Boston vs. Vancouver (living, best, cost, state)

[Champ le monstre du lac]

In the spirit of the Bruins vs Cannucks I thought this would be an appropriate match for the forum this week. Share your own ideas about the cities, and here's some other criteria to go by.

Climate
Topography/Location
Food/Dining & Nightlife
Architecture & Skyline
Cost of Living
Economy
Sports (Major league, Sports fans, Sports history 'olympics', outdoor activity etc...)
and...

....backing - Bruins or Cannucks in the Stanley Cup Finals?

I must say I would have to go with Vancouver even though it was almost a tie.

I like some things about Boston but it is a bit underwhelming to me.

Vancouver just looks automatically more impressive with its skyline and awesome world class nature scenery nearby.

I also like how Vancouver has a very high percentage of Asians.

Climate: A slight edge to Boston. I actually like 4 seasons and Boston gets actual summers while Vancouver gets a borderline summer. Boston also gets more sunshine. I would like Boston winters to be shorter. Just one month of winter with a lot of snow is enough winter for me.

Topography/Location: Vancouver for topography. But for location I would say it is a tie.

Food/Dining & Nightlife: Tie I assume.

Architecture: Vancouver for modern and Boston for historic.

Cost of Living: Boston. Lower cost of living while having better employment opportunities than Vancouver.

Skyline: Vancouver! Boston skyline sucks and it is a disgrace. It would be so good for Boston if it tried to get a nicer skyline.

Economy: Boston.

[Champ le monstre du lac]

-Climate: They both suck in terms of climate. Both are damp and rainy, Boston subject to brutal Noreaster snowstorms, Vancouver weeks of cloudlocked skies. When the weather gets nice though, it feels great to be in either city, Vancouver really reveals it's awesome beauty. Boston is excellent in late summer/early fall. Since Boston gets more sunbreaks though (even though it's considerably colder) I go with Boston as it has a better dose of Vitamin D than Vancouver.

-Topography/Location: Both are desirable coastal cities, and Boston has its advantages of being in the NE corridor, Vancouver wins this one as Boston can't compete with Vancouver's stunning location by the mountains and water, it's a lot more scenic.

-Food/Dining & Nightlife: Biasedly I prefer Boston for its North End Italian. That said they both have excellent seafood. Asian food isn't really my favorite but I've had probably the best sushi up in BC.

-Architecture & Skyline: I have mixed feelings about Vancouver's skyline. It just depends on the light and the angle it's viewed from. Sometimes it looks like a dream, other times a little too uniform on the glass residential trademark. Boston has better street level architecture, Vancouver more desirable real estate (less fixer uppers and more contemporary homes). Boston's skyline is crap, so I'm going to give a slight edge to Vancouver, because I'd take a mountain view balcony high-rise condo in Vancouver in a heartbeat.

-Cost of Living: I'm pretty sure it's higher in Vancouver. I don't have the stats to back it, but I'm sure somebody will chime in.

-Economy: Boston's is way more diverse. What makes Vancouver so wealthy is that it's sitting pretty on the Pacific Rim (yes she gets by on her looks)

-Sports: (Major league, Sports fans, Sports history 'olympics', outdoor activity etc...)
Well both certainly have their merits. Boston's sports fans are wildly passionate (and have teams others love to hate), not to mention they've been kicking a-s-s over the past decade. Vancouver does have passion for hockey and winter sports though. Somehow I think if the Cannucks lose there will be barstools flying through windows on Robson St. Vancouver get's big marks for hosting an Olympics (something I don't think Boston would ever do), but also there are lots of athletes in Vancouver, amateur in a way, but the outdoor culture and world class skiing venues ramp the city up quite a bit. I'd say Boston takes it though for it's legendary history in sports.

and...

....backing - Bruins or Cannucks in the Stanley Cup Finals

Bruins! Duh!

Originally Posted by caphillsea77

-Climate: They both suck in terms of climate. Both are damp and rainy, Boston subject to brutal Noreaster snowstorms, Vancouver weeks of cloudlocked skies. When the weather gets nice, it feels great to be in both cities, Vancouver really reaveals it's awesome beauty. Boston is awesome in late summer/early fall. Since Boston gets more sunbreaks though (even though it's considerably colder) I go with Boston as it has a better dose of Vitamin D than Vancouver.

-Topography/Location
-Food/Dining & Nightlife
-Architecture & Skyline
-Cost of Living
-Economy
-Sports (Major league, Sports fans, Sports history 'olympics', outdoor activity etc...)
and...

....backing - Bruins or Cannucks in the Stanley Cup Finals

You still didn't answer which one you would pick and you didn't answer the question to any of those questions except for climate.

Also, in terms of the climate thing you answered someone can get Vitamin D from food and supplements and not just from sun exposure.
Plus, Boston 6 months of the year does not have adequate vitamin from the sun because it is still a relatively north latitude and the winters so cold.

Also, sometimes rainy and cloudy weather and even snowy weather can be nice. How can someone think that type of weather always suck!? That makes no sense to me. It can bring nice variety to the weather.

But still, Boston's winters are too cold and long. And Vancouver is a bit too cloudy and not enough sunshine sometimes. Overall for climate, I would pick Boston because it has more of a summer than Vancouver.

[Champ le monstre du lac]

Originally Posted by

You still didn't answer which one you would pick and you didn't answer the question to any of those questions except for climate.

I wasn't done yet

Originally Posted by

Also, sometimes rainy and cloudy weather and even snowy weather can be nice. How can someone think that type of weather always suck!? That makes no sense to me. It can bring nice variety to the weather.
.

Because that's what you like. That's why you live in Seattle and I'm heading to Albuquerque. I really just don't care for damp climates, it's not for me, and we don't have to agree on it. A good rain is nice once in a while, but not the frequent dampness of both cities. If I have a craving I'll fly over to Kaui. And in fairness, I did mention how outstanding both cities are in good weather. I love late summer/early fall in New England. Just not a fan of it 6 months of the year. It's been nice here over the past week, after a whole month of clouds and rain.

[K-Luv]

[quote=caphillsea77;19345213]In the spirit of the Bruins vs Canucks I thought this would be an appropriate match for the forum this week. Share your own ideas about the cities, and here's some other criteria to go by.

Originally Posted by caphillsea77

Climate

Vancouver has warmer winters and dryer summers. Boston has colder winters, lots of snow, and humid summers.

Vancouver wins.

Originally Posted by caphillsea77

Topography/Location

They are both on oceans, so that would be a tie for me. However, while New England is typically a beautiful area, the topography immediately around Vancouver is more impressive.

Vancouver wins.

Originally Posted by caphillsea77

Food/Dining & Nightlife

Boston's night life is largely geared towards college students. Followed by, yuppies/professionals, then townies. Even though there is tons to do here, it is kind of a boring place. I suppose it depends on what you like to do. Boston is fairly well mixed racially/ethnically, but it is still predominantly white. "Irish", in particular. I understand the connection/heritage, but seriously, Boston doesn't need anymore Irish pub's.

Vancouver is hands down way more diverse than Boston. There is just more to do as far as nightlife is concerned and dining options are also more abundant....if you care for variety.

Vancouver wins.

Originally Posted by caphillsea77

Architecture & Skyline

Historically, Boston, no question. Modern, Vancouver.

Tie.

Originally Posted by caphillsea77

Cost of Living

I dunno. I never lived in Vancouver. It's hard to compare two different economies. Boston is pretty darn expensive, though. There also seems to be an unusually high number of taxes in Massachusetts.

Draw.

Originally Posted by caphillsea77

Economy

In the long run, they are equal. Vancouver seems to do more international business, though.

Tie.

Originally Posted by caphillsea77

Sports (Major league, Sports fans, Sports history 'olympics', outdoor activity etc...)Well, Boston. And believe the stuff you hear about Boston sports fans, in particular, Red Sox Nation. It is okay to wear Yankees stuff around here, no one will beat you up over it. Depending on your location within the city, you might (or probably will) get some ribbing for it.
and...

Originally Posted by caphillsea77

....backing - Bruins or Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals?

I would like to see Boston win, but the Canucks have better defense, better forward, and better speciality teams.

Canucks are going to take the Cup.

[Champ le monstre du lac]

[Jwo85]

I never been to either city, but both on paper seem like good ones and tough to pick.

For hockey:
Gotta go with Boston as the goalie Tim Thomas is from Michigan. Ryan Kesler of Vancouver is also from Michigan, but the Bruins are an O6 team.

[SNEwx_46]

Climate: Boston
Topography/Location: Toss-up
Food/Dining & Nightlife: Vancouver
Architecture & Skyline: Boston b/c of architecture
Cost of Living: Boston
Economy: Toss-up
Sports: Boston
and...: Bruins, but I don't care for hockey

Originally Posted by caphillsea77

Because that's what you like. That's why you live in Seattle and I'm heading to Albuquerque. I really just don't care for damp climates, it's not for me, and we don't have to agree on it. A good rain is nice once in a while, but not the frequent dampness of both cities. If I have a craving I'll fly over to Kaui. And in fairness, I did mention how outstanding both cities are in good weather. I love late summer/early fall in New England. Just not a fan of it 6 months of the year. It's been nice here over the past week, after a whole month of clouds and rain.

Lol, I never said that is my weather climate preferences!
I like sunny, dry and warm weather but I also like mild weather and I like cloudy, rainy, snowy, and cold weather sometimes. I didn't say I like the cloudy, rainy, and snowy weather all the time.

I am a 4 season lover. But I also like perpetual summer weather climates, mild climates such as coastal California, and even like some of the dry climates(mostly because I like some desert scenery as much as I like lush scenery).

Also I live in both New York City and Seattle right now.