Whats new in downtown Vancouver? (Seattle, Longview: rent, home, buying)

[cyberous]

I’ve only been here for two years and absolutely love it! Relocating from the big C has been an easy transition. My decision to move here included many factors. The main one was the cost of living.

Obviously housing in California is much more expensive. Seattle area would have been my first choice but Seattle housing is very comparable to California so nothing but income tax benefit would be gained. I actually considered Longview/Kelso, but after a quick visit I realized how far it was from any major airports and how rundown it seemed with a high number of unsavory characters.

I landed in Vancouver due to its proximity to a large airport, the income tax benefit and affordable housing in relation to where I was coming from. Portland is a nice perk for weekend visits but that traffic is brutal so I tend stay away. I ultimately chose the downtown area due to its walk-ability and village like feel. One important thing to note is I’ve been isolated on six acres for the past eighteen years so city living was important to me.

Since I’ve lived here I’ve met so many great people. A large number of people in the downtown are new. Most I find are from Portland, and chose Vancouver because it’s “the way Portland used to be.” Others work from home like myself and chose Vancouver for the same reasons I did (Cost of living/Airport/Income tax/location)

I wanted to share with prospective new residents that Downtown Vancouver seems to be in a huge growth and development mode.

Obviously there is the huge Waterfront project
C-Tran (vine) upgrade

Multiple mixed use buildings

• The uptown
• VW1
• VW2

In addition to the big projects we are getting new restaurants, businesses and pubs on a weekly basis it seems. It was interesting to hear how run down main street used to be just a few years ago (Van-Talks) it sure isn’t that way now.

The downside of living in downtown is the fair number of homeless. Its nothing compared to Portland or San Francisco, as with any city its expected. With the homeless and housing crisis I think petty theft and car break-ins seem to be on the rise. With that said it’s not a utopia but I hope I’ve provided a little color of what I’ve seen in downtown.

If you know of other big changes post them up!

[iuecon99]

Originally Posted by cyberous

I’ve only been here for two years and absolutely love it! Relocating from the big C has been an easy transition. My decision to move here included many factors. The main one was the cost of living.

Obviously housing in California is much more expensive. Seattle area would have been my first choice but Seattle housing is very comparable to California so nothing but income tax benefit would be gained. I actually considered Longview/Kelso, but after a quick visit I realized how far it was from any major airports and how rundown it seemed with a high number of unsavory characters.

I landed in Vancouver due to its proximity to a large airport, the income tax benefit and affordable housing in relation to where I was coming from. Portland is a nice perk for weekend visits but that traffic is brutal so I tend stay away. I ultimately chose the downtown area due to its walk-ability and village like feel. One important thing to note is I’ve been isolated on six acres for the past eighteen years so city living was important to me.

Since I’ve lived here I’ve met so many great people. A large number of people in the downtown are new. Most I find are from Portland, and chose Vancouver because it’s “the way Portland used to be.” Others work from home like myself and chose Vancouver for the same reasons I did (Cost of living/Airport/Income tax/location)

I wanted to share with prospective new residents that Downtown Vancouver seems to be in a huge growth and development mode.

Obviously there is the huge Waterfront project
C-Tran (vine) upgrade

Multiple mixed use buildings

• The uptown
• VW1
• VW2

In addition to the big projects we are getting new restaurants, businesses and pubs on a weekly basis it seems. It was interesting to hear how run down main street used to be just a few years ago (Van-Talks) it sure isn’t that way now.

The downside of living in downtown is the fair number of homeless. Its nothing compared to Portland or San Francisco, as with any city its expected. With the homeless and housing crisis I think petty theft and car break-ins seem to be on the rise. With that said it’s not a utopia but I hope I’ve provided a little color of what I’ve seen in downtown.

If you know of other big changes post them up!

What kind of rent are you paying? Hopefully you bought a place, I truly regret not buying one when I moved here 3 years ago. Another couple years of 20-30% annual increases and I'm done.

[cyberous]

I own my home.

[iuecon99]

Originally Posted by cyberous

I own my home.

Very wise decision.