Vancouver BC vs Seattle WA vs Portland OR (living, rates, places)
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I didn't take these pictures but my friend did with my camera, the pictures are mine.
I've been to Vancouver quite a few times for camp when I was a kid and in my post teens have only been once but in my opinion it's the most beautiful city in continental North America. Either way, I have a bias for both desert cities and their extreme opposites, very lush and green cities. It's everything in between that I just cant stand. I also really like animal life, particularly birds of all kinds. I'm not a "scenery" person unless the scenery is RIGHT THERE and graspable in the city but even then I don't go out of my way to go hiking or climbing, only when the people I travel with want to do I go along with it.
Despite it's population suggesting it's the smallest of the three by metropolitans, I've personally felt that Vancouver is far denser and feels larger than the other two, in my opinion. There are very few cities in North America that I would take over Vancouver and when you eliminate New York, Toronto, Chicago, Miami, Washington, Tucson, Denver, or San Diego from the equation then there is none. The latter three for me are a split four way tie with Vancouver, depending on the day, I prefer one more than the other as they all blend four different cultures, sceneries, and atmosphere to which I very much enjoy. The summer I spent in Tucson, the week spent in Denver and San Diego each, and the summer camps in Vancouver were among the best and most memorable times of my life.
For years Vancouver has topped international rankings for quality of life -- as in, it has the best quality of life of any city in the world. When it's not No. 1, it's generally high up there. Seattle and Portland tend not to appear, nor does any other American city. I think San Francisco often ranks the highest when a U.S. city finally makes the list somewhere in the 30s or thereabouts.
Personally, I prefer Seattle (never been to Portland). But I think it's pretty well accepted that Vancouver has the superior quality of life.
Vancouver has the higher quality of life for independently wealthy Chinese investors and retirees... It's become a very expensive place for the natives to actually afford to live in and work. It's content to rest on a bed of accolades these days...
I love Vancouver, BC--but I sometime feel it's the most overrated city in North America at this point. It's got a great scenic backdrop and some shiny high-rises, but in the end it doesn't really feel all that more exciting than other cities on the West Coast. It sort of reminds me of San Diego--and I like San Diego as well--but feel like both cities that put their best foot forward to appeal to tourists and out-of-towners. Portland is basically a messy midsized city with some nice village neighborhoods that can't decide if it wants to grow up or not and Seattle wants to really be a serious city/business center at the cost of whatever level of gentrification. But Vancouver feigns at being an international city, that despite the presence of a lot of Asians, feels relatively quiet and provincial. It's definitely not as interesting as Toronto or Montreal in terms of an urban landscape or culture--and outside some parts of the denser parts of downtown or the West End it doesn't feel anymore more exciting than Seattle or Portland for the most part--when I visit Vancouver it's exciting, but after half-a-day you basically do the same things you do in other Northwestern cities.
The fact that the mountains are closer is nice and the coastline to the north is beautiful, but you end up driving the same distance to the larger inland mountains as you would from Seattle or Portland. You'd think that a true international city would have bars all over town and a variety of districts with good nightlife--but last call is amazingly early in Vancouver outside of the Granville Street stip filled with Top 40 danceclubs and drunk 19-year-olds. When I visit Vancouver I usually meet a lot of people who relocated to the city from places like Edmonton(where I used to live) or Winnipeg or interior BC or so on—and from those places, yes it would look like a much more exciting location.
It's not that I don't like Vancouver--it's a beautiful city--though sometimes it feels that the praise heaped on it by outsiders sort of gives it this glowing reputation that seems more impressive than actually visiting the place(you can say the same for Portland and Seattle on some level though not at the extent of Vancouver). Those shiny condo tours really impress a certain crowd...
Ive lived in all three cities and have relatives in all three cities. 10 years ago I would of said Vancouver for its street life and downtown shopping. I have always lived downtown in city centers untill recently and im looking to move back downtown this year. I would give the edge to Seattle now there downtown is booming . Theres alot more people downtown since the population doubled to 70,000. When I moved before it was because I was always leaving the city center to go shopping or run errands. But know ten years later Seattle has 4 supermarkets downtown and an new H Mart under construction by Pike Place downtown. The location of Seattle is better half way betweeen to great cities. Seattle is served by Amtrack cascades. It connnects Portland ,Seattle ,and Vancouver . And thanks to federal funding it will be a high speed rail line its already under construction there improving the tracks so the french talgo trains can go 125mph. Then the cities will only be an hour apart in the near future. All three cities are beautifull and have taken freeways or not allowed freeways to damage there downtowns. All are investing heavly into public transportation and its easy to get around downtown in all three cities. All three have beautifull downtown parks when they finish the 2 mile long Seattle waterfront park it will be one of the most expensive parks in the world. It's costing 3 billion to move the freeway underground. And another 500 million for park development. And all the space where the freeeway was will be park space . I love all three cities But I will chose Seattle .
I would chose vancouver. I already live there.
Vancouver has a better education, more diverse, downtown is more interesting, better mountains and better nightlife.
Seattle is nice, but I find it a bit boring. I liked it, but after going a few times, I don't really care. I haven't gone to Seattle for about 5 years if you don't include going to baseball games and leaving or driving through on the freeway.
Portland I find boring also, the only reason I ever go there is for shopping, or going through the city on the freeway, just like seattle.
I am sorry if you don't agree, its just my opinion.
15% of downtown Vancouver condos sit empty, turning areas into ghost towns: Study
By Mike Raptis, The Province
Barkerville. Deadwood. Downtown Vancouver?
An analysis of Vancouver’s empty condo rate or those occupied by foreign residents, by UBC planning professor Andy Yan, reveals much of the downtown core is starting to look like B.C.’s ghost towns — with apartments languishing empty, businesses closing down and residents not feeling the sense of community they bought into.
Yan’s data suggests that other than in the West End, 14.9 per cent of the condos downtown, or 5,710 units, are unoccupied.
This includes some of the ritziest, eye-catching real estate in the city — particularly in Coal Harbour — where one in four condos are either empty, or not lived in by their owners.
UBC economics and real estate professor Tour Somerville says that number is closer to 65 per cent for the immediate area...
I would chose vancouver. I already live there.
Vancouver has a better education, more diverse, downtown is more interesting, better mountains and better nightlife.
Seattle is nice, but I find it a bit boring. I liked it, but after going a few times, I don't really care. I haven't gone to Seattle for about 5 years if you don't include going to baseball games and leaving or driving through on the freeway.
Portland I find boring also, the only reason I ever go there is for shopping, or going through the city on the freeway, just like seattle.
I am sorry if you don't agree, its just my opinion.
I actually think Seattle has more to offer city-wide. There are more interesting districts, neighborhoods, and attractions spread across the city than Vancouver. Personally, I'd take Capitol Hill or Ballard over any Vancouver neighborhood. No doubt, Vancouver's downtown has a more urban, international vibe (though Seattle is no slouch there) - and it is incredibly walkable. It is a very appealing City in many regards.
In terms of nightlife, I'll choose Seattle or Portland over Vancouver. Vancouver has two happening nightlife districts - Granville and Gas Town - which are mainly filled with top 40 clubs and fancy restaurants with cocktail bars. The rest of the City is pretty lackluster for nightlife. Seattle has far more variety, a lot of more districts with decent nightlife to choose from, and a much stronger neighborhood bar culture. Compared to Vancouver, Portland has a funkier, quirkier, feel about it that translates into a fun, loose nightlife scene that has far more character (and a lot more bars overall) than Vancouver.
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