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I'm planning to visit the West coast this summer; my intention is to spend one month in each of three cities to get a real feel for each place. I've already decided on San Diego and Portland, OR as two of the destinations, and am considering Vancouver or Seattle as the third leg of the trifecta. Below are my major considerations:
1. Location/housing: I'd like to be in a "central" or "downtown-y" area vs. suburbs. Restaurants and shopping within walking distance. I will be working remotely, so will need some privacy and quiet (especially from 5:00 AM to 3:00 PM) as well as reliable high-speed internet. Ideally, I'm looking to sublet something like a studio apartment for a month, although a sharing situation might not be out of the question. I'd like to spend < $1200/month, if possible.
2. Transportation: I'm still working this out. Preference would be to rely on public transportation/zipcar/walking/bicycle. If I need to bring/obtain a car, I'd think this would tilt the equation to Seattle to avoid cross-border hassles.
3. Timing: The plan would be either to start in San Diego, then move north or start in Vancouver/Seattle and head south. Trip will likely be June - August but May - July is a possibility. Which is a better choice: beginning or ending in the Pacific Northwest?
4. Meeting people: In order to get the "real" flavor of each city, I'd really love to meet at least one or two locals who are interested in expanding their circle of friends and who would like to share some fun activities. I'm absolutely not looking to "mooch" from anyone, and am quite willing to pay my own way (as well as spring for a couple meals, tickets, whatever in exchange for tour guide services ) Is either city likely to be easier to do this in?
5. What have I missed?
Here's a little about me for background, in case it makes a difference: I'm a college-educated single man in my late-30s. I work from home, and I've decided to take advantage of this fact to do some exploring. I'm very open-minded and love new things and new experiences. Although I'm not opposed to nightclubs and parties on occasion, I tend to gravitate more toward local pubs and small gatherings. I like live music of all sorts. I love the beach and ocean. Prefer books to TV. While I don't want to miss the "must do" tourist spots, I'm more interested in the everyday culture of the city.
Thanks in advance for your help!
- Paul
Last edited by Pirateclosingon40; 02-28-2011 at 01:41 PM..
Not sure how to really answer this. Both Seattle and Vancouver are great cities, but Vancouver will offer you something different simply based on the fact that you'll be in a completely different country.
What can I say about Vancouver. It has the hipster element of Seattle and Portland. The demographics will be different - it'll feel significantly more Asian. Unlike San Diego, you're not going to have any influence of Mexico - its people or its food. Vancouver's perhaps a tad more global than the other cities - it's what many have commented on simply because most people living in Vancouver are from elsewhere in Canada or elsewhere in the world. Again, a significant chunk of the local population is Asian.
Downtown Vancouver's predominantly high density residential unlike Manhattan, so you can pretty much walk everywhere - to grocery stores, restaurants, beaches, cycling trails, harbours, parks, etc.
Highly recommend going without the car if you decide on Vancouver. Seattle would be a different story - it's a bit more car-centric in my experiences.
Pacific Northwest has better (as in, more reliable) weather in July, August, and September - warm and dry. End there, if you can. Not that May and June are bad - it's gorgeous, but the weather's a little bit more of a guessing game. The trees and flowers will be their most lush then... but Vancouver comes alive in the summer. It's really a beach city - there are dozens of beaches and that's where a lot of the summer social gatherings happen. Groups of people will walk or cycle down to the local beach and hang out until the sun sets. It's gorgeous.
People argue that it's difficult to meet people in Vancouver, but I disagree. Some parts of the city are a bit more sterile as far as neighbourhoods go, even if they're affluent and gorgeous on the outside, and if you find yourself in those areas (like Coal Harbour) you might be a bit disheartened. A friend of mine from Portland moved here and found herself feeling lonely in Coal Harbour because everyone would simply come home to their condos and close their doors - nobody had any interest in mingling because the condo residents were all transient - coming and going.
I find it's the the more quirky areas like the West End (the western half of the downtown Vancouver peninsula, next to Stanley Park), South Main/Mount Pleasant/Riley Park (the area spanning Main Street from E 7th all the way to E 30th), and Commercial Drive where you can fantastic community interactions. I actually just wrote a blog post about Commercial Drive the other day... feel free to access it via my bio. These are neighbourhoods that are a little bit more artsy, a bit more eccentric, they have strong community spirits where people value car-free living, social interactions, etc. They also have great little restaurants, pubs, and coffee shops and are fun to be in during the summer months.
Vancouver is definitely more of a small gathering/pub (well, cocktail bar/whiskey bar) type of place. Lots of activity happening in Gastown at places like L'Abbatoir, Guilt & Co, Pourhouse, the Shebeen Whiskey House, the Diamond Bar, etc. It's less about partying and nightclubs, although they exist if you crave them. There's a pretty good music scene here as well - if you're into live music, you'll see the same familiar faces over and over. FWIW, I'm a freelance concert photographer and find the scene fairly inclusive.
Do you use Twitter? If you do, Vancouver will be a breeze to meet people. There's a huge network of Vancouver bloggers and Twitter users who use Twitter to organize meet-ups all over the town. Just keep your ear open for events, show up, introduce yourself, and voila. There are also some great blogs to keep you up to date on things going on around town - it's very inclusive. I'm thinking of blogs like VancouverIsAwesome.com, GranvilleOnline.ca, TheDependent, BeyondRobson, etc. If you use social media (especially Twitter) and you make an effort to get out and show an interest in learning about Vancouver, you'll be meeting people here immediately.
Last edited by Robynator; 02-28-2011 at 07:13 PM..
Also a head's up - this isn't a very active Vancouver community as far as discussion forums go simply because it's embedded in an American site designed for Americans looking at relocating in the US. It's not a site that offers much value to Canadians, so you won't find many Canadians on here answering. We do exist, of course But just thought I'd give the head's up - you probably won't get many responses from Vancouverites on here.
Oh, and your $1200 rent for a studio sounds about right. You'll find rent goes much much higher, but you'll be able to find something for that price range. I was looking up listings on Craigslist today and you can get a nice garden suite in a heritage house nearby Commercial Drive for about $1200 (and even less). You should also be able to find an apartment in the West End for that price too. Gastown might be another place I'd consider - it's the oldest part of Vancouver with great heritage buildings along the railroad yards. New life has been breathed into that neighbourhood recently with the development of a new art school (and all those cocktail bars and pubs I was writing about earlier) - it's a quirky place for sure, but definitely has tons of energy right now... (look up the Keefer Bar, Bao Bei, and Six Acres Pub!)
Wow, thanks VERY much! Some great information here, and I really appreciate you taking the time to give such a detailed response.
I spent a long weekend working in Vancouver back in 1999 and it is still one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, so it's somewhere I've always meant to get back to. I've spent a little more time in Seattle, but never really gotten the feel of the place, so Vancouver was already the favorite going in, but your response (and your blog - thanks for directing me to it ) really tip the scales. I'll just need to double-check that there are no immigration issues since I will technically be "working" in Canada, I guess.
It sounds like Commercial Drive or the West End would be right up my alley. I'll start looking at lodging options there for August.
I was thinking about the work situation as well - not sure how that works, but you won't be able to legally work in Canada, and yet, as long as you can prove that you can support yourself for the one month that you're here, you should be okay. But don't quote me - you'll want to get those details from US and Canada immigration.
In any case, if you live in Seattle, you can visit Vancouver on the weekend, and vice versa... so all's not lost.
I went to Vancouver for a week two summers ago and liked it a lot. The West End is definitely where you want to spend a lot of time and it would be a neat place to stay. It's very dense and walkable and has a lot to do but it's pretty quiet once you get off the main commercial streets like Davie and Robson and so on, it's also pretty easy to get to other parts of the city. It seemed like staying in other parts of the city would be a hassle or feel boring.
If you are a US citizen, thanks to NAFTA, you can easily work in Canada provided that you secure a job before you immigrate. There is some little paperwork involved from your Canadian employer.
[quote=Robynator;18090694]You're welcome
I was thinking about the work situation as well - not sure how that works, but you won't be able to legally work in Canada, and yet, as long as you can prove that you can support yourself for the one month that you're here, you should be okay. But don't quote me - you'll want to get those details from US and Canada immigration.
[quote=beachcomber381;18116302]If you are a US citizen, thanks to NAFTA, you can easily work in Canada provided that you secure a job before you immigrate. There is some little paperwork involved from your Canadian employer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robynator
You're welcome
I was thinking about the work situation as well - not sure how that works, but you won't be able to legally work in Canada, and yet, as long as you can prove that you can support yourself for the one month that you're here, you should be okay. But don't quote me - you'll want to get those details from US and Canada immigration.
Thanks. To clarify, I have a full-time job in the U.S. I will be working remotely via telephone and internet while visiting. I'm certainly not taking work from anyone else. Frankly, I'm pretty sure I could just do my job quietly and no one would be any the wiser, but I'd like to not violate the law if I can help it. .
Vancouver has crappy summer( and no for the people that will disagree: 22C is not beautiful and summer should last 3 months not 2 weeks). Next: people here are not terribly warm; I mean, they will reply to you if you ask them for directions, but don't expect to meet new friends here. People are uptight. Flavour? I am afraid, this is city is pretty bland. But, if you come here in July, there is lots of eye candy on the beaches! And people here are quite physically fit compared to the rest of North American cities. Also, if you are into camping/hiking, you are in luck. Great restaurants too.
But no soul or flavour.
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) Is either city likely to be easier to do this in?
