Christopher at francesbula.com Jun 23, 2011 at 11:45 am -
“An interesting question to ask is, without the usual talk of “beauty, nature, 2 minute walk to the ocean, biking the seawall, etc” what do we have? If that were not here, how many would flee?
I was born in Winnipeg and moved here as a child and i often go back to visit family. People often joke they would never live in a city like Winnipeg yet despite its lack of size and style often has more arts and cultural events happening in the city than Vancouver does…and bonus, you can buy a house! this isn’t an endorsement for Winnipeg but when me and my wife think of leaving Vancouver the only thing that keeps us here is the ability to live a “urban” lifestyle without being stuck in the city all the time (escaping to third beach, etc).
I know there are many people in the art, music, etc scene that are trying their hardest to make Vancouver more vibrant and I applaud and support that effort but the city seems hellbent on turning Vancouver into a giant suburb. I won’t be surprised when a cactus club opens up on main street or an american eagle on commercial. It feels like we’re headed that way.
I really like Vancouver but compared to most other cities it’s not that diverse, exciting or affordable. Right now it’s home but not sure if it will always be the case. I think a lot of young(ish) adults we know are feeling this way. A lot of our friends have recently moved to Toronto or abroad.”
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- “She said the market was dead in Victoria and that it would remain so for a very long time. I asked how she knew. Her answer was fascinating and should scare the pants off the real estate crowd.”
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- “A beautiful Belfast home, in the equivalent of 1st Shaughnessy, bought at their RE peak in 2007 for £3.5 million, has now sold for £800K, almost 80%-off. The market didn’t suffer any significant economic shocks. Rates & unemployment didn’t skyrocket. They didn’t build more land. Sentiment just changed and the prices fell and fell.”
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This person is a whiner, they should move to Mongolia!
One less dumb Canadian in Vancouver! Ha Ha Ha I am so clever.
bang on.
People often joke they would never live in a city like Winnipeg yet despite its lack of size and style often has more arts and cultural events happening in the city than Vancouver does…and bonus, you can buy a house!
in vancouver, you see drunk people in DTES, you see the same all over Winterpeg.
Winterpeg? It’s consistently in the 20s everyday while Vancouver can’t seem to break the 20 degree barrier.
logic has no place within this city, be gone with ye – heretic!
so anyone doesnt agree with your logic begone? you poor soul!
i know it’s a long flight back
what’s funnier is that you don’t understand the tone!
Therr are a lot of people putting on cultural activities in Vancouver. My facebook is overloaded w invites. Just beause you are not seeing it does not mean they don’t happen. Some people who are complaining about lack of culture are silly folks who esconce themselves in Yaletown or are getting older and don’t a tually pursue new and different scenes.
It is definitely true that it is nigh-impossible to open a new and interesting venue in town, but people do somehow. In the last little while we have seen many fun new places open up. You could have a good night of burlesque and cocktails at the Keefer on a thursday, see a local band at the Red Door friday, chill at the Electric Owl saturday, go to Mexican brunch at the Waldorf sunday, and finish up at the Cobalt drag show.
People should stop bemoaning Vancouver’s supposed lack of culture and go out and show ther support! A city doesn’t get an infusion of culture by sitting around whining about it.
i’d like to hear people talk about moving to Winnipeg when winter arrives.
Agreed. Winnipeg is an awful shithole.
Only part of this post really seems relevant to this blog: Vancouver isn’t affordable. The rest, I don’t know. Personally I think there’s a lot going on in Vancouver, more stuff than I could possibly have time to attend, and I strongly disagree that Vancouver is not diverse. It’s the same with complaints that the city lacks “community” in some other posts: I have found that when I engage and volunteer and get active, there are numerous vibrant and interesting communities here. But it takes a little initiative.
Back to my original point – not sure what these posts on Vancouver’s perceived shortcomings (aside from RE prices) have to do with this blog. There will always be those who dislike or are ambivalent about aspects of this city or any other. Certainly I have my own complaints and things I would like to see changed – I’m not suggesting that Vancouver is perfect. But so what? I get that a few idiots think Vancouver can reasonably be compared to New York, but that must surely be a tiny minority. Most people spending huge amounts of money on RE here are doing it because they think (1) the price is reasonable under all the circumstances, including their personal family/career circumstances, and/or (2) the price will hold steady or increase. I’m most interested in the reasoning and assumptions behind #2.
Most people like yourself who argue about the cultural diversity and art scene in Vancouver have probably never had the experience in other major cities (and no, visiting for few days does not count!)
There is so much delusion and insecurity about the “best place on earth” that it is nauseating. During the Stanley cup finals, one sports radio host went on an on about how Vancouver is better than Boston in almost all aspects. “Our sky train is better..it makes fewer stops”. “Our pubs are better”, “Our hospitals are more caring” Blah! Blah!! Blah!! and of course the ocean and mountains and how that the rest of the world is falling over each other to try to get here.
“During the Stanley cup finals, one sports radio host went on an on about how Vancouver is better than Boston in almost all aspects. “Our sky train is better..it makes fewer stops”. “Our pubs are better”, “Our hospitals are more caring” Blah! Blah!! Blah!! and of course the ocean”
yeah – I just want to point out that this is odd behavior. The constant putting down of other cities is out of the ordinary. Is this caused by the housing insanity? or something else? A sport caster in Boston would never say Boston was “better” then another city. (Except they might talk about how much hate the Yankees. But they wouldn’t put down New York as a city, they would talk about how much the Yankees suck.)
And did the host really compare the sky train to Boston’s subway? Their subway system is pretty sweet and fairly extensive.
I said Vancouver is diverse. To me that word reflects on the population; I was thinking more in terms of ethnic diversity and the wide range of cultures and community events and cuisines in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. I did not refer to Vancouver as the best place on earth. I love this province and I think it is embarrassing and offensive that the BC Liberals changed our license plate slogan from the undeniable “Beautiful British Columbia” to the arrogant, myopic “Best Place on Earth”.
I would agree that Vancouver lacks the sort of arts and cultural scenes of larger cities such as Montreal or Toronto. I’ve never been to Winnipeg so I can’t make that comparison, but Vancouver has more going on than Calgary, Ottawa or Victoria in my view so its arts scene is about what might be expected from a Canadian city of its size. I’ve travelled widely on other continents and Vancouver is one of the youngest cities I’ve been to, which is the main reason it does not have an old and rich arts tradition like many Asian and European cities of similar size.
My point isn’t that Vancouver has a great arts scene, it is that complaints about Vancouver’s shortcomings are only tenuously connected to the real estate market, which is the topic I read this blog for. I prefer the posts directly related to real estate and its perception in the media and the public.
Vancouver’s pubs are nothing to brag about.
You make good and valid points. Would you you agree that comparable cities would be…lets say Portland OR.
Vancouver is certainly not in the same league as NYC, Boston, or even Philadelphia, LA. Among Canadian cities, Toronto has better fundamentals, there is no comparison with Montreal, and Calgary too has better fundamentals except weather.
at least portland isn’t contrived
and portland can make fun of itself, ala Portlandia
vancouver is just getting more and more ridiculous.
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Ground_Kontrol
one more thing vancouver can’t have (because the feral douchebags would destroy it, and the city would find some reason to shut it down)
Kermodei said: “Most people spending huge amounts of money on RE here are doing it because they think (1) the price is reasonable under all the circumstances, including their personal family/career circumstances, and/or (2) the price will hold steady or increase. I’m most interested in the reasoning and assumptions behind #2.”
—
Group (1) is a very small percentage of buyers… people for whom a primary residence purchase in Vancouver would still put RE under 30% of their net-worth. They are buying primarily for the utility of the property, and their financial future is not dependent on ongoing price strength. They can tolerate almost any price drop without too much hardship.
Group (2) includes almost every current buyer, and most buyers since 2006. As regular readers know, we see this group as vitally important.. they are buying with the conviction that prices will continue to rise.. they are all speculators. They have 100% or 200%, or even up to 1000%, of their net-worth in Vancouver RE. Their future financial well being is dependent on ongoing price strength. They cannot tolerate substantial price drops. Some will be wiped out with as little as a 10% price pull-back.
How will Group (2) respond to substantial price drops? Firstly, propspective buyers in this group will back off (the price strength premise has evaporated). Secondly, some of the more recent buyers (last 3 years) will become supply. Later, those who bought 3-7 years ago will become supply. As a whole, most of these owners are sitting on paper financial gains that are of substantial importance to their future financial health. As prices drop, many will try to realize those gains.
Great response Vreaa
It’s so simple..yet so complex
.
Psychologically, I think that it is the root cause of insecurity among people who bought in the last few years.
Be it the attitude during the hockey games or the reaction to riots thereafter. It was laughable to see so many people getting caught in the “idiots” vs “anarchist” debate
Thanks fer not feedun the trollz.
Vancouver does have a cultural scene but it’s not like other cities; you really have to scratch the surface and get your hands dirty to find it.
To me it’s not the lack of culture per se, it’s the inability or unwillingness of the populace to support mainstream art. I never really got it, given how so much of the city is ostensibly valuing a classical education for their children. Doesn’t add up…
vancouver culture = nickleback
i have spoken
you have no idea what you’re talking about. there is lots of culture around in Vancouver. it’s not going to come to your door and slap you in the face until you join in, though.
um..
drawing anime eyes over classic paintings does not count as culture.