Condos in Surrey have gone up too these last few years, housing everywhere has. Your money for that condo will still go a lot further in Salmon Arm than Surrey. You can increase your square footage, or stay similar and lower the mortgage amount. Or are you saying a condo in SA is the same price as a condo in Surrey??
I'd need a mortgage for the difference between my equity here and the price of whatever I buy in SA. My income now would cover it, but my retirement income will not. A few years ago, it would have.