“I grew up in two cities, Edmonton and North Vancouver. I left Edmonton when I was 16, and did my young adult life in Vancouver. I was able to accomplish a lot while in the lower mainland, got my bachelor’s, started to work straight from graduation in a great conuslting job, got married, bought an apartment, two beautiful kids arrived to make us a family, got my Master’s degree. We thought we where set – luckiest couple alive to be in such a gorgeous city and our careers where thriving. THEN it hit – buckled to our knees trying to pay for one child in day care while my wife returned to work, then our baby girl arrived and it was impossible to explain the logic of my wife returning to work and then just hand that money over to a child care provider. So she stayed home and we started to bleed money. Contract work was great when your fending for yourself, now with a family – contract work not so great and then it starting to not become full time anymore, cuts were happening, job not so secure anymore. Groceries, Mortgage, One Vehicle, One Income, No Benefits, No Savings – I started to have restless nights.
So I told my wife, no worries, I will start aiming higher, I have my Master’s, I’m proficient in French, I’m fluent in Spanish, it will be easy to find a job to plug some of the holes. Maybe we can even talk to the bank see if they will let us renew early to take advantage of low interest rates (HA! that was naive!) ONE YEAR AND SEVERAL APPLICATIONS LATER – nothing, nada, zilch. Meanwhile the signal was clear from my current work, contracts are dwindling you need to get out while you can.
We were down for the count. So August 2011 I applied to two jobs in Edmonton, by the end of month I was flown in for interviews, by September 2011 I had a job offer, by November 2011 we where sleeping in our rented townhome in Edmonton. Just like that in a matter of weeks Edmonton could do what I wished and hoped Vancouver could do for almost two years.
I have heard from a colleague that one of the consultants I worked with had become so desperate she took a job as a receptionist even though she has 8 years of professional work experience and a Master’s degree. What the hell is going on Vancouver?
Employers know they have a desirable city and a huge job bank from which to pick so no need to overpay… make ’em work for pennies. Great Captalism not so great community building.
The younger generations are leaving, what will Vancouver do when it can’t draw them back?”
Vancouver Real Estate Anecdote Archive 