So we went to Vancouver. A city with a fantastic setting but a built environment akin to a high rise council estate (or scheme if you're from Scotland). Transit seemed expensive and doesn't well serve great chunks of the town, food seemed expensive, housing is unarguably expensive and most of the housing on offer is flats, there are very few houses. It's not a town with much of a social scene so we're told people stay at home and watch TV, it's in Canada so the TV's not very good. It rains a lot but it doesn't snow to speak of, I suppose that counts as a benign climate, rather like New Zealand. It's not dangerous but it's not interesting either and, shit, for the price of living in Vancouver, you could live in London; the London, exciting city, near to Paris, hub for cheap airlines.

It seemed to us that one may as well be damp and bored in New Zealand and have cheap sheep. Or, if one wants ocean in Canada, move to Halifax and have bars with music (ok, lots of squidley diddley but it is music, you can dance if you want to).

G'won tell me what me missed, why would anyone live in say, Kitsilano, when for that money, they could afford to live in Camden Town? Why would anyone shell out Hampstead money to live near UBC when there's nothing at all there except other expensive houses?

94 views and no comments yet. Me, I was just going to make some popcorn and get comfortable.

They have all gone to bed. It is after 8.

Well I know we weren't too impressed with Vancouver when we were there, but then we did get badly lost in a RV with the MIL in the back and we were only there for one night, so it wasn't the best experience

Not the first time Vancouver has been accused of being an average city in a stunning setting.

Not really... if you're looking to spend the day going all over the place, you can purchase a day pass for $9 that gives you unlimited transit across the whole city for the day, not that bad of a deal. Single bus rides within one zone are $2.50 but that transfer ticket can be used on the skytrain or other buses within 90 mins of purchasing. Again, it's pretty fair.

Depends where you go. The real stinger right now is the 12% HST, which will soon be removed back to 5% GST only for restaurant food. For sushi there's some incredibly cheap joints around. Most places are average price, but the food is usually fresh and good quality. Check Yelp.

Agreed, I actually saw someone had scrawled on an advert for a new apartment development, adding a speech bubble to one of the stick figures that said "Another f'ing Condo" which pretty much sums it up. For housing many are looking to the suburbs, but that's common for any City in north america.

Disagree, incredible social scene down on Granville St, at night that street just lights up and there are things to do for everyone of any taste really. It definitely beats other cities where everything closes at 6pm. There are some cute little places to socialize as well, like Cafes on Commercial Drive and Pubs that have live acoustic music.

Don't know how it really compares to UK TV any more, but there are some Canadian shows I really enjoy like Flashpoint.

London isn't for everyone's taste though. It's a very busy bustling city. I found that I'd had enough of that living there for 3 years.

You clearly missed huge chunks of downtown if you didn't find any bars with music. The Georgia Straight Event Listings are very good for finding what music is happening where.

I think the appeal has faded for most people, and it remains the domain of the elite and rich business owners. Many people live in the suburbs, or move to the suburbs when the novelty of downtown has worn off. Again it comes down to different strokes for different folks as they say. It still think Vancouver is in a pretty good place geographically; it has one of the best climates in Canada and is near Seattle and on the West Coast.

We're all at the Pink Floyd concert enjoying the aroma

Well, the rain part is all relative. Vancouver gets more sunshine than just about anywhere in the UK. Summers are dry, sunny and warm. Winters are relatively mild. The natural setting is stunning. If you're the outdoors type, it's a great setting. However, I do agree that the city itself is pretty dull. Toronto and Montreal have much more going on IMO.

Bottom line it’s not the US and I like the weather. Unfortunately I'll have to go back down there for a few years to get my pension. Not looking forward to it.

After reading the initial post all my long held dreams of moving to Vancouver have been shattered to fragments. I'm rendered turgid. I'm looking at Windsor, Ontario instead ! They say it's very nice there.

I'd say Moncton is better overall.

I watch The Real Housewives of Vancouver...

Enough said....

I dont know much of anywhere in Vancouver where transit cant get you to atleast walking distance. Hell I can get from Abbotsford to Vancouver all on transit busses and sky train.

We're going to NS, not Vancouver, mainly because of the cost issue, but I lived in Vancouver for 3 months a few years ago and I loved it. I don't like big cities like London to live in, but I love small cities, like Vancouver or Edinburgh. I loved the shopping, the closeness to nature, esp Stanley park. I love granville island, and lonsdale quay. I stayed in north van, and thought public transit was excellent - I never tired of the seabus!
I thought the place felt very safe, and I felt very at home. I don't know about the social scene because I tend to be a 'stay in' person myself! But there seemed to be plenty of bars etc.?

Leaving out the stunning scenery and being on the coast it sounds like a description of several Canadian cities such as Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Hamilton etc etc.
And Yes Ive been to Vancouver.

I guess it depends on what your scene is. I don't like Kits or UBC but I loved the Drive (Commercial) although I'm told it's gotten commercialised now (ironic I know). And there are real houses there, although expensive. Part of the reason I'm now returning to Canada but to Nova Scotia not BC.

Apparently Main is the new funkier part of town. I can tell you it has a fantastic Burlesque thing going on, some of the best drag acts and the WISE club on Adanac and Victoria in the east side has some very cool evenings. But that might not be your thing!