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VANCOUVER ALL THE WAY, BEBEH! (Just not east hastings...) I love Vancouver! The bus system in my town is horrible so whenever I go to Van the public transit systems never cease to amaze me! Course that's probably standard for every major city but taking a bus to the downtown core and then being able to have everything you need in walking distance is awesome. Last time I went we went down to Pender (Chinatown) then shopped around a bit, took the skytrain to Metrotown, did a bit MORE shopping (new snowboard gear, gotta love the mountains) then took the skytrain back. Next week me and my friends plan on visiting Japantown and then taking a walk around Stanley park now that the debris been mostly cleaned up. Having said all that, its cheaper to live in other cities outside of Van while still having it only an hour's drive away. Same thing with Victoria. Too rich for my blood. LOL.
I'm a busy body so I need the quick pace and fast movements of the big city, anything else (smallville vancouver) would try my patients. So I vote Toronto.
Vancouver Vancouver Vancouver Vancouver Vancouver Vancouver
From someone who knows well: New York, Montreal, St. Catharines, Toronto, Moose Jaw, Lethbridge, Vancouver, Victoria, and a bit of Sechelt and Halfmoon Bay, Yellowknife, and California.
Last edited by allforcats; 12-02-2008 at 12:05 AM..
Wellllll, lesseee..... Van has more and better Japanese restaurants. That's a great love of mine, actually both a physical and an emotional addiction. And I get to yammer on in Japanese when I'm at those restaurants because most of the chefs, cooks and staff have profoundly limited English, and my Japanese is pretty fluent. I always walk out of one of those restaurants feeling completely and eternally joyous.
Visually, in Van one is closer to the mountains, and to the water.
People are more polite, as all Canadians are compared with "all" Americans.
Politically I don't enjoy the obstacles of their socialism (my motto: "Beautiful, bureaucratic, socialist British Columbia"), but socially I admire and applaud their inclusiveness which keeps surprising me and reminding me that in some ways Americans are barbaric.
I also admire their ability to love the past in preserving and protecting old trees and vistas, as well as buildings, and I'd go nuts battling the socialist obstacles that produced those results.
I like Canada. I've been Canadian and American all my life (thanks to the different origins of my mother and father) and have spent a fair bit of my life in different parts of Canada, both as a child and by choice as an adult. I find deeply interesting the past histories of the Canadians I've known, all that craggy British Isles stuff and the liaisons with the French and all...
I also like their cultural connection, however faint, to all of Europe, which does not seem to exist in the U.S.
I like the fundamental Canadian calmness of spirit.
Having said all that, I prefer Seattle and the U.S. Seattle isn't nearly so crowded, nor so vertical. More spread out, which suits me. Also the weather is a bit better for me in Seattle -- not as cold, not as windy, not even quite as rainy, also not quite so hot on the hottest summer days. The U.S. is fundamentally chaotic, which I find interesting and enhancing, spiritually, whereas Canada with its calm I find peaceful and static, for me. All in all, I feel Seattle offers more choices, spiritually and materially. And I find that fun.
MWTW, I hope the scope of my answer gave you a vista you wanted
Wellllll, lesseee..... Van has more and better Japanese restaurants. That's a great love of mine, actually both a physical and an emotional addiction. And I get to yammer on in Japanese when I'm at those restaurants because most of the chefs, cooks and staff have profoundly limited English, and my Japanese is pretty fluent. I always walk out of one of those restaurants feeling completely and eternally joyous.
Visually, in Van one is closer to the mountains, and to the water.
People are more polite, as all Canadians are compared with "all" Americans.
Politically I don't enjoy the obstacles of their socialism (my motto: "Beautiful, bureaucratic, socialist British Columbia"), but socially I admire and applaud their inclusiveness which keeps surprising me and reminding me that in some ways Americans are barbaric.
I also admire their ability to love the past in preserving and protecting old trees and vistas, as well as buildings, and I'd go nuts battling the socialist obstacles that produced those results.
I like Canada. I've been Canadian and American all my life (thanks to the different origins of my mother and father) and have spent a fair bit of my life in different parts of Canada, both as a child and by choice as an adult. I find deeply interesting the past histories of the Canadians I've known, all that craggy British Isles stuff and the liaisons with the French and all...
I also like their cultural connection, however faint, to all of Europe, which does not seem to exist in the U.S.
I like the fundamental Canadian calmness of spirit.
Having said all that, I prefer Seattle and the U.S. Seattle isn't nearly so crowded, nor so vertical. More spread out, which suits me. Also the weather is a bit better for me in Seattle -- not as cold, not as windy, not even quite as rainy, also not quite so hot on the hottest summer days. The U.S. is fundamentally chaotic, which I find interesting and enhancing, spiritually, whereas Canada with its calm I find peaceful and static, for me. All in all, I feel Seattle offers more choices, spiritually and materially. And I find that fun.
MWTW, I hope the scope of my answer gave you a vista you wanted
Wow, that really gave me the vista I wanted! You even gave me a feel and a general perspective about Canada, which is nice, because I am a Canadian permanent resident who never lived in Canada! I became CPR in 2006, but continue to live in US (NYC). For 2 years now, I've been thinking about should I stay or should I go. I first thought I have to choose between Canada and US, but after doing some research and thinking about it (using the Power of Now ), I understood that it's probably not Canada I want, but rather Vancouver and BC. PNW amazes me. It is a majic place. It's hard to explain. So the question now was not Canada or US (although I do understand perfectly well that Vancouver is a part of Canada, with all pluses and minuses) but rather Vancouver, BC or Seattle? The more I think and feel about it the more I think about Seattle as a settling place. I just need to see more of Seattle to make a final decision.
Now, in your post, you touched some things I feel the same about:
1. Vancouver is closer to the mountains and the ocean, which I love
2. I think that, indeed, Americans (New Yorkers?) are in a way barbaric
3. Seattle is not as crowded as Vancouver. I realized it last time I visited Van. Everytime I come, there are more condos in the downtown peninsula and less free space. Crowdedness is one of the major things I don't like about New York City. There is no healthy space here for a human being. I just feel Vancouver has the potential to one day become a very owercrowded place. One of the reason, I think is not only it's spectacular natural setting, but also the mildest climate in Canada and that not only so many Canadians, but also people from all around the world move to live there. Anyway, my point is: I don't want to move from one crowded place to another.
4. Last time I've been there, it was July. I realized, too that Vancouver was hotter than Seattle. I don't know why, but I felt it.
5. I also think that Seattle offers more choices, at least materially. I cannot say much about spirituality, as I didn't live neither in Seattle nor in Vancouver. However, I do can imagine that Seattle may be a more spiritual place, as it is somewhat in the shadow of more glamorous Vancouver and San Francisco.
6. Last but not least, Canada's cultural connection to Europe, which I like.
I have lived in Toronto my whole life; although I have travelled extensively in North America.
I would prefer Toronto because we get the election results 3 hours sooner
David Pylyp
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Toronto VS Vancouver
