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Victoria, or the "Left Coast" of B.C. as mentioned above (Gulf Islands, Tofino, Nelson).
Halifax (a magnet for left- or other alt-minded folks from around the Maritime provinces, far more liberal than other places in the region).
Edmonton draws the most hippies in Alberta, but I don't anything about the local scene beyond that.
Rural Quebec, in the English-speaking communities, has a few (Chelsea, near Gatineau; Sherbrooke).
Canada doesn't have a huge amount of pure hippie communities in the numbers that the U.S. does... our population is a lot smaller, so we don't have a lot of Austins or Gainsvilles, etc., around the country. University towns are the best bet (Kingston, Kitchener in Ontario), but they also have large numbers of mainstream students...
Don't know why you rule out Vancouver for being too big. It has the same population as Portland or Austin, and it probably suits you the best. Vancouver is not big.
Sorry, Canada only have these three cities. You can forget others. They are either too boring or too fre8king cold, or both.
Vancouver will be a great city for me if it had twice the population in the city proper and a lot more jobs.
Actually, Vancouver could fit the bill. But i heard that it's a really expensive place to live, which could conflict with a bohemian lifestyle. and also it's more cosmopolitan than Austin, which could conflict with having a quirky, idiosyncratic way of doing things. but they both share this sort of common West Coast hippie culture. camping, outdoors, 420, psychedelic drugs, environmental consciousness etc.
Actually, Vancouver could fit the bill. But i heard that it's a really expensive place to live, which could conflict with a bohemian lifestyle. and also it's more cosmopolitan than Austin, which could conflict with having a quirky, idiosyncratic way of doing things. but they both share this sort of common West Coast hippie culture. camping, outdoors, 420, psychedelic drugs, environmental consciousness etc.
Vancouver is expensive ONLY IF you set you mind on purchasing a single family home close to the city.
If you rent, it's cheaper than Austin. Does Bohemian life involves being a home owner? That's as middle class and non-bohemian as it gets.
Vancouver being super expensive is sort of an urban legend, at least not as much as people make it out to be. It is probably the same price range as Toronto and cheaper than seattle. However, affordability is a different issues, because people tend to make less money in Vancouver.
Cost of living stats (many people don't think it is useful but I think it is more or less accurate) show that while cost of living in Austin is in general 9% higher than Vancouver, Austin's local purchase power is 31% higher than Vancouver, indicating the local wage difference.
But it is very hard to beat affordability of Texas cities to start with. In return, you get the ocean, the forest, the lifestyle etc etc.
As to cosmopolitan, Vancouver obviously wins, but it is not as international as you might think. the metro area has 40% white, 36% Asians, 14% Indians/Pakistanis, and 10% for the rest. It is far from the NYC/Los Angles/Toronto kind of diversity. You may or may not like it, I don't know. One thing I know is than East and south Asians (mainly Chinese and Indians) are definitely NOT bohemian. They love money and properties and don't give a damn about art.
If you are concerned with the cost, then choose a nearby city within driving distance from Vancouver. You will be surprised how much cheaper they are. But they are not Vancouver, just like Oakland is not San Francisco.
I used to live in Austin, TX and now I live in Montreal but i feel like somehow Montreal just doesn't cut it for me. While, Montreal is amazing as a big city, it's relatively too busy, too fast-paced and the social interaction not as friendly.
IMO Montreal has it all, but if you want a slower pace of life move out to Hudson or up to Morin Heights.
If moving out of Quebec is a must do some research on Halifax.
Based on what the OP is saying, I would strongly venture that they've never lived in any of those cities. Austin doesn't even come close to checking the boxes on the laundry list, and Marfa...
I get it, it's idealized, but a hippy heaven with amenities just doesn't exist, as you need actual people who work to have a functioning city.
If you're Canadian, go to Nelson or Saltspring Island, and that's about as good as you're going to get.
Based on what the OP is saying, I would strongly venture that they've never lived in any of those cities. Austin doesn't even come close to checking the boxes on the laundry list, and Marfa...
I get it, it's idealized, but a hippy heaven with amenities just doesn't exist, as you need actual people who work to have a functioning city.
If you're Canadian, go to Nelson or Saltspring Island, and that's about as good as you're going to get.
i've lived in Austin for 5 years, visited Portland many times. Yes, the hippie vibe is very diluted but it's still there. I would say Austin is not a hippie city anymore. but rather a city whose culture is heavily affected by the 60's hippie culture.
in Portland, the funky vibe is stronger. all the other cities i've mentioned, i'm just speculating after some research.
I'm a brand new Canadian and I don't have the rights to live in America, so yes probably BC is where I'll end up. any candidates in Ontario, though?
Based on what the OP is saying, I would strongly venture that they've never lived in any of those cities. Austin doesn't even come close to checking the boxes on the laundry list, and Marfa...
I get it, it's idealized, but a hippy heaven with amenities just doesn't exist, as you need actual people who work to have a functioning city.
If you're Canadian, go to Nelson or Saltspring Island, and that's about as good as you're going to get.
Those would be my choices.
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Vancouver could fit the bill
