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Yeah, I saw many 1 bedrooms in Vancouver for 800-900 a CAD month on craigslist... and those are the same prices in Seattle or Portland, or even higher, but in US dollars.... In Seattle its about 1100 US a month....
And since the exchange rate is 1CAD=0.79USD, So that means 900 CAD for a 1bdrm in Van = 700 USD.
Therefore, cheaper to rent in Van than in Seattle or PTLAND.
The only thing that doesnt scale between the two is incomes, but that's a whole other thread
You can rent a small studio or a 1 bedroom for a comparable price in Vancouver, yes(especially because there's such a glut of condos)--which is fine if you're single or in your twenties, though if you're older and actually want to start a family and settle down you're going to need more. Not even talking about a huge home, but for a 3 bedroom anything(house/apartment/condo) unless you're a lot further out you're going to be paying much much more than for a 600 sq foot studio.
Last edited by CanuckInPortland; 04-10-2015 at 03:03 PM..
You can rent a small studio or a 1 bedroom for a comparable price in Vancouver, yes(especially because there's such a glut of condos)--which is fine if you're single or in your twenties, though if you're older and actually want to start a family and settle down you're going to need more. Not even talking about a huge home, but for a 3 bedroom anything(house/apartment/condo) unless you're a lot further out you're going to be paying much much more than for a 600 sq foot studio.
The high prices of buying property(even further out) is what's different.
Rental prices are expensive though comparable to places like Portland and Seattle---which are considered expensive as it is in terms of rental prices--and a lower Canadian dollar doesn't matter if you're working in Vancouver and getting paid in Canadian dollars.
If one wants to rent for years and be at the mercy of changes to the rental market long term, living in Vancouver is possible with having millions. One can live in New York or Hong Kong or Paris if they're willing to live in shared quarters or smaller rooms without being rich. The issue now is that to afford a home or living space sizable enough for a family, one needs a huge amount of cash for a down payment--that's much higher than Seattle.
I understand the situation about costs in Vancouver and I could live again in Vancouver if I wanted, but I'm fine where I am right now. If everything worked out, I'd honestly rather live in Montreal again, but there's other things that prevent me from ending up there like having elderly family out west.
The high prices of buying property(even further out) is what's different.
Rental prices are expensive though comparable to places like Portland and Seattle---which are considered expensive as it is in terms of rental prices--and a lower Canadian dollar doesn't matter if you're working in Vancouver and getting paid in Canadian dollars.
If one wants to rent for years and be at the mercy of changes to the rental market long term, living in Vancouver is possible with having millions. One can live in New York or Hong Kong or Paris if they're willing to live in shared quarters or smaller rooms without being rich. The issue now is that to afford a home or living space sizable enough for a family, one needs a huge amount of cash for a down payment--that's much higher than Seattle.
I understand the situation about costs in Vancouver and I could live again in Vancouver if I wanted, but I'm fine where I am right now. If everything worked out, I'd honestly rather live in Montreal again, but there's other things that prevent me from ending up there like having elderly family out west.
But what If I never want to have a family or a house or any kind of property
But what If I never want to have a family or a house or any kind of property
Then move wherever you want? Like I already said, no city is completely unaffordable if someone can find some sort of income or cash and/or is willing to cut back or live in shared space and so on.
But it's silly to not pretend that some cities are much less affordable and some are more affordable. It's just a trade-off people decide to make on their own. Some people are fine renting a small apartment in Vancouver--other's find it not worth the price--some people buy houses for over a million$ and care less about the cost, others flee to the furthest suburbs or even to a different province or country.
Then move wherever you want? Like I already said, no city is completely unaffordable if someone can find some sort of income or cash and/or is willing to cut back or live in shared space and so on.
But it's silly to not pretend that some cities are much less affordable and some are more affordable. It's just a trade-off people decide to make on their own. Some people are fine renting a small apartment in Vancouver--other's find it not worth the price--some people buy houses for over a million$ and care less about the cost, others flee to the furthest suburbs or even to a different province or country.
All I'm saying is that if I see a 1 bdrm place for 900 or less it looks pretty good for me, regardless of city. I don't see how having a 1 bedrm place is sharing space or how it's in any way "settling" or a plan B. All this talk about housing prices and bubbles don't apply to me and many others.
You can rent a small studio or a 1 bedroom for a comparable price in Vancouver, yes(especially because there's such a glut of condos)--which is fine if you're single or in your twenties, though if you're older and actually want to start a family and settle down you're going to need more. Not even talking about a huge home, but for a 3 bedroom anything(house/apartment/condo) unless you're a lot further out you're going to be paying much much more than for a 600 sq foot studio.
Solution: have fewer children You can get live on a sizeable 2 BR condos with one kid and they're still within some semblance of reason in Burnaby. If you want to have 2+ kids, a dog and live in Vancouver proper/downtown...well, you can't have your cake and eat it too. I've lived in Hong Kong for many years and people raise families on condos just fine.
Portland has done some nice things downtown, but it lacked energy, especially in the evenings.
And Vancouver has "energy"? Even my 65 year old mother commented that Vancouver "is quiet and doesn't have many people on the street" when she was there, and that was a Saturday afternoon.
Vancouver's downtown is about 1X1.5km tiny, and even on that small piece of land not much is happening. I kept wondering, where are the people!!!
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You can get live on a sizeable 2 BR condos with one kid and they're still within some semblance of reason in Burnaby. If you want to have 2+ kids, a dog and live in Vancouver proper/downtown...well, you can't have your cake and eat it too. I've lived in Hong Kong for many years and people raise families on condos just fine.
