Did the olympics change vancouver?

[Alberta.]

One thing I noticed after moving from Vancouver in 2008 and coming back to visit in Summer of 2010 is street performers, after the Olympics it seems there is street performers all over downtown now.

Originally Posted by Somerandomdude

I have actually had people treat me differently after discovering I am originally from the US (I guess the New York accent didn't give it away, lol...).

Working in hospitality i've always found it funny how quick Canadians are to judging Americans too, even worse most these people have no real reason for their beliefs, just lol Americanz r so dum, derp free healthcare guys. But that is typical Nationalism, plenty of Americans are busy telling you the USA is the best because they are not "X" nation.

[specificnorthwest]

well it sure is more expensive than 2003/2004, and w/o the kind of economic growth (ie jobs and salaries) to really justify it

[idiosyncra]

I've lived in BC my whole life and Vancouver for 11 years. I don't notice a difference in my everyday life before and after the olympics. I'm sure people buy into marketing hype... there's nothing wrong with thinking you live in a wonderful place. I love Vancouver and BC are there other wonderful places to live absolutely. Vancouver has always been a huge tourist city and is a major city so I'm not sure how it can sell out?

fyi not that this is really on topic with what the original poster was asking but the Olympic plates you had to pay more for not special order and then that money was to help sponsor the Olympics and are limited edition and shouldn't be available for purchase after this year. As previously stated it seems like "the best place on Earth" was a marketing slogan for the Olympics. Less about Vancouvrites more about corporate/government marketing at it's finest.

oh and yes Canadians (at least BC'ers) do tend to define themselves as non-american... it's because as a nation we often have an identity crisis. If you look back through Canadian literature through time it is definately there and analysised to death. It's only natural to define yourself against something else; especially when you're so close to such a world power and your economies are very much tied together in many ways... American's do their share of Canadian "trash talking" goes with being neighbors.

[movingwiththewind]

Originally Posted by 1newyorkguy

I lived there back in 2003/2004 and have been planning to return (US citizen)...a friend in Van just told me the city has changed since the olympics and has "sold out". Does this ring true for you? How, if so?

I dont' think it's true at all. I don't see any changes since the olympics other than people wearing t-shirts and caps with olympics logos. I also don't see any changes in prices, costs of living and anything that suggests that Vancouver became more expensive after the olympics.

[slateblue]

Originally Posted by Zoisite

Sorry kiddo, but you're the one that is wrong. Maybe you're thinking of some American state license plate somewhere else but you need to get your facts straight instead of making up stories and telling such glaring mis-truths.

BC license plates simply have "Beautiful British Columbia" on them. They have ALWAYS had "Beautiful British Columbia" on them. Also, the official motto for BC for the purposes of tourism and hospitality is "Super, Natural British Columbia" - that has been the motto since 1986.

.

for an additional charge one could buy a license plate that says "bc - best place on earth". True story.

http://elsbro.com/blog/wp-content/up...se%20plate.jpg