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It's rude to ask how much one makes or how much something cost. Isn't it crass to ask if someone owns?

I know a fellow who tells less fortunate people he knows (who didn't inherit $$$$$) that he's renting the house he lives in and owns, it makes him feel akward telling people he's rich and he sees no benefit to making others feel bad.

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"I’ve never considered myself a second class citizen when I rented in other cities, but here in Vancouver people are ***completely*** defined by whether you rent or own. I’ve never seen anything like it, ever."

That's largely a product of the bubble. It wasn't always that way here. I think it's a part of the denial/fear dialogue that goes on in the heads of owners. They know deep down that the appreciation we've been seeing is abnormal and 'too good to be true' so they bluster and brag and put others down who aren't as 'smart' as they are.

It's very much like how many of the the worst gay bashers and womanisers are worried about their own sexuality, so they externalize their fear of themselves and over compensate.

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The point is, I'm a BC boy, born and raised, this is my home. But at the end of the day the economy dictates where people will live. It's jobs not scenery, polluted oceans and mountains. We'll see how our province looks jobs wise once all these unsustainable construction projects are complete.

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Too bad. Renters are saving tons of money. Some cities (especially in Europe) allow signing of multi-year leases. For some reason these are rare in Vancouver. Maybe this is the mother of all bubbles that breaks the back of the city's dependence on real estate for building and flaunting wealth.

When I moved here from back east the reclusive nature of people here seemed weird. Everyone had their own thing going on and neighbors weren't that close by default. Block parties used to be common in the east whereas here it's maybe once a year and it's not the norm — the city goes out of its way to encourage block parties as a way of making the city more friendly. There are pockets of good neighborhoods around but it takes a lot of searching.

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Maybe? Depends when it was. Bash away, but lots of people LOVE living in Vancouver, have traveled extensively, and still migrate back. Others hate it.

Vancouver prices are high and incomes are low on a national scale — i.e. poor affordability. I will not second guess 2.5 million people making a rational decision about where they want to live and at what cost. Vancouver may not be for everyone but lots like it for what it is; on the flipside I know many people who would never live in Vancouver. Those that choose to live here have reasons beyond the usual platitudes of "climate, water and mountains". The city has amenities catering to certain ethnic groups and I'm sure that commands a premium for many. The list goes on but the market has spoken and not just recently — Vancouver has had relatively poor affordability for decades. I have a hard time believing it's Kool Aid.

"However, Halifax has mild winters for the same reason Vancouver does: It’s on the water."

Halifax can get pretty cold in the winter months but many like to live there regardless. Blizzards. Real blizzards. Lucky for them they can afford more for less. I think we can agree weather is a bit of a sidebar.

I use Honolulu as an example of another market where affordability is poor. HNL is not YVR by any means but the same principle applies: relatively nice weather and environment on a national basis commands a premium in terms of high prices and low wages. I know people who lived there and didn't like it: too laid back and too expensive.

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US banks have written down $450 billion in bad housing loans. The revelation from NAB means that they will now certainly need to take provisions to $1,000 billion. But write-downs of $1,300 billion and perhaps even more are on the cards.

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Articl…

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The weather thing now makes me laugh. I've lived in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver now for extended periods. Ottawa and Toronto have terrible weather. However, Halifax has mild winters for the same reason Vancouver does: It's on the water.

And there are other problems with living in Vancouver. I've never considered myself a second class citizen when I rented in other cities, but here in Vancouver people are ***completely*** defined by whether you rent or own. I've never seen anything like it, ever.

I have a friend who is ending a 5 year relationship. No matter how I try ad convince him renting is a smart idea for him now, he won't even consider it. He won't really explain why but you can tell the subtext…. for him it's like going back to being 'poor'.

The oceans and the mountains here are nice and all but I'm not at all sure I'm sticking around any more, and part of the reason is I'm just getting burned out on dealing with the whole "best place on earth" kool aid fest…….

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Similar to the stupid argument that I have witnessed being waged on these blogs in the past regarding the "best place on earth". What a tough sell to anyone that lives in the place your boosting as the best…. yawn.

Moving on…our Canadian economy just keeps trucking along… BCE cut 2,500 jobs yesterday. Drop in the bucket compared to what our precious forestry is seeing, but front page news nonetheless. Don't cry for them, they were middle management, ergo they probably had it coming.

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