What's it like to live and work in Vancouver, B.C.?

its fun. Good weed. Great Chinese food. Cheap as hell

Vancouver was very underdeveloped before Christ. Mostly recovering from the effects of glacial migration.

@jiboo420 You still high? (If you meant the weed is cheap, I don’t know, however:) The food is very good but it isn’t cheap to live there any way shape or form. I’m in Seattle and spend (spent) a lot of time in B.C. working and playing. A very nice place to visit, unless you get way out in the boondocks, expect high housing costs. I was in Vancouver this weekend and paid more for premium fuel for my Mustang GT then in Seattle and here the same grade fuel is nearly $3.60 a gal. The money is par now, so no break there any more.

I think if you provided more information about what you’re looking for in an answer, it might be easier to offer some responses (ie. Moving there for work? Holidays? Compared to where? Etc)

Generally, Vancouver is considered to be quite beautiful although quite wet through the winter/ fall. Its a pretty health-consious city (lots of people excercising, etc) with lots to do outdoors (hiking, skiing, boating, etc). Its one of the most expensive cities to live in Canada but offers a great lifestyle.

I am an U.S. citizen currently living in NZ but my family and I are considering immigrating to Canada in about a year’s time. From what I have seen online it seems to be that the cost of living in Vancouver is high – housing in particular. We are a family of 4 w/two elementary school aged daughters. We grew up in the Northwest so we have a good idea as to what the climate will be like. I guess I’d be keen to know whether or not the pay rates are in-line w/the cost of living. If possible, a general sense of how Canadian’s view American’s immigrating into their country. Also, if Vancouver is particularly expensive, suggestions for a “commuter city” with decent public transportation would be helpful. What’s the arts and culture scene like- museums, art schools, music schools and performance halls. Any first-hand experience would be helpful. Thanks!

the beer was really f_ing expensive when i visited there….. i think stuff is expensive, and rent seemed cheap….but i live in san francisco so rent anywhere but nyc seems cheap…................ if you like to ride a bike its a great place for that. i like vancouver.

True, housing in Vancouver is less than San Fran… but that’s not saying much. Housing is certainly expensive in Van, especially close to downtown. Wages are decent, but not unusually high, and taxes are high, so it does make living rather tight. I’d say for living on the west coast of N.A., Vancouver is probably somewhere in the middle for pay/expenses ratio.
I would think that the weather, terrain, and people are quite similar to New Zealand, indeed, it seems that most of NZ lives on the Vancouver ski slopes in the winter. The arts are pretty weak in Vancouver with most people serious about such things moving to Toronto or Montreal, although there is a pretty good community for those kind of things, its small.
Everyone is welcome in Vancouver. So, immigrating will not be an issue. Almost everyone is 1st or 2nd generation immigrant anyway. Of course there’s still racism and such but it is almost non-existent in comparison to much of the US. There are huge Asian and Indian communities.
Outlying areas include Righmond, Delta, Surrey, Coquitlam, Langley and a lot of people commute from those areas, but the road system is not great and there are lots of bridges, so traffic is quite bad.
I hope this helps, but you might also want to check Wikipedia and CIA factbook for more info.

Hey steefee, I’m glad that you’re interested in moving to my fine city! Vancouver is fantastic in a lot of different ways, and not so much in others.

Vancouver has a diverse culture allowing you access to some of the best foods (and selection) that you’ll find anywhere in the world. I have to recommend the sushi. As for the landscape, you couldn’t ask for anything nicer with mountains and water and everything in between. If you want to go kayaking in the morning and snowboarding in the afternoon, you can do that.

Unfortunately, like others have said, it is pretty pricey here. Housing costs are very high and aren’t getting any cheaper. There’s been no real slowdown in how fast they’re appreciating. Traffic is also pretty rough, though commuting via our SkyTrain is pretty fast and reasonable (depending on where you’re planing on living and working).

If you’re looking to live in the suburbs and commute, sadly housing prices are still pretty steep. You may be looking at places in New Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Moody, Surrey, Langley, Richmond, or even Delta. Just like everywhere else, the further away you are from the downtown core, the cheaper, but also the longer the commute (especially with our many bridges… which really suck during the rush).

All in all is the cost of living worth it? Hell yes.

I just moved back from BC from San Diego….. I dont like it here. I grow up in Surrey and really know the lower mainland. Two thinks the governmnet and of course the weather….. The governmnet when it comes to important stuff like madical is almost 3rd world. Yes everyone gets it BUT its very poor. Heres why I think of that, my dad 69 was in the hospital, emerg for 4 days, the doctors did everything to release him, my mom 67, held he ground as long as possible but gave in after so much pressure from the medical staff, He then had a stroke less the n 24hrs of being released. What a poor system. Second I am dealing with the lic dept in Victoria, I have been off work for 3 weeks now and almost on social services. They do not speed things up, even know I jave a job waiting for my I may have to collect governmnt assistance. Of course in vancouver it rains so much….. I can put up with that because I know a spring or summer will come, Though dealing with the governmnet there is not the light at the end of the tunel. On an end note, Why do you know ave the choice to take of less tax….. you can do this in the states….. so that tells me the government want to get paid even if you do not owe them money….... what a POOR system, if your in the states stay they and ride out the economy problems…..