Anyone from Vancouver? (Seattle, Camas: house, subdivision, live in)

[Andrew Fallis]

I'm thinking about moving up to Seattle . I do love the big city much more.

Right now I live in Vancouver. I was wondering what kind of differences there are between the Portland/Vancouver area vs Seattle because this area is basically all I know since I grew up here. I have visited Seattle a couple times and so far, I love it.

Any key differences would be nice to know.

Your favorite things about the city and your least favorite.

How are the people? are they socially different?

Thanks!
-Andrew

[NWbyNW]

Think of it this way. Portland is a small city compared to Seattle, even though relatively close in population based on city proper stats. Seattle seems more corporate downtown, while Portland seems more walkable and "progressive." Both Seattle and Portland are liberal, Seattle maybe a little less. Seattle also has the "big city" amenities and vibe. You got more professional sports teams and are in the spotlight more.

Portland and Seattle can have crummy traffic.

Vancouver, Washington has plans to densify and change their downtown, and I wish them well.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by Andrew Fallis

I'm thinking about moving up to Seattle . I do love the big city much more.

Right now I live in Vancouver. I was wondering what kind of differences there are between the Portland/Vancouver area vs Seattle because this area is basically all I know since I grew up here. I have visited Seattle a couple times and so far, I love it.

Any key differences would be nice to know.

Your favorite things about the city and your least favorite.

How are the people? are they socially different?

Thanks!
-Andrew

My husband is from Vancouver (graduated from Mt. View)-- born in the Seattle area, but moved to Vancouver when he was around 8 and lived there some 15 years. He definitely has no plans **ever** moving back to Vancouver. Camas would be a nice consideration-- but it's still too close to his family, so it wouldn't work out, LOL.

Vancouver has more conservative people around-- and DH found this to be a plus. People were much more politically balanced (and definitely more so than Seattle and Portland). DH said though, the government in Vancouver is more corrupted than Seattle. People in Seattle are more activist-mind, so they're more likely to protest/bemoan whatever governmental wrong than the Vancouverites. He said there's more interesting people in Seattle, everyone has a story and you're more likely to run into someone who's from somewhere else and also those who actually travel for the sake of traveling. Vancouver definitely has a small-town mentality. Traffic is much more predictable down there than Seattle.

Of course, the main news in Vancouver is Portland-based, so... yea, not a plus. Vancouver is a Portland suburban, no doubt. Vancouver is growing too fast, becoming another bland suburbia. My husband remembers lots of fields and such (which now has become either a shopping area or subdivision). Seattle, especially the closer to town... things are much more established and has more character. DH also thought Vancouver housing market prices was too inflated (it has come down significantly since). Seattle is also high priced... but for what Vancouver (Portland) offers -- DH doesn't feel it is worth that price. His brother brought in the prime of the Vancouver housing boom (against DH's advice)... a subdivision house with a tiny lot for 360K. The brother was devastated to find out the house is now worth about half (which quite frankly is more reasonable) .

Vancouver doesn't have the "ocean" (sound)... so lots of river activities and waterholes. But Seattle offers better water variety. There's also more terrain variety in Seattle (Vancouver is pretty much flat compared to Seattle). Its a bit warmer down in Vancouver than Seattle-- the air is more suffocating than Seattle in the summer. Heat waves last longer.

That's really all I can think of right now.