I had the pleasure of spending a winter on Vancouver Island a couple of years ago, in Deep Bay (about half-way between Nanaimo and Campbell River). What an absolutely gorgeous place! Between the mountains, the ocean, the beaches, the humungous trees, the eagles and salmon and wildlife, (not to mention the mild weather), I really fell in love with the place.   And I'd go back for a visit anytime, but I'm not sure it would be the ideal place for a retirement community, because:

1) Although the winters are mild, hardly any snow to speak of, it's cloudy and gloomy and rains EVERY DAY from about Nov-April. NO kidding. Also, it's quite far north, so the days are very short -- sun rises around 8am and sets around 4pm for most of the winter. This aggravates any tendency toward SADS (Seasonal Affective Disorder).

In other words ... ITS D*** DEPRESSING! I was shocked to find I really missed the whiteness and brightness and cleanness and beauty of fresh-fallen snow (although I did NOT miss the shovelling!)

If it hadn't been for the rainbows I saw nearly every day, all that gorgeous scenery ... (Ooooo, here's some more (that's Englishman River Falls, near Parksville/Coombs) -- and the family of bald eagles nesting atop the huge fir tree outside my door, I'da been stir-crazy by the end of Feb!

Look how wet it is there ... people's roofs actually start growing grass and moss. In fact, in the quaint little town of Coombs, people actually graze their livestock up there!

2) The dampness aggravates any tendencies towards arthritis too, a concern for many people as they grow older.

3) The cost of living is relatively high, as a sizeable percentage of basic commodities have to be brought to the island by plane, ship or ferry. And I ask you sincerely ... could you bring yourself to shop at a grocery chain called "Overwaities"??? Couldn't believe that when I first saw it ...

On the up side, the Island is an absolute HAVEN for folk musicians and craftspeople and artists and new-agers of all types, who want to live and practice "alternative lifestyles" without raising too many eyebrows. No problem finding recording studios, coffee-houses, and LOTS of other folkies!

I was told by an old-timer on the beach out there one morning, there's only two kinds of people who are attracted to the Island -- newly-weds (on their honeymoon) and nearly-deads. Ha ha HA!! Yuppie-ville it is NOT!

Anyway, just some thoughts about Vancouver Island -- and thanks for the memories. The Pacific Northwest is probably similiar, right? And Virgina/Kentucky sounds good, but there's something about the "Bible Belt" that makes me a bit nervous. IS it really as much of a hassle to live there as some people make it out to be?

daylia