Seattle versus Vancouver, BC forum traffic (neighborhoods, living in, moving)

[movingwiththewind]

I'm regularly reading Seattle and Vancouver, BC threads and realized that there is a lot of participation and new threads from folks in Seattle but very little activity in Vancouver, BC subforum. Any idea, why? Both cities are in PNW with approximately the same population and lifestyle with similar nature, climate etc. Yet, not much news from the city in the north of Seattle. Are Vancouverites less interested in their neighborhoods, community and all those things Seattleites like talking about? Just curious.

[Gentoo]

Interesting. I think Seattle has more non residents interested in their city than Vancouver (not that there's anything wrong with Van), I just think Seattle just attracts more people.

It's the same way with the Los Angeles and San Diego forums with LA having a lot more traffic.

[BellevueGuy]

Nah it's more like a different-nation thing.

You will be surprised how different people's tastes are on the two sides of the border.

And I think Seattle might have more residents that are Internet-savvy.

[backdrifter]

I don't think Vancouverites are necessarily less internet-savvy than Seattleites, but I think it's just that this forum caters more to an American audience and not so much other countries, including Canada. Canadians might be less mobile than Americans too with less diverse relocation options than Americans.

[pw72]

Originally Posted by backdrifter

I don't think Vancouverites are necessarily less internet-savvy than Seattleites, but I think it's just that this forum caters more to an American audience and not so much other countries, including Canada. Canadians might be less mobile than Americans too with less diverse relocation options than Americans.

Yeah, I agree. City-Data come across as more of a US oriented site. Others, such as skyscrapercity.com, attract more international posters. Both require english. But, I think it all has to do without how the different threads are laid out, and how the titles tend to reflect US locales.

[movingwiththewind]

I don't think Vancouver suffers from lack of attention, or that more people are attracted to Seattle than to Vancouver. Quite the opposite, I think. Neither do I belive that Canadians move less or are less Internet-savvy. Vancouverites seems to love their city. I don't see so much Vancouver bashing on their sub-forum. Let's take weather, for example. I know, many people don't want me even to start on this one. But this is exactly the point. Vancouverites don't complain about their weather that much, although it is identical to Seattle's. Of course I know that Vancouver's climate is the mildest in Canada, therefore more favorable in the eyes of the rest of the population. Still, it's not like on Seattle's forum, where every second thread is about weather. On Seattle's forum, people get crazy about weather. Maybe, people north of the border just take it easy and have other activities (smoking pot, he-he)than to spend endless hours on the forum killing each other about what city or neighborhood is better? Maybe they just cool?

[Gentoo]

I would say that the people who start on the weather in Seattle's forum are not Seattle natives.

[pw72]

Originally Posted by movingwiththewind

I don't think Vancouver suffers from lack of attention, or that more people are attracted to Seattle than to Vancouver. Quite the opposite, I think. Neither do I belive that Canadians move less or are less Internet-savvy. Vancouverites seems to love their city. I don't see so much Vancouver bashing on their sub-forum. Let's take weather, for example. I know, many people don't want me even to start on this one. But this is exactly the point. Vancouverites don't complain about their weather that much, although it is identical to Seattle's. Of course I know that Vancouver's climate is the mildest in Canada, therefore more favorable in the eyes of the rest of the population. Still, it's not like on Seattle's forum, where every second thread is about weather. On Seattle's forum, people get crazy about weather. Maybe, people north of the border just take it easy and have other activities (smoking pot, he-he)than to spend endless hours on the forum killing each other about what city or neighborhood is better? Maybe they just cool?

Great post, and quite insightful.

[jr75]

Originally Posted by movingwiththewind

I don't think Vancouver suffers from lack of attention, or that more people are attracted to Seattle than to Vancouver. Quite the opposite, I think. Neither do I belive that Canadians move less or are less Internet-savvy. Vancouverites seems to love their city. I don't see so much Vancouver bashing on their sub-forum. Let's take weather, for example. I know, many people don't want me even to start on this one. But this is exactly the point. Vancouverites don't complain about their weather that much, although it is identical to Seattle's. Of course I know that Vancouver's climate is the mildest in Canada, therefore more favorable in the eyes of the rest of the population. Still, it's not like on Seattle's forum, where every second thread is about weather. On Seattle's forum, people get crazy about weather. Maybe, people north of the border just take it easy and have other activities (smoking pot, he-he)than to spend endless hours on the forum killing each other about what city or neighborhood is better? Maybe they just cool?

It's not that they are more cool. It's mostly because what you mentioned about it being the warmest locale in Canada. Vancouver likens itself to being the L.A. or S.F. of Canada. People in Seattle don't think of themselves as living in a warm climate. Here in the U.S. we have a city in every climate zone you can think of from tropical to sub arctic. You can pick and choose and therefore complain since you have so many sunnier and warmer places to compare to. In Canada, you have basically to chose from cold and snowy/sunny in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnepeg to rainy/cloudy/temperate and not as cold in Vancouver. By the way, there is plenty of discourse amongst Canadians about Toronto vs. Vancouver so they do spend time comparing city to city. Not to mention the whole Quebec separatist subject. It seems many liberal Americans tend to look at Canada through rose colored lenses. I am a left leaning person myself who has a few Canadian friends from Vancouver who live in the states now and have spoken at length with them on these topics.

[movingwiththewind]

Originally Posted by backdrifter

I don't think Vancouverites are necessarily less internet-savvy than Seattleites, but I think it's just that this forum caters more to an American audience and not so much other countries, including Canada.

I think this is the best explanation so far.