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Are you glad to have moved? Any recommendations on cities to look at?

by M_Grey 10y ago

vkou 10y ago
Stay away from Vancouver. Between the cost of living, low wages, and (What passes in Canada as an) extreme right-wing provincial government, it's a horror show.
- M_Grey 10y ago
  Good to know. So... Montreal seems nice. I like cold weather and duck fat.
  - snoman 10y ago
    The French is a hurdle, but otherwise it is a nice place. Decent tech community there too.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
- mck- 10y ago
  To give you another data point, I love Vancouver. It's simply beautiful.
- jeremy_wiebe 10y ago
  Agreed. You have to deal with unbelievable weather much of the year. Then there's those oppressive mountains just to the north and the incredible skiing within an hours drive. Next you have to deal with the all the beautiful scenery, awesome hiking and biking. It's just horrible. Don't move to Vancouver. Not sure about wages. I feel I'm paid a fair salary.
  - cperciva 10y ago
    incredible skiing within an hours drive Hey, be fair. You have to drive 1.5 hours to get to the best ski resort in the world.
  - huhtenberg 10y ago
    > You have to deal with unbelievable weather much of the year. As the saying goes - "It rains only once, but for seven months (October through April)." > oppressive mountains Actually, said mountains limit traveling northbound (there's a single road that goes to Whistler), there's an ocean to the west, farmlands to the east and the US border with few hour wait crossing times to the south. So you are basically stuck in the city. It is a big city and lots to do, granted, but after a while it gets stale. > incredible skiing, biking, hiking ... which don't move a needle unless you are a hardcore outdoorsman. Not to forget the real estate chokeful of Chinese money and priced out of reach. School system that is focused on producing tolerant citizens rather than someone how knows what an integral is, etc. On the plus side - a mild climate, very good restaurant scene, nice people and nearly free medicine (which is too not without its headaches). To each his own, basically.
    - Hydraulix989 10y ago
      It's the same climate as Seattle. Also, the Chinese real estate situation is the same as here in SV.
  - eloff 10y ago
    I was out walking around in shorts and a t-shirt yesterday, comfortably. High of 17 degrees. I've never done that in Canada, and I used to be much less of a wuss about the cold. The climate in Vancouver really is hard to beat in Canada.
- dquail 10y ago
  Yes. Be wary. I lived in Vancouver for 3 years, 2012-2015. Those mountains sucked. As did the ocean. And the ability to walk everywhere downtown. Total pain being able to walk to work, shop, dine, etc. kidding aside ... Yes ... I earned less $ ... But was ok with it.
robotresearcher 10y ago
I live in Vancouver. Cost of living looks bad. Quality of life is good. I look out of the window of the window of my smallish condo at the beautiful mountains and all seems well. It's tough to live in this town on the median local income. Get a very good job before you move here. There are much more affordable Canadian cities with the same social deal and without the Vancouver housing crisis. But if you can make it work, this is a nice place.
- cperciva 10y ago
  I'd add "don't plan on living in Vancouver itself". Vancouver is like San Francisco: A relatively small and frequently dysfunctional city surrounded by a much superior metropolitan area. I'd suggest Burnaby or Coquitlam as places with a better lifestyle at a lower cost.
  - Jack000 10y ago
    I'm from the Coquitlam/Burnaby area (Burquitlam they call it). It's where you go when you want to live close to vancouver but also have a detached house, although in recent years that has also become unattainable. It's a suburban area though, which is great if you're into that. If you want an urban car-free experience there's only a very tiny part of downtown, yaletown and maybe olympic village that will accomodate that.
    - cperciva 10y ago
      Living next to a sky train station gives me a pretty urban experience. I have a car, but I only use it quite rarely.

Are you glad to have moved? Any recommendations on cities to look at?

by M_Grey 10y ago

Are you glad to have moved? Any recommendations on cities to look at?

vkou 10y ago

Stay away from Vancouver. Between the cost of living, low wages, and (What passes in Canada as an) extreme right-wing provincial government, it's a horror show.

M_Grey 10y ago
Good to know. So... Montreal seems nice. I like cold weather and duck fat.
- snoman 10y ago
  The French is a hurdle, but otherwise it is a nice place. Decent tech community there too.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
mck- 10y ago
To give you another data point, I love Vancouver. It's simply beautiful.
jeremy_wiebe 10y ago
Agreed. You have to deal with unbelievable weather much of the year. Then there's those oppressive mountains just to the north and the incredible skiing within an hours drive. Next you have to deal with the all the beautiful scenery, awesome hiking and biking. It's just horrible. Don't move to Vancouver. Not sure about wages. I feel I'm paid a fair salary.
- cperciva 10y ago
  incredible skiing within an hours drive Hey, be fair. You have to drive 1.5 hours to get to the best ski resort in the world.
- huhtenberg 10y ago
  > You have to deal with unbelievable weather much of the year. As the saying goes - "It rains only once, but for seven months (October through April)." > oppressive mountains Actually, said mountains limit traveling northbound (there's a single road that goes to Whistler), there's an ocean to the west, farmlands to the east and the US border with few hour wait crossing times to the south. So you are basically stuck in the city. It is a big city and lots to do, granted, but after a while it gets stale. > incredible skiing, biking, hiking ... which don't move a needle unless you are a hardcore outdoorsman. Not to forget the real estate chokeful of Chinese money and priced out of reach. School system that is focused on producing tolerant citizens rather than someone how knows what an integral is, etc. On the plus side - a mild climate, very good restaurant scene, nice people and nearly free medicine (which is too not without its headaches). To each his own, basically.
  - Hydraulix989 10y ago
    It's the same climate as Seattle. Also, the Chinese real estate situation is the same as here in SV.
- eloff 10y ago
  I was out walking around in shorts and a t-shirt yesterday, comfortably. High of 17 degrees. I've never done that in Canada, and I used to be much less of a wuss about the cold. The climate in Vancouver really is hard to beat in Canada.
dquail 10y ago
Yes. Be wary. I lived in Vancouver for 3 years, 2012-2015. Those mountains sucked. As did the ocean. And the ability to walk everywhere downtown. Total pain being able to walk to work, shop, dine, etc. kidding aside ... Yes ... I earned less $ ... But was ok with it.

robotresearcher 10y ago

I live in Vancouver. Cost of living looks bad. Quality of life is good. I look out of the window of the window of my smallish condo at the beautiful mountains and all seems well. It's tough to live in this town on the median local income. Get a very good job before you move here. There are much more affordable Canadian cities with the same social deal and without the Vancouver housing crisis. But if you can make it work, this is a nice place.

cperciva 10y ago
I'd add "don't plan on living in Vancouver itself". Vancouver is like San Francisco: A relatively small and frequently dysfunctional city surrounded by a much superior metropolitan area. I'd suggest Burnaby or Coquitlam as places with a better lifestyle at a lower cost.
- Jack000 10y ago
  I'm from the Coquitlam/Burnaby area (Burquitlam they call it). It's where you go when you want to live close to vancouver but also have a detached house, although in recent years that has also become unattainable. It's a suburban area though, which is great if you're into that. If you want an urban car-free experience there's only a very tiny part of downtown, yaletown and maybe olympic village that will accomodate that.
  - cperciva 10y ago
    Living next to a sky train station gives me a pretty urban experience. I have a car, but I only use it quite rarely.