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I’m all for more greenspace in Chicago, and that has been slowly happening, but it’s hard to deny that those lakeside parks in Chicago are fantastic and fairly well-integrated into the urban fabric of the city.
Right, and the bilingual environment Montreal offers is great as bilingual education is in general.
Chicago has some very nice parks but no answer for Toronto’s Islands...
also Vancouver is pretty darn good too, even has palm trees!
The cost of housing in Vancouver ( beyond ridiculous ) should immediately eliminate that city from the competition. Your quality of life living of being forced to live a box, no matter how good the town is, makes that quality of life horrible. Not everyone has a million dollars to plunk down on a house.
Vancouver looks gorgeous. From photos I’ve seen it looks like it has an amazing park system that is well integrated with the urban core and is surrounded by beautiful scenery. I’m not sure why it always gets a lot of hate on here — from both Americans and Canadians alike. But then again, I’ve never been there, although I do really want to go.
It gets knocked for housing costs, a economic opportunity relative to some cities, and being half again as rainy as Seattle. It's quality of life is outstanding if you get beyond those things.
Ah, you forgot the "none of the above" button. Quality of life is tightly coupled with affordability. That varies by family. Affordability means having the ability for you and your family to participate in the many opportunities all large metros offer.
Another factor , in my personal opinion dealing with snarled traffic every day would be a major detractor of QOL.
Since there is discussion up tread about parks I'll just leave this here
10 ten cities with best parks (2016):
1. Minneapolis
2. St. Paul
3. Washington, D.C.
4. Arlington, Virginia
5. San Francisco
6. Portland, Oregon
7. New York
8. Irvine, California
9. Boston
10. Cincinnati (tie)
10. Madison, Wisconsin (tie)
The cost of housing in Vancouver ( beyond ridiculous ) should immediately eliminate that city from the competition. Your quality of life living of being forced to live a box, no matter how good the town is, makes that quality of life horrible. Not everyone has a million dollars to plunk down on a house.
If you are approaching QOL as a newcomer to Vancouver with the intention of buying, then yes, your ability to do things that cost money will affect your QOL. However, there are a lot of things that don't cost money to enhance your QOL.
IF you take it from my stance, one who bought in Vancouver when housing was much more affordable, my QOL is very high.
Saying " forced to live in a box " shows to me that you approach housing totally different than we do. People all over the world prefer to live in condo's and or apartments, rather than single family homes. Not everyone is looking for that.
I can tell you, the " box " I live in is done to a very high standard, has amazing views, a lovely back garden, numerous smaller parks with 2 massive ones, Stanley Park within walking distance, and Pacific Spirit Park a bike ride away, shops, restaurants, cinema's, bars, hospital, 2 stadiums, several beaches, an amazing 29k seawall, views of ocean and mountains on my doorstep, and on and on.
I can walk to over 10 large grocery stores, scores of smaller food shops and bakeries. Large department stores are also a few minute walk away.
The metro station is 1 minute away.
The things that make my life better IMO is the ability to enjoy the nature in the city, and close by. It doesn't cost me anything to walk down to forested trails in Stanley Park and recharge myself. It costs nothing to breath in fresh ocean air, it costs nothing to except the cost of food, to have a picnic on the beach 3 minutes from my front door. These are just some of the things, people calculate in QOL. It's not all about the latest smartphone.
If you are approaching QOL as a newcomer to Vancouver with the intention of buying, then yes, your ability to do things that cost money will affect your QOL. However, there are a lot of things that don't cost money to enhance your QOL.
IF you take it from my stance, one who bought in Vancouver when housing was much more affordable, my QOL is very high.
Saying " forced to live in a box " shows to me that you approach housing totally different than we do. People all over the world prefer to live in condo's and or apartments, rather than single family homes. Not everyone is looking for that.
I can tell you, the " box " I live in is done to a very high standard, has amazing views, a lovely back garden, numerous smaller parks with 2 massive ones, Stanley Park within walking distance, and Pacific Spirit Park a bike ride away, shops, restaurants, cinema's, bars, hospital, 2 stadiums, several beaches, an amazing 29k seawall, views of ocean and mountains on my doorstep, and on and on.
I can walk to over 10 large grocery stores, scores of smaller food shops and bakeries. Large department stores are also a few minute walk away.
The metro station is 1 minute away.
The things that make my life better IMO is the ability to enjoy the nature in the city, and close by. It doesn't cost me anything to walk down to forested trails in Stanley Park and recharge myself. It costs nothing to breath in fresh ocean air, it costs nothing to except the cost of food, to have a picnic on the beach 3 minutes from my front door. These are just some of the things, people calculate in QOL. It's not all about the latest smartphone.
The condos are really underrated. Solid concrete so no noise, great views, modern interior design, secure underground parking, close to urban center with everything within walking distance, and relatively affordable. This type of lifestyle in Seattle or San Francisco or Chicago would cost in the millions to get into.
Most are also built close to or on the skytrain, which is very convenient. Vancouver's public transport is also a cut above most north american cities (I think it was ranked third).
San Francisco is on Vancouver's cost tier. Seattle is maybe 50% of the cost. (Caveat...Washington state has condo liability laws that have choked off most construction, so those values are at a premium...something like 95% of our greater Downtown boom has been rentals.)
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