Moving to Vancouver (crime, how much, find a job)

[stone-ground]

What movingwiththewind said .. and so well.

Not trying to lay my hard luck story on you, but for years I made just enough to get by on with no extras, but still enjoyed Vancouver. Just a walk in it's parks, or catching the sunset on the beach at the end of your day makes it all worth while.

Ride the skytrain and buses for exploration, there are so many places to see.

The local mountains are easily accessible for hiking .. gorgeous lakes within short walking distances, lots of great biking trails .. in fact, some that even I can manage .. meaning ..easy street.

The whole 'downtown' area has gorgeous walking trails that take you right from one end to the other, with little parks here and there, sea walks all over the place, and Stanely Park which one could visit every day and never get bored with it. Also fun to bike and walk aroiund .. all for free .. unless one of those concessions stands somewhere manages to draw you in for some yummy fries. For some reason, you find the best fries on the beach.

The beaches are great places to hang out, from busy to quiet, whatever your preference. Take a book and a blanket and lunch for the day, if you're lucky, you may even get a page or two read. I seem to spend more time looking at the scenary and watching the bird and people action.

My theory is .. there's always a job, somewhere. May not be what you want, but a stepping in the meantime to get you by until you find what you want.

Lots of co-op living, people sharing big houses, especially around the universities. You can find ads looking for room-mates in the newspapers, local papers, but if interested in co-op living, the university boards are good places to check for suites or rooms to rent and usually on the cheaper side.

May sound weird or kind of scary, but it's not at all. Been there, done that and although it's not always perfect, if you're young it's kind of fun being around others, plus you meet so many more people through all the contacts. And that's what it's all about, when looking for work or the ideal place to live .. all about contacts.

Many are just looking for one other room-mate, which again .. may not be perfect, but a little more private .. but then, usually more espensive.

It's all do-able, just depends on your desired life-style.

Maybe it's worse right now with the decline, but sounds like it's starting it's way back up again. I've been here long enough to have gone through many ups and downs of the economy, and never really thought of it as difficult. Always seemed to be a job somewhere, which you take until you work out where it is you want to work and which area you'd like to live in.

If you wouldn't mind shared accommodation of some sort, that would be the cheapest way to live for awhile. Also, if it's a house, it's usually already furnished to some extent by the others living there, and can fix your own room up however you like .. even if it's just throwing a futon on the floor at first.

Vancouver's such a huge area, with all sorts of neighbourhoods and communities and municipalites, that one doesn't usually know where they want to live at first.

If I were young and broke coming here, I'd check out the UBC board for shared housing and go from there. Then a job. Even if you worked at Starbuck's, you'd be able to make ends meet with co-op living. You'd be around a beautiful part of the city with access to so much, plus the skytrain and bus system in the hub, is so convenient and cheap. The whole Kitsilano to UBC area is a unique area, with lots of young people in it's hub. I still love that area, but also love the north shore where with the mountains and trees and moving air. Capilano College is one board you could check out also for accommodation if that's more your style. Two bridges divide the north shore from the main part of Vancouver, so if you live over there, it's also nice to work on the same side .. unless you don't mind some 'think-time' going to and from work every day.

Check out craigslist also for work, also for accomodation and see what's available.

If you do decide to move to Vancouver, don't let the rain get you down. It's all worthwhile!

[ubringliten]

Stone-ground and Movingwiththewind,

I believe that the lower salary given filters out the people that want to make lots of money. I for one, do not want to see Vancouver to end up like SF or NYC. Once the city is filled with wealthy people, it starts to lose that sweetness and soul. It will lose the art culture because the artists are the ones that don't make much and we need everyone of them. I think Vancouver is designed by the best landscape artists and architects.

I just got accepted to work there and willing to take a 20% pay cut to be there. I am in the process of negotiation right now. I want to be surrounded by nice and content people with a place that can be called home. Don't want to miss this opportunity. Besides, the CAD is getting closer to USD.

[ubringliten]

Originally Posted by stone-ground

What movingwiththewind said .. and so well.

Not trying to lay my hard luck story on you, but for years I made just enough to get by on with no extras, but still enjoyed Vancouver. Just a walk in it's parks, or catching the sunset on the beach at the end of your day makes it all worth while.

Ride the skytrain and buses for exploration, there are so many places to see.

The local mountains are easily accessible for hiking .. gorgeous lakes within short walking distances, lots of great biking trails .. in fact, some that even I can manage .. meaning ..easy street.

The whole 'downtown' area has gorgeous walking trails that take you right from one end to the other, with little parks here and there, sea walks all over the place, and Stanely Park which one could visit every day and never get bored with it. Also fun to bike and walk aroiund .. all for free .. unless one of those concessions stands somewhere manages to draw you in for some yummy fries. For some reason, you find the best fries on the beach.

The beaches are great places to hang out, from busy to quiet, whatever your preference. Take a book and a blanket and lunch for the day, if you're lucky, you may even get a page or two read. I seem to spend more time looking at the scenary and watching the bird and people action.

My theory is .. there's always a job, somewhere. May not be what you want, but a stepping in the meantime to get you by until you find what you want.

Lots of co-op living, people sharing big houses, especially around the universities. You can find ads looking for room-mates in the newspapers, local papers, but if interested in co-op living, the university boards are good places to check for suites or rooms to rent and usually on the cheaper side.

May sound weird or kind of scary, but it's not at all. Been there, done that and although it's not always perfect, if you're young it's kind of fun being around others, plus you meet so many more people through all the contacts. And that's what it's all about, when looking for work or the ideal place to live .. all about contacts.

Many are just looking for one other room-mate, which again .. may not be perfect, but a little more private .. but then, usually more espensive.

It's all do-able, just depends on your desired life-style.

Maybe it's worse right now with the decline, but sounds like it's starting it's way back up again. I've been here long enough to have gone through many ups and downs of the economy, and never really thought of it as difficult. Always seemed to be a job somewhere, which you take until you work out where it is you want to work and which area you'd like to live in.

If you wouldn't mind shared accommodation of some sort, that would be the cheapest way to live for awhile. Also, if it's a house, it's usually already furnished to some extent by the others living there, and can fix your own room up however you like .. even if it's just throwing a futon on the floor at first.

Vancouver's such a huge area, with all sorts of neighbourhoods and communities and municipalites, that one doesn't usually know where they want to live at first.

If I were young and broke coming here, I'd check out the UBC board for shared housing and go from there. Then a job. Even if you worked at Starbuck's, you'd be able to make ends meet with co-op living. You'd be around a beautiful part of the city with access to so much, plus the skytrain and bus system in the hub, is so convenient and cheap. The whole Kitsilano to UBC area is a unique area, with lots of young people in it's hub. I still love that area, but also love the north shore where with the mountains and trees and moving air. Capilano College is one board you could check out also for accommodation if that's more your style. Two bridges divide the north shore from the main part of Vancouver, so if you live over there, it's also nice to work on the same side .. unless you don't mind some 'think-time' going to and from work every day.

Check out craigslist also for work, also for accomodation and see what's available.

If you do decide to move to Vancouver, don't let the rain get you down. It's all worthwhile!

Very persuasive post!

Thanks.

[stone-ground]

Congrats on your new job Ubringliten, and welcome to Vancouver!

[kkgg7]

Vancouver is a lovely city. However, it is increasingly confusing to me why so many people are making such a big fuss about it, like it is some sort of paradise that doesn't exist anywhere in the world. Let's take a deep beath and analyze what is really so "unique" about Vancouver before making any rush decision. We always need to have reasonable expectations in order not to end up being completely disappointed.

Vancouver's climate in general is pretty bad. It is good only by Canadian standards, which doesn't really count. Vancouver pretty much doesn't have a real "summer" (over 30C), and its long winter is pretty depressing unless you are a big fan of the rain and cloud. In terms of weather, San Diego, US or Nice, France beats Vancouver by a million miles
Great food. Really? You can have Japanese or Chinese food with the equal quality if not better, at half the price in Los Angeles or San Francisco or even New York. Those who rave of Sushi in Vancouver must have not eaten elsewhere. The 8.99 rolls you ordered is sold at 4.99 in many other places and they taste equally good. Trust me, it is true.
Beaches, do I need to mention Santa Monica, Santa Babara, San Diego or the entire Florida? And for exactly how many month you can actually swim in the freezing water?
Outdoor. Again, LA or San Fran pretty much has everything Vancouver does, hiking in mountains, or go ski within 2 hours drive. Seattle is surrounded by Pacific Ocean and mountains too by the way. No, Vancouver is not that unique.

Let's talk about something Vancouver does NOT have.
First and foremost, jobs and decent salaries. If you make 50K in Vancouver, you probably can make 80-100K in San Fran with the same qualification.
Shopping. Vancouver's shopping destination is extremely limited. the small SOHO in NYC is probably larger than the entire Vancouver shopping area. Robson Street, really? People think Robson is a big deal must have never been to Fith Ave, or Michigan Ave, or Melrose Ave, or Market Street, or many and many.
Night life, close to like zero. You can argue vancouver is more outdoor rather than club scene any way you want, but the fact is there is limited availability even if you want to.
Culture, what culture? Don't tell me yoga, first it is Indian stuff and second it is not like you can't do yoga elsewhere.

I am not a Vancouver basher, but I am really tired of the endless cheering about Vancouver offers the best or one of the best quality of life. The fact is, if you make average money, you end up being poor in Vancouver, and if you have lots of money, well, I am just sorry that you settle with Vancouver when there are plenty of cities out there that offer everything Vancouver does AND much it does not.

Let's even not talk about its real estate price. Vancouver is the only city in North America that has such a ridiculously high housing price with such low wages and such tiny job markets. The reason is simply, those who purchase houses simply don't have to work. Do you know how many wealthy Hong Kong families moved to Vancouver and bought $2million with cash? They choose vancouver simply because it is closer to Hong Kong and it doesn't drop to -20C in winter. And we follow them willingly suffer the artificial price and low pay jobs pretending it is all with it just because we see the ocrean, the mountains and can eat fresh sushi? Trust me, these exist in many other places at a fraction of the price.

Anyway, be rational about Vancouver being so "perfect". It is really not.

[movingwiththewind]

Originally Posted by kkgg7

Anyway, be rational about Vancouver being so "perfect". It is really not.

People talk about Vancouver because they like it. There are many reasons for that, which are already listed in this and in countless other threads. Rationality has nothing to do with it. There is nothing to understand. Rational people live somewhere else, which is fine. No, Vancouver is not perfect, but I love it anyway. I agree that my approach is not rational, which is fine, too. And, by the way, a lot of negatives that you mentioned in your post, are positives to me.

[stone-ground]

I hear you about all those great spots you mentioned kkgg7, and agree. With all that to choose from, Vancouver doesn't seem all that special, no. There are so many beautiful places to live.

but to a Canadian, and a cold one at that coming from Hull, the grass would look very green.

It's colder in Canada, that's for sure. Vancouver, being on the mild west coast, opens up a whole new time-line for outdoor activities compared to enduring cold, hard winters that keep you indoors for most of it.

Also, unless the OP has a dual citizenship, he/she'd be hard-pressed to live and work in the US, so out of places to choose in Canada, Vancouver is a very beautiful spot. Another is the east coast, which I haven't experienced yet, but plan to soon hopefully.

I'm curious, have you lived in Vancouver?

I know everyone has their own opinions, but I was a little surprised reading your posts making it out to be a place where one would not be able to find work. and that only the wealthy live here.

There are plenty working stiffs around, that I can say for sure. Come to think of it, don't know anyone that doesn't have to work for a living, with the exception of my retired mother and her friends.

It's not for everyone, that's for sure. but if it's what someone desires, .. pointing out the positives and that it is possible to live and work here and survive.

[movingwiththewind]

Originally Posted by kkgg7

Vancouver is a lovely city. However, it is increasingly confusing to me why so many people are making such a big fuss about it, like it is some sort of paradise that doesn't exist anywhere in the world. Let's take a deep beath and analyze what is really so "unique" about Vancouver before making any rush decision. We always need to have reasonable expectations in order not to end up being completely disappointed.

Vancouver's climate in general is pretty bad. It is good only by Canadian standards, which doesn't really count. Vancouver pretty much doesn't have a real "summer" (over 30C), and its long winter is pretty depressing unless you are a big fan of the rain and cloud. In terms of weather, San Diego, US or Nice, France beats Vancouver by a million miles
Great food. Really? You can have Japanese or Chinese food with the equal quality if not better, at half the price in Los Angeles or San Francisco or even New York. Those who rave of Sushi in Vancouver must have not eaten elsewhere. The 8.99 rolls you ordered is sold at 4.99 in many other places and they taste equally good. Trust me, it is true.
Beaches, do I need to mention Santa Monica, Santa Babara, San Diego or the entire Florida? And for exactly how many month you can actually swim in the freezing water?
Outdoor. Again, LA or San Fran pretty much has everything Vancouver does, hiking in mountains, or go ski within 2 hours drive. Seattle is surrounded by Pacific Ocean and mountains too by the way. No, Vancouver is not that unique.

Let's talk about something Vancouver does NOT have.
First and foremost, jobs and decent salaries. If you make 50K in Vancouver, you probably can make 80-100K in San Fran with the same qualification.
Shopping. Vancouver's shopping destination is extremely limited. the small SOHO in NYC is probably larger than the entire Vancouver shopping area. Robson Street, really? People think Robson is a big deal must have never been to Fith Ave, or Michigan Ave, or Melrose Ave, or Market Street, or many and many.
Night life, close to like zero. You can argue vancouver is more outdoor rather than club scene any way you want, but the fact is there is limited availability even if you want to.
Culture, what culture? Don't tell me yoga, first it is Indian stuff and second it is not like you can't do yoga elsewhere.

I am not a Vancouver basher, but I am really tired of the endless cheering about Vancouver offers the best or one of the best quality of life. The fact is, if you make average money, you end up being poor in Vancouver, and if you have lots of money, well, I am just sorry that you settle with Vancouver when there are plenty of cities out there that offer everything Vancouver does AND much it does not.

Let's even not talk about its real estate price. Vancouver is the only city in North America that has such a ridiculously high housing price with such low wages and such tiny job markets. The reason is simply, those who purchase houses simply don't have to work. Do you know how many wealthy Hong Kong families moved to Vancouver and bought $2million with cash? They choose vancouver simply because it is closer to Hong Kong and it doesn't drop to -20C in winter. And we follow them willingly suffer the artificial price and low pay jobs pretending it is all with it just because we see the ocrean, the mountains and can eat fresh sushi? Trust me, these exist in many other places at a fraction of the price.

Anyway, be rational about Vancouver being so "perfect". It is really not.

kkgg, don't forget that you compared Vancouver to many places at the same time, picking something from each place (LA, SF, NYC, and so on) that maybe as good or better than in Vancouver. For example, you compere California's weather to Vancouver's, NYC shopping to Vancouver's etc. It is not fair, in my opinion. Of course, Vancouver alone cannot beat all of those places taken together in all aspects: Weather, food, cost of living, shopping etc.). Would you, however, compare Vancouver just to one of them, say only to NYC, only to SF, only to LA, and so on, and than let's see how much better those places are comparing to Vancouver one on one. You know what I mean?

[kkgg7]

Originally Posted by movingwiththewind

kkgg, don't forget that you compared Vancouver to many places at the same time, picking something from each place (LA, SF, NYC, and so on) that maybe as good or better than in Vancouver. For example, you compere California's weather to Vancouver's, NYC shopping to Vancouver's etc. It is not fair, in my opinion. Of course, Vancouver alone cannot beat all of those places taken together in all aspects: Weather, food, cost of living, shopping etc.). Would you, however, compare Vancouver just to one of them, say only to NYC, only to SF, only to LA, and so on, and than let's see how much better those places are comparing to Vancouver one on one. You know what I mean?

I would say San Fran and Santa Monica/WestLA pretty much has EVERYTHING Vancouver does. I really can't think of anything they can't, except that Vancouver has a higher living cost than both with considerably smaller economy and lower wage.
NYC is a city of a different league only a handful of real top world class can compare. No need to talk much here.

I visited Vancouver a few times and I absolutely love the city. However, it is simply not up to the level everyone was raving about ... the city is inarguably beautiful and pleasant, but it is really not "the best" in anything if we cool our heads a bit.

Again, I am not here to offend anyone, just try to let those who want to abandon everything behind and move know that it might not live up to the hype. If we had the choice to live in Europe, there are at least half a dozen medium sized cities which can offer as much as vancouver just off the top of my head.

[movingwiththewind]

Originally Posted by kkgg7

If we had the choice to live in Europe, there are at least half a dozen medium sized cities which can offer as much as vancouver

I agree with that. Maybe even two dozen. If we had the choice to live in Europe...