I just got back from five great days in my favorite city and I already miss it. What a cool city! There is always something going on, a beautiful cityscape with a lot of interesting architecture, gorgeous landscape, I could go on and on.
Things I liked:
-Vancouver Aquarium
-Chinese Gardens
-being someplace where the World Cup is a big deal
-New Amsterdam Cafe
-beautiful women everywhere
-hearing many different languages spoken by passers-by
-all those cool sculptures along the waterfront
-etc
Things I could do without in Vancouver:
-tweakers, meth and crack heads, and sketchy characters
-a**hole drivers
-expensive expensive expensive (except teh herb)
-Stephen Harper's rising popularity in Canada
FC, let me let you in on something:
What you liked: what we saw as tourists that made us want to move here.
What you could have done without: what we put up with all the time when we live here, and decide that Vancouver is not so hot after all.
Hate to throw a cold shower on you, but as a previously starry-eyed displaced Yankee I can think of a few American cities I would prefer over Vancouver. Back when I lived in the States I never thought I'd say that.
I'm glad you enjoyed your visit FC.
It sounds to me that the things you disliked about Vancouver, wouldn't change much from city to city......but the things you DID like, would.
[img style="CURSOR: pointer" onclick=url(this.src); src="http://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/more/bigs/c033.gif" border=0]
FC, are you in Portland? Very cool city of its own.
I do love vancouver too, mind you, I grew up there and never realized it was a cool place until I traveled throughout the States and parts of Canada. Lived in California for awhile. When I moved back to Van, it was surreal at the beauty surrounding me. It was always in front of my eyes the whole time, but I never seen it until I left and came back home.
Positives and negatives flow through every village and city!
Yeah some people like where I live but there just niave.
First thing I'm going to do when I get to Vancouver is to drive or walk throught the downtown east side so I can see for myself how 'really bad' it is because I can garuntee I've seen worse.
Oh its bad for sure. Heroin in particular is the biggest issue it seems. A lot of decent people with addicitons.
Hey sd! Make sure to check out more than Vancouver in BC. Its a huge province, Vancouver is just a small little fraction of it.
There is no such thing as Utopia, except in fiction. But I settled here because it came closer in my estimation than any other place. No matter where you go, you will find poverty and crime. Montreal had it's ugly side, and so did Toronto. My sister says that Saint John, N.B. has turned into something rather awful, and Halifax has a well deserved reputation. Still, overall, I think that Vancouver is cleaner and prettier than any place else I've been, on both sides of the line.
Oh CK my fascination with BC doesn't end with Vancouver. I've developed a thing for the peace river valley area.
People complain about the drugs. You can fix drug problems easy. What you can't fix is utter urban decay, de facto racism and slums. Drugs are easy pickings compared to that.
People love new york. They obviously haven't seen the bad areas. I walked through Atlanta's 'ghetto' thats full of homeless and violence one time on the way to the Martin Luther King Memorial. Walked under a highway over pass and homeless people were sleeping in the tall weeds. Watched homeless people run around at night. Came face to face with a gang once at 2am in the morning in downtown st. louis. 10 guys were on a back of a truck bouncing to rap music holding guns in the air with a bike gang of 20 people. Right through DOWNTOWN!
You know, I'm looking to go back to the US, even to Seattle (which doesn't exactly thrill me), just because even though the negatives here are not as great in magnitude as Seattle's, the positives down there outweigh Vancouver's. Never thought I'd ever be saying that. But if you look at the OP, you'll see that Vancouver's starting to look a lot more like US cities—with worse drivers. I never thought I'd see worse than SF, LA or the American South, but it's here (and it's not a Canadian thing, it's a Vancouver thing—drive in Toronto for a couple of weeks and you start to realise that).
Plus, just the nastiness. Yeah, you obviously run into unpleasant people and city stresses in the US, but here it isn't very often balanced by friendly or even gracious behaviour (at least not in my experience). I mean, so many posters here live in Vancouver, but we're posting on Discover Seattle? Go to DV and you see the nasty underbelly of the city.
I've lived in places that turned out to be "nice places to visit, but . . . " and that's how I'm starting to see Vancouver. It's a nice place to visit, but I'm not so enamoured with living here.
Refreshing to see positive views of Vancouver compared to the garbage you get on DV. I'm glad you enjoyed your stay in Vancouver. Do come back soon, FC.
I agree..... Vancouver is one of the most cleanest and prettiest city in the world. Compared to the other cities I've visited, I must say Vancouver has gorgeous mountains, clean air and tons of ppl with different ethnic background.
I see your point for sure Dissident. I think there comes a time for a lot of people that a city wears out for people for many different reasons. Portland is a fine city but the bad is slowly starting to outweigh the good here. Failing schools (but high taxes in our county to pay for them), meth heads, inert state government, it's in a state run by rednecks, it's in a country slowly drifting towards an Orwellian Christo-fascist theocracy.
I like that you don't see a church or a fast food joint on every corner in Canada. I also like that they'll take sculptures like this when the US wont:
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f350/seanfleckenstein/IMG_8965.jpg)
I have to say, (without the 'good Vancouver / bad Vancouver thing), that on a recent(ish) trip down the Oregon Coast to SanFrancisco...to Vegas....back across to SanDiego.....that one thing that stuck out like a rose coloured banner was, I never heard profanity as regular conversation.
Walking pass groups of teens, where every sentence is most often puctuated with the F word as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb, (in one sentence).... was non-existant. On the street, in the mall, in a restaurant.....It was hugely noticable in its absence. A little thing perhaps, but it had an impact obviously.
P.C. wrote:
I have to say, (without the 'good Vancouver / bad Vancouver thing), that on a recent(ish) trip down the Oregon Coast to SanFrancisco...to Vegas....back across to SanDiego.....that one thing that stuck out like a rose coloured banner was, I never heard profanity as regular conversation.
Walking pass groups of teens, where every sentence is most often puctuated with the F word as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb, (in one sentence).... was non-existant. On the street, in the mall, in a restaurant.....It was hugely noticable in its absence. A little thing perhaps, but it had an impact obviously.
Wait, you're telling me you heard less swearing in the US than in Vancouver? No wonder my view of Vancouver is so different from other posters on this thread. I think we live in two different cities. Or maybe you didn't spend much time around any college students in the US. One of the first things I noticed even before I moved here is how little profanity I hear here in Vancouver compared to the US.
That said, how did you like the leg of your trip down the Oregon Coast? Having spent a few very unfortunate years in Oregon the only reason why I would ever go back there is to visit the Central Coast again. That place is truly magical, especially the area between Newport and Florence.
It sounds, however, like you had a good trip—and you sure covered a lot of territory!
It was a most wonderful trip, Dissident. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, and the Central Coast WAS magical in its beauty. Had made that trip with my parents as a teen, and had longed to visit it someday as an adult. Was glad it was everything I remembered, as I had talked it up so much to hubby.
I wouldn't suggest that there is less swearing in one place or the other....just that its' absence was definitely noticable wherever we went. It stood out, because it wasn't one of those things you go looking for. Coincident maybe ??? lol
If you ever go down to the Florence/Newport area again, ask me about the "secret picnic spot" I used to visit. If it hasn't disappeared from erosion (it's on the wind-sheltered edge of a cliff with a brilliant view—especially on sunny days) you ought to check it out. I can give you very specific directions (which you'd need to find it). If you're not afraid of heights, it's one of the most beautiful spots on the Coast.
This offer extended to all DSers, of course!
I'm always delighted when people refer to secret places, the knowledge that others also have them gives me a warm glow inside... hope for humantity yet! May we keep them, love them, cherish them - we belong to them, as much as they belong to us.
I was a courier for many years, and on an extended weekend I used to go across the line and wander wherever I felt like until it was time to come back. Taking the coastal road wherever possible down through Oregon was one of my favourite drives. And Chuckanut Drive down past Bellingham was another.
Chuckanut Drive was like driving through a fairytale of enchanted forests. You could almost sense that just off the beaten path, faeries and wee folk would be close by. There was another stretch we went through that was magical and mystical, but be darned if I can remember the name. The whole Olympic National Park was spectacular. There were parts that felt more like being in another time, than another place.
Another wonderful drive was through the redwood forest north of San Francisco. The only word I can think of is majestic. The trees seemed to go on forever and it was hard to believe that anything could grow that tall.
That's it, Kitten. Although, it wasn't the size of the trees that struck me....it was the tiny 'settlements' sprinkled throughout, in such unexpected areas that looked so cozy and storybook-like.
My friend can't fathom why I don't have the desire to vacation in some of the places that she loves. She adores Cabo San Lucas (???). Went once...had a great time, but has a 'been there...seen it....end of story' feeling for me. 3 or 4 blocks of American resorts fronting impoverished neighbourhoods.
My dream vacation would be a month in Washinton DC to explore the Smithsonian. Keep the tropics....lol.
P.C. wrote:
My dream vacation would be a month in Washinton DC to explore the Smithsonian.
Ack. I was born there, and going back for a month would be about 30 days too long. The Smithsonian is probably about the best place to go there, bar none. I used to go there often, but even it couldn't draw me back.
The Smithsonian, the National Art Gallery, and slums are what I remember of Washington, D.C. I was shocked by the juxtaposition of great wealth and stark poverty.
I know next to nothing of the rest of it....I only have my sights set on the Smithsonian. [img style="CURSOR: pointer" onclick=url(this.src); src="http://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/smilie/traurig/a010.gif" border=0]
It's well worth it. It will take at least a month to appreciate all the things they've collected over the years.
Darn! It's starting to rain, and I have to get ready for work. Ciao for now.
P.C. wrote:
I know next to nothing of the rest of it....I only have my sights set on the Smithsonian. [img style="cursor: pointer;" onclick="url(this.src);" src="http://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/smilie/traurig/a010.gif[/img]
I have absolutely nothing against the Smithsonian—after all, my brother designed one of the exhibits in the Air and Space Museum so it can't be all bad—but given the choice I'd spend my time in the National Gallery. That place, the Met (and NY's other galleries) and the Scaife Gallery at Carnegie-Mellon in Pittsburgh put most of the West Coast's museums to shame.
Usually less crowded than the Smithsonian, too. Oh yeah, whatever you do, don't drive in DC—between the moronic freeway system and the potholes you'll go crazy. Only place I know that rivals the PA and NJ turnpikes for transportational idiocy in the US.
Speaking of Meth heads one was wondering around my house and nieghbourhood last night at around 2am. Was about to call the cops.
i live here whats so great about it . one day soon i will get to seattle . i do love oak harbour and decption pass . south skagit burlington is a nice place too .