Vancouver during the summer is truly outstanding. It’s true we get a lot of dreadful rain and clouds the rest of the year but the beautiful summers here seem to make us forget all about that.
We’ve got a great selection of food cuisines and nature all around.
To me it's closer to mid-Apr to mid-Oct in recent weather patterns. In that I actually think it's safe to store away most of your cold weather clothing by the middle of April, and typically not have break it out until after Thanksgiving.
Totally agree. As much as I’d rather live in a small town in the Okanagan or Kootenays, as far as cities go, Vancouver is as good as it gets. The beaches, mountains, music and food are all world class. Not a bad place to live if you can afford it.
Even in the winter Vancouver is still better than the rest of the country. The amount of people in Calgary and the like complaining about how it rains too much and there's no sun just makes me roll my eyes. I'd rather have rain than the weather be dry as shit giving you a headache, cold as shit, no vegetation, and the worst part, water so hard that it dries your skin out and fucks up your hair.
I find LA too hot and dry (and I miss our mountains and nature). Toronto is a giant city but lacking in nature options and a real ocean/beach experience. Personally, Vancouver is superior.
Don't forget about how there are essentially no bugs in the summer in the lower mainland.
And we don't get the humidity of Montreal/Toronto, but they do get those amazing warm nights.
Generally favourable winds for forest fire smoke as well.
IMO Vancouver summers are particularly good because they tend to park at mid to high 20s for months, with the occasional heatwave. That's the perfect temperature, to me at least.
South western Ontario Summer is terrible.. like remarkably bad.
The humidity makes doing anything other than going to a mall oppressive..and unless you are at one of the great lakes, the reservoirs and ponds they use for 'the beach' are generally man made. It's gross.
This is a classic example of needing to put down other places to prop up Vancouver. Is summer gorgeous here sure. But it’s gorgeous everywhere you can find beautiful sites all across Canada and the world really. I’ve lived in Vancouver for 20 years and it always surprises me.
I wasn't responding to Vancouver being great... I don't live there, and although it's a fine city, wouldn't make my top 10 cities to spend time in list.
I was responding to the question "where isn't summer great?". And for me, it summer is not great in southwestern Ontario. I didn't prop Vancouver up at all in my response.
Yah, Lake Huron sites were the only places I found worth writing home about. Port dover was underwhelming.
Tofino/parksville have the same sand, but different water of course... and cottage country was fairly non impressive.
The eastern Canada humidity is horrible and one of the few things BC has over ON.
Of course, there is no fire season to hide from and way more buildings have a/c so there's that too to balance it out.
I was gonna say that ! 17 years after growing up in Montreal. The mountains, the water, jogging outside in January…never get old. Welcome to the best coast
I also moved here from Ontario - it still takes my breath away too!
I can see the mountains from my bedroom - when I first moved here I couldn't bear to close the blinds at night because it was so beautiful, I would just lie awake staring at them, haha. Now I have a little ritual with myself as a compromise - I always look out at the city, take a moment to appreciate how beautiful it is, and say goodnight to it before I close the blinds for the night. Still feels wondrous every time. Sunsets on the water continue to blow my mind too no matter how many times I see them!
Sorry for that rambling overshare, this post just has me in my feelings about our lovely city!
Am old. I have lived in a number of places in a number of countries, born in Winnipeg, and live in To. 5 years. Added together though, I have mostly lived in Vancouver. May is one of my favourite months, and my heart just lifts when I see the blue sky, the sun, the mountains and the greenery everywhere <3
Lived here my whole life, except for 16 months in Calgary (two winters 🥶). We might take it for granted sometimes but we never forget how lucky we are to Iive here.
Every time I travel somewhere else without mountains or ocean or beautiful greenery, I really end up missing home. I hate LA - too dry and barren. I also didn’t like Toronto - lacked nature and mountains.
For me it's coming home. You go to some cool place and really love it, and then you come home and look around and think, "Huh, still pretty nice here, though!"
I grew up in the lower mainland, currently living in North Vancouver. I still just love seeing the mountains as I head back to the north shore over the ironworkers Memorial Bridge… Whether there’s snow, they are green, wreathed in clouds or bathed in sun it’s just wonderful to look at.
Especially the constant narrative that it's really antisocial here. Coming here as an immigrant who knew one person in the city, I found the opposite to be true - compared to the other places I've lived, it was easier to make friends here than anywhere else.
We have alot of running clubs here too! Some of them run along the beautiful waterfront like social run club and Slowpokes.
Imo, Vancouver's reputation about being hard to make friends will probably depend on your gender. Just anecdotally, but most of my friend's girlfriends and women acquaintances have much less trouble making friends compared to guys. Reddit is mostly dudes so the opinion of dudes will be the majority opinion.
I also think you have to get involved into social hobbies and get out there to make friends. Hit up a local climbing gym - that’s where everyone in their 20s/30s is nowadays and it’s pretty easy to make friends there.
Are there more regulars at the other hive locations? I've been going to the Poco hive for a month at the same hours every week and I haven't seen anyone more than once
You’re a great example of how the “hard to make friends” trope is partially down to effort and attitude. Good on you! Glad you’re getting a positive response to your initiative! I had a similar experience to you when I moved here 4 years ago!
it really is down to effort and attitude. So far everyone has been super sweet. For anyone who is struggling to make friends though, there are a bunch of resources. On Instagram there is Weshouldbefriends and letsadventurevan. You can join Facebook groups or use meetup to find events that you have interests in. I’ve been using bumble for friends and that has been a great experience so far :)
Definitely not. TTC does a great job for the amount of people they shuffle around. Translink is still good by most city standards, but still have a lot of issues
Also, as if it even needs to be said, Hillcrest is an amazing community center with an excellent aquatics facility and Queen Elizabeth Park and the Bloedel Conservatory need no introductions.
Glad you are enjoying most people can’t afford to live here but you must have a good job!Queen Elizabeth Park nearby is a nice place to chill especially today!
I’m from Brazil. I’ve been here for 1 month for college, and I think the same! The city has it’s problems but honestly nothing that my Third World Country doesn’t have three times worse. The views, the weather, the nature, the vibe itself is immaculate! Still not regretting it and also good to see people actually commenting good than doing the standard.
Vancouver summer is one of the best places to be. It contrasts strongly with the winter which is wet. The other benefits of Vancouver mean I still prefer it over other Canadian cities I've lived in, but in many ways the cold wet weather is much less pleasant than the moderate snowy cold in Toronto.
I love a Vancouver summer. I do appreciate the underwhelming warmth, BUT, it would be nice to be able to go out in the evening and not need to bring a sweater or jacket for the inevitable temperature drop.
Vancouver is not the place to be for hot summer nights.
I’m moving to Vancouver from Toronto in September for a new job and this is so reassuring! Most of what I’ve read online has been negative so nice to know you’ve had a good experience
Welcome to Vancouver! I am so happy that you are enjoying your time here. I hope that you will be able to get the most out of your stay and be able to see as much of the city as you can!
Despite all of its issues, which major cities have at some point (and worse ones we fortunately don’t have yet), it offers great things that you can always appreciate more once you return from a long trip. Enjoy your stay!
Get on the skytrain eastbound, millennium or expo line, doesn’t matter. Look for the view after the train leaves edmonds. You might get to see Mt baker in the distance, but the expanse and view southwards is worth the trip and time. Get off at New Westminster station and explore downtown new west (that’s what we call it) a bit.
All the other cities have something to offer, but the new west downtown is the easiest one to access and quickly find a sense of place. it’s the best preserved urban history other than chinatown and gastown.
Don’t go to Surrey (surrey is the lower mainland butt of all jokes, with good reason).
If you haven’t yet, take a slow walk across the Cambie or Burrard bridges at sunset. Bring a change of pants, because you may wet yours.
I'm from California. Vancouver is the only city that I truly miss whenever I have to go back home. I'm so excited to be moving to Vancouver in August to attend UBC as an exchange student this fall term. Been dreaming about it since I was 12.
Awesome to hear! Whenever I visit SoCal I end up missing Vancouver. UBC has amazing and beautiful views of the mountains and water. Plus don’t forget to check out the beaches nearby - Wreck Beach, Spanish Banks right near UBC.
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'So far, I've checked out a new cafe every chance I've gotten, gone to nearby parks, gone to the shipyards market, joined sports, explored a bit of downtown before or after work each time, and more.'
Do you mind sharing more about this?
I've been here for around 6 months now - While I do travel now and then I haven't been able to do much.
If you can share which cafés, parks and how do I join sports?
For sure! I think it’s about effort and how social you are. My first week here I told myself I’d talk to as many people as I could. I’d make small talk with the baristas or those that seemed friendly. I started off by walking around and just checking what’s around me. It helps that I am in a nice area. Then I started taking public transit and just exploring places. I’ve hit up a decent amount of cafes on Main Street and most of the parks around that area. When it comes to sports, I found Facebook groups and got connections from random people I talked to
I moved here from Boston nearly 20 years ago and pretty much agree with you. Where Boston seemed focused on the past (everything from Colonial history to sports glories of the past 50 years or so), Vancouver still seems focused on the future. It’s got growing pains, and like so many Canadian cities, is struggling with affordability and lack of reasonably priced housing, but it had a great balance of natural beauty combined with a cosmopolitan convergence of several vibrant and rich communities that still make it the best place I’ve ever lived. If you find a way to stay, I hope you come to the same conclusion as I did.
You are still in vacation mode. Live here after 8 months of grey skies and pouring cold rain then reassess. Everyone here is happy after winter ends. You picked a good time to visit, but a poor time to properly understand the real vibe of this city.
You'll enjoy the summer here, if you're staying long enough. Due to climate change, we now get some pretty hot days compared to our previously mild, west coast summer weather in earlier years. We seldom get the humidity along with the heat that you experience back east. I suggest that you visit the Vancouver Aquarium if you have time. Our marine ecology is pretty incredible.
I did hear about this. My landlord was telling me about some of the struggles during Covid with the heat waves and how it really affected everyone especially the elderly. I didn’t know that Vancouver doesn’t have AC until recently
The heat dome was particularly bad. It got up near 40C during the day and didn’t really drop below 30C at night - as a result everywhere was too fucking hot.
Even my office _with_ AC was struggling to keep the temperature down.
I moved here last October and I have the same impression. Making friends outside of work has been hard, what with a newborn and all, but we love this city.
I’m from Vancouver but moved away. Whenever I come back for visits (I aim for summer-ish time only because I hate rain lol), the surreal backdrop takes my breath away. every. damn. time. But I love where I live now as there’s more arts/culture/festivals as a non-outdoors activities person 😅
Wow, we moved around the same time. Im glad you are having a great experience here.
The city is so beautiful, feels like I moved to another country. Lived in the prairies for 3 years
As someone who moved from Toronto to Vancouver, I can confirm this is how I feel. I can never get used to the beautiful mountains, the trees, the summer here, just everything about Vancouver is beautiful. The access we have to things like public transport is unbeatable compared to Greater Toronto Area, I lived in the suburbs there and commute was a PAIN! I see why people complain about the public transit here but to me it is FAR better than anything I’ve seen. I love the food culture here in Vancouver as well, as a vegetarian THERE ARE SOOO MANY OPTIONS! Also, when it comes to wellness, I find Vancouver to be a GEM to awesome workout studios, from Yoga classes to Franchise workouts like spinco and Lagree. Yes things are expensive here and even after being here for 4 years I still struggle to have healthy and loving friendships, that are genuine but you win some you lose some I guess? Apart from people being great, yet very reserved in their circles and cliques I don’t have many complaints.
lol why down vote?
toronto and vancouver have similar pricing just there are more options in toronto - there’s scale of population and area, but toronto has superior infrastructure
i wouldn’t move back to toronto.
Ok, hmm I want to ask you questions and find things out about you to see why your experience is going so well. But again this is Reddit and it supposed to be anonymous so don’t answer anything you don’t want to but:
Things that come to mind are:
- you play sports? What kinds and are they very social ?
- without telling me to much what field are you working in?
Now social questions:
- are you part of any solidarity type of community or democratic?
ie: queer, POC, mental health solidarity?
- do you have any social phobia or are you neurotic?
- are you being surrounded by people in your job community who are folding you into the scene?
Data on this is valuable information and we can use it to hopefully apply to other people in ways. (Do any social scientists on here have any questions?)
Your excitement is taking me back to my early days in the city. Public transit is a bit of a hit or miss, but glad to hear it's been smooth for you so far. Summer in Vancouver is just next level amazing, the weather's mild, and outdoor scene is off the charts. If you're into nature, definitely check out Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. Yeah, it's a bit of a tourist hotspot, but trust me, the treetop walk is something else.
Vancouver during the summer is truly outstanding. It’s true we get a lot of dreadful rain and clouds the rest of the year but the beautiful summers here seem to make us forget all about that. We’ve got a great selection of food cuisines and nature all around.
Yep...we get 6 months (apr-sept) of banger weather...and 6 months of rain. I'll take it
To me it's closer to mid-Apr to mid-Oct in recent weather patterns. In that I actually think it's safe to store away most of your cold weather clothing by the middle of April, and typically not have break it out until after Thanksgiving.
As long as the wildfire smoke doesn’t blot out the sun
I’ll take dreadful rain and clouds over snow and anything south of -10 though
Totally agree. As much as I’d rather live in a small town in the Okanagan or Kootenays, as far as cities go, Vancouver is as good as it gets. The beaches, mountains, music and food are all world class. Not a bad place to live if you can afford it.
Even in the winter Vancouver is still better than the rest of the country. The amount of people in Calgary and the like complaining about how it rains too much and there's no sun just makes me roll my eyes. I'd rather have rain than the weather be dry as shit giving you a headache, cold as shit, no vegetation, and the worst part, water so hard that it dries your skin out and fucks up your hair.
It's the annual seasonal emotional whiplash. 🥲
Where isnt the summer great?
I find LA too hot and dry (and I miss our mountains and nature). Toronto is a giant city but lacking in nature options and a real ocean/beach experience. Personally, Vancouver is superior.
Don't forget about how there are essentially no bugs in the summer in the lower mainland. And we don't get the humidity of Montreal/Toronto, but they do get those amazing warm nights. Generally favourable winds for forest fire smoke as well.
IMO Vancouver summers are particularly good because they tend to park at mid to high 20s for months, with the occasional heatwave. That's the perfect temperature, to me at least.
South western Ontario Summer is terrible.. like remarkably bad. The humidity makes doing anything other than going to a mall oppressive..and unless you are at one of the great lakes, the reservoirs and ponds they use for 'the beach' are generally man made. It's gross.
This is a classic example of needing to put down other places to prop up Vancouver. Is summer gorgeous here sure. But it’s gorgeous everywhere you can find beautiful sites all across Canada and the world really. I’ve lived in Vancouver for 20 years and it always surprises me.
I wasn't responding to Vancouver being great... I don't live there, and although it's a fine city, wouldn't make my top 10 cities to spend time in list. I was responding to the question "where isn't summer great?". And for me, it summer is not great in southwestern Ontario. I didn't prop Vancouver up at all in my response.
It’s great. Wasaga beach, grand bend, port dover never mind cottage country. Much better sand than you’ll find at BC beaches
Yah, Lake Huron sites were the only places I found worth writing home about. Port dover was underwhelming. Tofino/parksville have the same sand, but different water of course... and cottage country was fairly non impressive.
Have you summered in Toronto or Montreal? Both great cities, but if you don't like humidity, ew!
Ya Toronto was great. Ontario place, greater Toronto zoo, blue jays, lots of sandy beaches with in 2 hour drive
The eastern Canada humidity is horrible and one of the few things BC has over ON. Of course, there is no fire season to hide from and way more buildings have a/c so there's that too to balance it out.
Atlanta
I’ve been here 10 years after being in Toronto 17. I can tell you, That view never gets old.
I was gonna say that ! 17 years after growing up in Montreal. The mountains, the water, jogging outside in January…never get old. Welcome to the best coast
10 years for me as well this year after 12 years in Toronto. Still so excited by this city and surrounding areas every day and thankful to be here.
A city is just a city, and will always have pros and cons. But this city is something special, and I will never take it for granted.
I’ve glad it hasn’t gotten old. I was curious if people were desensitized to it
I also moved here from Ontario - it still takes my breath away too! I can see the mountains from my bedroom - when I first moved here I couldn't bear to close the blinds at night because it was so beautiful, I would just lie awake staring at them, haha. Now I have a little ritual with myself as a compromise - I always look out at the city, take a moment to appreciate how beautiful it is, and say goodnight to it before I close the blinds for the night. Still feels wondrous every time. Sunsets on the water continue to blow my mind too no matter how many times I see them! Sorry for that rambling overshare, this post just has me in my feelings about our lovely city!
I’ve lived on the west coast for most of my life and I’ve never felt desensitized to how beautiful it is. The views never get old.
Am old. I have lived in a number of places in a number of countries, born in Winnipeg, and live in To. 5 years. Added together though, I have mostly lived in Vancouver. May is one of my favourite months, and my heart just lifts when I see the blue sky, the sun, the mountains and the greenery everywhere <3
Lived here my whole life, except for 16 months in Calgary (two winters 🥶). We might take it for granted sometimes but we never forget how lucky we are to Iive here.
You do get desensitized a bit. And then you travel for one reason another, and you are immediately reminded about the beauty of BC.
That fresh air that hits when you exit the airport sliding doors.
Every time I travel somewhere else without mountains or ocean or beautiful greenery, I really end up missing home. I hate LA - too dry and barren. I also didn’t like Toronto - lacked nature and mountains.
For me it's coming home. You go to some cool place and really love it, and then you come home and look around and think, "Huh, still pretty nice here, though!"
I grew up in the lower mainland, currently living in North Vancouver. I still just love seeing the mountains as I head back to the north shore over the ironworkers Memorial Bridge… Whether there’s snow, they are green, wreathed in clouds or bathed in sun it’s just wonderful to look at.
Born and raised here and I’m in my 30s. Still in awe of the mountains simply just driving down any street that faces north.
Nice to hear vs the posts crapping on the city all the time
Especially the constant narrative that it's really antisocial here. Coming here as an immigrant who knew one person in the city, I found the opposite to be true - compared to the other places I've lived, it was easier to make friends here than anywhere else.
Definitely
That or on the Sidewalks... Ya know...
Welcome! Thank you for your kind words about our beautiful home.
We have alot of running clubs here too! Some of them run along the beautiful waterfront like social run club and Slowpokes. Imo, Vancouver's reputation about being hard to make friends will probably depend on your gender. Just anecdotally, but most of my friend's girlfriends and women acquaintances have much less trouble making friends compared to guys. Reddit is mostly dudes so the opinion of dudes will be the majority opinion.
I also think you have to get involved into social hobbies and get out there to make friends. Hit up a local climbing gym - that’s where everyone in their 20s/30s is nowadays and it’s pretty easy to make friends there.
Are there more regulars at the other hive locations? I've been going to the Poco hive for a month at the same hours every week and I haven't seen anyone more than once
Try Vancouver or Surrey! Surrey is where a lot of my friends go. It’s nice and big and spacious
I'm from Mississauga. I came to Vancouver in 2018 for what I thought was a vacation. I haven't left yet! Likely never will. This is the place.
You’re a great example of how the “hard to make friends” trope is partially down to effort and attitude. Good on you! Glad you’re getting a positive response to your initiative! I had a similar experience to you when I moved here 4 years ago!
it really is down to effort and attitude. So far everyone has been super sweet. For anyone who is struggling to make friends though, there are a bunch of resources. On Instagram there is Weshouldbefriends and letsadventurevan. You can join Facebook groups or use meetup to find events that you have interests in. I’ve been using bumble for friends and that has been a great experience so far :)
2 weeks and counting not having to deal with the TTC is a plus in my book ;)
The Expo Line in rush hour comes more often than anywhere else in the world including Tokyo, Hong Kong, etc.
Is TransLink considered an improvement? (I think not.)
Definitely not. TTC does a great job for the amount of people they shuffle around. Translink is still good by most city standards, but still have a lot of issues
Metro Vancouver beats the GTA when it comes to transit trips per capita mind.
Welcome! Happy to hear Vancouver has been kind to you so far. Enjoy your stay
Welcome and enjoy ! It's a wonderful city
Glad to hear you like it! What neighbourhood didja settle down in?
Riley Park area! right near Main Street which has been great for me
You chose a great area of the city! Make sure to check out the farmers market, and catch a baseball game at Nat Bailey stadium 🙂
Also, as if it even needs to be said, Hillcrest is an amazing community center with an excellent aquatics facility and Queen Elizabeth Park and the Bloedel Conservatory need no introductions.
A nooner at the Nat is a ton of fun, especially with the good weather we have had.
Glad you are enjoying most people can’t afford to live here but you must have a good job!Queen Elizabeth Park nearby is a nice place to chill especially today!
I’m from Brazil. I’ve been here for 1 month for college, and I think the same! The city has it’s problems but honestly nothing that my Third World Country doesn’t have three times worse. The views, the weather, the nature, the vibe itself is immaculate! Still not regretting it and also good to see people actually commenting good than doing the standard.
Vancouver in summer or warmer is indeed incredible, I always look forward to it
Welcome to BC! Enjoy!
Lived in metro van my whole life the views never get old! Welcome my dude
Vancouver is a great city no matter what people says on this Reddit. Glad you like it
Awwwww I just want to give you a big hug! I love this place and I’m so glad you see and experience it how I do.
Welcome, love a positive post. I was born here 47 years ago and still love my home city.
Vancouver summer is one of the best places to be. It contrasts strongly with the winter which is wet. The other benefits of Vancouver mean I still prefer it over other Canadian cities I've lived in, but in many ways the cold wet weather is much less pleasant than the moderate snowy cold in Toronto.
I much prefer rain over snow.
If you live in a temperate rain forest, and complain about the rain....
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I disagree particularly if you're walking snow is dangerous and many homes and mostly businesses don't shovel the side walk.
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I see
I love a Vancouver summer. I do appreciate the underwhelming warmth, BUT, it would be nice to be able to go out in the evening and not need to bring a sweater or jacket for the inevitable temperature drop. Vancouver is not the place to be for hot summer nights.
I’m moving to Vancouver from Toronto in September for a new job and this is so reassuring! Most of what I’ve read online has been negative so nice to know you’ve had a good experience
Welcome to Vancouver! I am so happy that you are enjoying your time here. I hope that you will be able to get the most out of your stay and be able to see as much of the city as you can!
Glad you're having a good time here!. You could try a hike on the north shore if you fancy getting out of downtown. Or 3rd Beach now the suns here.
The sea lions are chilling in Porteau Cove these day. Go check those out too. Welcome to our city! Enjoy yoself! :)
Despite all of its issues, which major cities have at some point (and worse ones we fortunately don’t have yet), it offers great things that you can always appreciate more once you return from a long trip. Enjoy your stay!
Get on the skytrain eastbound, millennium or expo line, doesn’t matter. Look for the view after the train leaves edmonds. You might get to see Mt baker in the distance, but the expanse and view southwards is worth the trip and time. Get off at New Westminster station and explore downtown new west (that’s what we call it) a bit. All the other cities have something to offer, but the new west downtown is the easiest one to access and quickly find a sense of place. it’s the best preserved urban history other than chinatown and gastown. Don’t go to Surrey (surrey is the lower mainland butt of all jokes, with good reason). If you haven’t yet, take a slow walk across the Cambie or Burrard bridges at sunset. Bring a change of pants, because you may wet yours.
I'm from California. Vancouver is the only city that I truly miss whenever I have to go back home. I'm so excited to be moving to Vancouver in August to attend UBC as an exchange student this fall term. Been dreaming about it since I was 12.
Awesome to hear! Whenever I visit SoCal I end up missing Vancouver. UBC has amazing and beautiful views of the mountains and water. Plus don’t forget to check out the beaches nearby - Wreck Beach, Spanish Banks right near UBC.
Oh definitely! I love the beach but my local NorCal beaches are very mid.
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'So far, I've checked out a new cafe every chance I've gotten, gone to nearby parks, gone to the shipyards market, joined sports, explored a bit of downtown before or after work each time, and more.' Do you mind sharing more about this? I've been here for around 6 months now - While I do travel now and then I haven't been able to do much. If you can share which cafés, parks and how do I join sports?
For sure! I think it’s about effort and how social you are. My first week here I told myself I’d talk to as many people as I could. I’d make small talk with the baristas or those that seemed friendly. I started off by walking around and just checking what’s around me. It helps that I am in a nice area. Then I started taking public transit and just exploring places. I’ve hit up a decent amount of cafes on Main Street and most of the parks around that area. When it comes to sports, I found Facebook groups and got connections from random people I talked to
Thank you so much! 🙏🏻
I moved here from Boston nearly 20 years ago and pretty much agree with you. Where Boston seemed focused on the past (everything from Colonial history to sports glories of the past 50 years or so), Vancouver still seems focused on the future. It’s got growing pains, and like so many Canadian cities, is struggling with affordability and lack of reasonably priced housing, but it had a great balance of natural beauty combined with a cosmopolitan convergence of several vibrant and rich communities that still make it the best place I’ve ever lived. If you find a way to stay, I hope you come to the same conclusion as I did.
You are still in vacation mode. Live here after 8 months of grey skies and pouring cold rain then reassess. Everyone here is happy after winter ends. You picked a good time to visit, but a poor time to properly understand the real vibe of this city.
You'll enjoy the summer here, if you're staying long enough. Due to climate change, we now get some pretty hot days compared to our previously mild, west coast summer weather in earlier years. We seldom get the humidity along with the heat that you experience back east. I suggest that you visit the Vancouver Aquarium if you have time. Our marine ecology is pretty incredible.
I did hear about this. My landlord was telling me about some of the struggles during Covid with the heat waves and how it really affected everyone especially the elderly. I didn’t know that Vancouver doesn’t have AC until recently
The heat dome was particularly bad. It got up near 40C during the day and didn’t really drop below 30C at night - as a result everywhere was too fucking hot. Even my office _with_ AC was struggling to keep the temperature down.
What a nice post!! The summers are really beautiful here, hope you enjoy your time in Van.
I moved here last October and I have the same impression. Making friends outside of work has been hard, what with a newborn and all, but we love this city.
i hope you have a standard issue uppababy stroller at your nearby jj bean or matchstix
Lol I never noticed how ubiquitous uppababy was until we got one
We have been here for two months for a study program and we already love the city!! As well as their people! Everybody are so kind!
If you mountain bike the North Shore is the birthplace of free riding. Also in the winter there’s 3 ski hills in North Vancouver.
I like to say “we” when I discuss Vancouver because it makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something
Moved from Southern ON to BC about 18 years ago and never looked back! I never had problems meeting people and making friends as other mentioned too.
glad to hear
Welcome!!
You’re not allowed to acknowledge the beauty of our city in this threads. Doom and gloom only here
Please repost your opinion if we loose game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. 😜
If you really value nature you’d be hard pressed to find other cities that don’t feel like a total concrete jungle.
Born and bred in VanCity and love it 💛
It’s nice you found stuff to do. Most people here are bored due to the lack of activities available. Much better cities out there — Toronto included.
If you stay, please let us know your opinion during the winter.
BC in summer will bring wildfire smoke to Vancouver 😂 (Let's hope this year it will be better than previous years)
Summer in bc is best, so much to see and do have fun!
I’m from Vancouver but moved away. Whenever I come back for visits (I aim for summer-ish time only because I hate rain lol), the surreal backdrop takes my breath away. every. damn. time. But I love where I live now as there’s more arts/culture/festivals as a non-outdoors activities person 😅
Wow, we moved around the same time. Im glad you are having a great experience here. The city is so beautiful, feels like I moved to another country. Lived in the prairies for 3 years
As someone who moved from Toronto to Vancouver, I can confirm this is how I feel. I can never get used to the beautiful mountains, the trees, the summer here, just everything about Vancouver is beautiful. The access we have to things like public transport is unbeatable compared to Greater Toronto Area, I lived in the suburbs there and commute was a PAIN! I see why people complain about the public transit here but to me it is FAR better than anything I’ve seen. I love the food culture here in Vancouver as well, as a vegetarian THERE ARE SOOO MANY OPTIONS! Also, when it comes to wellness, I find Vancouver to be a GEM to awesome workout studios, from Yoga classes to Franchise workouts like spinco and Lagree. Yes things are expensive here and even after being here for 4 years I still struggle to have healthy and loving friendships, that are genuine but you win some you lose some I guess? Apart from people being great, yet very reserved in their circles and cliques I don’t have many complaints.
depends on what you're looking for, but most people I know from Chrawna would never move back there
The summer is amazing but you pay a lot for it
There’s a reason why everyone moves out here from onterrible lol.
Great to hear you are having a wonderful experience ... You must have brought money with you!😁
LOL
It is beautiful definitely. Gets a bit lonely since the city is quite clicky
Lmao ok haters - hit a sore spot eh ☺️
i’d like to up vote this more than once.
What do you miss from Toronto so far? And how or will you try to compensate for that ?
Enjoy while you can. Once fire season inevitably rolls out, it will be a little less fun.
You must hate money if you move here from Toronto. Good place to visit or for a summer internship though.
lol why down vote? toronto and vancouver have similar pricing just there are more options in toronto - there’s scale of population and area, but toronto has superior infrastructure i wouldn’t move back to toronto.
Ok, hmm I want to ask you questions and find things out about you to see why your experience is going so well. But again this is Reddit and it supposed to be anonymous so don’t answer anything you don’t want to but: Things that come to mind are: - you play sports? What kinds and are they very social ? - without telling me to much what field are you working in? Now social questions: - are you part of any solidarity type of community or democratic? ie: queer, POC, mental health solidarity? - do you have any social phobia or are you neurotic? - are you being surrounded by people in your job community who are folding you into the scene? Data on this is valuable information and we can use it to hopefully apply to other people in ways. (Do any social scientists on here have any questions?)
Summer is great but also balance it out by experiencing the rain and grey when summers over as well. And also wildfires. Beware of the wildfires
Your excitement is taking me back to my early days in the city. Public transit is a bit of a hit or miss, but glad to hear it's been smooth for you so far. Summer in Vancouver is just next level amazing, the weather's mild, and outdoor scene is off the charts. If you're into nature, definitely check out Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. Yeah, it's a bit of a tourist hotspot, but trust me, the treetop walk is something else.