Vancouver - why does everyone rave about it?
 

i've been there half a dozen times over the past 4 years. nice city. however, i'm curious as to what makes it a *great* city.

i like that it's close to Whistler and the ocean, and has mild weather (vs the rest of Canada). i dislike the heavy traffic, and some of the provincial government's tendencies.

i'd love to hear your thoughts :glugglug

weed

bump before i go to bed...

was born there.....left a long time ago....

It is in a Temperate Rain forest and it fucking rains waaaay to much for me.

Too many junkies for my liking..though they just opened a safe injection house.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/20.../index_np.html

:2 cents:

double post

The city is surrounded by mountians and the ocean.Along with the natural beauty we have a multi cultural population that makes it a great city.You have to visit to see.
The weed is pretty dam good as well.

Well for starters it's one of the few cities where the ocean and the moutains are within a 30-40 minute drive from each other.
Some would say it has the best weather in Canada, rarely under 0C and never gets too hot in the summer. But yes, it is called the rainy city for a reason. It's pretty spectacular to look at and have many attraction points and beautiful scenary. Great boating, fishing, skying, dining.

Now the bad:
Real estate is very expensive. It has a LOT of minority groups and some are becoming a majority. Clubs close at 2AM mostly. Big brother in watching in bars. It's got 7.5% PST tax. Did I say it rains a lot? When it rains the average driving speed slows down by about 10-20kms. Prepare to meet the WORST and SLOWEST drivers in the world while in Vancouver. 8-9am and 4-6pm traffic is terrible and you'll need luck if you need to cross a bridge. Don't get me started on parking; if you want to park downtown prepare to pay.

lol, tell me something i don't know ;)

from 6 or 7 visits in the past couple of years, i've come to the same conclusions... and i think i'm still missing something.

You can golf, swim in the ocean, mountain bike and ski all in the same day. It is one of the most beautiful city's anywhere. The shopping is fantastic. People are much friendlier. Many more "nice" places to live then ghetto. The weed laws are much more laxed. The gene pool is great. Of course it has it's downside, but you didn't ask for that =)

Rains too much...lol...We just finished one of the biggest dry spells we had in a century. I think we basically went 3 or 4 months without measurable amount.Sure it rains a bit in the fall/winter but its a lot better than fucking snow(keep that shit up in the mountians.)
Ya our traffic blows monkey shit..Way too many cars,too little highways.
Should be interesting how all this is going to come together for the olympics.

'cause it's coo to be Vancouverian...or a Vancouverite, or Vancouverish.

I spent Y2K new years eve there.

We got in 2 days before, and we almost left a couple of hours after. Didn't like the city at all.
It was just ghetto and I just got a bad feeling from the city.

thanks for the responses... :)

Been here for seven years. Live across the street from the ocean and sandy beach and seawall and next door to Stanley Park, in a nice and proud community yet I am still downtown and have all the conveniences and attractions of a big city within walking distance. No other city I have visited can offer this. The West End in Vancouver truly feels like a small enclave of beauty and fun.

I also believe being able to see the water and mountains and park all day long effects my mood for the better. I feel attached to nature even though I am in a large city and it has a grounding and calming effect. I have lived in large cities (before Vancouver was San Francisco...and lived all over, NY, Toronto, born and raised in Montreal...) and I feel like I am living like a mouse running around in a concrete and steel maze when you have no physical reference points like ocean and mountains.

Have not been out west yet, but hopefully will remedy that situation soon. I think it is something I need to see for myself.:thumbsup

what are the best areas near stanley park, and right on the water/beach?

If I didn't have such a thing for Phoenix I'd probably be living in Vancouver. The climate is great, a bit more rain than I'd like (but then again I didnt ask for 115 in the summer for 60 days straight either), the city is very clean relative to the number of people that live there, the vistas are incredible -- mountains, sea, skyline...

There is great shopping, great dining, things to do besides party, it's just a great city overall.

Having a water view in the West End right on Beach Avenue makes you forget you are living in a big city and is the best area bar none in my book. Newer areas with killer condos that people seem to be flocking to for the "lifestyle" are Coal Harbour and Yaletown. I own a condo in Yaletown myself that I rent out. They both have their pluses. But IMHO, they don't compare to the West End. Plus Drinking Hard just moved into a place with a beautiful view a little while ago a couple of doors down from me . If you are looking to rent or buy right now, the deals are definatley in the West End since all the new moeny seems to be flocking to the new condos in the areas mentioned above.

I would say anything west of Bute on Beach Ave. leading up to the park is best. You have Denman and Davie streets right there with dozens of different restaurants...and the beach and ocean and park right in front of you...

coal harbor - that's the area i was looking at. lots of new high end, high rise condos going up there.

i sort of thought that was bascially the same area as the West End... ?

The views from Coal Harbour facing the north shore mountains and Burrard Inlet have to be some of the best from any downtown in the world. All the action in the water - boats, cruise ships, sea planes landing and rowing clubs...and the views over Stanley Park and the mountains are priceless to have for sure.

If you haven't been there in the last several months, you will be very impressed with what they did to the seawall there. They have spent millions on improving the area right where Georgia St. enters the Park and have brought the seawall from the Park all the way to Canada Place downtown. They have kept a nice green belt along the seawall between the condo's and the water and there are lots of parkland and some swanky restaurants that have opened and in general they did a great job. There must be a few dozen new high end condos that were built there over the last couple of years for the "hoi poli".

And yes, it is relatively very close to the West End. I guess its a matter of taste. I think of it as a compromise. It doesn't have the same feel as the west end to me, but some would probably say it isn't gritty and scary compared to here, so...

The SHOPPING, the leather, the view, the American dollar goes a long way.

I love Victoria Island :)

their cold weather in january compared to ours in montreal.

In the upcoming issue of Conde Nast Traveller magazine (the most widely read travel mag. in the world), they did a ranking based on a bunch of criteria for the Best Destinations in all of the Americas, and Victoria, BC was rated #1 and Vancouver #2.

The two top spots in all of the Americas are right here!

Not to mention all the other recent surveys (and there have been several) that rank Vancouver tops to visit in North America compared to any other city...

thanks for the info :)

Downtown Vancouver is great for probably my next door neighbour...for those who are Canadian you could probably appreciate it!

you just described where I live.

:glugglug

I like Vancouver, for the beauty, mountains, ocean, etc. Also Robson is good shopping and food.

But many in this business like it due to its "acceptance" of drugs.

I hear Ontario is a nice place to settle down. And the company is good too:) :)

Was going to buy a place there, but my $500k could be better spent elsewhere, than on 1000sf downtown Vancouver.

van city fuckin sucks balls, u have so many chinkys walking around it makes the city stink like a sunken chinese food cargo boat,

they have good weed, but the same shit is found around other parts, if i were going to BC i would go to Kelowna, Van city is for chinese people, and butched out white women,

your city sucks Vancouver.

Gotta come up one day bro..:thumbsup :glugglug

Yea stay in Calgary..Your just upset cause nobody wants to visit your stick in the mud rathole.
Your racist remarks make you sound like a 14 year old kid...Grow up .

all the bitch ass BC bums are coming here because alot of people there are lazy as fuck, high minimum wage.

People from BC were complaining about the high cost in Calgary and the minimum wage.

Ralph Klein said he would give them each a one way ticket back to BC :1orglaugh

so many lazy fucks in BC, but at least u rnt from Ontario or Quebec,

And im the one who is the 14 year old? arent u the one who deleted a post to try to win a 10k traffic contest? :1orglaugh

My next door Neighbour...for those who are Canadian should know who she is?http://www.bombshellgirl.com/bif2.jpg http://www.bombshellgirl.com/bif3.jpg

I would actually love your take on other cities you have been to. You have interesting insights.

the sulfer mines smell

Calgary we have all these Pakis moving in here and setting up shop, It's nothing that great either.
10-15 years ago Vancouver and Calgary were 2 of the greatest cities, now u got all the shit from the east coming here and Canada as a whole is turning into shit because of the massiv imigration.

BIFF!


=)