The Jobless Recovery
Since their recent lows, both the Vancouver housing market and global equity markets have had a surprising rise. This despite fewer and fewer people actually drawing a paycheque. The unemployment rate in the US recently surpassed 10%, and is much higher if you count the people that have given up looking for work or run out of unemployment benefits.
In Canada it’s a similar story with a bit of a lag. In October alone Canada ‘unexpectedly’ lost 43,200 jobs and today saw news of EA cutting 1,500 jobs with a ’significant’ number of them from their Burnaby campus. Other cuts were announced by Kodak which is shifting development work from Victoria and Burnaby to Israel. The latest round of cuts leaves them with roughly 500 employees in BC, down from 1,265 in July 2008.
According to CIBC the quality of jobs left not just in BC, but all across Canada has taken a nosedive in the last 6 months.
There was a time when Vancouver fancied itself a bit of a high-tech economy, with a number of video game studios providing good paying jobs locally. The recent round of cuts takes some of the shine off that image. Are there growth industries left in Vancouver that will offer decent incomes to support our high cost of housing?
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November 12th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
@Vic:
Yeah because they want to pay below market rates to save money. Below market rates for temporary position no less, not a permanent full-time position. Good luck filling those positions with quality applicants.
November 12th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
“The real reason for high prices isn’t rich foreigners or even record low interest rates. It’s the locals who buy at the high prices. Nobody, especially the developers, is holding a gun to their heads and there are thousands of places available for rent every month if they don’t want to buy.”
Local buyers are in the game partly because of propaganda perpetuated by ‘the developers’. True, no one is holding a gun to their heads, but the ‘fear of loss’ pitch is scaring people into never being able to buy if they don’t do it now.
Scullboy, good luck back east! I grew up in Ottawa and have also lived for 2 years in Toronto, and 2 years in Montreal. There’s nothing bad whatsoever about living back there IMO. It’s a totally different lifestyle than Vancouver, that’s all. The only reason I’m still here is due to my ties to the music and film biz. Oh, and I rent by the way. I would never buy here unless prices dropped dramatically. Nice city, but best in the world? Not likely.
November 12th, 2009 at 5:14 am
@Vic: “But what’s funny…is that with all these layoffs and high tech workers being idle in Vancouver….and we have a shortage of high tech volunteers for 2010 Olympics. They had to put up job ads and brought in government IT workers to fill the position. Strange…”
Why would anybody work for free while others are making big bucks off the Olympics? Nobody wants to be a sucker (not intentionally).
November 12th, 2009 at 2:30 am
I work in the hi-tech industry and its been downhill for our industry since 2000. I am sure you all know about the 2000 tech bubble and we haven’t really recovered since. A lot of tech companies like Kodak, EA, SAP (aka Business Obj aka Crystal Decisions), Glenayre, PMC-Sierra have been downsizing and ofshoring for years. We have big tech parks that sit empty for years — because nobody is really expanding and there are very few sustainable and quality startups. The big US companies aren’t buying startups like they used to. Back in 2000, if you had a business with the word .com…you would be rich instantly. Today…its not quite the same.
But what’s funny…is that with all these layoffs and high tech workers being idle in Vancouver….and we have a shortage of high tech volunteers for 2010 Olympics. They had to put up job ads and brought in government IT workers to fill the position. Strange…
November 11th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
#93 was from me.
Ultraman
November 11th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
#83 krazy kanuck said
“Having said this, I disagree with you about the steep price. If you are willing to rent…”
Totally agree with you as many have demonstrated on this blog before, renting is the way to go. This is why I sold my condo. Moving this weekend in a brand new apart at the Woodward’s. About $700-$800 cheaper than owning, worry free, cash in the bank and like I said 1 month notice away from moving. I find the transition to renters to be very liberating. This consumable desire to buy that so many people are obsessed with is making them slaves.
November 11th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
chumpdawg, there is nothing special about vancouver at all. the demand for sfh’s is a mammoth multiple above the land available for sfh’s. the notion that developers have something to do with it is bogus. all they can do is build condos: and look at the new condo guide this month- they’re back to building condos like there’s no tomorrow.
November 11th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
@chumpdawg: “The profits produced for a small group are incredible-and so the will to protect those profits is powerful.”
I don’t agree with you that the tail is wagging the dog. There is no scarcity of housing in Vancouver and yet there is a plenitude of people — under no duress — willing to take out significant levels of debt to be owners. The developers would have no power if there were no buyers. Just witness last year when sales fell through the floor and projects were canceled left right and centre.
The real reason for high prices isn’t rich foreigners or even record low interest rates. It’s the locals who buy at the high prices. Nobody, especially the developers, is holding a gun to their heads and there are thousands of places available for rent every month if they don’t want to buy.
But go ahead and run your expose on the Real Estate Industrial Complex. IMO the real story are the buyers willing to make bad investment decisions. But nobody wants to read about that.
November 11th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
@chumpdawg:
Chumpdog if you look at the history of Vancouver it is one of speculation.
“You or your agent hold on to it till property rises, then sell out and buy more land further out of town and repeat the process. I do not quite see how this sort of thing helps the growth of a town, but the English Boy says that it is the ‘essence of speculation,’ so it must be all right.”
Rudyard Kipling writing about his investment about 100 years ago.
Vancouver “is suffering in a special degree from haphazard growth and speculation in real estate, notwithstanding the progress that has taken place in the last few years in regard to the control of sanitary matters and local improvements.”
Thomas Adams urban planner in 1915.
November 11th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
@scullboy:
Good luck and wish you success. I will definitely miss your rants – one of the kind. In a way, I envy you – you are getting out of the madness and going back to the real world.
November 11th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
I am working on an article right about RE in Vancouver. It’s working title is “Why a Real Estate Crash Will Be the Best Thing to Happen to Vancouver”.
It’s really a reversal of that title which explains why all the complaints people lay on Vancouver can be traced back to the high cost of RE (whether it be renting or owning)
It will likely never be published in Vancouver, but if it does I may be found floating in the Burrard Inlet. There is an investigative aspect to it. I intend to expose the small group of developers who have a stranglehold on the city which in turn creates an artificial sense of scarcity- thereby increasing the cost of RE and sucking dollars from just about everything else into
Think of all the complaints people make about Vancouver and most of them can be linked to the high price of RE
-No art scene- too expensive to be an artist here- Montreal and Toronto are way cheaper
-No night life apart from 19-24 year old mayhem- no money left over for partying after high rent and mortgage. Imagine if people didn’t need to scrape every cent together for the mortgage…
-No great jobs- why locate your office here when the cost is so high? How can you start a company when all the capital in the city is sucked into RE? There is little money left over for entrepreneurial activity or investment in production so people look elsewhere for investment capital.
-Boring people- imagine how life could be if people didn’t talk, think or worry about RE all the time? they might (gasp) be interested in other things.
-Lame festivals…again, no money left over for people to spend too much on events
Imagine if you could spend less than 30% of your income on housing…how much extra money would people have? what would they do with it? the answers would surprise you.
there is no economic argument for the current situation other than the artificial creation of scarcity and the speculation it encourages. Look around you at all the vacant land…from Main to Clark is nothing but a wide open space…..downtown is still riddled with street level parking lots- unheard of in most urban areas. by strangling development into a few hands and with slick marketing, people have been duped into thinking that paying 8 times annual income for a mortgage is acceptable.
The profits produced for a small group are incredible-and so the will to protect those profits is powerful.
November 11th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
@scullboy: “Most of the people laid off from eBay are still living on their severance (I know a few personally). They are calm now, mainly because they don’t realize what’s coming.”
Hey, I resemble that comment
For us eBayers, we are now moving from severance to EI, so we’ll have to at least go through the motions of looking for work. Time to stop the video games…or at least less of it
Its so much easier to achieve that way these days.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I agree with you about recruiters. I get calls from them often and about 99% are out of Toronto and know nothing about BC or the markets they are recruiting in.
The time to find a job depends on your industry and your skills. Support staff have less to offer a company than somebody who can bring in the bacon. There will always be a demand for the latter.
If job security is a big issue for people, then you should either work for the government or be invaluable. If your job is supportive, then it is more vulnerable.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Betamax:
Thanks for the good wishes. I started on one side of the country and moved to the other. The things that surprised me most about Vancouver was how few Vancouverites had been east of the Rockies. None of them have a clue about the charms of any other city in Canada. I suppose that’s why they parrot the whole “best place on earth” thing so mindlessly.
I made the same calculation as Firmaa. I spend a lot of money and worked hard in the last few years in order to attain a number of certifications. I even switched careers for a while. No matter what I tried I couldn’t find decent work in Vancouver. I’m not the only one. A number of friends from culinary school did the same thing.
I eventually came to the same conclusion as Firmaa: No way would I ever be able to afford a decent standard of living here no matter how hard I tried. All those zombies claiming this city is “livable” are missing the point. In order for the city to be livable, you have to make enough money not just to pay the rent but also to save for your future.
I lived in Toronto for 10 years. I can’t say I’m a fan of the place but at least you can make decent money there. I was up for a couple of jobs there. Those jobs would have paid 60 – 65 here, tops. There, the going rate was 95K. Bear in mind while it’s about the same cost to rent a place there, it’s MUCH cheaper to buy.
The thing I like about Halifax is it’s a *very* under rated gem of a town. It’s low key. YOu’re never, ever going to get an idiot like Browntown or Supratard claiming “everyone wants to live here” although it’s popular with Europeans looking for a good value. I can’t say for certain it’s always going to be that way but there’s an excellent balance of affordability with quality of life.
I’m so fucking sick of the endless real estate argument. I’m sick of the fucking greed. A home should be your little space in the world, not a vehicle to make enough money to retire on. Assholes like Supra yap yap yap away, and you know they don’t actually own anything, it’s like those Asians that lease expensive cars thinking people are fooled in to believing they are wealthy.
I have a friend here in Van I’ve known 15 years. He’s been contemplating a move as well. UNfortunately he owns a home near Tinseltown. He thought he could rent the place out for the Olympics but he’s having some challenges. He was also planning on selling the place, but he can’t get the price he wants, so he’s stuck here in Van.
Meanwhile I was able to jump on an opportunity the minute it came up with minimal cost. I only have to cover December’s rent and the cost of the move back home.
I have another friend who was laid off a couple of months ago. He was a VP for a company doing security for the airport. He has an excellent resume, and was confident he’d find something relevant soon. He was told by recruiters “don’t worry, with your skills it’ll be easy to place you”. (Side note: Never, ever trust recruiters). Fast forward to today. He has money in the bank, but he’s concerned because of the lack of jobs for someone with his qualifications.
The tech industry here is imploding. More and more people are now chasing fewer and fewer jobs in fewer and fewer companies. Most of the people laid off from eBay are still living on their severance (I know a few personally). They are calm now, mainly because they don’t realize what’s coming.
The only reason I can see it is because I’ve already lived through this scenario years ago. I was laid off from a tech company in Toronto. I ran the tech support department for a company that was a household name at the time. It was one of the largest companies of its kind in the world.
After I got laid off, I relaxed for 3 months. I figured I had been working for 20 years and “deserved” the break. I listened to people who said “Relax for a while, take a vacation”.
BIG MISTAKE. It takes a lot longer to find a job and get hired these days. Because of Monster and Workopolis HR departments commonly get 1,000 resumes PER POSITION. Even if you have 85% of the skills they’re looking for in an IT person, they aren’t satisfied.
Most of the people who were just laid off have grown up and worked their whole careers believing their skills are always going to be in demand and these industries are always short staffed. I feel bad for them, it’s not their fault they’ve been fed a lifetime of false assumptions.
Nevertheless, I’m glad for all the hard lessons I learned over the last few years. I’m miles ahead of the curve. I’ll be glad to watch this one from quite a distance. No matter how much money you have in the bank, a city full of scared and anxious citizens waking up to the real situation they’re in is NOT pleasant.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
@scullboy, good on ya. not sure why you think it’s a knock on me that you’re going away, but whatever floats your boat. I’m sure that you’ll save in many ways, including on time that you would’ve normally have spent on this site. Time is money, after all.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:37 am
@Ultraman: I hear what you are saying about Vancouver possibly being the best place on earth. I do some running as well, and it’s great. Also, the downtown doesn’t shut down at 5 pm like my hometown of Calgary. I’ve been here for a year on a temporary basis.
Having said this, I disagree with you about the steep price. If you are willing to rent, I find prices here cheaper than Calgary. For example, I’m in a decent (not upscale at all) apartment right downtown. I don’t know exactly how much it costs (my company leases it), but I have a friend there with a 1 bed + den in the same building for $1200 a month. That’s about the same as Calgary. Restaraunts here are cheaper, and I don’t even have a car (no need here….Calgary, almost a necessity).
I agree it’s not cheap living here, but if you aren’t consumed with the desire to buy then it certainly very liveable.
Just my opinion
November 11th, 2009 at 11:11 am
Scullboy – congrats on the job. Halifax is a beautiful city, I visited there a few years ago and was surprised how much I liked it.
Logic – this blog will only be dead after the crash, when there’s nothing to argue about. Bull trolls serve their purpose as contrary indicators, as evidenced by the illogic of their arguments. People like Franco above who confuse market expectations with general optimism merely remind us of why it’s a bubble doomed to burst no matter how long it has lasted so far.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:50 am
I understand reasoning behind chesterlampwick comments regarding the justification for continuous living in Vancouver. It all comes down to priorities in life and the ability to articulate these priorities.
So beginning of this year I have decided that my professional life in Vancouver did not lead to anywhere and I moved to Regina. Yes, Regina.
M life priorities changed. On my new list of priorities night skiing at Cyprus in the winter and relaxing on Crescent Beach in the summer are not there. New priorities are emerged such as: making sure that I have enough income to feed my family and enough saved for retirement. I come to conclusion that I CAN NOT achieve these priorities in Vancouver no matter how hard I work.
On the other hand I am not convinced with chesterlampwick rosy picture regarding IT employment.
Main problem with Vancouver job market was the QUALITY of the jobs. Even the so call “high tech” jobs are actually LOW pay jobs. Small companies expect to pay $15-20 for the coders, database designers, network administrators. That pay is just little bit above retail jobs. Data clearly show that income never increased in the last 20 years. Everything else did – from housing, taxes, education, food.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:43 am
Layoffs in the BC Bud sector? Might be… http://www.budbuddy.biz
November 11th, 2009 at 2:33 am
You are dead wrong without logic. indeed, this have been enlightened by new comers who contribute honest,truthful,positive,energetic,optimistic,and logic input to dispel misinformation by those infamous minority who perpetrated gloomy outlook of BC and its RE market;however, time and time again the outcome prove otherwise,since 2002.
But shamelessly they keep cranking lies to depress the market.
Fortunately, God bless this Heavenly City daily and its RE which has already gone up for 6% since Feb 09.
November 11th, 2009 at 1:48 am
the blog is pretty much dead
infested with trolls
bye
November 11th, 2009 at 1:43 am
It’s nice to see many Vancouver Bulls are joining superboy to fight off those idiotic bears.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:33 am
@SD92129:
No public announcement of layoffs in BCBud industry? Hmm…
The media has been kinda busy recently with such “announcements”. Bodies here and bodies there. They probably should come up with some sort of “politically correct” headlines: e.g. “Five layoffs from BCBud discovered at gas station: heated conversation in charge.”
November 10th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
oh yeah nutslaps! Mr. job market say reports of my death are grately exagerated! remembers, lots of jobs of vantastic
“i’m lovin it”
November 10th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
*ahem*
WOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO!
I got the job offer in Halifax. It’s more money then I made here, PLUS 4 week’s vacation. I’m leaving in 10 days
You know what the best thing about Halifax is?
It’s about as far away from F**KING China as you can get, therefore NOBODY claims realestate is going up because of wealthy Chinese.
Well, that and NOBODY uses the phrase “best place on earth”. After 3 years I’m more then ready to trade cold winters for that.
So…. Franco, California and most of all Supraboy, you guys can SUCK ON MY BIG OL’ MARITIME D**K!
It’s bigger and tastier then anything you’ll find in Richmond, I promise.
November 10th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
@nonymouse:
My company made that list last year … a few months later it shut down
November 10th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
@SD92129:
Ok, so then (yes you heard it coming)…
Why have real rents declined in Vancouver over the last decade? Why are rental vacancies increasing?
While we’re at it, how come houses in Trail are so much cheaper than in other towns in the region? Can’t they grow dope there too?
November 10th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
@doh!: I don’t know why I’m shocked that “Doh!” didn’t pick up on my sarcasm but I blame myself for allowing this to devolve to this point. I haven’t been called a retard since grade 5.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
69 X chesterlampwick Says:
November 10th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
@california: @california: I get it… that’s sarcasm… well played!
————–
Well done retard. Took you long enough.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
@california: @california: I get it… that’s sarcasm… well played!
November 10th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
@Warren: this link is for the westend only, but Landcor did a study in 2006 showing that 7% of buyers in that neighborhood were foreign, and the number of foreign buyers was declining:
https://www.landcor.com/market/reports/West_End.pdf
November 10th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
“And guess what after that most people don’t come back.
That has always been true of Vancouver/Lower Mainland.
When people leave for the Interior, Vancouver Island, the Kootenays, etc. they rarely, if ever, return.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
@other ted: I only threw the “high-tech” descriptor in there for ease of communication. The original post lumped the EA layoffs in with the rest of the high-tech industry so I just went with it. I agree, film, TV and games, for the most part, are not technically high-tech – but whatever, anyone not directly involved in the industry would likely have trouble sorting out the distinction. I totally disagree with the the idea that you have to “know somebody” to get started in this industry. I just worked my ass off and took any, even remotely related job I could find, did my best at it and the opportunities found me. Yes I have a job. Yes the economy is bad, I understand that and I appreciate that no one can claim a stable job in this environment. I’m simply pinting out that while EA layoffs are capturing headlines today, there have been many positive developments in the wider local industry in the past 6 months with more to come.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
chesterwick 49:
lets hope that the dollar stays competitive and the B.C. production tax credits remain attractive.
attracting these kinds of companies would add to vancouver’s claim of being a world class city.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
49 X chesterlampwick you mention there are still good jobs that need to be filled in Vancouver. Well you sound like one of those guys that insists the economy is good because they are still employed.
first off EA and CGI are not hi tech unless you are working for a company that is developing the tools. They are end users of techonology, no more hi tech than the movie industry. They are entertainment companies. But whatever I get your point they are value added jobs rather than digging something up from the ground or peddling ground that already exists but may become scarce.
Got off topic but the real reason that most jobs go unfilled is that they are very specific and we don’t have the diversity of industry to develop various skill sets. I have said all along to get ahead in Vancouver you either have to be lucky, no someon, or move away then come back after you got the experience you would never get here. And guess what after that most people don’t come back.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Here’s another tidbit from Statistics Canada and BC Stats:
BC GDP by Industry.
Total is 155 billion in 2008. If pot is 7 billion, that is then 4.5% of the economy.
Big impact, little impact…you decide. Its one industry that is not publicly annoucing layoffs.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
@chesterlampwick. In this time of this housing bubble, perhaps you can look into a course on reading comprehension as preparation for your home buying.
@Vomitron, hey, I’m with you that the market is expensive. I’m priced out too, and think that there will be a better time to get in. But there is a serious hypocrisy on this forum by those trashing Vancouver when it’s so obvious that they’re also drooling over its qualitative value.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
#9 logic
“Weed has been ehre for decades, the housing boom hasn’t.”
Unfortunately for your dogmatic statement, an overly simply assumption probably underestimates its impact.
This is a link to a Fraser Institute study where the look at the number of grow-ops.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/1971.....h-Columbia
From the limited data from 1997 to 2000, grow-ops in BC are estimated to go from 7819 in 1997 to 17750 in 2000 (p 18).
What used to be limited to the Gulf Islands and the Kootneys is now widespread throughout the province and hydroponics has shortened the growing cycle and allowed the heavily populated Lower Mainland to cultivate.
So yeah, its been around a long time, but its impact has changed over time.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Alright Ut@Ultraman: Alright Ultraman, perhaps I’m being harsh on Southern Quebec and I’m sure it’s a beautiful place to live, it may even be in the top 20 (and I’m not being facetious, honestly). All I’m trying to get at is this… you say “the best place on earth has a steep price to it. Too steep really.” I guess my response to that is to say “really?”. You’re still here… seems like you have no intention of pocketing that 100k and settling into your mansion in Southern Quebec anytime soon… and that’s the point. Vancouver real estate is what it is because… that’s what it is. You are willing to pay it, sure you’ll bitch about it a bit, but you’re willing to pay it. That is what it’s worth.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
chesterlampwick, I don’t know when I will be leaving, depends on opportunities and life circumstances I guess. But I sure like being a month notice away from making the move and not having my decision being subject to what I strongly believe will be a major setback of RE price. As a lender for a large CU, I became deeply convinced of the insanity of this market and the delusion of the population here in Vancouver. Some people, a lot of people will be hurt real bad. Make no mistake about that.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
chesterlamwick I said for me, FOR ME, Vancouver is the best place on earth because of my lifestyle that revolve mostly around running. I would not proclaim Vancouver to be the best place on earth, while I think it’s a lovely place to live I could see why a lot of people would disagree. while I accept your argument if we assume that southern Quebec is the 805th best place to live, I think you’re way off on the ranking therefore rendering your argument futile.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
@Ultraman: I guess that’s your pick Ultraman. You think you’ll be leaving anytime soon?
November 10th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
@chesterlampwick: Umm, I think Ultraman’s point is that Vancouver is NOT the best place on Earth.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
chesterlampwick, I don’t feel cheated, actually I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. Let me put it in a simple way for you. I really like chocolate and let’s agree that Roger’s chocolate is the best on earth, definitively more expensive than your regular Cadbury bar. At 2-3 times the price I don’t mind paying for it, I think it’s worth it. At 7-8 times the price I would consider buying Cadbury, more chocolate for less money. If I move somewhere else it’s not like I can’t run anymore. You see that’s the idea, I really like living in Vancouver but not at that price considering that there are a lot of very acceptable options.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Wouldn’t you say that this is the gist of his comment? I thought I was pretty much echoing your statement about the whinning co-worker. All I’m pointing out is that we really are comparing apples to oranges here. He proclaims Vancouver to be the “best place on EARTH to live” yet laments the fact that Vancouver real estate is significantly more expensive than real estate in Southern Quebec. It’s simple market economics no? He makes the bold statement that Vancouver is “the best place on the planet to live” and then complains that it’s multiples more expensive than… what… the 805th best place to live on earth? Maybe I’m infusing a tone of bitterness to his comment that wasn’t intended. I just have trouble with the reasoning here… what’s the point? Some cars cost more than others (because of quality differences mostly) and some pieces of dirt cost more than others. If an arugument can be made that Southern Quebec is just as awesome as Vancouver then yes, we can start talking about overvaluation. Ultraman, himself, named Vancouver the “best place on earth”… now that’s a statement.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
California, the reason that some of us live here and whinge about it so badly is not because we think we can drive down real estate prices in paradise by blurting on this blog that very few Vancouverites read. It’s because we were here before Vancouver went bad and now we are stuck here in a situation where it’s expensive to detach ourselves and declare refugee status in our own country. We are bitter because our own governments, both Provincial and Federal, have betrayed us by helping to turn Vancouver into a craps table for real estate speculators at the expense of liveability for those of us proles who are not involved in real estate speculation, organized crime, white-collar crime and grow-ups but who are mere typically Vancouverish shitty low-paid Vancouver salarymen and wage slaves.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
@chesterlampwick: That’s funny, because I don’t read where Ultraman says that he feels cheated. Can you point me to the statement?
November 10th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
@Ultraman: That’s a really weird comment Ultraman. So, you feel cheated because you have to pay a premium to live in “the best place on earth” as opposed to the most “Meh…” place on earth? I don’t get the logic… If Vancouver is the best place on earth then I think one million for an 1100 square foot condo is a pretty great deal! It’s kind of like being pissed off because your Maserati cost sooo much more than a ‘02 Ford Taurus. I could sell my Maserati and buy 100 Ford Taurus’s… what gives?