Should I move back to Calgary?

[activeStick]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Yeah the Victoria harbour to Seattle harbour trip is pretty rad. Passenger-only, high-speed catarman, with a full bar on board.

It's not cheap, but definitely the best way to go if you're doing Victoria to Seattle.

The Harbour Air seaplane flight from Victoria to Seattle is also awesome, though no full bar...

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by rubecube

No, I'm friends with a guy who is. Can't say I remember the murals, but I was pretty liquored both times I was there.

well next time you see him tell him Brother Vaughan from lodge 90 says hi, he may know me although my kids stop me from getting over to Victoria much

[Galakanokis]

One thing to considered about kids and Vancouver is you'll probably still have them living with you in 25 or 30 years as they won't be able to afford to move out. Nothing like a sweet 300sqft apartment that you can't get to from the front entrance because the homeless have taken over for $2K a month.

Parts of Vancouver are great and lovely but i rarely see them. The parts I see are pretty ####ty actually and could be just about any city in NA.

Cost of living is the only thing I dislike about living here. I've resigned myself to that fact that I will never buy a house in a decent neighborhood out here so we try to save extra money to make up for that. We got lucky and our townhouse is about $1200 cheaper than if we were to rent it now. That's a pretty big chunk of change.

I'd move in a heartbeat to an affordable city but there's not many places that have a good film industry and are affordable.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Comparing Calgary & Vancouver neighborhoods really should involve Greater Vancouver.

Calgary is massive geographicly so living in a Calgary suburb isn't really much different than living in Coquitlam, New West, Burnaby, Poco etc.
I mean how long is the drive from downtown to Auburn Bay?

If you start considering greater Vancouver affordability goes up a lot as do young families, kids, daycares etc.
Not to mention skytrain access is better in many of these locations.

Call me if you want to buy that townhouse Peter, I'd like to be as wealthy as you and the commission would be a start

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by Svartsengi

He thanked my post when I suggested it. You need to actually read before responding.

He only thanks posts he reports

[Flamenspiel]

^^I kind of liked two areas in Vancouver. For a downtown apartment I lived with a friend in Coal Harbor for awhile. From a family perspective I liked Deep Cove. Generally the northern and western parts of the city are far more preferable.

Really the ocean is something you see rather then do, it’s not like you are in Maui or Dana Point south of LA, it’s all such a big tease in Vancouver, especially when it’s nice weather, because it’s so rare.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

I lived in Maple Ridge for years when my daughter was younger, great place to have a young family

Any bar fights with Michael Moriarty?

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Any bar fights with Michael Moriarty?

No, met up with him on a couple of occasions when out for soccer team drinks, I loath men that beat on women though so when some of the other guys bought him a drink (for a while he was basically just selling his company for a couple of drinks) I stayed away, he was living in one of the most squalid trailer parks in Maple Ridge and that isnt a high bar in any way shape or form

[foshizzle11]

Originally Posted by Jordan!

No - how can you hate Vancouver though?? Sports teams sure but it's one of the best cities on earth.

Do you live there? Have you lived there?

Maybe one of the best cities on earth to visit but not to live. The cost of living is astronomical and the weather stinks most of the year. So much rain, I lived there and there were like months without seeing the sun. I played outdoor sports there, you get wet and soaked, everything is musty all the time in the winter months. Just no.

I would pick Calgary over Vancouver in a heartbeat. Saying that, we are thinking of moving away from Calgary here in the next few years, want to be out in a smaller town in the mountains since I can work from anywhere.

If I was to raise kids, I would move to a small town also. We have friends who live in Nanton and they are raising 4 kids right now and the town is like a group of parents raising all the kids together. All the kids can roam the neighborhoods, it isn't rare to see like 10 to 15 kids riding bikes together and doing kid stuff. I don't see that in the city anymore. I feel like the suburbs here, nobody talks to each other, neighbors care about themselves only it seems.

[CroFlames]

One thing that annoys me about most Vancouver suburbs, and when I say suburbs I mean Burnaby, Coquitlam, Poco, etc, is the lack of sidewalks.

They kinda just build these houses in the 60s willy nilly with many residential streets having one or no sidewalks.

Granted they have huge lots, but it still annoys me.

[calumniate]

I'd suggest moving to a place that doesn't have internet

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by calumniate

I'd suggest moving to a place that doesn't have internet

Are you thinking, like, cabin in the woods, or bottom of the Marianas Trench? Starlink makes it more challenging to escape internet.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

I’ve been to Vancouver so many times. Sorry but what is so vibrant and great about Robson that you don’t get on 17th ave? What can you do there that you can’t do in Calgary?

Walk to the beach in 15 minutes.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by foshizzle11

I played outdoor sports there, you get wet and soaked, everything is musty all the time in the winter months. Just no.

But you were playing outdoor sports on the winter, which is gross but also awesome.
I used to play soccer year around, I was golfing this past December.

You can't do that in many cities.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Coach

Walk to the beach in 15 minutes.

Close...

https://goo.gl/maps/F4239KxSBnrfAtex5

[flames_fan_down_under]

I get the sentiment of Peter's first post.

The cost of living in Vancouver is absurd and I think he was just illustrating that even after having a healthy income he's frustrated by the lack of opportunity to have a fulfilling life as the usual things like owning a home, having a family etc continually get delayed because it's so insanely expensive to get settled here. Unless your parents own a house in Vancouver and sell their place and give you a portion of that money it's pretty unlikely you will ever own a townhouse, let alone a detached home, in your life in Vancouver. If you're a couple that are both working professionals with a household income around 200k you're likely relegated to a 550 -700 sq foot single bed room apartment. It is frustrating.

[kermitology]

I’ve got a really nice house you can buy

[blankall]

The main issue with housing prices is interest rates. Interest rates are insanely low, which is driving up the cost of the unit. You can borrow $1,000,000 for $3,500/month.

The main advantage to buying property in Vancouver is that you can also rent out your basement for a large amount of money. If you're paying $600k more for a house in Vancouver than Calgary, you can compensate for that shortfall by renting out the basement. As much as it the market is crazy, it also provides an opportunity to make a lot of money. However, you really do have to treat it like a business and it's not a simple matter of just buying a home. Even having strangers living in your basement can lead to all sorts of issues.

I grew up in Calgary, and will always love it. However, you can't compare the amount of stuff to do in the two cities. The social/bar/restaurant scene is far from perfect in Vancouver, but the options are far greater than Calgary. The greatest challenge in Calgary has always been that it's set up as driving city. I go back to Calgary frequently. I'll go to my old haunts on 17th and check out the new breweries. However, the amount of things like that to do is pretty limited. Even then, if I want to go to several breweries, there aren't very many walkable options.

Calgary is definitely geared more towards young families. I have a kid on the way, so my perspective of Vancouver may change dramatically. That being said, with the amount of equity I have in Vancouver, I can easily afford to move back to Calgary at any point. The other way is a lot more of a challenge.

[peter12]

I love how this discussion has a "Peter is wealthy" thread running through it. I am most assuredly not wealthy hence why I can't buy a townhouse in Vancouver.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by peter12

I love how this discussion has a "Peter is wealthy" thread running through it. I am most assuredly not wealthy hence why I can't buy a townhouse in Vancouver.

I mean I know Vancouver is expensive, but if you and your partner "make a lot of money. Like a lot", then I'm curious what are you doing with it to "not be wealthy".