I've been living in Southern Ontario just outside the GTA pretty much all my life (except for an 8 month stint in New Brunswick which I'm trying to erase from memory) and, well.. my disdain for the entire GTA and surrounding area grows every day. There's just too many people and common courtesy and respect seems to have disappeared. Oh, and the weather sucks. It's -10 right now.

Anyway, I don't like huge metropolitan cities, so the whole GVR is pretty much out for me. Too expensive anyway. I have friends there though. I've briefly been to Abbotsford before, but didn't get much of a gauge of the city.

Is Abby generally considered to be a safe city? Which parts of the city are best to be avoided for living in? I like quiet parts of town or even just outside of town, but not so expensive that living costs eat a massive amount of my paycheck. How about the traffic in/around the city, including the drive from Mission to Abbotsford? I'm considering Mission too so if anyone can chime in for there too, I've never been there at all. I don't plan on commuting to/from the GVR, I would much prefer to find a job in town.

Any other info you can shoot me would be appreciated! Kamloops and Kelowna are also on my list but being in the Lower Mainland is probably better. Unsure about the Wack. Gave me a weird vibe when I was going through there.