What makes vancouver livable

Even the cafes. Their used to be neighborhood hangouts all over now its foreigners jangling together to hang out with their ethnic group and not immerse.

Never understood that. But if you do not you are in trouble. Meeting people is indeed difficult. People absolutely do hang out in cliques. I think its because of the expense. May people are on the take and looking for something out of people so everyone has their backs up. OK that sounds bad but … its quite true. Lots of leeches in Vancouver. They do not add any community so the natives are left struggling to pay rent to them and find their entertainment.

The vibe of living was gone. I had no desire to lay out , for sf of condo and then sit at Starbucks talking with my clique about how that condo is going to be my retirement one day. Job wise Vancouver has one of the highest post secondary education rates and the lowest salaries.

That guy selling sweater at the Bay probably has a bachelors in Political Science. The Macs store clerk may be an engineer is his home country. I miss Vancouver. But my Vancouver is in the past. The current Vancouver is still a lovely location but uninteresting as a city to me.

Other than the crime aspect about being mugged I totally agree with you comment. Gastown in the last 5 years has become hipsterville — the irony in which is most people who live here can barely afford it and are living on borrowed time. Eventually it will catch up with them… it always does.

I lived 10 years in Vancouver. Worked in the social field. The word has been that Vancouver is one of the loneliest cities. To meet deeper people is difficult. The city is very clicky. People are friendly and polite, just the way Canadians are, but to meet people is very hard. Because of that it is very transient. I met a couple of good people there, but they all left because of that. Normal Income people share their housing, because to afford an average flat is impossible. Vancouver has become trendy and chick, superficial and unaffordable.

The City is concrete and glass, the surrounding very beautiful. And you forgot to mention, the summers are short, and the sunny days are few. I moved back to Germany because the standard of living is simply higher. Hey Joseph, I am thinking of going to Canada for 12 month with an open work permit you get as long as you are enrolled in a university in Austria and you need to be under Do you think one can get along with this kind of experience for a year?

Thank you. I just moved here since 1st January and there is plenty of sun shine, even in two winter months you get average three hours of sun a day. That is the same as in Europe. Rains come and go and I like the rain.

I note that everyone who moved away from Vancouver has nothing but bad to say about it, which seems reasonable: if they were doing well, why would they have left? So when you read the sour grapes…. In this culture, people are almost always upbeat and friendly, especially in shops or casual conversation, but it means nothing… it takes a lot more than that to become friends.

So what are the reasons to live in Vancouver? That totally depends on who you are. The Asian community is huge and there are so many types of food available from those cultures that it boggles the mind.

And people can afford to eat out a lot. Vancouverites eat between 1 out of 3 and 2 out of 3 of their meals away from home. People are pretty well off, financially, for the most part. The wages by and large match the expenditures. The arts are so-so, but certainly no worse than Toronto, which gives itself more credit than is really due unless you really like very mainstream stuff. Montreal is a much better arts scene by far.

All along the sea, there are walking and bicycle paths, you can take your bike anywhere. And people are food and fitness conscious in a day-to-day integrated kind of way.

People do yoga at work. As well, you can look any way you want, pretty much anywhere. Got sleeves? Got green hair and leopard skin yoga pants on today?

Not much of that Business-Black-and-Boring around here unless you like that look. Would I live somewhere else than Vancouver? It works, and it looks good doing it. Not too many other places can make that claim. Wow, I so disagree with you about Vancouver being affordable. Unless you are a doctor, a lawyer, or some other professional you will struggle to survive on one income. A and several other post graduate qualifications , and turned them down I quickly realised that the 80 — k jobs I had been used to in Europe and Australia were incredibly thin on the ground.

The few companies that offer decent salaries are usually staffed by people in their 40s and above who have literally been there for 20 years and would have to be brought out feet first in order to leave. I would really consider moving to Vancouver very carefully. We spent our k in savings in one year before finding decent work. Meeting good solid people here was tough — most of my friends are from other provinces.

Personally I laugh when people say that LA is full of superficial people. Vancouver is by far the worse… and other colleagues of mine feel that exact same way. I work in the film industry and make a substantial living doing so, own a place in Garstown, and I can tell you without a doubt that most people on average do not make enough money to get ahead.

A good percentage of the population that lives in the Lower Mainland are considered working poor. Stats Canada even published figures supporting this.

Bigest reason for the soaring costs has been from massive foreign investment — increasing property values. Primarily from mainland China. Has a population of , Has a metropolitan population of 2. Sits in a known earthquake zone. Has warm, sunny summers. Has wet, overcast, and mild relative to other Canadian cities winters. Is an English speaking city. Has about , residents who speak languages other than English in their own homes.

Chinese languages account for about , and Punjabi , of these. The Economist Intelligence Unit found Vancouver had the highest cost of living of any city in Canada in Olympic Ski Slopes. Port of Vancouver Photo: Bobanny. Shops in Vancouver, credit: Arnold C. Townhouses in Richmond. Vancouver District Plan, credit: TastyCakes. Expensive house prices: the highest in Canada Renting is more affordable.

The highest cost of living of any city in North America. Higher crime rates than Toronto about 30 percent higher or Calgary about 70 percent higher. Wet, overcast winters. Rapid population growth. Lower than average obesity rates.

Lowest smoking rates in Canada. Best health and longest lived people in Canada. One in six people walk or bike to work — much higher than typical for Canada. A growing film industry. A strong economy with a wide range of industries and opportunities.

A very moderate climate, rarely any snowfall. Moderately warm, dry, sunny summers. Spectacularly beautiful land and seascape that permits a huge range of year round recreation options. An extensive transit system that is primarily electric. Very clean air quality.

East Vancouver at the time was the poorer side of town. Our after-grad party included a big bonfire at Third Beach. I never returned to Vancouver for a few decades. Eventually I lived in Toronto for five years. I loved it for the amazing camping and lakes just a few hours to the North. I loved Maple Leaf Gardens. I really have nothing bad to say about Calgary.

I live a quiet life and know how to live inexpensively if only there was a place to call home. You can meet great people in any city in the world. I disagree that you can label a city as unfriendly. Unless of course, you have money and dont have to worry about things like that.

What great advice, thank you. You hit on several key issues for us. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Close Privacy Overview This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website.

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You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The mid-rise West End neighborhood described earlier as a diverse, resilient and happy community has 44, residents living in 0. That is a density of 57, people per square mile — without many high-rises.

This compares to Paris, long known to architects as a dense city without high-rises, at 55, people per square mile. The average urban or city core density of Vancouver is 14, people per square mile, but the metropolitan or wider city population density is 2, people per square mile.

If asked, most people reply that New York City is the densest city in America. If they visit NYC, they may be surprised by the amount of green space and the greened walks that are everywhere. While its city core has a population density of 26, people per square mile, at only 5, people per square mile the larger area of metropolitan New York is less dense than Los Angeles 6, people per square mile , metro San Francisco 7, people per square mile and even San Jose 5, people per square mile.

What about housing a large population in a city? Must this inevitably lead to high density and high-rise buildings? Higher urban or city core population need not translate to higher urban density.

Although its urban city core population is only 1. The density of Tokyo is only 16, people per square mile in the central urban core. It drops to 6, people per square mile when the entire metropolitan area is considered. Recently, Tokyo has increased the number of its high-rises and now has just under 50 buildings over feet.

Comparing Manila the densest but one of the least populous major cities in the world against Tokyo one of the least dense and most populous cities in the world. We have heard that human population is increasing and density will increase with it. Tokyo proves that this is just not so. Tokyo hosts a very large population 36 million in a relatively low-density city. As a result, it is very livable. It is also very safe, with its crime rate described as "mysteriously" low.

Having visited most of these cities, I would have to say that a reasonable density at a mostly human scale makes a city resilient and capable of supporting happiness and well-being, regardless of the total population. And high-rises are not required to house large populations. I am convinced that reasonable density targets of no more than 6, people per square mile for metro areas not necessarily urban cores will help us create happy cities accommodating any population growth we might expect.

We need to continue to consciously encourage and support reasonable development density worldwide, and to educate our populations on the benefits of human-scale neighborhoods and large green spaces within our cities. View of the skyline in Downtown Vancouver Shutterstock. Vancouver: A case study of livability, sustainability and happiness. Development process redesign is a comprehensive review of our development process functions involving multiple City departments. Explore the many ongoing planning projects that are helping to solidify Vancouver's reputation as one of the most liveable cities in the world.

Community plans are important road maps that provide clear but flexible frameworks to guide positive change and development in neighbourhoods. New developments help fund infrastructure, services, and public amenities for our growing city so it's liveable for all.

Our long-term goal is to protect as many historically important buildings, sites, and trees as possible. The Regional Context Statement demonstrates how the City's existing plans and policies support the goals, strategies and actions identified in Metro Vancouver's Regional Growth Strategy. We are launching a comprehensive review of City regulations and policies to make them more user-friendly and to help streamline review processes. The Urban Design Awards recognize and celebrate excellence in architecture and urban design in Vancouver.