BC Lags Behind Other Provinces in Life Satisfaction

[blankall]

Originally Posted by GGG

Why did you live in Sundance though?

That’s doesn’t seem an apples to apples comparison to where you are now.

Inner city living in Calgary for families is tough. The people talking about long commutes in Vancouver almost certainly moved out to have more space for kids. You can definitely avoid longer commutes in Calgary if you live on a more expensive area close to the core. However, overall Calgary is a car city, and pretending that long commutes aren't part of the package is disingenuous.

[Galakanokis]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

My wife commutes from Coquitlam to Richmond every day. It's more than 2 hours per day in the car. She spends $4,000 on gas every year commuting.

That’s nuts. I hate that drive and rarely do it. I’m just off of Gaglardi in Burnaby and find that pretty central. I've resisted moving further out strictly because of the proximity to roads. I like the Burnaby, Port Moody, Coquitlam area.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by blankall

Inner city living in Calgary for families is tough. The people talking about long commutes in Vancouver almost certainly moved out to have more space for kids. You can definitely avoid longer commutes in Calgary if you live on a more expensive area close to the core. However, overall Calgary is a car city, and pretending that long commutes aren't part of the package is disingenuous.

They aren’t really unless you live pretty far out and you’re headed to the other end of the city. Like 35-50 minutes depending on traffic from Stoney N to 22x.

Especially now with since COVID, downtown commutes are pretty basic unless the weather is insane. Most days you can get from the outer areas to downtown in about 20-25 minutes. Inner city is like… 10 minutes. Long commutes are definitely not an issue for most people here.

[afc wimbledon]

Vancouver tends to be a transient city, lots of people from somewhere else and the high price of housing tends to mean they see themselves 'going home' when they decide to settle and have a family, most probably wont but I think it alters the way people interact

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by blankall

Inner city living in Calgary for families is tough. The people talking about long commutes in Vancouver almost certainly moved out to have more space for kids. You can definitely avoid longer commutes in Calgary if you live on a more expensive area close to the core. However, overall Calgary is a car city, and pretending that long commutes aren't part of the package is disingenuous.

Originally Posted by blankall

A major reason I left Calgary was the commuting. I lived in Sundance. So getting anywhere in rush hour was awful. Meeting friends who lived in the north was crazy. Getting drinks was even more difficult, as decent bars and restaurants were a massive cab ride away. Pre-uber the can system was almost unusable.

In Vancouver I'm a half hour bus ride from downtown. Can walk to bars, and the good ones are only a $10-15 Uber ride away. Theoretically I could bike to work in under twenty minutes.

You know what’s disingenuous? Implying your move from Calgary to Vancouver, was the same distance from downtown, with similar housing.

Same house in Sundance, inner city (elbow park etc), would be 2x.
($700k to $1.4m)

So you acquired essentially that (1:1) if you’re a 30min bus ride from DT Van.

And your friends seem like they’re closer to you in Van, as driving from deep SE Calgary to the north is akin to North Van to White Rock.
Similar distances, and times to drive, if traffic didn’t exist.
With traffic, maybe bit longer in Calgary (ring road), vs at least twice as long in LML.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Yeah, summers are typically pretty dry out here. The Average July precip in Vancouver is 35 mm whereas in Calgary it is 65 mm. It rains in Vancouver from November to April almost steady. May can be a mixed bag, but June through to October are usually pretty dry. Although this year, it rained pretty much until this week and then went right into a 35C heat wave.

There are two seasons here. Noah's Arc and On Fire.

Numbers don't tell the whole story, most of that 65 mm comes from one or two thunderstorms that roll in late in the afternoon dropping monsoon rain and hail in 30 minutes and then it's sunny again.

Vancouver's 35 mm in July is 4 or 5 days of dreary/misty cloud covered days.

[flames_fan_down_under]

I know this might be a strange take, stay with me here...I really like BOTH Vancouver AND Calgary. I know. Reading this thread you would think the options were mutually exclusive!

Vancouver has its problems, the DTES is obviously a massive massive issue, the opioid epidemic is a scourge on the city and is still not being taken seriously. The cost of living is outrageous. Many Vancouverites are holier than thou insular #######s that take themselves too seriously. What's worse are the anti-development NIMBYs that bought their home for 80K and its now worth 3.2 million but don't want a 10 story high-rise with affordable housing five blocks away. However, it's not like Alberta isn't full of people with an obvious chip on their shoulder that will look for any excuse to bash another province to make themselves feel better about their decisions *cough* this thread *cough*. Whether it's transfer payments, pipelines, Trudeau or BC the list of Alberta grievances is rich and storied and an Albertan will never tire of bringing them up whenever possible.

However, my life in Van is great. I have a wonderful group of friends, a great job, a lovely wife I met here, and I live in a great neighborhood. My wife walks to work, my commute is about 10 minutes. We often head to the Gulf Islands in the summer, Tofino is a quick flight from the south Terminal, cycling to UBC in the Summer going through Kits and Spanish Banks is something very special, the golf season is a touch longer here, great coffee, great restaurants. The grey rainy winters can be dreary, I do love the snow and bright blue skies of Calgary winters.

Speaking of Calgary, it is also a city I love dearly. I love the big sky, I love the Bow River, I love the Rockies in the distance. The people are top notch, it's a very friendly city, with great neighborhoods. Obviously the best hockey fans in the world. Also you can buy a nice house there and don't have to sell your kidneys online to make a downpayment. I was also in Calgary over Christmas when it was -38 and that was a nice reminder of how insanely bad winters can be there.

I like both Calgary and Vancouver and BC and Alberta!

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by flames_fan_down_under

I know this might be a strange take, stay with me here...I really like BOTH Vancouver AND Calgary. I know. Reading this thread you would think the options were mutually exclusive!

Vancouver has its problems, the DTES is obviously a massive massive issue, the opioid epidemic is a scourge on the city and is still not being taken seriously. The cost of living is outrageous. Many Vancouverites are holier than thou insular #######s that take themselves too seriously. What's worse are the anti-development NIMBYs that bought their home for 80K and its now worth 3.2 million but don't want a 10 story high-rise with affordable housing five blocks away. However, it's not like Alberta isn't full of people with an obvious chip on their shoulder that will look for any excuse to bash another province to make themselves feel better about their decisions *cough* this thread *cough*. Whether it's transfer payments, pipelines, Trudeau or BC the list of Alberta grievances is rich and storied and an Albertan will never tire of bringing them up whenever possible.

However, my life in Van is great. I have a wonderful group of friends, a great job, a lovely wife I met here, and I live in a great neighborhood. My wife walks to work, my commute is about 10 minutes. We often head to the Gulf Islands in the summer, Tofino is a quick flight from the south Terminal, cycling to UBC in the Summer going through Kits and Spanish Banks is something very special, the golf season is a touch longer here, great coffee, great restaurants. The grey rainy winters can be dreary, I do love the snow and bright blue skies of Calgary winters.

Speaking of Calgary, it is also a city I love dearly. I love the big sky, I love the Bow River, I love the Rockies in the distance. The people are top notch, it's a very friendly city, with great neighborhoods. Obviously the best hockey fans in the world. Also you can buy a nice house there and don't have to sell your kidneys online to make a downpayment. I was also in Calgary over Christmas when it was -38 and that was a nice reminder of how insanely bad winters can be there.

I like both Calgary and Vancouver and BC and Alberta!

You're exaggerating, coldest overnight temperature last year was -32.9 on Dec 1st, and that was far below the normal Dec overnight average of -12.

https://calgary.weatherstats.ca/char...e-monthly.html

[flames_fan_down_under]

Sorry! -33. I remember with the wind chill factor it was rated to feel colder. Thanks for confirming the weather was indeed horrible.

Though interesting that you locked into that after a string of effusive praise!

[GGG]

Originally Posted by blankall

Inner city living in Calgary for families is tough. The people talking about long commutes in Vancouver almost certainly moved out to have more space for kids. You can definitely avoid longer commutes in Calgary if you live on a more expensive area close to the core. However, overall Calgary is a car city, and pretending that long commutes aren't part of the package is disingenuous.

I wasn’t questioning the long commute just that if you spent the same money on the same thing in each city your commute time should be lower in Calgary. It would be really weird to find an edge case where that was not true.

[Fuzz]

I was interested if "more expensive area close to the core" was true, and found this in Sundance:


https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/2...lgary-sundance


And this in Thorncliff:
https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/2...ry-thorncliffe


The Thorncliff place is a 13min drive, or 23 minute bike. The Sundance place is a 23 minute drive, or, uh, 1h and 12 min bike. So you can have much better commute times for the same price, if you choose a better community for such things. Spend a bit more and you can get even closer. It's in no way unreasonably priced to live within 5km of downtown. Under 600k gives you hundreds of options in detached houses. What does that get you in Vancouver 5km from downtown? A quick search shows 1.2 million for the first house.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by flames_fan_down_under

However, it's not like Alberta isn't full of people with an obvious chip on their shoulder that will look for any excuse to bash another province to make themselves feel better about their decisions *cough* this thread *cough*. Whether it's transfer payments, pipelines, Trudeau or BC the list of Alberta grievances is rich and storied and an Albertan will never tire of bringing them up whenever possible.

While some of this is true some is not. Alberta bashes BC because they bash us. Alberta bashes Ottawa because Alberta feels like they get the short end of the stick at times more than any other province. I know many people from BC and when they come here I never criticize BC but when you are in BC and they find out you are from Alberta there's a good chance of an incoming anti-O&G tongue lashing. I just don't think BC people realize just how obnoxious that is. I've never been a blind homer and don't think Alberta is special or anything as I've been on record here several times saying how bad Calgary's weather is and how much I don't like it. I've been critical that Calgary has turned into the the city of "can't do". The thing about Albertans is that we are by far the hardest workers in the country and we feel we get treated like Canada's money tree and there is merit there so the last thing you want to hear when you are in BC is being told how bad your province is.

[Regular_John]

We’ve have a close friend that moved out to Vancouver after their divorce, they sold their car, got a bike, a (family) roommate, and they walk/bike everywhere… like 15-20km a day of walking.

We spent a few days with them last summer and to be honest there’s a lot that appeals about that kinda lifestyle of not having to plan all your outings around driving and parking and just casually strolling everywhere you go and stopping at whatever catches your eye.

But the flip side is there as well, like the desperate individual who asked me for change (I had none) who was wondering up & down the street a few minutes later loudly declaring he was gonna “bash in one of these fakes with a lead pipe if I don’t get something to eat soon”. Or the well dressed guy who seemed to be having an episode of some kind and was attempting to pull the door off what I hope was at least his own luxury car.

Despite all the natural blessings of Vancouver I think it’s a pretty high strung city that’s hard to find real peace in.

Going back to the Stanley Cup riots, one our friends at the time I had left Van 2-3 years prior, and just said “yeah that was 100% gonna happen win or lose, that city is a powder keg”

Having said all that… I still might give it a try if my life circumstances really changed.

[blender]

Like any debate there are arguments on both sides, and like any debate, rash generalizations are common and only serve to polarize people.
As a transplanted Albertan I feel like most of the generalizations are overstated. Albertans are harder workers? Hogwash. British Columbians are lefty flakes? Hah, come live in the Interior; it's a redneck paradise here.

As always, your view has a lot to do with what kind of window you are looking through.

[Winsor_Pilates]

The article is titled BC, but every comment has focused on Vancouver specifically.

I wonder why the rest of the province would rank low? I would imagine Life Satisfaction ratings to be quite high in places like the Okanagan and Vancouver Island.

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

The article is titled BC, but every comment has focused on Vancouver specifically.

I wonder why the rest of the province would rank low? I would imagine Life Satisfaction ratings to be quite high in places like the Okanagan and Vancouver Island.

Yeah, there’s more to BC than Vancouver. I moved to Victoria 2 years ago from a lifetime in Calgary. I’m pretty happy here. BUT it’s well known how hyper local people are here. Preference is always given to those who were born here. Born Victorian > born islander > born BCian > rest of Canada/world > Ontario

Cost of housing is the biggest downside. My house here is double what I sold my house in calgary for. I love Calgary, and the mountains, but I’m 15 minutes from some amazing adventures here, and there’s so much to explore. I was in Vancouver last week for work and I was craving my quiet island life pretty badly.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

You know what’s disingenuous? Implying your move from Calgary to Vancouver, was the same distance from downtown, with similar housing.

Same house in Sundance, inner city (elbow park etc), would be 2x.
($700k to $1.4m)

So you acquired essentially that (1:1) if you’re a 30min bus ride from DT Van.

And your friends seem like they’re closer to you in Van, as driving from deep SE Calgary to the north is akin to North Van to White Rock.
Similar distances, and times to drive, if traffic didn’t exist.
With traffic, maybe bit longer in Calgary (ring road), vs at least twice as long in LML.

Housing prices is a whole other issue. But the reason housing in Vancouver is more expensive than Calgary, is it's in higher demand and, historically, people have always made more money from it. Personally, I have a basement suite that I can rent out for half my mortgage. I realize renting a basement suite comes with its own issues, but I trade those off for a environment, beaches, nightlife, lack of commuting, etc...Also, I can afford that expensive house in Vancouver, due to being able to rent the basement, but that's not an option for an expensive house in Calgary.

And yes, Calgary is known for awful traffic. It's called urban sprawl, and Calgary will pretty much top everyone's list of worst cities in Canada for urban sprawl. So pretending it's not a thing and that you can get anywhere in Calgary in 20-30 minutes during rush hour is indeed disingenuous. Calgary not only has awful urban sprawl, but the city is set up so that often the only choice is to drive. It's a car city, designed around people driving. IMO, that and maybe the weather are the only reasons not to live in Calgary.

[chemgear]

Should have just moved to Airdrie. You would have been "just 5 minutes away" from anywhere in southern Alberta.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by chemgear

Should have just moved to Airdrie. You would have been "just 5 minutes away" from anywhere in southern Alberta.

Was shocked to look up the population of Airdrie....and it's now 75,000? I knew it's been growing, but that's almost doubling every 10 years....that's insane.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by blankall

Housing prices is a whole other issue. But the reason housing in Vancouver is more expensive than Calgary, is it's in higher demand and, historically, people have always made more money from it. Personally, I have a basement suite that I can rent out for half my mortgage. I realize renting a basement suite comes with its own issues, but I trade those off for a environment, beaches, nightlife, lack of commuting, etc...Also, I can afford that expensive house in Vancouver, due to being able to rent the basement, but that's not an option for an expensive house in Calgary.

And yes, Calgary is known for awful traffic. It's called urban sprawl, and Calgary will pretty much top everyone's list of worst cities in Canada for urban sprawl. So pretending it's not a thing and that you can get anywhere in Calgary in 20-30 minutes during rush hour is indeed disingenuous. Calgary not only has awful urban sprawl, but the city is set up so that often the only choice is to drive. It's a car city, designed around people driving. IMO, that and maybe the weather are the only reasons not to live in Calgary.

There is no world in which Vancouver traffic is better than Calgary. That's crazy talk.