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I recently was offered a job up in Vancouver, Burnaby to be exact.
The exact location is around 5000 Canada Way, between deer lake to the south and burnaby lake to the north.
I am reading conflicting things online - is this a dangerous area or do you have to go further south to get into more shady areas..? I've read a lot about housing crime, and as a pet owner, I'm concerned about my cat's safety or if he'd get out in such an incident.
Also, would it be possible to live in the nicer areas of Vancouver and commute to work? thanks a lot for anyone's input.. I really appreciate it!
Last edited by lostdecade; 03-29-2008 at 04:20 PM..
It's not a dangerous area. Burnaby is generally a safe, middle class residential suburb city. There's nowhere there particular shady. For shady, there are areas of New Westminster (city to the south-east), some areas in Surrey (city to the east), and parts around the downtown eastside of Vancouver (Main and Hastings intersection) where you won't want to base yourself out of.
Funny enough, I used to go to school off of Canada Way. It's sort of a large, non-descript road with many high tech schools nearby (Arts Institute, BCIT campus) and heck, even EA's largest Canadian "campus" is there (just off Canada Way/Willingdon). Needless to say, the vibe of Canada Way/Willingdon is pretty much high tech officey... and to the north is the Trans-Canada highway (Hwy 1) which is a major highway.
For housing crime, Vancouver itself has a lot of drug problems. Lots of drug addicts. They aren't generally known to be violent offenders, but they are known to steal things in the most cowardly of ways. Often it means they'll steal bikes, they'll break into cars and steal loose change... and sometimes they'll break into homes if they're sure nobody's inside.
But for what it's worth, Burnaby is not an area I'd particularly be concerned about. I also wouldn't fear your cat, but would be wary of a potential visit he might have with a neighbourhood raccoon or a skunk.
To answer your last question, yes, you could easily live in nicer areas of Vancouver and commute into work. Generally it's cheaper to live in Burnaby and you get larger and quieter properties.
And the irony is that you'll likely see more unsavory types in Vancouver than you would in residential Burnaby... or anywhere in Burnaby for that matter. I think the biggest threat in Burnaby would be bored suburban kids pretending to be thugs.
When you mentioned Raccoons and Skunks, are they likely to get into people's homes? (has there been a problem with this?) We've always kept our cat indoors so there's no chance he'd be out wandering around.
Burnaby is actually one of the most crowded inner suburbs.
It's in many ways just an extension of the eastern part of Vancouver city proper. You'll get what I mean if you visit. I don't think the kids there are as bored as the previous poster suggests, it's pretty much part of the 'big city' itself. In terms of safety, it depends on your background lostdecade, where you're coming from & what you're used to. When I go up to Vancouver it's much safer than any other big U.S. city except perhaps Honolulu or Salt Lake City, but it has a well-known property/ vehicle crime problem. And unlike many big American cities, the freeway infrastructure in Vancouver is very limited. But of course you can still get around easily, just one freeway though that crosses thru Burnaby if I recall.
F1000, I work in Los Angeles (near Westwood) but live out in the suburbs of LA. In fact, where I live is considered one of the safest cities in the US (despite being only 25 odd miles from Hollywood) - I guess me and my girlfriend have got accustomed to this lifestyle of living somewhere quiet and safe and working in the city as you get the best of both worlds.
Another concern I have with moving to Vancouver/Burnaby is that we are both kind of urban types, we don't do much outdoors stuff and my girlfriend is very keen on the city lifestyle - shopping, movies, nightlife etc. Will there be any kind of culture shock moving from LA to Vancouver? I've seen some comparisons with the San Diego 'laid back' lifestyle and Vancouver - any truth to this?
F1000, I work in Los Angeles (near Westwood) but live out in the suburbs of LA. In fact, where I live is considered one of the safest cities in the US (despite being only 25 odd miles from Hollywood) - I guess me and my girlfriend have got accustomed to this lifestyle of living somewhere quiet and safe and working in the city as you get the best of both worlds.
Another concern I have with moving to Vancouver/Burnaby is that we are both kind of urban types, we don't do much outdoors stuff and my girlfriend is very keen on the city lifestyle - shopping, movies, nightlife etc. Will there be any kind of culture shock moving from LA to Vancouver? I've seen some comparisons with the San Diego 'laid back' lifestyle and Vancouver - any truth to this?
lostdecade:
I used to live in Northridge, San Fernando valley for awhile. I'm familiar with Vancouver only because of a relationship-related thing. I live in Seattle now. Vancouver & LA are very different. It's probably the weather that'll be the biggest adjustment. The summers are milder but it's far gloomier & chillier than Southern CA that's for sure. Plus demographic/ cultural differences that have an effect on their populations. For a city its size, Vancouver does have a bustling feel. I would say that there's more hustle than in San Diego (except on the freeway) but it's probably more to do with the relative size of each city in their respective country. Burnaby is a built-up area so there'll be access to shopping, movies, etc. It doesn't at all have the freeway options of LA, or even San Diego for that matter. It's overall way more peaceful & less busy than LA. Good luck!
Burnaby is to Vancouver what San Jose is to San Francisco...
... well, that's an exaggeration. I know San Francisco well and there are many parallels culturally, demographically, and physically between the two. I've only visited a friend in residential San Jose and it could have very well have been Burnaby for all I cared. There was equally squat all to do on a Friday night there except eat at some chain restaurant.
Google Map Burnaby and look at the satellite view to get a sense of the layout. There are lots of hilly streets full of lush gardens and single family homes. It's generally considered a safe place to live. Both Vancouver and Burnaby are considered very safe places to live, but as we said, property crime is the kicker.
Burnaby is not particularly known for funky neighbourhoods or nightlife but moreso malls, chain stores, chain restaurants, etc. It's a quiet place you raise a family or you live in for cheaper rent... although it's still much more expensive to live there than many other suburbs.
The good news is that you can take the skytrain from Metrotown in Burnaby into the heart of downtown Vancouver in 20 minutes.
For quirky Vancouver neighbourhoods, look at Commercial Drive, the West End, Yaletown, Kitsilano, Mount Pleasant.
You'll find, after living in LA, Vancouver/Burnaby being very green and lush. It's green year round. Culturally, Vancouver is more like San Francisco than it is to LA but it also has aspects of LA as well... except for freeway infrastructure.
Vancouver lacks freeways entirely, on purpose. City council voted against it in the 1970's for a variety of reasons. It's the way it is here and for the most part, people are okay with it.
Vancouver and Burnaby, and other satellite cities are promoting increased residential density along transit corridors, so unlike LA where everything is low density and sprawling, you'll find it a lot more built up here. People live downtown in 30-40 story condos.
Oh, and regarding the raccoons and skunks, I suppose they could get into people's homes, but it's not something I'm aware of. They're just a part of the local urban wildlife.
Thanks guys - you've both been a lot of help. I really apreciate it. I'd probably commute in to Burnaby.
Any advice on the areas with the least property crime, and ways to avoid it? Would living in a high rise reduce the risk, or are you seeing property crime all over in Vancouver?
Even within a high rise you get property crime. Especially when the idiots in your building don't wait for the security gate to go down in the underground parkade or let the front door swing wide open when they leave and some low-life scum comes in with a crow bar and jacks open the doors leading to the parkade. I speak from experience on this matter unfortunately.
Honestly, it really depends on the security of your building and where it's located.
I live in the heart of downtown Vancouver and the building I live in is heavily secured with TV cameras, a full time security guard who does regular rounds, double gated parking garages, radio key door access, etc.
When you're scouting out places to live, you might as well ask people what the property crime is like in the area - it really comes down to a local level.
One idea, if you're going to base yourself out of Burnaby, is to read the local Burnaby newspapers online.
If you're going to be living in Vancouver and commuting to Burnaby, you might want to start reading some local Vancouver newspapers like the West Ender, the Courier, and the Vancouver Sun, just to get a taste of what daily life is like. You'll get a better sense of the local community that way.
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