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Vancouver, New York, London & Paris

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73 Comments

Reader tedeastside either hates Vancouver or he wants other people to.

Regular visitors here know teds comments have a certain reliable tone to them, but yesterday’s got creative and inspired people to riff on it:

to those proud vancouverites who mention vancouver in the same breath as New York or London probably thinks the following

Shangri-la = Empire State building
Robson Square = Rockefeller center
Nat Bailey = Yankee Stadium
Steam Clock = Big Ben
Olympic Cauldron = Eiffel Tower
VAG = the Louvre
Robson street = Champs-Élysées
Gassy Jack = Statue of Liberty
North Van Sulfer piles = the Pyramids

This of course got some pointing out that Vancouver can have overpriced real estate and still be a decent city, but where’s the fun in that?

Marco added to the list:

Weather = rain turning to showers with a chance of a downpour.
Arts club Theatre = London’s West End
The Lions = The Swiss Alps
Howe Sound = The Mediterranean
The Gulf Islands = The Greek Islands
Nexus Pass = Europass
Kitchen tap = Perrier
Skytrain = the Underground
Winter Olympics = Summer Olympics
bobwestsiderealtor = real estate agent
Vancouver real estate = Overpriced

But also thought Granville Island was a special place in Vancouver and worth keeping off the list.

Charlie apparently thinks we’re no-fun city:

Nightlife = Non-existent.
Attempted nightlife = Riots.
New Years Eve = Only city in Western World which doesn’t have a party. Non-existent
Attempted New Years Eve = Riots

So what do you think? Is Vancouver one the most miserable places on earth or a special flower that no one must ever speak ill of?

What are your favourite things about Vancouver?

 

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JohnScalzi

The climate and scenery are great. The people… ? After spending 2 weeks in Latin America, returning here to the miserable, grouchy faces worn by most 24/7 is beyond depressing.

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holiday in new york

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ostritch

Oracle, This I know. Had neighbours who sold in White Rock to make a bit of money for retirement. I think they got a good price but then they joined me and a bunch of other sellers who waited for the crash that never happened. Now they’ve bought back into a smaller older condo, which they would have had to buy anyway. But it’s interesting the discussions in the building with (a lot) of people who are waiting for the other shoe to drop since 2008 and it never came. As we left and then bought in again, another guy moved in to a small 2-bed, wife, teenage son. His wife, for some awful reason is like fixated on the SFH. Totally unrealistic. They are just regular folk that make a modest living. Impossible. So now he’s still in there… Read more »

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Confucius

@Oracle

Rates fell all through 2012, while the market tanked. Most of Canada slowed down as rates dropped last year too. Canada has finally hit the debt ceiling, it’s only the greatest fools bidding up East Van and some other hit spots who haven’t gotten the memo yet. Bull Ego exploding off the charts. This is the end.

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Shut It Down Already

“I’d probably have to go to the slums of Calcutta to see something as horrible and disturbing as East Hastings”

You’ve clearly never travelled outside of Canada.

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@61

“And poverty, I’ve never seen anything in these “3rd world countries” that compares to the skid row areas of many North American cities, like our very own downtown east side.”

You are clueless. Clearly you have never visited any of the countries you speak of. The welfare rate of the poorest of the poor on the DT Eastside would put you above the average worker wage in Thailand which is $416 USD per month. Then factor in the freebies you get in Canada like medical and all the amenities in the DT Eastside like free food, etc. A person living in poverty in Thailand either becomes a prostitute or they die.

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/thailand/wages

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Oracle

Oh please.

Check ratespy website. New record low for 5 year fixed mortgage.

2.44%

That’s posted. Can get 2.25%.

Means can borrow 1,000,000 for $22,500 per year.

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Confucius

Bearish indicator alert!!!!! The bulls have taken over the blog with multiple non stop postings. Their egos are running at extreme levels, which is a bearish indicator. Much like when the bears took over during the dip of 2012 was a bullish sign. Sell Now!!!!!!! This is your last chance to cash out!!!

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Oracleh

Chabar:

That’s the problem with our current immigration system. A few countries supply the majority of our immigrants. We are going to end up with a Chinese area, an Indian area and a white area.

All government officials should be held accountable for this.

Better system is say a cap of 10,000 per country per year. Total like 30 countries supplying 300,000 immigrants.

This segragation is going to have ugly outcomes in the future. Maybe jail the people who put these policies into place in the future?

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Oracle

And Ostritch, crescent beach area in South Surrey is the next HAM destination. About 80 homes listed above $2 Million now.

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Oracle

Ostrich :

As much as I want prices to drop for the future liveability of this region, I just don’t see it happening.

Just too much money coming here via foreign students, tfw’s, etc. tota amount of newcomers to Canada is about 450,000 per year. That’s insane.

The problem with the Bears is most are Caucasian and they haven’t had the experience of living overseas. We all know that prices have no relation to incomes. Maybe elsewhere in Canada but not YVR.

YVR has been globalized. Caucasians will soon be a minority here.

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Best place on meth

“Oracle, Bull Bull Bull, Space 889,

I think we guys should talk to each other.”

Yes you should.

Please find a suitable place to do so.

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Best place on meth

@36 “according to “thirdworldtraveller.com….” According to a website I can’t even find….maybe you could post a link. Anyway, what is the definition of third world vs. us “rich” countries? Is it how many toilets and TV’s are in the average household? Or is it how many people have cubicle jobs rather than working their own land and and providing their own food and shelter? Is there even a definition or is it just a phrase thrown around by smug people who think GDP is the only measure of a country’s success? If you can even find a defintion, how does it apply to a country like Thailand? If you want to refer to some poor villages in the remote corners of a country to make a point that they’re 3rd world then you can certainly find such conditions here as… Read more »

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LS in Arbutus

OMG, why would you want to live in Maple Ridge? Anyhow I say RENT, in Maple Ridge and see if you like it before you buy. BTW a SFH went for $500,000 in 2002 on the west side. So that kind of puts things in perspective as to how frickn expensive Maple Ridge is now. Oh right, I forgot, HAM love it there.

I think it’s totally better to rent, in the city. The last thing you need with that many kids is to have that financial burden hanging around your neck. You need flexibility (and time.) Your wife is going to go NUTS with 3 small kids at home and you doing your 12 hour day with commute time. Just saying.

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MarKoz

@ Yawn 27

Sure. Just leave aging relatives to fend for themselves and head to a more reasonably priced locale.

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ostritch

Oracle, Bull Bull Bull, Space 889, I think we guys should talk to each other. I get tired of reading the same old bear arguments. And then it goes into dreary political fights over translink or homelessness. I rather hear from you guys what you’re seeing in the market. Over here, in the heart of Vancouver, things are so hot that a listing sign over on 13th barely stopped swinging before a sold sticker was slapped on it. Three days. Never made it to realty link or anywhere else. No open. Nothing. This was a large one-bed apparently, so bottom tier of available units. Of which, there are zero other 1 beds on the market. Corner of 12th and Cambie a big building called The Spot is coming soon. They’re going to knock down the White Spot and keep half… Read more »

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88

Somethings about Vancouver you only appreciate after being gone and coming back. Like, for example, how many people drive around with their high beams on all the time.

After a while of living in Vancouver you start to think that you are just sensitive to headlights. Nope. Just all those assholes improving their personal driving experience at the expense of every other person on the road.

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ostritch

Confucious WTF? I answered your question. No need to answer back.

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Bear Vancouverite

– sorry, you’re right, I misunderstood what you wrote.

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Chabar

Talked to friend today whose daughter goes to Lord Byng Secondary School. Kid is sad and desperate for feeling and looking like giant among predominant Asian kids. She is just slightly higher for her age but within european standard. Fucking lack of diversity in this city…

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Undeniable

The Canadian Housing Bubble in Six Charts

http://www.financialsense.com/contributors/sober-look/canadian-housing-market-charts

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@33

“I’ll be leaving as soon as I can for somewhere warm, inexpensive and friendly.”
“Panama, Belize, Thailand, Malaysia, Costa Rica…this is your idea of 3rd world?”

As far as friendly, well they are friendly to tourists but once you leave the tourist area not so much and that includes the police. Cheap? Not for living in a nice area. Finally, yes they are warm for about 4 months of the year then it turns to extremely hot and humid and rains harder than it does here. There is a reason they only have a 4 month tourist season. All nice places to vacation during their winter months in the tourist areas but it is different to actually live there.

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southseacompany

CBC News;
“Home prices head downwards in many Canadian cities”
“Uneven performance across Canada as Toronto, Vancouver prices keep rising”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/home-prices-head-downwards-in-many-canadian-cities-1.2955215

“Canadian home prices have started to trend downwards in several major Canadian cities, including Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary and Hamilton, Ont.”

“The two biggest urban markets — Toronto and Vancouver, which have a shortage of single family homes available for resale, remained strong in January. On an annual basis, home prices were up 7.4 per cent in Toronto and up 5.1 per cent in Vancouver.”

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space889

@ – I meant to say you CAN’T trust the initial numbers.

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