This is very worrying. We live in Cornwall, have a relatively good life here, but are about to sign contracts on the sale of our house with a plan to relocate to Vancouver at the beginning of August. We hoped there would be more oppoortunity for our two teenagers than Cornwall can offer, but reading all these negative comments are setting alarm bells ringing! Anyone willing to tell us what they really think they would do in our situation??

Only you can decide that. Don't base your decisions on pixels. Research, reccie and experience are the only things to really rely on.

Whoa......the reviews are pretty scary....especially for people like me and others who are leaving behind not so cushy but stable life and explore the city which has been regarded as one of 5 best cities to live in world for last few years.

I am very much interested to find out that why is the city ranked so high despite all the problems/issues mentioned in this thread and www.topix.com.

May be someone from the forum should encounter these with their positive experiences which will give a soothing effect....

Compared to Cornwall? I would think so. No foreign country is the land of milk and honey though, be realistic about it.

Well we are talking Cornwall here..now even i would prefer Vancouver to Cornwall..in fact i think Tripoli would be more preferable to be honest.

oh for crying out loud - are you people seriously going to reconsider your move based on what a bunch of anonymous people say on the interwebz?

That's just sad.

If you're looking for guarantees that Vancouver is the right move for you, you're not going to find them.

No where is Utopia, thinking otherwise is delusional.

I agree with Tangram. You have to see and decide for yourselves.

One of the problems with internet forums (fora?) for research is that you can't tell the difference between genuine people who try to share their experiences and opinionated arses who take pleasure in p*ss*ig on other people's parades. BE.com is better than most but it is not immune. Hang around a while and you will work out who is who, and work out what is "Britsh Humour' and what is serious.

We came to Vancouver twelve years ago. For Mrs. JonboyE and myself it has worked out as well as it possibly could. We earn as much as we need, have great friends, always have plenty to do and live in and amongst some of the most stunningly beautiful natural surroundings it is possible to imagine. Day-to-day living is hassle free and we feel that we have the opportunity to do pretty much what we want, when we want.

Junior was keen enough to come as well but now, aged 23, he thinks Vancouver is small, parochial, and boring. He thinks London/NYC/San Francisco are cool places to live. I don't blame him. We lived in London in our twenties and it is a fun place when you are young.

He went back to the UK last year to try and establish a life. Within a couple of days he was in hospital because his Asthma, that had been dormant since our move to Canada, flared up again. He shared flats in Bethnal Green and Seven Sisters and found both places depressing, dirty. intimidating and occasionally violent. Despite enjoying London's music scene he is back. He still says that Vancouver is small, parochial, and boring but despite our encouragement to leave he doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

You keep saying things like this. Your points are somewhat undermined by the fact you live in Edmonton. Personally I think Cornwall is a beautiful part of the UK - especially along the coast.

ha ha I was having the exact same thought

He really is a cheeky monkey.

I didnt actively seek out Edmonton i was offered wads of cash to come here..and really apart from some nice beaches and some good surfing Cornwall hasnt got anything going for it.

Pubs, pasties and clotted cream.

you can get that anywhere in the UK..plus Devon clotted cream is far superior

One's experience of London depends on one's funding, dunnit? My daughter who moved to Tower Hamlets from Toronto finds it exciting and gets her occasional violence at the boxing club. But then she has an apartment with a concierge and a view of the river, it's not the same as a flat share somewhere less fashionable*.

She'd say that her sister, who lives in Vancouver, has become parochial and boring and I have to say that there's something in that. She was the bohemian but now seems happy peddling between a steady job and what seems to be the genteel respectibility of Kitsilano. She's slowed to the pace of the place.


* and yes, I find it gobsmacking that the Isle of Dogs is now expensive. I remember, blah, blah, blah