Moving back to UK
#196
Re: Moving back to UK
Still, i agree with Inspect-her Gadget on the West End rentals. For cheap, cheerful, and a great location that's where i would look for decent value if you were looking to remain downtown.
#197
Re: Moving back to UK
I cant imagine it will be any cheaper here, not taking the likely insurance cost into account.
#198
Re: Moving back to UK
Well I wasn't actually thinking of getting a car and driving there just learning and getting a license which I think would be an international license wouldn't it?
To be honest, I don't have a clue about cars or driving at the moment, I've never really been interested at all, but it was just an idea.
To be honest, I don't have a clue about cars or driving at the moment, I've never really been interested at all, but it was just an idea.
#199
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,054
Re: Moving back to UK
Well I wasn't actually thinking of getting a car and driving there just learning and getting a license which I think would be an international license wouldn't it?
To be honest, I don't have a clue about cars or driving at the moment, I've never really been interested at all, but it was just an idea.
To be honest, I don't have a clue about cars or driving at the moment, I've never really been interested at all, but it was just an idea.
#200
slanderer of the innocent
Joined: Dec 2008
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 6,695
Re: Vancouver (a few personal pros and cons)
Vancouver Good:
Perhaps I just haven't adapted to West Coast fashion yet.
I find it quiet here. It can get very lonely. At least where I live. I am only about 20 mins drive from downtown but the suburb is sort of stockbroker belt - faceless suburbs quiet. Maybe 2 -5 cars come down our road a day? It kills me. Just roads stuffed with faceless houses that have manicured lawns/gardens. I get the occasional glimpse of peoples' cars vanishing into their garages. We occasionally go out to dinner but I have not been to a real bar or a club, in the way that I used to go out to one in London, since I arrived in October 08. I am sure that there must be places to go but...?
Perhaps I just haven't adapted to West Coast fashion yet.
I find it quiet here. It can get very lonely. At least where I live. I am only about 20 mins drive from downtown but the suburb is sort of stockbroker belt - faceless suburbs quiet. Maybe 2 -5 cars come down our road a day? It kills me. Just roads stuffed with faceless houses that have manicured lawns/gardens. I get the occasional glimpse of peoples' cars vanishing into their garages. We occasionally go out to dinner but I have not been to a real bar or a club, in the way that I used to go out to one in London, since I arrived in October 08. I am sure that there must be places to go but...?
As far as fashion goes, I went through the same thing when I moved here re: fashion but now I get that there is a west coast look (largely influenced by LA). It's not worse, it's just different. And there are lots of local designers here.
#201
Re: Moving back to UK
Thanks for that dboy, I think you could have just saved us a lot of money and time there.
#202
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,054
Re: Vancouver (a few personal pros and cons)
In the 'burbs there aren't a lot except hideous chains like Cactus club etc. Places to go check Gastown (I like the vibe down there right now - less pretentious, new pubs opening) or the Georgia Straight listings. But you're not going to find the same vibe as London. Fact. If you can accept the low-key nature of Vancouver you'll have a better time
As far as fashion goes, I went through the same thing when I moved here re: fashion but now I get that there is a west coast look (largely influenced by LA). It's not worse, it's just different. And there are lots of local designers here.
As far as fashion goes, I went through the same thing when I moved here re: fashion but now I get that there is a west coast look (largely influenced by LA). It's not worse, it's just different. And there are lots of local designers here.
There's still much to be done, but i think that this is really an area to watch over the next few years and will breathe much needed soul into vancouver's night life. It could be a mini greenwich village in its own right.
Go to the atrim at woodwards and check out the scene from the gastown riot from the seventies - very neat -
Last edited by dboy; Jan 15th 2010 at 4:33 pm.
#203
slanderer of the innocent
Joined: Dec 2008
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 6,695
Re: Moving back to UK
I agree dboy as long as the landlords don't get greedy. That's partly why Yaletown is turning to the dark side now (read: chains moving in). Landlords don't like independant businesses as much as they like chains, apparently. But yeah, so far so good.
And then there's always the chance of a mysterious fire to force development.....
And then there's always the chance of a mysterious fire to force development.....
#204
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,054
Re: Vancouver (a few personal pros and cons)
In the 'burbs there aren't a lot except hideous chains like Cactus club etc. Places to go check Gastown (I like the vibe down there right now - less pretentious, new pubs opening) or the Georgia Straight listings. But you're not going to find the same vibe as London. Fact. If you can accept the low-key nature of Vancouver you'll have a better time
As far as fashion goes, I went through the same thing when I moved here re: fashion but now I get that there is a west coast look (largely influenced by LA). It's not worse, it's just different. And there are lots of local designers here.
As far as fashion goes, I went through the same thing when I moved here re: fashion but now I get that there is a west coast look (largely influenced by LA). It's not worse, it's just different. And there are lots of local designers here.
#206
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,054
Re: Moving back to UK
I agree dboy as long as the landlords don't get greedy. That's partly why Yaletown is turning to the dark side now (read: chains moving in). Landlords don't like independant businesses as much as they like chains, apparently. But yeah, so far so good.
And then there's always the chance of a mysterious fire to force development.....
And then there's always the chance of a mysterious fire to force development.....
#207
Just Joined
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 21
Re: Vancouver (a few personal pros and cons)
In the 'burbs there aren't a lot except hideous chains like Cactus club etc.
As far as fashion goes, I went through the same thing when I moved here re: fashion but now I get that there is a west coast look (largely influenced by LA). It's not worse, it's just different. And there are lots of local designers here.
As far as fashion goes, I went through the same thing when I moved here re: fashion but now I get that there is a west coast look (largely influenced by LA). It's not worse, it's just different. And there are lots of local designers here.
*grin* Apologies, I didn't intend to make myself sound like a fashion afficionado! I am really not. I think that I might be the kind of person who has a tendancy to make most fashionable outfits look, well...frumpy? So I guess that I've learned to stick with some basic things that do not make me feel awkward. I have found that quite a lot of the fashion here, at least in the shops near us, is Asian influenced. I think that the fashions are really cool but they do not suit me at all.
Btw, it has not helped that I've truly blimped since my arrival in Vancouver and I needed wardrobe basics in bigger sizes. I looked, tried things on, winced and fled - in the end, it was just easier to wait until I got home and was able to shop exactly where I knew I would find what I needed. It took me about an hour to sort myself out.
#208
Just Joined
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 21
Re: Vancouver (a few personal pros and cons)
I am really digging gastown these days, new places seem to be popping up all the time. The transformation in the past 5 years has been staggering. The W just went up on Woodwards and the theatre is set to open. Tons of derelict buildings, some vacant for 20 years are being redone. The carall street greenway is also breathing new life into the area and will connect gastown with Chinatown. Vancouver's heritage revival program, no taxes for 10 years and better enforcement are having the desired effect.
There's still much to be done, but i think that this is really an area to watch over the next few years and will breathe much needed soul into vancouver's night life. It could be a mini greenwich village in its own right.
Go to the atrim at woodwards and check out the scene from the gastown riot from the seventies - very neat -
There's still much to be done, but i think that this is really an area to watch over the next few years and will breathe much needed soul into vancouver's night life. It could be a mini greenwich village in its own right.
Go to the atrim at woodwards and check out the scene from the gastown riot from the seventies - very neat -
#209
Just Joined
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 21
Re: Vancouver (a few personal pros and cons)
I thought that I was ready for the rain (my husband, then bf, told me how much it rains here but I thought he was exaggerating) but I just wasn't prepared (it turns out that he did not exagerate). I have never suffered from SAD in the past but after last/this autumn-spring period, I am thinking of getting one of those bloomin' lamps!
If downtown is too expensive to live, what do people think of Strathcona? I've walked around there a few times and went to the Eastside Cultural Crawl and it feels like it has a sense of community and is a mix of young families, shared houses, students etc.
I think that it is possible to find what you need but I find it more of a treasure hunt. I am not saying that this is a bad thing, it is just different. I do not find it a one-stop shop experience at Safeway, in the way that I used to hit Sainsburys/Tesco for a weekly shop. Instead, depending on what's going on - we pick up things from a variety of different places to ensure that we have everything we need.
Also, it seems to me that availability of fruit and veg is more strongly linked to what's in season locally/California - I do not think that's a bad thing at all. E.g. sweetcorn in sweetcorn season. In the UK, we've got used to everything being available all year around because it's been zoomed in from somewhere else.
Last edited by ork; Jan 15th 2010 at 5:37 pm.
#210
slanderer of the innocent
Joined: Dec 2008
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 6,695
Re: Vancouver (a few personal pros and cons)
It would be lovely to have a watering hole within walking distance of the house - sadly, there is not even a Cactus Club close-by. We are between Marpole and Kerrisdale (closer to Marpole), so there are restaurants within striking distance but it is not the same as having a neighbourhood bar/pub.
*grin* Apologies, I didn't intend to make myself sound like a fashion afficionado! I am really not. I think that I might be the kind of person who has a tendancy to make most fashionable outfits look, well...frumpy? So I guess that I've learned to stick with some basic things that do not make me feel awkward. I have found that quite a lot of the fashion here, at least in the shops near us, is Asian influenced. I think that the fashions are really cool but they do not suit me at all.
Btw, it has not helped that I've truly blimped since my arrival in Vancouver and I needed wardrobe basics in bigger sizes. I looked, tried things on, winced and fled - in the end, it was just easier to wait until I got home and was able to shop exactly where I knew I would find what I needed. It took me about an hour to sort myself out.
*grin* Apologies, I didn't intend to make myself sound like a fashion afficionado! I am really not. I think that I might be the kind of person who has a tendancy to make most fashionable outfits look, well...frumpy? So I guess that I've learned to stick with some basic things that do not make me feel awkward. I have found that quite a lot of the fashion here, at least in the shops near us, is Asian influenced. I think that the fashions are really cool but they do not suit me at all.
Btw, it has not helped that I've truly blimped since my arrival in Vancouver and I needed wardrobe basics in bigger sizes. I looked, tried things on, winced and fled - in the end, it was just easier to wait until I got home and was able to shop exactly where I knew I would find what I needed. It took me about an hour to sort myself out.
Totally get it re: fashion.