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I only went to DC once, many many years ago, but based on my one visit there, I give this to Vancouver. Maybe if I visited DC today I'd change my mind.
I think you'll be kinda surprised by the amount of development that has been taking place over in both D.C. and the metro area after not being here for a great number of years. Heck, the D.C. of today is a incredibly different from the D.C. of four, five years ago! Come check it out for yourself whenever you have the time.
Well I'm real big on visuals and scenery, so Vancouver is my fav city in North A. As of now it's my fav city to visit in the world, but just so you know I haven't seen much of the world yet. I love that everywhere you go it feels like a different place and everything looks different. You look forward and you see the beautiful snow covered mountains. You like left and you see the beautiful ocean and harbor. You like right and you see the Manhattan-like skyline. You look back and you see the San Franciscan-like hills. You pretty much get it all except for a hot beach. Downtown seems like a mixture of Hong Kong/ Manhattan/ Miami (as far a skyline goes: no art deco, and new buildings, not like NYC). It's definitely very small but its pretty dense so it has a similar feel. The outdoor activities is one of the best if you like that sorta thing.
Its very easy to get around. Its a very small city (as posted above only 44 sq miles) which makes it very easy to take in the surroundings. Public transit is excellent. It reminds me kind of like SF especially with all those cables hanging above for public transit.
Although DC is one of the best places to live in N.A. IMO, everywhere kinda looks the same when compared to VC. Same height buildings everywhere you go, the scenery never really changes. If anything changes, its the type of building you see.
I remember while touring Paris, I was taking so many scenery pics but at one point I told my gf i was going to stop because everywhere just looks the same. Its unbelievably beautiful, just kinda the same beauty everywhere (not complaining, just comparing to VC). Barcelona would be my second fav right now because it also changes in scenery (imagine a gothic quarter in the middle of your modern day city, how freaking cool is that!). Anyway, Paris and Barcelona should be left for another thread...
Overall visit VC at least once in your life. The pictures on Google don't even describe what VC is really like!
Oh, that sounds extraodinarily nice! I do like certain outdoor recreations (Not into skiing though, but I'm pretty sure VC offers a wider package) and it sounds like Vancouver truly is a sister city of Los Angeles because of its varied cityscape mixed in with surroundings as you pointed out. Too bad the warm beachfront is a little abysmal, that harbor looks like a nice place for swim
And yeah, the low-rise skyline of D.C. is one of the reasons why it is among the most unique major cities on the continent, the price of that however is the consistent monotonous of some of the buildings namely in parts of the Downtown area. We call it the K Street Syndrome lol, if you walked that street you'll see that it is pretty bland architecturally. Oh well, at least K Street is a major nightlife thoroughfare. Our sister city Paris is sorta that way too, but it doesn't hamper its architectural charm as much. But, for skyscraper enthusiasts, a car or train ride to Baltimore and Philadelphia (another "American Paris" in my eyes) will be enough to satisfy, and of course New York City. The skyscrapers in Silver Spring, Bethesda, Rosslyn, and Crystal City aren't too bad neither.
I would definitely love to visit VC one day though, when are the best times of the year to visit? Did you had any favorite neighborhoods that you liked over there?
I used to live in the DC Area. It was nice, but I would not live there for the long term because it is just too busy, expensive and not very safe. Plus, the DC Area is sprawling: only DC proper is truly urban, dense and walkable, though you can take the metro anywhere. It is a beautiful city too, but the people are not as friendly as Vancouver. Vancouver is more expensive, but is more dense and has better public transportation, weather and safety. It is also far more beautiful and not as rat-race-y. I chose Vancouver.
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