I've lived in Vancouver and Victoria and have been living here since July and it's pretty good. Nothing beats the mountains, lush forests and oceans the west coast has to offer but the lack of traffic here is nice. The dry cold in the winter is very forgiving compared to that wet cold that gets under your clothes. Way less snow than I used to get back home in Ottawa. The snow removal here is brutal though. There's a really nice waterfront here but beyond the waterfront it gets pretty ugly pretty quick (sorry!). But you can also drive 20 mins out of town and be surrounded by big open sky and prairie views which is pretty cool. Honestly I'd much rather be living in BC but it's too expensive out there and Vancouver and Victoria were brutal for traffic. I enjoy living here for the big city amenities without the big city population. The cost of living isn't through the roof yet. People are generally pretty friendly here. Traffic is never an issue for me. I found a decent paying job immediately upon moving here. I'd recommend giving it a try for sure. And I apologize if I've offended anyone with my 7 months of experience living here lol.