If you had to choose a place to live within this list of BC, which one would it be?

LIek previous stated, all of these areas are predominantly englsih speaking however there is a strong asian community, especially in the Richmond area which is reflected in the shops and hotels. The coast of BC is classified as a Temperate Rain Forest which gives you an idea of what to expect. Certainly for cold Whistler is best in the winter since it is a ski resort. However none are cold year round and they can all get quite warm at times. Pemberton is okay and is actually starting to grow as a satellite community of Whistler. There is not a lot there yet however Whistler is only about 30 minutes away and the drive is nice although the road can be a bit winding at times. If I were to choose a place to live out of the list it would be either Victoria or Whistler. I enjoy Victoria which has a more "English" feel to it and, of course, the climate there is fairly mild. Whistler is expensive but I enjoy the feel of the place, especially since the main village is pedestrian oriented.

If you want cold throughout the winter, then you shouldn't be looking at coastal communities. Victoria, Nanaimo, Vancouver and the areas have coastal climates, which mean mild. We had loads of snow and some decent cold temperatures last winter, but that was a complete anomolie. Normally we have a week of below freezing temperatures and if we're lucky, one big snowfall. and because our average "cold" temperatures are just a few degrees below freezing, our normal snow is wet and slushy. It's a nightmare to drive in, and at the sight of one snowflake, the entire lower mainland will shut down. As an Albertan transplant, I find it quite humourous. Of all the locations you listed, Whistler will probably have the closest to the winters you are asking about. But.. Whistler is OUTRAGEOUSLY priced, in terms of accomodations. Vancouver is out of this world, but Whistler is even further out there. If you have bags of money, then go for Whistler. Pemberton is slightly less expensive, but dont' hold your breath. Both are stunningly beautiful. All of BC is an English-dominated province, linguistically speaking. Of our two official languages, English is the language that the majority speaks. In fact, in the larger centres (Vancouver, Richmond, Victoria, Surrey), you are more apt to find other languages being spoken more than French. I don't know this for sure, but I would hazard to guess that more people speak Cantonese, Mandarin, or Punjabi more than French. And a good number of people who speak those languages will also speak English. Now if I were making the above list.. I would list Kamloops. Its in the interior, so it gets more extreme temperatures.. and it's very beautiful, in an arid sort of way.

None of these places are cold all year round - most of them are not even really cold in the winter (compared to the rest of Canada!) If you want cold weather, try the east coast instead. I liked Squamish, its pretty small-town. Victoria is gorgeous. All those places are English-speaking (just like the 90% of the country).

i would pick Victoria or the Gulf islands. it's not too cold, mostly wet and yes, mostly english

If you want cold weather all year round, B.C. is not the place to look for it. I don't know why some people think Canada is nothing but an Igloo or something. All of Canada gets Summer weather in the Summer time! The Provinces that get colder winters would be, Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario, & Newfoundland. And if you want something in B.C. that is colder in the Winter, then Whistler or Pemberton, would be the only one. And Yes, 90% of Canadians Speak English! What did you think we spoke, Alien?

all are very expensive, richmond and surrey probably least expensive, not as nice - What language do you think Cdns speak? You are asking Cdns to answer your question so if you thought about it ----

I would chose whistler, just because that is where I found my love for canada.