What do you like/dislike about Vancouver?

[Guest Jochi1543]

Forget the stress and tell me about Vancouver! I'm immigrating to Canada in a year, and I originally intended to go to Toronto, but after visiting it, decided I didn't like too much. I don't wanna live in a place that's too provincial and too small, I need a couple of hundred thousand people to be in the area. I looked at Winnipeg and Calgary as other choices, but Calgary is way too cold and Winnipeg isn't that great from what I heard from others. I'm thinking about BC now, mostly because Vancouver is a little smaller than TO, and I've always wanted to live by the sea and the mountains. So, tell me more about what to expect! And if you got a US city that you could compare it to so I could have a better impression of what you're talking about, it's even better!:smokin

[Guest FungManX]

We dont' call it beautiful BC for nothing

I grew up here and I'd still say that this place is gorgeous.

Many activities to do, for example.. biking on the seawall, mountain climbing/hiking ( grouse grind ), snowboarding, skiing, visiting hot springs..

 

This place has everything!

Van BC has everything natural (with the exception of tropical wildlife) just as Las Vegas has everything artificial!

[Guest Jochi1543]

Ohhh, hot springs, I got addicted to those here in Japan.:eek

[Guest moo]

I lived in Vancouver for 22 years of my life and well, I've realized there really isn't another place I'd want to be. Other Canadian and American cities just don't compare. The climate is similar to Seattle and people, politics and culture similar to SF. Despite the recent loss of many of our sporting teams (Grizz, Canadians, Ravens), there's always the Seahawks and Mariners within a short drive.

 

Cons? The weather can be unpredictable. I hate it when my friends visit me from America and I can't tell whether we can do outdoorsy things or not because of the possibility of rain. It's rather segregated in terms of the different ethnic cultures as well, although everyone seems to get along because they have to. For example, Richmond is where the Chinese live, Surrey where all the Indians live, etc. Of course you can find different ethnic groups in different burbs too but this is often the case.

 

With that said, Vancouver is still a great place to live. I love it and can't wait to go back. Although I must say, if I hadn't gone away for med school I wouldn't have missed it as much.

[Guest canmic]

Likes:

 

The area is beautiful, the weather is nice most of the time (despite the rain, at least it's not cold). The mountains are beautiful, the beaches are great. Whistler is awesome and only a short drive away.

 

Dislikes:

 

There are no highways, traffic is the worst of any city this size I've ever seen. Transit is a bit of a joke compared to Montreal or Toronto. Living here is Expensive (VERY Expensive) for housing, food, etc... Vancouverites seem to love to complain about EVERYTHING, although they deny it. The maturity level of those raised here is about 4-5 years behind those from larger cities. The pedestrians all have a deathwish and the drivers are happy to oblige. (Vancouver has more car accidents than other canadian cities with over twice the population). Vancouver also has the highest concentration of drug addicts of any Canadian city. The politics are basically political correctness run amok together with a real estate price driven economy.

 

I'm sure there will be those who disagree with me, but, these are the things I like/dislike about Vancouver. For example, I'm sure some people like the fact that the roads suck and you can't get anywhere quickly by car, because they hate cars. Please don't try to tell me what I like/dislike.

[Guest Procuitto]

Just wanted to address the highest concentration of drug users comment that Canmic said (and no, I dont' mean to tell you what you like or dislike, so I apologise in advance if it comes off that way)....

 

You may have heard about Vancouver's notorious downtown eastside....which is what some people would refer to as our "scid row." But, having volunteered there for two years now, I can personally say that it is no where near as bad as the media makes it out to be. I have walked through the area at night, parked my car and locked the doors and have never had anyone break into it....AND....I have never been harrassed (though I have had lots of very lonely people say hello and want to talk to me which doesn't personally bother me). The problem down there? Heavy heavy drug use and ALOT of poverty. The people down here are super super sick and just to let you all know, the majority of them are not from Vancouver - alot of them are from other parts of the countries and surprisingly alot are from over the border. Why are they here? Is there any other city in Canada that you can be homeless 12 months of the year? That's right, a lot of people who are very ill from drug and alcohol addiction (which is often a problem associated with severe and marginalizing mental illnesses), come out west because they can survive here.

 

I just wanted to mention that here because on the downtown eastside, people that work with this population of people, see the downtown eastside as a Canadian problem rather than a British Columbian or Vancouver problem.

 

That being said Canmic, I can respect that it is a characteristic of Vancouver that bothers you. But, if you look on the bright side, we have this population of people that we will have the opportunity to work with and to learn from that's very different from other medical schools (you run into a lot of these folks at VGH and St. Paul's).

 

Thanks for hearing me out even though this is a little off topic....and thanks Canmic for being super honest in your post (that's the whole point afterall! )

 

Proscuitto

[Guest Procuitto]

So here is my list:

 

1) Vancouverites are SUPER friendly ad compared to the other cities that I have travelled too.

 

2) Having grown up in Vancouver, I would disagree with Canmic that I am 4-5 years behind in maturation compared to those in my age group in similar countries. Rather, I would say that just like any other city of been to, you get people who are mature and people who are immature. But that's just my opinion. I would entertain the fact that with all this beautiful scenerey and outdoors makes it difficult for us to not to all in sick at work and go camping or sailing last minute instead! This of course, would be very irresponsible - a sign if immaturity!? hee hee.

 

3) If you are from Japan, you may be pleased to hear that we have more sushi joints per capita than ANY other city in North America! Woo-hoo! And apparantly it's super good...though I have never been to Japan and had the sushi there so when and if you come you'll have to give us a full report. As a note: the sushi in Toronto sucks (though they have good pizza!)

 

4) Depending on where you live, the transit system can suck. I have taken the skytrain my whole life which is quite reliable but if you live far out in the burbs you have to take a bus to a skytrain to bus and to school which is ridiculous. Through keep in mind, if you come to school in Vancity, chances are you'll be living near the university, not the 'burbs.

 

5) I really like the multiculture we have here. It's true that there are stereotypes of which culture lives where but having grown up here I can tell you that is all just stereotype. I live in Vancouver and I am surrounded by both asian and indian people. We also have lots of Italians on the eastside. This is less so on the westside but there is still lots of multiculturalism. In Richmond, there are lots of asian people too and there are a lot of asian malls (both Chinese and Japanese!) but there are also Sihk temples out there so........

 

6) The only american cities I have been too are Seattle, Orlando and Anaheim and I liked Seattle and would say that Vancouver compares to that (though we are smaller, more modern because the city is younger and more picturesque.......this of course is preserved by not having superhighways going right through the city which is why we have poor rush hour traffic but if you compare to LA it's not so bad).

 

7) beaches

8) forest

9) whistler

10) lakes nearby to go swimming

11) lots of opportunities to stay healthy and be fit!!! winter and summer!

12) i hear the clubs here suck...everything closes early and there is not much variety....but personally, I always have a good time!

13) i thin the shopping is good (though not as good as TO) and if it doesn't satisify you can always head across the border for the day to go shopping!

14) it is expensive and that sucks and housing is super expensive so those of growing up here are slowly being pushed out of the city because we can't afford to live here anymore.

15) the politics is kind of boring...but hey, we're free to talk openly about it!!!!

16) wealth of resources here if you DO happen to get down and out....

[Guest Apna]

Generally, I enjoy my frequent trips to Vancity. Vancouver's a beautiful city with lots of culture and plenty to occupy yourself with, BUT...

 

Canucks fans remain some of the least classy sports fans in North America. That includes times when they're on the bandwagon or off of it. These people are definitely the aspect of Vancouver that I dislike the most, followed closely by the traffic.

[Guest canmic]

I used to live on the east side.. had my car broken into about once every 2 months or so.. (total of 4 times). Yep, I didn't like that part one bit..

 

I also didn't like finding used needles in my garden, or having people throw up on my front stairs or wandering around my yard looking for something to steal.

 

As far as the maturity thing, what I can say is that I would hope and expect that people who are winding up in med school would be more mature (and hopefully intelligent) as compared to the general population, so it wouldn't really be fair to judge based on that sample, would it?

[Guest physiology]

Canmic,

 

As far as the maturity thing, what I can say is that I would hope and expect that people who are winding up in med school would be more mature (and hopefully intelligent) as compared to the general population,

 

When using anecdotal evidence, please clarify as such. In my own personal experience, I think Vancouverites are just as mature as anyone else. Perhaps you're confusing this with the laid-back westcoast attitude (also a gross generalization).

 

And with regard to the Downtown Eastside - there's a reason why the area is in the condition that it is in. One factor is Vancouver's weather - it allows people to live outside in the winter, compared to places like Ontario. I don't have the time to discuss why, but if you were to use your social conscience and see what gentrification, social-service safety nets (as per the Downtown Eastside), low rents, relatively easy access to drugs, marginalization of the First Nations population, and the lack of mental health care (shutting of beds at Riverview), you'd realize that there are myriad reasons why intravenous drug users, mentally-ill patients, sex-trade workers, etc exist the way they do, and how the aforementioned factors contribute to the community that is the DTES.

[Guest canmic]

I'm aware of many of the reasons why the downtown east side is what it is, personally I think the weather and the closing of riverview are huge factors. The screwing over of the resource industries by various governments is also probably a big factor.

 

I wasn't making any comment as to why it is the way it is, just that it is something I dislike about Vancouver. (Crime, dirty needles in the street, etc etc...)

[Guest physiology]

Canmic,

 

Thanks for the clarification.

 

I think in general, most cities have their marginalized areas. I think Vancouver is special in that it serves a very high proportion of IVDU, as compared to Toronto's Regent Park.

 

Physio

[Guest Jochi1543]

Wow, that's pretty detailed!

 

I wasn't aware of the fact that housing is expensive. I surfed the rental ads on the Vancouver Craigslist when I first started thinking about going there rather than Toronto, and my impression is that prices are similar to rentals in the Twin Cities, where I live now (Minneapolis-St. Paul). Twin Cities are considered to be a moderate-priced urban area in the States. My previous 2-bedroom apartment cost my roommate and me a total of $500 USD, but 1) it was in the basement 2) it was in terrible condition 3) it was right by the ghetto - I was robbed at gunpoint within 0.5 km of my house in February, and previous tenants were hardcore drug-dealers with guns and stuff. A 2-bedroom in livable condition and in a better neighborhood would cost like $800 here. I'm looking for a studio or 1-bedroom for my senior year now, and prices range from $450 for a decent studio to $650 for a small 1-bedroom, all USD of course. That's farther away from the ghetto. I'm thinking about applying for a gun license so that I feel protected during my last year, since we've had a "conceal and carry" law passed a year ago, but really, I'd rather not live in those types of areas ever again. So, anyway, given this description, would you say Vancouver has lower or higher housing prices? The kind of apartments I'm talking about may be either in turn of 19-20th century buildings (renovated of course) or more recently built ugly boxes that are really no better. No gym, pool or anything like that, but sometimes you get AC, garage and controlled entry.:hat

 

And, I see that the eastside of Vancouver is regarded by most as dangerous and not the best place to live. Do you guys have some sort of county/district system? Maybe you could give me some tips on what specific areas to avoid? I'll probably pick my apartments online and sign a lease within 2-3 days of my arrival and may not have enough time to get a feel of the area, so I'm a bit worried about ending up in some @#%$ place.

 

I'm not from Japan to answer a previous comment, I'm originally from Moscow, Russia, and have been living in the States for the last 4 years. 1 year in Washington DC, and college years in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, so right by the Canadian border. I also lived in South Mississippi last summer. I'm currently in Japan on study abroad for a semester.

 

Those of you living independently.....how much should a student renting a studio/small 1-bedroom and owning a car should expect to spend monthly? For my next year, I expect to spend about $950 USD a month to cover rent, car insurance, food, utilities and gasoline.:x

 

Also, I got a grim impression of the job situation from surfing Vancity Craigslist....I'm gonna be in school part-time for the first year after moving, so I'm mostly expecting to work typical student-type jobs with flexible hours, like waitressing. Is it troublesome to find those types of jobs in the area?

 

Thanks for all the tips!

[Guest canmic]

Ok I'll answer what I can.

 

1) If you aren't a Canadian resident (ie: you are on a student visa) then you can't work except in an academic (TA or grad student) type job. But you couldn't go to UBC med school either in that case so I guess you have residency or something? Minimum wage (if I recall) is about $6.00 for the first 100 hours and if you're a temp/waitress type you probably won't get to stay past that, I think it goes up by about a buck or two past that, but tips of course are on top of that.

 

2) Best bet would be on campus housing to be honest, apart from that anything in the endowment lands or at least west of Alma street would be good.

 

3) I'll stick to canadian $ because I'm not sure what the current conversion to USD would be... I know that small basement 2 bedrooms in bad neighbourhoods go for about $800-900 and a friend of mine had a place in the 'west of alma' area for about $1400 about 2 years ago (basement 2 bedroom).

 

Car insurance will cost you quite a bit.. depending on what you drive, your age, how many years driving, and what sort of insurance you want to carry. I would expect to pay about $200-250 per month as a minimum for that.

 

Utilities are usually included in student basement suites, when they aren't, they'd be about $100-150 per month averaged out over the year. Phone would be about $30 per month. Semi-decent internet would be about $40 per month.

 

Gas is about a buck a liter (or about $4 per US gallon).

 

Forget about having a gun here, much less a carry permit. If you don't have one grandfathered in from ages ago, you can't get one anymore pretty much.

 

As far as areas to avoid, absolutely avoid anything near hastings and west of boundry, pretty much. East of boundry isn't much better, Hastings is generally a place to avoid with a few exceptions way out in the burnaby type area.

 

If you stay west of Alma you'll be a whole lot better off, as I said earlier, but you'll pay quite a bit for it.

 

If you drive, an area to consider would be richmond, not too bad a commute to UBC and if you stay away from #3 road it's pretty quiet and nice. Shouldn't be too crazy to get a suite if you can find one, there's no basements here but I have seen ground level suites for rent and also some people buy 1 bedroom condos as investments and rent them out.

 

AC is extremely rare but not overly needed, especially in a basement suite. Garage is also rare as hen's teeth but you can usually get street parking most places (have to get a permit tho).

 

That's about all I can think of off hand, a good idea would be to post on here the rough address or area of whatever place you're looking at and ask people for opinions. I wouldn't post exact address on the internet but the general block or whatever shouldn't be a big prob.

[Guest Jochi1543]

Woah, gas is expensive! I currently have a huge Buick which eats quite a bit of gas, and I plan to sell it before I leave the States and buy a new car (well, used new car, hehe). I guess I should look into a smaller and more gas-efficient car then.:eek

 

Yes, I do have Canadian permanent residency.:hat

 

Hmmmmm, I don't know if I could live in on-campus housing. I will only be taking 1 class per term (the pre-reqs I have left over are Organic Chem and Biochem, so all sequence courses). Does UBC allow part-time students to rent campus housing?

 

You're talking about phones....is that $30 for a landline or for a cell? I have a cellphone here in the States for around $45 a month (my old apartment had no landline). Landlines here are really expensive, like $80 or so a month. How much are cellphones in Canada?

 

Cool, I'm starting to get an idea of where I should avoid looking for places.8o

[Guest leviathan]

First off, I agree with everything that everyone has said so far about Vancouver. It's a beautiful city, in fact voted the #1 city in North America by the Mercer ranking system. The traffic kinda sucks, but I disagree about public transit as I find it is very efficient and I use it to get to school everyday.

 

About the downtown eastside...if you don't like being around the drug users and homeless, then don't live in or visit the eastside...simple as that. The rest of Vancouver is very wealthy and you don't see those kinds of problems.

 

You're most likely not going to see the kind of crime you see in US cities...at least crimes involving firearms are not very common, and I've never felt afraid walking around here.

 

I think Vancouver might be about the same price, perhaps a tiny bit more expensive. For the three-bedroom duplex that I lived in during this whole year, I paid $1450 Canadian (about $950 US?) per month, or $480 per person. This was in the Marpole district, which was a bit away from UBC campus, about 25 minutes by bus.

 

We don't have any sort of county system, but we do of course have certain designated neighborhoods/districts. If you're going to UBC you'll want to get a place in a western neighborhood so you're close to campus. Examples are Kitsilano, Kerrisdale, Point Grey, Marpole, Dunbar South, etc. A one-bedroom apartment in Kitsilano will run you about $500-600 CAD/month, or about $350-450 US.

[Guest leviathan]

I don't think you can live on-campus if you're a part-time student, unfortunately. Gas is about $2.60 US / gallon, or about $3.80 canadian per gallon.

 

$30 is about the price you'll pay per month for either a landline or a cellphone.

[Guest moo]

80 bucks for a landline? Do you live out in the boonies or something? I pay 2 dollars for my landline in Chicago. Plus taxes, and fees, it comes out to about 20 bucks. With DSL, I think I pay about 60 bucks total. Also the Downtown Eastside is NOT that bad. Compared to the ghettos of East St. Louis, Hyde Park in Chicago, Harlem in New York, or South Central Los Angeles, it's nothing. Sure it's not a pretty part of town, but what big city doesn't have a "bad area" of town. I used to go to elementary school around that area (about a couple blocks north of it) and we used to find needles, condoms every where. Not a nice sight, but my parents wouldn't have sent me there for private school if they thought my life would be endangered.

[Guest Jochi1543]

80 was the price for the landline service with voicemail by Quest at an apartment I once shared with a few other people. Most rentals here don`t have landlines, and what`s the point of one when you can get a cell. I mentioned earlier I live in the Twin Cities. A little smaller than Chicago, but really not that different.

[Guest kaylen]

Hey Jochi,

 

I had to add my short two cents after reading all of these posts.

 

The bottom line is, you can't go wrong moving to Vancouver. This year, the UN ranked Vancouver as the 3rd most livable city in the world....only behind two cities in Switzerland! And every time a study like this one is done, Vancouver finishes in the top 5.

 

As for the comment someone made about Vancouverites being 4-5 years less mature, I would obviously disagree with this opinion, and add that perhaps it may only seem this way to some people because Vancouverites tend to have a more laid back attitude than people in other "big cities". Spending time in other cities has actually made me realize that Vancouverites as a whole tend to be tolerant, friendly, laid-back and well informed people. Does this mean they are more or less mature? Who knows. All I know is that it is a city in which you'd like to live!

 

As for rentals, as many people have pointed out, you'll pay anywhere from USD 300 - 900 depending on where you want to live. On the "west side", if you rent a basement sweet on your own, you'll pay $500 - 700 US. If you share a house with a bunch of students? You can get away with 300-400 US. A one bedroom apartment downtown would cost between $550 - 800 US. If you lived downtown and were going to UBC, I wouldn't bother with a car. The bus systems work just fine from this area. Bottom line is you should find something in your price range in a good neighbourhood.

 

Proscuitto....it would nice to see your well informed words on the downtown eastside - I have done some volunteer work there too over the years. I have walked around there quite a few times and have never had any problems and have actually met some very nice, humble people who aren't on drugs and have just had a tough time. (and yes, UBC does suck balls for not letting you in!)

 

That being said, I have to admit that it's not an area where I would like to live. People on drugs do desperate things, and crime is a reality.

 

Well that's enough out of me!

[Guest TKP 123]

Hello,

 

I immigrated from Hong Kong to Vancouver a bit more than 10 yrs ago.

 

When I first came to Vancouver as a high school student, I did not enjoy this place so much, probably I knew nobody else here. However, as time went on, I started to love the people, education system, weather, and environment in Vancouver.

 

I agree that there are some negative aspects of this city, but there are many more pros than cons.

 

I am right now in Hong Kong for a short vacation. This is the 6-7th visit back to HK after I came to Canada. I find that since the last few visits (including this one), I have missed Vancouver a lot when I was in HK.

 

The people, living style, working environment in Vancouver is just so much better than Hong Kong and many other places in the world.

 

Practicing medicine in BC will be an ideal dream for me.

 

TKP

[Guest shoopshoop]

Hey Jochi,

 

Try looking through http://www.amsrentsline.com

 

It's not a bad start to looking for a place to stay. If you want to save more money then I suggest you could share a place with another/other person/s. I am currently living in shared accomodation in mid Main St and pay $450 for everything except a phone(and food of course!) just as an example for you:)

 

Good luck...

[Guest driedcaribou]

physiology wrote:

When using anecdotal evidence, please clarify as such. In my own personal experience, I think Vancouverites are just as mature as anyone else. Perhaps you're confusing this with the laid-back westcoast attitude (also a gross generalization).

 

 

Taking negative judgements about Vancouver a bit too personally aren't we? Isn't that a sign of immaturity?

 

 

But seriously, it's quite silly to tell someone to clarify if they are giving anecdotal evidence because by giving any opinion is 'anecdotal' by nature.

 

To attack his judgement in that manner, you have taken his opinion personally. He's just saying what he feels about Vancouver. It wasn't an attack on 'your' city. Also, using bold font to emphasize your points doesn't really make them stronger points.

 

"Anectodal: Based on casual observations or indications rather than rigorous or scientific analysis"

 

You could argue for the 'younger' population in Vancouver being more immature than other cities in the sense that a large percentage of the 18-28 year old age bracket still live at home. Now living at home does not necessarily make you less mature as a person but it definitely influences the way you live your life.

 

And I am comparing this judgement based on experiences with people of the same age group in London, New York, Sydney, etc.

 

People from Toronto tend to be more Toronto-centric than people from Vancouver but sadly, Vancouverites are getting really arrogant about their city despite compounding administrative problems. For example, their abysmal mass transit.

 

Vancouverites are also becoming more and more money oriented- economically and socially. It's an expensive city to live in and your money and your status are getting more important than who you are as a person.

 

But Vancouver is still a great place to live and Vancouverites tend to be health nuts. It's a very multi-cultural society and there are countless outdoor things to do. And for the time being, Vancouver is very clean for a city. The air is great, the water is great. I'd rather eat off the sidewalks of Vancouver than sidewalks other cities in the world. But of course, the cleanliness could just be from the constant rain washing everything.

 

BC's politics, education system and health care system are some worrisome areas but hopefully, someone responsible will take control of things soon...

[Guest koca]

Vancouver is fun, if you know where to look!

 

There's tons of stuff to do here all year long. If you're sports person, you can go mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, boating, horseback etc in the summer, then snowboarding/skiing, tubing (my favourite!), etc in the winter. We have EVERYTHING here; at least, I think so.

 

With the development of Yaletown, I found that if you want the sophisticated, artsy sort of night out, you can, though it can be a bit pricey. We have the world-renowned hotel, Opus (this is the hotel the Hollywood peeps got a free stay to in their Oscar night goody bag....sigh..I want that goody bag), and their bar is super cool. Just walk around Yaletown, it'll be fun.

 

Lots of dancing you can learn here too...salsa (and other latino dances), and swing come to mind right away, both in the city and on campus. On that note, anyone interested in taking classes in the evenings with moi? :rollin

 

AND my favourite, and this has been mentioned before, the FOOD~~~~~~~!!!! We have the best variety here and they're really good too. I say we're spoiled that way, and they're not as expensive as some other places. :lol

 

And it's really simply nice. I can't word it any better than that. It's just really nice. Nice people, nice neighbourhoods, nice schools etc. And I did work at the eastside as well. Though it may not look that clean and whatnot, try walking down the street once. Have lunch at the Carnegie Hall (thatz the name right)? It's really cheap food and the workers are great. I thought it was worth trying out. Now...what WAS I doing there, walking around eating there? :rolleyes

[Guest koca]

I couldn't edit my above reply..hmm

 

Just remembered, the ARTS!

 

We get lost of awesome broadway musicals, operas, wonderful musical concerts by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, performances by many artists, International JAZZ FESTIVAL~~ (yay~)...and..I'm sure there are more.

 

See~ what a diverse life we have here~! :lol