Moving to Vancouver

March 3, 2006 5:54 AM

My family and I are planning to move to Vancouver in the summer of 2008, and we are visiting this summer for two weeks to check it out. What should we do while we are there?

This trip is not only a holiday but also a chance to figure out if the plan to move from the UK to Vancouver City is a good one. I don't want to be spending the whole time visiting the tourist sites, but I do want to get a feel for the place and what it will be like to live there. Any recommendations of things to do/places to visit would be welcome, plus any other information about emigrating that you might be able to share. Thanks in advance!

posted by Acey to travel & transportation (16 comments total)

Hike up (not take the gondola) grouse mountain and enjoy the view of the city.
posted by maxpower at 6:22 AM on March 3, 2006

I've done this myself as well when I moved to a city in a new country. For me it was quite important to get a feel of how the city 'fits' when I would live there.

So what I did (I was single at the time, so your activities probably differ):

Pick out a neighbourhood that you think will fit you, and start off early in the morning to see how you would get to work. Are people nice, are there hour long traffic jams. Is there a shop to buy fresh bread, does the neighbourhood look nice, are there shops for groceries etc.

Then during daytime you can have look to see what you'd be normally doing. (I had job interviews, so that was easy :) See if you can pick up some local real estate folders or do some windowshopping for houses. Have a look around the local jobcenter to see what kind of jobs are needed.

In the evening try to see if there are nice venues, pick out a bar or restaurant that seems nice, ask the waitress for other things to do in town that interest you. On your way back you can see if public transport is nice or if you're likely to get stabbed or spit on. Always keep an eye out for things that would be nice to do on a weekend like zoos or museums, or more bars. On every occasion you have talk to the locals about how it is to live in the city (Taxi drivers will always have an opinion on this).

What is important if you don't know anyone in the area you're moving to is meeting new people. See what local clubs/ activities there are on the internet, see how often they meet. Perhaps you can look at some local clubs on line and see if they have a forum where you can ask some questions (like fishing, diving or whatever your interests are). A city is made up of people, once you get to know a few nice ones life is generally good!
posted by sebas at 6:49 AM on March 3, 2006

You mean Vancouver, BC, Canada? I suggest visiting a real estate agent. If you are looking for a single family home in Vancouver, be prepared to pay C$400,000-C$500,000+ for a fixer-upper. Be prepared to pay C$300,000+ for a decent-sized condo in a decent neighbourhood. Rent, however, is not that bad.

Vancouver is a very bike-friendly city. Rent bicycles. You can bike all the beach trails that way, ride around the seawall at Stanley Park, explore Chinatown and Commercial Drive, etc. See http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/engsvcs/transport/cycling/routes.htm.
posted by crazycanuck at 7:48 AM on March 3, 2006

1. STANLEY PARK. It's the greatest urban green space in the world, more beautiful than the Bois de Boulogne, the Tiergarten, even my own beloved Central Park. There is nowhere in the world I love more. Rent a pair of skates at any of the shops along Denman Street and go around the perimeter, along the water. Then head out and go down Beach Avenue.

2. The University of British Columbia, the only university I know with a nude beach. It also has (pace VAG) the best museum in the city, the Museum of Anthropology.

3. The galleries on Granville Street, particularly Catriona Jeffries.
posted by j.s.f. at 7:52 AM on March 3, 2006

If you are looking for a single family home in Vancouver, be prepared to pay C$400,000-C$500,000+ for a fixer-upper. Be prepared to pay C$300,000+ for a decent-sized condo in a decent neighbourhood. Rent, however, is not that bad.

Make that a fixer upper on the East Side. And you won't get even a 2BR condo for less than $325k in much of the West Side. However, this is not expensive by international standards.

Your experience depends on whether you envision yourself in the suburbs, the City of Vancouver, or urban Vancouver (Kits, Commercial, Yaletown, Downtown, West End, Coal Harbour). Let's assume you want to live in Vancouver.

Check out the seawall, the beaches (Spanish Banks, Kits, English Bay), Coal Harbour, Stanley Park. These are the places where the locals play. Definitely rent a bike or skates on Denman and head along the seawall.

But spend your time checking out neighbourhoods. Where would you see yourself? Do you want to cross bridges in a car/bus during rush hour? Would you be happy living in Port Coquitlam and taking the West Coast Express downtown? Are you a downtown person?
posted by acoutu at 8:27 AM on March 3, 2006

Spend some time in the kind of stores you'll visit on a regular basis (grocery, drug stores) and talk to a real estate agent about housing prices.

Although, doing some actual research, Vancouver's cost of living isn't as high as I thought. Versus NYC at 100, Vancouver gets a 74 and London a 120. Huh. I still think Vancouver has expensive real estate but maybe you've already taken that into account. Half a million dollars is the GVA "benchmark price", up 52% from 3 years ago. Wow.
posted by GuyZero at 8:27 AM on March 3, 2006

Acey -- it might helpful to note what your current standard of living is like, and what you look for in a neighborhood and. living arrangements? Renting or buying? Apartment building, condo or house?

Most real-estate in the city core is segregated into either the West End or Yaletown.

The West End is mostly tall, quasi-upscale apartment buildings that date from the late 80s and 90s, when Vancouver was beginning to surge with Asian immigration fom Hong Kong. Some of the buildings are new and modernized, a lot are dated. Shopping is relatively convenient with major commercial strips like Davie and Robson within walking distance. Of the two, Robson is more fashion oriented, whereas Davie has the groceries, pharmacies and hardware stores. Proximity to Stanley Park and downtown is also rather nice.

Yaletown has more modern apartments, lofts and condos. The neighborhood is a former warehousing and industrial district that had a much delayed facelift after the World Expo and its associatedly expensive cleanup. It's a younger, trendier residence set; with closer proximity to clubs, bars and boutique designer shops. Chinatown is also nearby, as is the major Skytrain station, if you wind up commuting out to Burnaby or New West.

Beyond the city core, you can check out neighborhoods like Kitsilano, Commercial Drive/Grandview-Woodland and Fairview. Here's where you'd go if you prefer townhomes, and single-families.

Kits is mostly small apartment buildings and single-family homes. Its main commercial throughfare is W. 4th and it's got a palapable hippie and crunchy feel. I was always fond of thinking that all of the American draft dodgers who fled the Viet Nam War and moved to Canada settled in Kits. Kits is also home to the best video (Videomatica) and music stores (Zulu Records) in the city, if it's important.

Commercial Drive/ Grandview is also mostly townhomes and five, six story apartments. Main drag is commercial drive, which has a younger, grungier population than Kits. Also significant Italian community around here.

Fairview's kind of the place for folks who want to live near downtown or Kits but can't afford it. It's close to those neighborhoods, but the neighborhood, imho, doesn't have much going for it aside from the fact that it's close to a bunch of other, better places; and that it's convenient to the city's hospitals.

Further south, you get the ritzy, old-school residential communities like Kerrisdale, Shaughnessy and Arbutus. Lots of nice, large homes settled by the Scots-Irish families that originally populated the city. Posh places if you can afford them, and good proximity to a lot of excellent private schools if it matters for your family. West Van, just north of the city, is also a pretty wealthy neighborhood with nice houses

The suburbs that surround the city: Burnaby, Richmond, New West are ... well ... suburbs. Sprawling residential developments, strip malls, less character, but more land at lower prices than the city itself. There are large immigrant populations in most of the 'burbs, which can make for more interesting grocery and eating choices -- or at least more interesting than American suburbs. The wealthy Hong Kong immigrants settled in the West End. The middle and lower classes revived Richmond and Burnaby; and some of the best Chinese restaurants that you will find in North America are here.

On top of checking out the neighborhoods, you can also pick up a copy of the local alt-weekly, The Georgia Straight, to get an idea of what goes on in the city as far as concerts, movies and theatre goes. City's got an excellent indie theatre scene; though the local music isn't quite as vibrant as, say, Montreal or Toronto.

Which reminds me about the other piece of advice that I normally give to visitors, Vancouver is best experienced outdoors Ski, kayak, jog, bike, hike -- do whatever, but remember that you are in one of the most scenic, naturally gorgeous cities in the world, and it would be a shame to merely see it from windows.
posted by bl1nk at 8:41 AM on March 3, 2006 [1 favorite]

There are a bunch of Vancouver threads on AskMe. Do a search.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:55 AM on March 3, 2006

Visit The Melting Pot on Commercial Drive and toke up without worry. If you're lucky, they'll also have some amazing glass art pieces.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:23 AM on March 3, 2006

GuyZero - the cost of living may be lower than in New York, but salaries are commensurately lower.

Acey, I just checked your profile and you are a student. Vancouver is a difficult place to make a living when you first start out. I moved there (without a job) in 2001 after graduating from university. The running gag was that BC stands for "bring cash". I know several people that moved from Ontario to BC after graduation to work. Granted, the economy was worse then, but of my sample size of 6 people, two went home after 6 months of not being able to find a job, one committed suicide, and only one person (not me) remains after 5 years. Jobs are better paying and more plentiful elsewhere. You will probably require a job offer in advance to secure a work visa and you may find that difficult.

That said, Vancouver is a beautiful city and a nice place to live, if you can afford it.
posted by crazycanuck at 10:25 AM on March 3, 2006

crazycanuck, That same list puts Toronto C-O-L as higher than Vancouver's, which is what really surprised me. I lived there briefly and it always struck me as more expensive than TO, mainly due to real estate costs.

A somewhat better choice for someone from out of the country might be Calgary or Edmonton as the Alberta economy is going gangbusters.
posted by GuyZero at 10:59 AM on March 3, 2006

Thanks for the responses. To clarify: My parents, me and my brothers are the family in question. We currently live in the South of England (which is incredibly expensive compared to the cost of living in Vancouver) and are lucky to be wealthy enough that staying in the country is not necessary. My parents are rather disillusioned by Britain and feel the family would have a better life in Canada. I really just want to know what the best things to see are while I'm there to get a feel for the place, and the suggestions so far have been a big help.
posted by Acey at 12:34 PM on March 3, 2006

Granville Island. Bus there and spend the whole day wandering around, eating ice cream, looking in local galleries and shopping in local food and craft markets. Very child friendly if that's an issue.
posted by arcticwoman at 12:47 PM on March 3, 2006

I second Stanley Park, Granville Island, and Grouse Mountain.

You can rent bikes/rollerblades near Stanley Park. Either on foot or on wheels, do check out the Seawall at Stanley Park. You can also walk/bike from there along English Bay, over the Burrard Bridge, through Vanier Park, the Planetarium/Conservatory, out to Kits Beach, and on to Jericho Beach.

Although there won't be any snow during the summer, the view of the city from Grouse Mountain is gorgeous especially in the evening.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 1:06 PM on March 3, 2006

If I were moving to Vancouver my priorities would be saving money and looking forward to 2008. I envy you.

My favourite thing is definitely the Anthro museum.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 4:27 PM on March 3, 2006

Don't miss the aquarium. It's great, and the park is beautiful.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 4:29 PM on March 3, 2006