4 ms·

I've always thought Vancouver, BC would be a nice spot but, it's quite expensive.

api_or_ipa 5y ago
Vancouver BC is magical and (IMO) one of the most beautiful cities in the world. In July & August, hands down the most beautiful place in the world, but still, 8 months of the year it's dark, wet and cold. If you're passionate about getting into the mountains or on the water and you can tolerate the rain, it's a wonderful place. Lots of wealthy people in Vancouver own boats to go sailing in the summer and a condo in Whistler to ski in the winter and their quality of life unbeatable. On the other hand, I know a couple people who moved from Vancouver to Canmore, Alberta because they still got their fill of mountains, but they traded a bit colder of climate for significantly more days of sunshine. It's all a trade-off in the end. Regarding affordability: Vancouver is expensive if you're working for a local company & paid in CAD, but if you're earning a US salary (esp Bay Area), Vancouver feels substantially more affordable than most large US cities (again, IMO, it's very hard to compare cost-of-living between countries).
- 908B64B197 5y ago
  > Vancouver is expensive if you're working for a local company & paid in CAD What explains such depressed wages for local developers? Aren't local companies interested in competing?
  - Texaner 5y ago
    I want to know this too
neilk 5y ago
Remote worker and Vancouver resident here. Vancouver is the second most expensive city in the world, measured by cost of living to prevailing wage. Only Hong Kong scores higher. If, like me, you work in tech with American funding, it's conceivable to have a "normal" life in the downtown core, including buying property. But everyone else is fleeing the downtown core, the Greater Vancouver Area, or even the entire province. Anecdote: I know an arts administrator who moved to semi-rural Nova Scotia. She went from barely being able to afford a basement apartment to buying a pretty large house. It's pretty weird to imagine arts administration even being possible from a town in nowheresville... but the pandemic has created strange situations. She just flies into cities when she has an actual event or performance to manage.

Vancouver BC is magical and (IMO) one of the most beautiful cities in the world. In July & August, hands down the most beautiful place in the world, but still, 8 months of the year it's dark, wet and cold. If you're passionate about getting into the mountains or on the water and you can tolerate the rain, it's a wonderful place. Lots of wealthy people in Vancouver own boats to go sailing in the summer and a condo in Whistler to ski in the winter and their quality of life unbeatable. On the other hand, I know a couple people who moved from Vancouver to Canmore, Alberta because they still got their fill of mountains, but they traded a bit colder of climate for significantly more days of sunshine. It's all a trade-off in the end. Regarding affordability: Vancouver is expensive if you're working for a local company & paid in CAD, but if you're earning a US salary (esp Bay Area), Vancouver feels substantially more affordable than most large US cities (again, IMO, it's very hard to compare cost-of-living between countries).

908B64B197 5y ago
> Vancouver is expensive if you're working for a local company & paid in CAD What explains such depressed wages for local developers? Aren't local companies interested in competing?
- Texaner 5y ago
  I want to know this too

neilk 5y ago

Remote worker and Vancouver resident here. Vancouver is the second most expensive city in the world, measured by cost of living to prevailing wage. Only Hong Kong scores higher. If, like me, you work in tech with American funding, it's conceivable to have a "normal" life in the downtown core, including buying property. But everyone else is fleeing the downtown core, the Greater Vancouver Area, or even the entire province. Anecdote: I know an arts administrator who moved to semi-rural Nova Scotia. She went from barely being able to afford a basement apartment to buying a pretty large house. It's pretty weird to imagine arts administration even being possible from a town in nowheresville... but the pandemic has created strange situations. She just flies into cities when she has an actual event or performance to manage.