Here is a question a lot of OTs in Metro Vancouver have quietly stopped asking: will I ever own a house? For many, on a single clinician's income, the honest answer is no. Not unless something changes.
Moving north changes the maths more than most people expect.
The short version
- The average home in Greater Vancouver costs more than twice what a detached house costs in Prince George.
- That can be the difference between a mortgage you can carry on one income and one you cannot.
- Prince George, Terrace and Williams Lake are all on B.C.'s list of underserved communities for the B.C. Loan Forgiveness Program.
- Eligible OTs can have 20% of their B.C. student loan forgiven each year for up to five years.
The house price gap
The BC Real Estate Association reported an average residential price in Greater Vancouver of $1,213,418 in August 2026. The BC Northern Real Estate Board reported an average detached house price in Prince George of $531,595 for the first half of 2025.
Those numbers measure slightly different things. The Vancouver figure includes condos and townhouses, which pull the average down. A detached house in Vancouver costs well above that average. So the real gap, house to house, is bigger than it looks.
What that means for your mortgage
A rough illustration, with 20% down and a 25-year mortgage at an assumed 4.5% rate:
- Greater Vancouver average ($1.21 million): about $243,000 down, a mortgage of about $971,000 and payments of roughly $5,400 a month.
- Prince George detached average ($532,000): about $106,000 down, a mortgage of about $425,000 and payments of roughly $2,400 a month.
That is around $3,000 a month back in your pocket. It is the difference between needing two incomes to buy and being able to do it on one. Your own numbers will depend on your rate, your down payment and the house, so treat these as a guide, not advice.
Then add student loan forgiveness
The B.C. Loan Forgiveness Program forgives the B.C. portion of your student loan if you work in an eligible occupation in an underserved community. Occupational therapy is on the list. So are Prince George, Terrace and Williams Lake, along with Quesnel, 100 Mile House, Kitimat, Smithers, Prince Rupert and Vanderhoof.
How much you get depends on your in-person service hours each year:
- 400 or more hours: 20% of your B.C. student loan forgiven that year.
- 250 to 399 hours: 15%.
- 100 to 249 hours: 10%.
A full-time community OT clears 400 hours comfortably. Over five years, that can wipe out the B.C. portion of your loan entirely. If your B.C. portion is $30,000, that is $6,000 a year you are not paying back.
One thing to know: payments you make before you are approved do not count, and your benefit is calculated on the balance when you register. So apply as soon as you start. Our northern OTs already use the program. Confirm your own eligibility with StudentAid BC, because the rules are theirs, not ours.
Then add the pay
We pay community OTs $50 to $65 an hour, with our higher rates going to our regional offices, and you can work as an employee or a contractor. There is a $2,500 sign-on bonus and relocation help on top.
The trade
None of this is free. You give up the city: the restaurant choice, the direct flights, being close to family if they are in the Lower Mainland. Winters are long. Some of your clients are a few hours away. For some people, that is a dealbreaker, and that is fair.
But if owning a home, paying off your loans and having time outside work matter to you, the north deserves a serious look.
Read about working as an OT in Prince George, Terrace and Williams Lake, or email hr@creativetherapyconsultants.ca.
Sources: BC Real Estate Association, August 2026 market report; BC Northern Real Estate Board, 2025 second quarter report; StudentAid BC, B.C. Loan Forgiveness Program. Mortgage figures are illustrative only.