Our Editors’ Favourite BCLiving Stories from 2025

BCLiving is your go-to for all things B.C., whether it’s travel, shopping local brands or staying occupied on the weekend. We’re pretty proud of the stories all of our writers and editors put together this year, so we’re here to shamelessly shout out a handful of our favourites. Here are five BCLiving stories we loved from 2025.

What It’s Like to Go Bear Watching in B.C.

As a B.C. transplant who grew up outside Toronto, I am constantly blown away by just how truly wild British Columbia is: how you can end up in the middle of the woods after driving just 20 minutes out of the downtown core of Vancouver. So this story from Sandrine Jacquot on how to go immersive bear watching on Vancouver Island blew me away. I mean, finding out you can do this in the middle of the drizzly fall was the wake-up call this city girl needed to start planning her bucket list bear-watching trip for 2026. —Darcy Matheson, editor-in-chief, BCBusiness

6 B.C. Designers Name Their Favourite Spring Piece

I love hearing from stylish people about what they like. There’s something so compelling about personal picks. Over at Vanmag (one of BCLiving‘s sister publications), we shape our gift guide around local tastemakers’ wish lists; we also ask a local creative each month to share a few of their favourite recent purchases or all-time-fave products. This round-up from Catherine Dunwoody scratches that same itch, spotlighting best bets as selected by B.C.’s hardest-working design minds. —Stacey McLachlan, editor-in-chief, Vancouver magazine

I Took My Partner to Richmond for a Day: Here’s Everything We Ate

I’m a sucker for a good foodie roadmap. If I’m out and about for the day, I want a backup, go-to food spot to cover each of my meals in case I forget (willingly or not) to pack snacks—I’m talking breakfast, lunch, sweet treats and dinner. Thankfully, I’ve got my bases covered, at least in Richmond. This seriously fun foodie adventure story by Xiao Qing Wan features some seriously good spots. Next up, every other city in B.C... (we might be here a while). —Sandrine Jacquot, editor, BCLiving

Dream Home: $2.8 Million for an Arthur Erickson-Designed Home in North Vancouver

Late (and beloved) Vancouver architect Arthur Erickson is a household name around these parts, so whenever a property that he’s designed goes up for sale (or shows up in a film), the Canada Wide Media office is in a flurry talking about it. In fact, drooling over homes that we ourselves may never be able to afford has become such a bonding pastime in our office that it sparked the very relatable “Would You Buy It?” series on the BCLiving Instagram. So, in answer to the question: Would I Buy It (if I had $2.8 million), the answer is yes. Unfortunately, a North Vancouver couple has apparently already beaten me to it. —Kristi Alexandra, managing editor, BCBusiness, Western Living, Vancouver Magazine

A Gift Guide for the Generations

Sure, you could argue this story squeaked in under the wire, 2025-wise. Fair. But that’s how hard these gift guides hit for me. I’ve seen every flavour of gift guide, by price, by relationship, by the distant cousin you’re only buying for if they’re a child (I’ll die on that hill). But a thoughtfully curated list for an entire generation? That’s a real task, especially when every generation insists they’re not part of a generation. After peeping the lists, especially the millennial one (of which I’m barely a part, read: bona fide card-carrying member), I felt seen, heard and would happily take anything on it. Sandrine Jacquot did the impossible: she covered everyone from boomers to Gen Z without it feeling out of touch or judgmental. Honestly, that’s the gift. And yes, I say this as a young, naive Gen Zer (read: 100% millennial). —Kerri Donaldson, assistant editor, Western Living and Vancouver magazine