt description. They serve afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel. There are excellent beaches, but not right around the Victoria area. Qualicum beach and Tofino are superlative, but they're up island. That's not a terribly long distance. The temperature is the most moderate in Canada, due to the influence of the Pacific Ocean, and the temperature ranges from about 35 in the winter to 75 in the summer. It rarely snows in Victoria! Vancouver Island, and all of British Columbia, is very beautiful, with lots of lakes, rivers, mountains, and forests. One of the fun things to do in Victoria is join a padding team. They are very big on dragon boat paddling and outrigger canoe paddling and there are races pretty well every weekend somewhere on the island. There's great surfing on the Island too, but you usually wear a wet suit -- just a shorty -- when you're out in some absolutely awesome surf. UVic is a good school, with a beautiful campus, and it's very close to the downtown area. You're going to enjoy it.

Answer 3

When you're eighteen you, can't legally drink. No bars or clubs until you're nineteen.

Victoria is a university town, meaning it's busy during the school year and dead during the summer (except for the tourists). It has the most restaurants per capita of any city in North America after San Fran. Shopping is absolutely terrible but there is good shopping nearby in Vancouver (a short ferry trip or flight away).

Victoria is VERY green. Lots of parks, forests and lakes. You'll find good swimming at Durrance Lake and Thetis Lake. There are great walks everywhere, but I love Todd Inlet and Dallas Road. The weather is VERY rainy from Oct-April, but's an entire temperate zone warmer than Vancouver due to the gulfstream.

I have a personal website about Victoria that I think you'll find useful. I'll link to it below. I keep an updated list of what's happening in the city, restaurant openings and closing, and tourist attractions.

Answer 4

Victoria is lovely. Lots of nice shops and some okay malls, although for good shopping you can take the ferry across to Vancouver for $12. There are clubs but you must be 19 to enter. I think you will meet a lot of people because of the Universities there. There are a lot of cool people in Victoria but there are also a lot of pot smoking losers who want to sit on the corner and beg for money so they can smoke pot and get more piercings.

There is some amazing nature. Take a whale watching tour on a zodiac boat. Wow is that amazing. You see a lot of seas and you can even feed them. They will take fish right out of your hand. There are some nice places to see up North of Victoria: Beaches, rivers, rain forests. The weather is pretty steady through out the year, not to hot in summer, not to cold in winter.

I think you will enjoy it.

Answer 5

Victoria is a beautiful city with lots of parks and flowers. There is alot of shopping as well as restaurants, pubs, clubs. A very lively city with an english heritage to some extent. Your best bet is to get onto a website and pull info off it that way. But trust me there is no way you could possibly be bored. Alot of lakes, rivers, mountains, parks, you name it Victoria has it, or the surounding towns/cities nearby, for example Nanaimo, and on the mainland is Vancouver/Whistler, about a 1.45 hour journey.

Answer 6

Victoria's very quaint. It's pretty, sort of quiet, not really a huge night-life. It can be boring but also charming. Vancouver island is a great place for someone who loves the ocean and nature. But.... if you're looking for a good night-life....Vancouver is just a ferry ride away. The weather is quite temperate.... mostly rain in the winter instead of snow. Not much pollution at all.... really some of the best healthiest air in (developed) Canada.

Answer 7

Victoria is probably cool if you're into the outdoors shiite, such as mountain-climbing and hiking/camping. As for the people, expect a lot of asian immigrants.

Answer 8

OMG...IT'S BEAUTIFUL! The weather is lovely and the air is very healthy. I would give anything to be able to live out there.

Answer 9

It has the mildest weather in Canada and is very conservative.The architecture is Victorian.

Answer 10

omg im sooo sorry i have been to victoria and it sucked.... the only good thing is u can take a fairy into seattle and party there