What you don't like about Vancouver (Seattle, Tacoma: condo, how much, college)

[Biz901]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

Given that list they define "crime" as including murder, rape, aggravated assault... of course it seems low plus it's comparing to some big city heavy-weights as well. I've said:



Yes, there are high rate of property crimes... and it's usually the druggies. Up in Seattle, if your car got jacked, the cops aren't going to do anything about it. Its done. You can use City-Data's own source of how they divided up crimes. //www.city-data.com/crime/crime...ashington.html However, given that you're from So-Cal, odds are it's still a walk in a park for you.

Not interested in Seattle, and I certainly hope things don't go full Moderator cut: offensive like Seattle-Tacoma down in Vancouver, and yes I think precautions can be taken to discourage/avoid druggies, including community activism.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by Biz901

Not interested in Seattle, and I certainly hope things don't go full Moderator cut: offensive like Seattle-Tacoma down in Vancouver

I don't understand this comment at all.

Do you mean that you actually think the Vancouver Police will take carjackings and vandalism more seriously than the cops in Seattle? That's never been my friends' experience at all.

[Biz901]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

I don't understand this comment at all.

Do you mean that you actually think the Vancouver Police will take carjackings and vandalism more seriously than the cops in Seattle? That's never been my friends' experience at all.

What I'm saying is I hope there's a sense of community among Vancouver's homeowners that doesn't really exist anymore in larger metro areas like Sea-Tac...

When communities become involved in local politics, public/political ineptitude and/or corruption can be dealt with, holding public servants accountable for results.

Criminals will have no place in such a community...

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by Biz901

What I'm saying is I hope there's a sense of community among Vancouver's homeowners that doesn't really exist anymore in larger metro areas like Sea-Tac...

Oh but it does. You just have to find it... but there's lots of sense of communities up here. Heck, Seattle neighborhoods have their own blog sites about the happenings. The towns always have something going on as well and you can find more information in the town's community center (of which there's many around).

Originally Posted by Biz901

When communities become involved in local politics, public/political ineptitude and/or corruption can be dealt with, holding public servants accountable for results.

Criminals will have no place in such a community...

Oh... ok, I think you're going to be in for a rude awakening, LOL. Lots of ineptitude and corruption in Vancouver-- the big difference b/w Seattle and Vancouver is that at least when Seattleites find out, they make their grievances clear right away (and more often than not, things will get done or the politicians get voted out). With Vancouver, it's expected to be swept under the rug-- and people just shrug it off. My husband's family are teachers, firefighters and a couple are cops-- you wouldn't believe the stories they have about the public servants (really the politicians on the higher ups) have done. There's even a website about corrupted judges in WA and lots of them are in Vancouver. I know you're not interested in Seattle, but just pointing out some differences.

Aside from the political/public government aspect, it's quite possible (of course more likely) to live a nice life in Vancouver without any criminal aspect to be experienced.

[hml1976]

I've lived in Toronto, Washington DC, NYC, and Nashville in the last 15yrs and many other cities before that. Vancouver/Camas is the safest area I've ever lived in.

You may want to check out Camas for a more community feel although I'm sure some neighborhoods in Vancouver are great too.

[Inkpoe]

Just wanted to clarify what I said because I realize its not as clear as I would like:

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

I was referring to the sense of community in Seattle. My mother in law who always live in the nice part of Vancouver has always said that this is one of the edges that Seattle has over Vancouver. She been in Vancouver for a long time now-- but remarked that one of the things that surprised her was the lack of community sense in Vancouver (even when it was small town, pre-boom). So if you were to ask her now, Vancouver vs Seattle for community sense-- she'd choose Seattle.

And HML brings up a better point, Camas does have a better community sense. My MIL would choose Camas over Seattle. Since Biz is looking for community sense, its best to look outside of Vancouver and all those small towns around (Ridgefield, Hockinson, Kalama, et. c).

[Biz901]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

Just wanted to clarify what I said because I realize its not as clear as I would like:


I was referring to the sense of community in Seattle. My mother in law who always live in the nice part of Vancouver has always said that this is one of the edges that Seattle has over Vancouver. She been in Vancouver for a long time now-- but remarked that one of the things that surprised her was the lack of community sense in Vancouver (even when it was small town, pre-boom). So if you were to ask her now, Vancouver vs Seattle for community sense-- she'd choose Seattle.

Maybe your MIL is more of the Portlandia type of person?

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by Biz901

Maybe your MIL is more of the Portlandia type of person?

OOooooooohhhhhh no, she is not. Believe me. The kind of antics you see in Portlandia gets her soo riled up its not even funny. She's actually quite conservative. She doesn't even step foot in Portland unless her kids drag her... and she hates watching the news because it's Portland-based news.

[robertpolyglot]

In the Portland metro area, Vancouver is looked at as being kind of vapid. In reality, it's a swath of boring grid shaped suburbia. There are some nice pockets closer to the river. The further north you go, the more hick it gets. It's more affordable than Portland. You have the benefit of no state income tax in WA, and crossing the border into OR and buying stuff w/o a sales tax. There are a lot of Russians and Eastern Europeans there. There is a Vietnamese presence. I can't figure the place out...there seem to be Christian non-denominational churches on every corner, and then they say there is a large active gay/lesbian population, coexisting under the same gray skies and using the same boring strip malls. It's less "granola" than Portland. If PDX is interesting to you, then that's good. Eventually, their light rail system will go into Vancouver and cross on the new interstate bridge they are planning. You are closer to the Portland airport than most of Portland. While it has some really blighted areas, crime doesn't appear to be rampant. Like anywhere in the PNW, recreational opportunities abound. It's better than Memphis.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by robertpolyglot

You have the benefit of no state income tax in WA, and crossing the border into OR and buying stuff w/o a sales tax.

You only have the benefit of the no income tax if you work/live in WA. If you live in Vancouver and work in Portland, you're paying income tax-- though not as much as an OR resident. Many will say it's a wash.