Before you move out to White Rock, just stop.

Living in White Rock comes with a lot of GOOD and a little bit of BAD

If you do ever choose to relocate to this area, you will know exactly what you’re in for.

Growing up in the area, I thought I knew it all about growing up in White Rock. When I came back as an adult with my family, there’s some things that I learned that may have changed my mind.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s lots of good to living in White Rock, but to be honest, it’s not all roses either. I’m going to share with you some of the things that I wish that I had to know before me and my family decided to come back, so if that sounds good. Let’s get into it.

My name is Darin, the team leader with the Germyn Group, with Macdonald Realty, a REALTOR in Surrey, British Columbia.

If this is your first time reading our blogs, we are here to educate you on everything there is to know about living in Surrey or White Rock, British Columbia. If you’re looking to make a move in the next 9 days, 90 days or 9 months, shoot us a text, give us a call, or book an in-person zoom meeting with us so we can learn a little bit more about your situation and let you know what we can do to help you. This way, we can make sure your move to Surrey or White Rock is a smooth one

Thanks for the introduction, where were we?

Let’s try to start this off a little bit positive and jump right into some of the pros about living in the city of White Rock.

Pro #1: White Rock is more cool in the summer and more warm in the winter than a a lot of other areas in the lower mainland.

In fact, Environment Canada says that White Rock is actually far enough from the coastal mountains that it actually has its own individual weather system.

You’ll know if you’re a local that lives out here or you know anybody that lives in the city of White Rock, that we all love to brag about how we get more sunshine than that of other areas of the lower mainland.

The interesting thing is that’s actually proven now by Environment Canada, who says that on average, that we get 10 days more of sunshine per year than our neighbouring counterparts.

Pretty cool, right?

Pro #2: White Rock is not overly busy

Why is that a pro? Well, you get to get away from all the hustle and bustle that you might experience in maybe downtown Surrey or other areas of the lower mainland.

White Rock is completely surrounded by the city of Surrey, specifically South Surrey for this reason. Then you’ve got the ocean on the other side, so there’s not many places to go, meaning White Rock is not a drive-through city. The closer and closer that you get to the ocean, the less and less foot traffic and cars that you’ll typically see.

White Rock is a huge tourist destination. In the summertime, it does get busy, but for your general day-to-day life, it’s going to be a pretty quiet experience if that’s something that you’re looking for.

Pro #3: White Rock in an oceanside or a beach town.

We’re in a beach city. Who doesn’t want to live by the beach?

Many of the properties that you can find in White Rock, in fact, will have a view of Semiahmoo Bay and the ocean. White Rock has a very long stretch of beach.

While it’s not the type of beach that you might find in other areas of the world, of course, because it’s probably a little colder here than some of those more tropical destinations where you get that really fine white sand beach, there is a lot of awesome things that you can do.

the White Rock promenade and the beach. Views aside, we’re talking about activities like windsurfing, kite surfing, skim-boarding, sailing, boating, wildlife watching.

Being a beachside community comes with having a really awesome strip of commercial right along the beach.

This is what we call Marine Drive. Somewhat separated into two areas, namely West Beach and East Beach, both featuring different styles and types of restaurants, coffee shops, lots of ice cream, and different touristy-type shops as well.

Pro #4: Lots of amenities between White Rock and South Surrey.

There has been so much development and commercial added to the areas of not only White Rock, but also South Surrey over the years that you’ve got just about everything you’re looking for shopping-wise in a very short drive from your home.

Probably the biggest and most popular area is the Grandview Heights Shopping Center or the Morgan Crossing Shopping Center.

You’re going to find all of your big box stores up in this area, lots of different restaurants, including chain restaurants and little niche restaurants, and shopping galore.

You don’t really need to go anywhere else.

Shopping and dining isn’t the only thing either. When it comes to recreation for yourself or for your family, or when it comes to professional services that you might need, like doctors or other health care providers, White Rock and South Surrey features it all, and you don’t need to travel into other areas of the Lower Mainland like he did many years back ago.

Pro #5: White Rock is great for all ages.

You know, White Rock used to have this motto that it was only for the newly wed and nearly dead. Well, that may have been the case many years ago.

You have seen such a more diverse group of people come to the city White Rock and South Surrey over the last couple of years, and it’s really got something for everyone now.

Just living in the city of White Rock alone, you have the choice of 5 elementary schools, depending on which catch you may be fallen to, and 3 high schools, all in a city that is only about 5 square kilometres in size.

There’s community centres, there’s pools, there’s daycares, there’s South Surrey Athletic Park, and there’s sports arenas. There is literally something for everybody to enjoy and absolutely love the area.

Now that you have all the pros on why White Rock, BC may be for you. Its the moment a few of you have been waiting for….

It’s time to jump into the cons of why living in White Rock might not be for you.

Con #1: White Rock is a really closed off city

White Rock is not really close to anything except Surrey.

As I mentioned previously, it’s not a drive-through city, which means that it’s not quite as busy, or not nearly as busy, rather, as a lot of some of the other Lower Mainland areas.

Let’s say you have a job in Burnaby or a job in Vancouver. It can easily take you an hour to get to downtown Vancouver from the city of White Rock. Not to mention that when you’re traveling, you oftentimes need to either take a bridge or a tunnel.

Living in the lower mainland, when it rains or snows, hell, even when it’s sunny, those bridges and tunnels, they tend to get clogged and slowed down. So there can be tons and tons of traffic and really slow down your commute.

Now, you might be thinking, I’ll just jump in public transportation.

Well, of course, White Rock has bus access. That would be crazy if it didn’t. With the new introduction of bus routes in White Rock to Bridgeport station, this has been getting easier as of November 2023. Alberit handy, It’s nowhere near like living in North Surrey, New Westminster, Burnaby or even Vancouver, where you can just jump on the sky train and get to any other city relatively easily.

While the transportation over the years has improved in White Rock, it’s still a small city, so it doesn’t get a ton of attention, nor a ton of service, or a ton of spotlight shone on it when it comes to the transit sector.

Con #2: White Rock is quite a bit more expensive than other areas in the Fraser Valley.

Homes are incredibly expensive in the area, especially if you’re talking about a home that may have a view.

To put this into a little bit of perspective, the average price of a detached home in White Rock/South Surrey, was $1,953,000 at the time of writing this blog. Now, let’s move that across to another municipality just very close to White Rock. The city of Langley or the Township of Langley. Both will combine for the purposes of this. To put that in a comparison with a very close city like the city or area of Langley, where the average detached home is about $1,300,000.

You’re going to find significant differences like this across all property types, whether it’s detached homes, condominiums, or townhomes. Even for those of you that are considering renting, you’re going to notice rents are more expensive in White Rock and South Surrey as well.

Con #3: White Rock is not that busy right now, but it’s getting a lot busier.

The Semiahmoo Shopping Centre area is due to be completely redeveloped over the course of the next few years. However, not only is that happening, you’re starting to see high rises shoot up all over the hillside, increasing the density.

Density meaning more cars and more people.

White Rock, in fact, is getting so busy that most residents who live in White Rock proper actually have to have parking passes to be able to put their vehicles on the road to ensure that they can have adequate parking.

Con #4: Roads are starting to become damaged and in need of repair.

White Rock used to be a little beach town. It wasn’t overly well-traveled. Now that we’re getting this incredible amount of density coming into the area, some of the roads that were designed for that little beach town can no longer keep up with all of the traffic that are on them.

This isn’t to fault the provincial government or local government from trying to make it better, and they certainly have been working on this.

The density seems to be coming a lot faster than the road improvements. Additionally, the road improvements, well, they tend to happen after a problem is noticed and decided that it needs to be fixed.

Con #5: Running a business in the city of White Rock is VERY difficulty

White Rock is incredibly seasonal, meaning a lot of people love coming to White Rock to visit the beach during the summer months from all over the lower mainland and all over the world.

However, that makes it really great to own a business in the summertime because of all the foot traffic and all the tourists. But come around winter where you’re not seeing a lot of people down at the beach, you’re not getting a lot of that foot traffic.

If you own a restaurant, coffee shop, retail business, anything like that, it can be really difficult to pay the bills in the the lower months of the winter.

As mentioned previously as well, the challenging transit makes it difficult for people to get here if they don’t have a vehicle. So these businesses are really forced to run on, for the most part, the locals in the area.

You wouldn’t be surprised to know or you wouldn’t be your eyes to notice walking through many areas of White Rock and seeing new businesses pop up where old ones used to exist because they simply couldn’t keep up.

CONCLUSION

Now that you know the pros and the cons of moving to White Rock or living in White Rock, I’m curious what do you think?

Has any of these swayed your decision to come to the area? Or if you’re a local that’s watching this video, did I miss anything? What are some of the things you absolutely love about living in the area or some of the things that drive you a little crazy? Be sure to leave your comment below

What if I have any questions about moving to White Rock, BC?

Selecting an excellent real estate professional is key to a successful home purchase. The Germyn Group, with our deep understanding of White Rock and its real estate dynamics, is committed to guiding you every step of the way.

We invite you to book a consultation with us. During our meeting, we’ll discuss your needs, preferences, and any questions you might have about the Surrey real estate market.

As you embark on this exciting journey, remember that the right home in Surrey is more than just a property; it’s a foundation for your future. With the Germyn Group by your side, let’s make your dream of homeownership in Surrey a beautiful reality.