tell me about vancouver (NRR)
tripledouble
7,636 Posts
for realim not going there and i dont need to know about record spotsim just interestedquality of life?is it expensive to live?are people beautiful (inside and out)?is it diverse?job opportunities?is it more "euro"city as opposed to an american city?weather?is there crime?flea markets?hows the pizza?$3 meals to be had?etci respect and value the soulstrut perspective, which i s why i ask
Comments
BC:
quality of life? HIGH...
is it expensive to live? YES AND OR NO...
are people beautiful (inside and out)? YES... WOMEN AND MEN...
is it diverse? FAIRLY...
job opportunities? AS MOST LARGE CITIES...
is it more "euro"city as opposed to an american city? CANADIAN???
weather? RAIN... SUN...
is there crime? YES...
flea markets? YES...
hows the pizza? FRESH...
$3 meals to be had? SEE ABOVE... $1 SLICE BOSSES...
etc...
PROS: the canadian west is more outdoors-y than is the east, with lots of hiking, biking, paddling, tripping etc. to be had out here.
not quite sunning-in-a-bathing-suit sunning, but being outside can be enjoyable in the dead of winter. almost no snow in winter (winter '06-'07 notwithstanding). lots of rain though, grey clouds pretty much straight for a few months. better than snow, if you can get over SAD. everything is paid back in full in the summer, with almost no precipitation (blue skies, beaming sun) and fairly moderate temperatures. the weather and the natural amenities are the primary reasons to stay here. there's the laid-back hippy culture that chills things out -- for example, cars will stop to allow pedestrians to cross the street (and we're talking the middle of the block, not just corners). lots of international eats to be had. good sushi -- a few japanese-owned-and-run spots (who, unlike their chinese and korean competitors, offer far more attention to detail and quality).
CONS: the city itself isn't as vibrant as are cities where the occupants are, well, forced to live in them. i find a lot of people leave town to go enjoy the surrounding nature, leaving the city full of tourists, esl students, and suits. it loses some of the vibrance, which could be found in toronto, because so many young people are doing other things outside of the downtown. there are some cool neighbourhoods, but if you're a city creature it may not be the place for you.
the foreign culture is also very east-asian. while i'm a big fan (my wife is japanese), the variety leaves something to be desired.
crime: there is a 4-block radius of heavy drug use which is pretty well coralled by the city. it doesn't wander out (except to maybe ask for some of your money), but if you ever stumble in there it can be quite shocking. not dangerous, per se -- i've walked through the nastiest bits alone in the middle of the night and not been too nervous -- but simply shocking to see small groups of people on a street corner smoking crack where only 2 blocks away tourists happily munch on croissants and buy expensive maple syrup. it's a definite black mark on the city. it will be interesting to see what happens for the upcoming olympics. there's also a fair number of break-ins in upper-scale residential 'hoods, which is surprising considering many of those houses are double-occupancy (high real estate prices means renting out basements).
very long story made short: pros outwiegh the cons, but you have to be willing to make some sacrifices.
Vancouver recently beat out Miami for number one in a property crime survey for North America. So cars and then homes get got. But people never get stuck up or anything - in that sense it is really safe. There's been a handful of shootings last year through the drug trade.
It is diverse - but really its mostly white and then Chinese, East Indian and Filipino people.
Property is really expensive to buy in Vancouver, especially for a medium-sized city. Most first time buyers end up in the surrounding suburbs. There's two million plus people living in Metro Vancouver.
Two sides:
If you live on a Skytrain line (the subway) then you are set: clean, fast and comes every few minutes.
But most people in the city don't. What's left are infrequent buses that are really slow to get around. It's terrible.
Good news is there's another Skytrain line being built between the airport and downtown.
naaaaaa. i woke up with some lady on NPR talking to a Vancouver chef who was big-upping some salmon dishes. While i was eating my cereal, the city was still on my mind. i went to the native arts museum and i think i passed through hastings by accident in the two days i was there.
thanks eryone...keep up the good work
i'm not too cultured an individual
the native art was thorough though
I never peeped the VAG either, but do find the acronym funny in a fifth grade way.
will do. thanks for the reccomendations.
lol
Quality of life is excellent due to a like minded citizenry. It is, in my opinion, one of the best cities on the planet because you could drowned yourself in the pacific ocean skin diving for clams in the morning and be neck deep in coca fresh snow of the rocky mountains by the the afternoon.
The air quality is noticeably superior. Especially when shaving years off ones life coming from Los Angeles.
And besides that, everybody is on MUSHROOMS!