BristolUK

Okay we're not Montreal or Toronto. Our downtown may not be St Denis (and others) of Montreal or many parts of Toronto (I have spent time in both of these cities) but I live in a city where public transport is good, walkability scores are high, and particularly for the 40,000 or so living within 20 minutes walk of our downtown. I would imagine anywhere with a population of a few thousand and a downtown or Main st would have it similar.

Obviously not of the size and number of the bar and restaurant filled streets bigger cities, but sky scrapers aside, walking along our Main St doesn't feel any different to similar length stretches of bar and restaurant filled streets in other cities. Except for the gaudiness of Niagara Falls of course.

I've walked around parts of Montreal where a bar crawl of four different places would require lots of walking and or bus/metro ride.

I have often joked about the downtown part of Moncton being like some High Streets of the UK but it's changed over the years and if I wanted to to take in a few bars, some live music and a restaurant on a night out it's really no different to a night in town in Bristol.

scrubbedexpat091

The East Vancouver breweries certainly are busy places, if I didn't find beer disgusting, I would even try the one out not far from our place, but me and beer do not get along...lol

If I could live downtown I would certainly be out and about more, never need to take transit or a car anywhere downtown, I can walk end to end any direction and get everything I would ever need and probably never have to leave downtown for much, only area of Vancouver I can say I truly like as well.

Siouxie

I think it depends a lot on where you are - Hamilton has a huge social scene - lots of nightlife, pubs, clubs, bars, restaurants, festivals... plus concert and theatre venues, hockey arenas and other stuff to do. Just about anywhere down Hess or Augusta (lots of Brit style pubs) and you're pretty much guaranteed to meet up with a crowd of 20 somethings There's lots of 'after dark' venues that start the party around 10 and finish at 3am. Transport is good, public transit / uber / cabs and the downtown core is walkable without issues. Even if you live 'up the hill' there are plenty of pubs and restaurants - many with live music.

Gozit

One thing i've come to realise this week - I often wonder why i'm seeing people my age from Europe constantly out drinking, socializing, traveling here and there, yet here it is harder to get people to do the same activities, when Canada is supposed to be more prosperous then some places in Europe. But, here, education is not free. People have tuition and living expenses to pay. In some places in Europe (including Malta), education is free, and if you keep your attendance and marks out the government will give you around 1000 euro/month for living expenses. Combined with the fact that most people there still live with their families until they get married, vs here when most are out on their own in residence or student housing at 18 or 19, and youth in Europe have more disposable income then the average Canadian student.

Siouxie

In the UK education after secondary level (i.e. Uni) isn't free.. nor are there any living expenses paid for - most people have to apply for student loans which they end up paying for years, many get part time jobs to fund the travelling and fun times.

Most of the have to work to be able to put a roof over their head, food on their table and pay for their studies, books etc... the lucky few are able to use the money for playtime.

Many end up with debts of £50,000+ after going to Uni. - "According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies in 2017, the average student in England will graduate with debts of over £50,000 – those from poorer backgrounds will incur more, with more loans available to them."

Gozit

Oh of course, that's why I said "some places in Europe". Still, home fees in the UK are cheaper then Canadian fees. Most people I know are using the part time jobs to pay for their essential living expenses, in addition to having OSAP (Gov't loans) as well as private bank loans, not leaving much money for the "fun stuff." I'm fortunate enough that I have disposable income for fun stuff, but not many of my friends do. Or if they are doing well for themselves, they're settling down and buying homes and such. I'm going to be at a point where i'm neither ready to be settling down nor still in school and trying to pay that off, so i'll be working full time and have a lot of disposable income, but not many of my friends will be in the same position.

Doing stuff on your own is great as well but constantly being told "no" because people don't have the same priorities as you can kind of suck.

Almost Canadian

Tuition in England and Wales is 9,000 pounds a year. Which course costs that much at your university?

Piff Poff

A few years ago now (3) my daughter moved from Ded Reer to Ontario to be with her fella, I am so pleased to say things are working out for her even if she is having hiccups with school and work, her social life is incredible compared to what she had in Red Deer, she often got this that or the other to do, festivals, weekends out etc, her social circle is just growing and growing. Her and her fella do do some nerdy things (play Magic and have games nights) but they have so much fun. they also work really hard and quite often work unsocial hours.

My husband and I have a very small circle of friends, I socialise more than him by going for coffee with a couple of ladies every now and then, we are about to get a puppy and I am interested in showing her so that will be a bit more socialising but that will be plenty for us. Quite like the quiet life.

scrubbedexpat091

Seems university tuition for the most part is reasonable in BC, its the short term vocational training that is expensive.

spouse of scouse

Are you living in your own property? If so you could use some of that disposable income to pay more off your mortgage (if you have one). Or if you're renting, you could invest in an apartment or house and either live in it yourself or rent it out.

If there's one thing I've learned it's that your life can change in an instant, for any number of reasons. What we have today, good job, good health, can disappear in a blink. Having a tangible asset such as owning or having equity in a property is an invaluable hedge against that. I know it's old-fashioned old people advice but I thought I'd stick it in the mix

scrubbedexpat091

When I was 21 houses and condos already exceeded what I could afford, but if there was one thing I wish I had the income for was to buy a house or condo, but by the time I became an adult, I was already facing houses in the 400-500k range and making $7/hr so I was priced out from the get go...but if someone young today has the resources to do it, I think its a smart idea, paying rent just leads to money down the drain with nothing to show for it at the end, nothing to sell, and always at the mercy of another person for housing.

That said average young person can't afford Vancouver anymore then I could afford San Diego 20 years ago, and its even worse today....

I didn't even get to have a wild 20's, I got double screwed ha ha

spouse of scouse

Love your sense of humour It's increasingly difficult for young people to get on the 'housing ladder'. The State government here used to give first time home buyers a grant of $30,000, but they've dropped that now to $10,000. For a cheap $400,000 house most mortgage providers want you to have saved a minimum of $40,000 deposit, which isn't exactly a small amount of money. Doable if someone's still living at home, is working and saving (especially if there are two people doing it) but not everyone can do that.

scrubbedexpat091

An actual house for 400k? Only gets you a condo in Vancouver, well I think 400k still gets a condo anyhow. In our building it only gets a 400sq foot studio.

One reason I dont even attempt to save for a house or condo the min down payment alone isnt achievable and if we did manage the min down payment we still could not qualify for a mortgage on our income.

Based on various studies and surveys for this area seems most young people who own had help from bank of mom and dad.

Only reason my wifes brother owns is because their mom gave him a sizeable gift but ya know he claims to have worked for it all like many who get help from parents.....

Owning is a luxury of the wealthy in Vancouver now.

spouse of scouse

Yes, an actual house, a few examples below. Prices in Perth, like most areas, vary wildly depending mainly on location. Inner city properties and those very close to the ocean or river are generally more expensive than those in outer suburbia or in very old areas with a lot of State housing and/or a dodgy reputation. But if you know Perth well you can certainly get a house in an acceptable area for that money, or less.

https://www.realestate.com.au/proper...nlie-132908594

https://www.realestate.com.au/proper...jura-132907434

https://www.realestate.com.au/proper...kson-132904450

https://www.realestate.com.au/proper...ghts-132881618

If money's no object you can pick up one of these for several million

https://www.realestate.com.au/proper...ross-131961662

https://www.realestate.com.au/proper...park-132826978

scrubbedexpat091

This is the least expensive house in Vancouver currently it appears. Bit of a fixer upper. 798,000

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/2...nue-vancouver?


859,000 2nd least expensive

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/2...enue-vancouver

old condos are cheaper this one is 43 but not sure if a 43 year old condo is a good investment. The more desirable areas will have higher prices these are all in the more affordable areas.

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/2...rive-vancouver

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/2...reet-vancouver