Life & Economic Opportunities in Vancouver

[DADDYROCK]

Sorry folks but here is the truth,

 

Debt is the new slavery,everyone is scared poopless to loose their jobs and you continue to go into debt because our wages are lacking in the living wage factor.

Wages have not kept up to regular hard working person and having the rich foreigners(and don't give me that racist B.S.) using our real estate to profit and use it as a portfolio type stock.That is not what it was meant for.

The Governments federal and provincial are not working for the people they are working for corporations,also not what it was meant for.

The super rich are way too greedy and don't want to share,so they buy the politicians and change the rules to favor their best interests.

Social housing has not had a major update since the seventies and the homeless continue to increase.We are looking at some very scary times for the future and the politicians are still building pipelines.WTF!

 

Sorry but it had to be said!

[DADDYROCK]

Sorry folks but here is the truth,

 

Debt is the new slavery,everyone is scared poopless to loose their jobs and you continue to go into debt because our wages are lacking in the living wage factor.

Wages have not kept up to regular hard working person and having the rich foreigners(and don't give me that racist B.S.) using our real estate to profit and use it as a portfolio type stock.That is not what it was meant for.

The Governments federal and provincial are not working for the people they are working for corporations,also not what it was meant for.

The super rich are way too greedy and don't want to share,so they buy the politicians and change the rules to favor their best interests.

Social housing has not had a major update since the seventies and the homeless continue to increase.We are looking at some very scary times for the future and the politicians are still building pipelines.WTF!

 

Sorry but it had to be said!

[Lancaster]

Meh... I love Vancouver, I bleed blue & green..... but Vancouver is way overrated.  

[Kragar]

4 hours ago, nzan said:

.in Ontario, where they try to make ski hills literally out of garbage mounds...Mt Tremblant is actually pretty good though...

I worked in TO for a few months (Jan to Apr), a couple decades back.  Company took us to Blue Mtn for a ski day, which was pretty cool.

 

I was a total ski snob (being the only one from BC there) on the bus ride in, point at every little hill on the way, asking if that was the place.  I do recall being told about the garbage hills though... weird!

 

One great part of that ski day though (aside from getting paid to go skiing) was the view from the chairlift, over my shoulder, at a half-frozen Georgian Bay.  Just plain gorgeous.

[Putgolzin]

4 hours ago, Kragar said:

I worked in TO for a few months (Jan to Apr), a couple decades back.  Company took us to Blue Mtn for a ski day, which was pretty cool.

 

I was a total ski snob (being the only one from BC there) on the bus ride in, point at every little hill on the way, asking if that was the place.  I do recall being told about the garbage hills though... weird!

 

One great part of that ski day though (aside from getting paid to go skiing) was the view from the chairlift, over my shoulder, at a half-frozen Georgian Bay.  Just plain gorgeous.

Ontario does definitely have some great beauty to it, like our whole country.

Its tough not to be a ski snob here though - I took video of my boys on a hill’s longest run last year, full run top to bottom, the video was 9 seconds long.

[HorvatToBaertschi]

I spent 4 of my best childhood years in Coquitlam and Port Moody, and have wanted to come back ever since I left. I think the only barrier blocking me is that atrocious housing market. Boy did it ever skyrocket as soon as I left (circa 2004)....

[Kragar]

3 hours ago, nzan said:

Ontario does definitely have some great beauty to it, like our whole country.

Its tough not to be a ski snob here though - I took video of my boys on a hill’s longest run last year, full run top to bottom, the video was 9 seconds long.

Oh man.  I wonder how long the wait was for the lift back up.

[ForsbergTheGreat]

Vancouver has always just been a vacation city for me (I actually like Victoria more), I’ve never had any real desire to live there long term for the simple fact that the pro’s don’t outweigh the con’s.  So many places around Canada that may not provide all exact equivalent in scenery but allow you to live a much fuller life.  If money was never an object and you didn’t have to work overtime just to break even, then yes Vancouver would be a nice spot but that’s not the reality for most.  I don’t know why people put themselves in such a financial strain to stay in any city. I guess it’s all personal preference.  Personally I’d much rather live in another city (that also has beauty) and get so much more in life for my dollar.  It really makes you question what’s important in life.  Living next to an ocean that you can barely afford get to take advantage of, or being able to visit fly out the ocean whenever you want and having money left over to still traveling elsewhere and see the beauty the WORLD has to offer.  

 

For anyone that lives in Vancouver, maybe you can help me understand.  What is it that keeps you there?  Family? Financially secure? Love for a Job?

 

My second question would be how much of your net income goes into paying rent/mortgage + utilities?

[Hugor Hill]

4 minutes ago, ForsbergTheGreat said:

Vancouver has always just been a vacation city for me (I actually like Victoria more), I’ve never had any real desire to live there long term for the simple fact that the pro’s don’t outweigh the con’s.  So many places around Canada that may not provide all exact equivalent in scenery but allow you to live a much fuller life.  If money was never an object and you didn’t have to work overtime just to break even, then yes Vancouver would be a nice spot but that’s not the reality for most.  I don’t know why people put themselves in such a financial strain to stay in any city. I guess it’s all personal preference.  Personally I’d much rather live in another city (that also has beauty) and get so much more in life for my dollar.  It really makes you question what’s important in life.  Living next to an ocean that you can barely afford get to take advantage of, or being able to visit fly out the ocean whenever you want and having money left over to still traveling elsewhere and see the beauty the WORLD has to offer.  

 

For anyone that lives in Vancouver, maybe you can help me understand.  What is it that keeps you there?  Family? Financially secure? Love for a Job?

 

My second question would be how much of your net income goes into paying rent/mortgage + utilities?

Part of me thinks exactly the way you do.

And good questions. May I ask where you live?

 

 

 

 

[ForsbergTheGreat]

 

38 minutes ago, Hugor Hill said:

Part of me thinks exactly the way you do.

And good questions. May I ask where you live?

 

 

I live in far west of Calgary which I really love.  My back yard is forest, so it doesn’t feel like the city but I’m still only a 15 min train ride down town.  If I want to go to Banff it’s a quick 60 min drive to enjoy ski hills or all the awesome hiking trails.  But with that said I’m not glued to any city. We been considering even moving further south into Okatoks area to get even more bang for our dollar. 

 

While we may not get the exact mountain/ocean views that Vancouver has. We get to own a nice place, we still get to enjoy a lot of great outdoors and the big win is the extra income, to spend on whatever we want. Mostly it’s used to travel as much as vacation days allows. We’ve been all over the world in the last 7 years splurging on some really amazing trips and creating life long memories.  We typically go on 2-3 big trips a year, from Italy, to Japan, to France, Maui, Mexico…etc.  Experiences I’d never be able to enjoy/afford if I was house poor.

[Hugor Hill]

4 minutes ago, ForsbergTheGreat said:

 

 

I live in far west of Calgary which I really love.  My back yard is forest, so it doesn’t feel like the city but I’m still only a 15 min train ride down town.  If I want to go to Banff it’s a quick 60 min drive to enjoy ski hills or all the awesome hiking trails.  But with that said I’m not glued to any city. We been considering even moving further south into Okatoks area to get even more bang for our dollar. 

 

While we may not get the exact mountain/ocean views that Vancouver has. We get to own a nice place, we still get to enjoy a lot of great outdoors and the big win is the extra income, to spend on whatever we want. Mostly it’s used to travel as much as vacation days allows. We’ve been all over the world in the last 7 years splurging on some really amazing trips and creating life long memories.  We typically go on 2-3 big trips a year, from Italy, to Japan, to France, Maui, Mexico…etc.  Experiences I’d never be able to enjoy/afford if I was house poor.

The trips sound amazing. 

You are right about life style choices. I would live in a box if it means I'll be living near in a community of people that I actually want to call neighbours.  But seeing different parts of the world is also important. 

 

 

[Chris12345]

29 minutes ago, Hugor Hill said:

The trips sound amazing. 

You are right about life style choices. I would live in a box if it means I'll be living near in a community of people that I actually want to call neighbours.  But seeing different parts of the world is also important. 

 

 

Neighbours....it's amazing when you realize what real neighbours are when you leave Vancouver.

 

 

[Ronaldoescobar]

1 hour ago, ForsbergTheGreat said:

Vancouver has always just been a vacation city for me (I actually like Victoria more), I’ve never had any real desire to live there long term for the simple fact that the pro’s don’t outweigh the con’s.  So many places around Canada that may not provide all exact equivalent in scenery but allow you to live a much fuller life.  If money was never an object and you didn’t have to work overtime just to break even, then yes Vancouver would be a nice spot but that’s not the reality for most.  I don’t know why people put themselves in such a financial strain to stay in any city. I guess it’s all personal preference.  Personally I’d much rather live in another city (that also has beauty) and get so much more in life for my dollar.  It really makes you question what’s important in life.  Living next to an ocean that you can barely afford get to take advantage of, or being able to visit fly out the ocean whenever you want and having money left over to still traveling elsewhere and see the beauty the WORLD has to offer.  

 

For anyone that lives in Vancouver, maybe you can help me understand.  What is it that keeps you there?  Family? Financially secure? Love for a Job?

 

My second question would be how much of your net income goes into paying rent/mortgage + utilities?

To answer the questions:

 

The first: All three. While I have family all over the world, a good majority is in Vancouver and surrounding areas. My grandparents (both sides) came to Canada when they were younger and on my fathers side settled in Ontario and Southern Saskatchewan while my mother’s came to BC. My dad and his brothers/sisters  were born in Moose Jaw and raised in Toronto, but my mom and her siblings were born in Vancouver. Eventually they all moved to the lower mainland and I was born here. 

 

It is definitely not cheap and very unaffordable to most looking to start over. I work in wealth management so I am one that can afford the lifestyle here and personally prefer it to financial hubs such as NYC, London, Hong Kong, Toronto where cost of living would be similar if not more.

 

As for the second question; I as well as my wife (she is in accounting) make well above the average income and we are mortgage free at a relatively young age (38) so only a small portion of my net income goes to bills, but I also realize that we are a minority in that respect.

 

Personally, I have spent a lot of time in dozens of cities/countries around the world and would choose Vancouver over them all but again realize that that is not an option for many due to affordability. 

Edited August 2, 2019 by Ronaldoescobar

[ForsbergTheGreat]

58 minutes ago, Hugor Hill said:

The trips sound amazing. 

You are right about life style choices. I would live in a box if it means I'll be living near in a community of people that I actually want to call neighbours.  But seeing different parts of the world is also important. 

 

 

Yeah. I’ve never had that terrible of neighbors but I grew up in a small town so I do know how awesome it is to have a close knit community.  Its part of why I’m considering moving south of Calgary so that I can buy 2-3 acres and never have to worry about if they are good or bad. 

 

But in terms of a specific geography any city in Canada will have good and bad communities. If you can find that awesome neighborhood while at the same time of retaining a large portion of your income (for travel and leisure) it’s a win/win in my books. 

 

I guess it really comes down to, what does Vancouver offer that other cities don’t have? ....and then what tangible value do you place on those extras? Is it worth what you could be giving up?

[ForsbergTheGreat]

30 minutes ago, Ronaldoescobar said:

To answer the questions:

 

The first: All three. While I have family all over the world, a good majority is in Vancouver and surrounding areas. My grandparents (both sides) came to Canada when they were younger and on my fathers side settled in Ontario and Southern Saskatchewan while my mother’s came to BC. My dad and his brothers/sisters  were born in Moose Jaw and raised in Toronto, but my mom and her siblings were born in Vancouver. Eventually they all moved to the lower mainland and I was born here. 

 

It is definitely not cheap and very unaffordable to most looking to start over. I work in wealth management so I am one that can afford the lifestyle here and personally prefer it to financial hubs such as NYC, London, Hong Kong, Toronto where cost of living would be similar if not more.

 

As for the second question; I as well as my wife (she is in accounting) make well above the average income and we are mortgage free at a relatively young age (38) so only a small portion of my net income goes to bills, but I also realize that we are a minority in that respect.

 

Personally, I have spent a lot of time in dozens of cities/countries around the world and would choose Vancouver over them all but again realize that that is not an option for many due to affordability. 

See, for some people it does work and I agree if finances weren’t an option it would be a great place to live. 

 

Being close to family is a big driving factor in choosing where to live. My sister lives in California and despite enjoying their weather can’t wait to move back home to Calgary area. 

 

Unless my most recent big investment pays off being debt free around the age of 45-50 is the pace I’m on ...but my yearly travel budget and other priorities keep me from really achieving that sooner. But that’s all part of life and the choices we make. 

[Dr. Crossbar]

I've lived in downtown Vancouver for 26 years. It was expensive then as it is now. But I knew that when I got here. 

 

I grew up in a "have not" province on the east coast in a city with very little opportunity, ongoing economic depression, and a culture of struggling and settling for less. That's aside from 9-10 months of snow, sleet, cold, wind, ongoing hurricanes, and the weather being a real obstacle that you can never truly predict. 

 

I had one of those epiphany moments in my life that I realized I don't HAVE to live this life. I don't HAVE to struggle and settle. I can leave. 

 

So, first and foremost, I moved here to improve my quality of life in a city with an abundance of opportunity. I also came out here to change who I was and to change my mindset to align to better opportunities. I came out here to make something of myself and make my dreams come true. Sounds cliche but those were the most important things to me. 

 

Not once in 26 years have I ever felt like something was impossible here in Vancouver. Growing up on the east coast, though, everything felt impossible even though many things are so much more affordable.

 

For me, it's quality of life and opportunity. But my definition of that doesn't mean a house, kids, cars, family, etc. I grew up in all of that in the burbs and I wanted something different. 

 

I nearly died when I was 16 and spent years recovering from an accident. So by the time I got out of university, the last thing I wanted to do was lock myself into a pipeline of a house, kids, and huge financial burdens. I find many people make those decisions before they know who they are and what they truly want in life.

 

So, to have the quality of life I want, and always dreamed of, there are sacrifices. And this is a big one that factors into it.

 

I've sactificed home ownership (doesn't mean I always will or don't have investments) to have access to things like Stanley Park, the beaches, waterftont, seawall, various venues, restaurants, proximity to business, and being central in a beautiful neighborhood where I can walk anywhere. 

 

I nearly bought in Langley but it really felt like what I left years ago on the east coast - strip malls, high debt, traffic, two car garage, backyard, etc.

 

I've sacrificed owning a car. I don't need one living downtown. I work from home. If I do, there's EVO, Car2Go, etc, or renting one for a trip. If I need to get to the airport, Skytrain is perfect.

 

I've sacrificed having kids. I was more focused on career, making something of myself that wasn't possible on the east coast, and maintaining a quality of life that made me happy. It just evolved that way. 

 

These are conscious choices I made based on the quality of life I wanted and what was important to me. 

 

It's interesting, too ... I know people who have families downtown, are happy, and do fine. They make it work.

 

I think people tend to forget that owning a home is only one aspect of life. I know a lot of people who have no desire to own a home in Vancouver and are perfectly happy here. I know a lot of people who also gave up owning a home to have more flexibility.

 

What I'm paying for is a higher quality of life with accessability to opportunity. I knew that the moment I got here. I never expected for Vancouver to be affordable on the same level as the east coast. 

 

I'll say it this way ... and I don't mind being the minority ... rent and bills are manageable but most of the net income isn't being spent on car payments, gas, car insurance, car repairs, kids, the house, oil/gas, lawn mowers, snowblowers, guest rooms, kids sports league fees, school trips, school clothes, patio furnishings, ongoing home decor, the swimming pool, boat, motorcycle, four-wheeler, camper, BBQs, workshop, tools, kitchen repairs, toys, video games, entertainment rooms, and on and on and on.