The Last Emperor
Member
I've seen the light.
I'm never going back to Surrey. Tabris, teach me.
Seriously tho, I'm unbelievably lucky.
I'm never going back to Surrey. Tabris, teach me.
Seriously tho, I'm unbelievably lucky.
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Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
Vancouver-Age |OT| 125 Years
- Thread starter Firestorm
- Start date
Glad to hear you're okay.
Silver Arrows
Banned
Shit man, sorry to hear that TLE.
Subpar Spatula
Banned
Wait, Emperor, are you that chick that's been posted on Skytrain news things as being in a car accident and grateful or something?
Emperor's a dude.
Subpar Spatula
Banned
You should go as a belligerent drunk and see how long you last.
This will be me in 1.5 weeks. You'll need to sleep 'til customs starts then go through
What time is your flight?This will be me in 1.5 weeks. You'll need to sleep 'til customs starts then go through
I ended up paying 100 dollars for a room at the best western, fuck sleeping in the public side with my luggage, not too safe
7am to LAX...
I recently slept at the San Fran Airport...
Reason being, my flight was cancelled due to freezing fog in Vancouver.
Cancelled flight was at 10pm, reassigned flight was at 5am... :|
We didn't feel like leaving the airport and going through US security again.
My GF found a Yoga room, so we pulled out the mats and passed out in there.
It sucked.
Reason being, my flight was cancelled due to freezing fog in Vancouver.
Cancelled flight was at 10pm, reassigned flight was at 5am... :|
We didn't feel like leaving the airport and going through US security again.
My GF found a Yoga room, so we pulled out the mats and passed out in there.
It sucked.
The Great Vancouver Exodus: Why I'm almost ready to leave the city
It is a bit of a read and it is an opinion piece from a writer on VanityBuzz, I guess. I'm not going to quote it as it is long and is an interesting read. I think there is a great concern with Vancouver and possibly Canada with regards to brain drain. Young people leaving for greener pasture due to whatever reason. There are definitely legitimate issues to discuss about that in the Vancouver-context due to our high cost of living and stagnant wages. I would love to hear some opinions from fellow Vancouver GAFers on their thoughts of this.
With regards to this particular article in question though, I have ton wonder about a few things. She seems more interested in places with diverse culture and history, far more than the natural beauty that BC offers. That's a fine personal preference and certainly she will find a lot more of that in Europe, which seems to be her preferred destinations. Places like London and Paris have far more museums and things she like than we can ever provide here. However, I hope people realize the high cost of living in a lot of those cultural centres too. You can't buy a place in London at all without a $500k POUND minimum. Compare that to a $400k spacious condo you can buy in Burnaby, New West... etc. Heck, you can spend that and get a single bedroom condo around downtown. Don't even bother thinking about getting a place in San Francisco with $400k USD. You will get laughed out of there in no time.
In terms of wages, yes it is true that certain industries will pay you a lot more depending on the city you're in. For example, you will make a lot more money as a programmer/engineer in San Francisco than compared to here. But I doubt you'll be getting a similar pay grade raise as a teacher, nurse or other professions that's not part of the main specialty of said city. You can make a lot more working in finance/investing in Hong Kong or London compared to here in Vancouver, for example. Further more, average wage stagnation appears to be a global issue with all the developed countries according to the news. Everybody is complaining about wages not keeping up with the cost of living. Honestly, I would love to live and work in a place like London, but I am not disillusioned by the monumental financial hardship that I would face living in a place like that. I work in a very diverse industry with people from all over the world. My friends from London, Hong Kong and other magnet cities tell me Vancouver is cheap compared to where they came from. The young people in those places have no concept of ever owning a place there and I truly feel like that's going to create a long-term repercussion when you got a whole generation of people with no assets to grow. How is that going to effect the long term economy since it's so unprecedented.
She managed to save up money to go travel in Europe for a few months. Dare I said she must have been making good money here then. I'm not understanding her issue on the finance side if she's able to do that ! But ultimately, I guess yeah this whole metro region can be a bit boring if you're not at all into the outdoor stuff. The lack of "culture" isn't something that can be fixed anytime soon just because this is such a new city relatively speaking too. I'd love to give the hustle and bustle a try in big cities like NYC, London and Tokyo... etc, but those cities are definitely too expensive to live in especially when compared to Vancouver.
It is a bit of a read and it is an opinion piece from a writer on VanityBuzz, I guess. I'm not going to quote it as it is long and is an interesting read. I think there is a great concern with Vancouver and possibly Canada with regards to brain drain. Young people leaving for greener pasture due to whatever reason. There are definitely legitimate issues to discuss about that in the Vancouver-context due to our high cost of living and stagnant wages. I would love to hear some opinions from fellow Vancouver GAFers on their thoughts of this.
With regards to this particular article in question though, I have ton wonder about a few things. She seems more interested in places with diverse culture and history, far more than the natural beauty that BC offers. That's a fine personal preference and certainly she will find a lot more of that in Europe, which seems to be her preferred destinations. Places like London and Paris have far more museums and things she like than we can ever provide here. However, I hope people realize the high cost of living in a lot of those cultural centres too. You can't buy a place in London at all without a $500k POUND minimum. Compare that to a $400k spacious condo you can buy in Burnaby, New West... etc. Heck, you can spend that and get a single bedroom condo around downtown. Don't even bother thinking about getting a place in San Francisco with $400k USD. You will get laughed out of there in no time.
In terms of wages, yes it is true that certain industries will pay you a lot more depending on the city you're in. For example, you will make a lot more money as a programmer/engineer in San Francisco than compared to here. But I doubt you'll be getting a similar pay grade raise as a teacher, nurse or other professions that's not part of the main specialty of said city. You can make a lot more working in finance/investing in Hong Kong or London compared to here in Vancouver, for example. Further more, average wage stagnation appears to be a global issue with all the developed countries according to the news. Everybody is complaining about wages not keeping up with the cost of living. Honestly, I would love to live and work in a place like London, but I am not disillusioned by the monumental financial hardship that I would face living in a place like that. I work in a very diverse industry with people from all over the world. My friends from London, Hong Kong and other magnet cities tell me Vancouver is cheap compared to where they came from. The young people in those places have no concept of ever owning a place there and I truly feel like that's going to create a long-term repercussion when you got a whole generation of people with no assets to grow. How is that going to effect the long term economy since it's so unprecedented.
She managed to save up money to go travel in Europe for a few months. Dare I said she must have been making good money here then. I'm not understanding her issue on the finance side if she's able to do that ! But ultimately, I guess yeah this whole metro region can be a bit boring if you're not at all into the outdoor stuff. The lack of "culture" isn't something that can be fixed anytime soon just because this is such a new city relatively speaking too. I'd love to give the hustle and bustle a try in big cities like NYC, London and Tokyo... etc, but those cities are definitely too expensive to live in especially when compared to Vancouver.
Counter argument
I have enough money to go travel through Europe for a few month too
Doesnt mean I earn barely anything with a tiny job market in Vancouver despite an advanced degree in Natural Sciences. If I wanted to live elsewhere I would a) earn more and b) much more easily find a job.
That includes Eastern Canada, the Bay Area, Europe and Asia.
I could never live in a city like NY/HKG though, way too busy/too many people.
I have enough money to go travel through Europe for a few month too
Doesnt mean I earn barely anything with a tiny job market in Vancouver despite an advanced degree in Natural Sciences. If I wanted to live elsewhere I would a) earn more and b) much more easily find a job.
That includes Eastern Canada, the Bay Area, Europe and Asia.
I could never live in a city like NY/HKG though, way too busy/too many people.
Not disagreeing with you. I think there are cities with very specialized fields. For example, San Fran for software engineers, NYC for investment... etc etc. I do not believe teachers, nurses, policemen... etc get paid any significantly higher in those cities compared to here, for example. Not many medium-sized cities (such as Vancouver) can compete with those mega cities with specialized industries. You will also most likely get paid more there as well, but relative to the cost of living in those places, will the wage raise be enough to offset any of those potential cost of living ? In San Fran, for example, rent for a one bedroom can easily be $3000/month at a decent area. In many of those mega cities as well, young people have all but given up hope of ever owning a place anywhere near the city as well. So you'll most certainly be renting in any of those cities without hope of ownership. My friends from some of those big cities working here said Vancouver's housing is jokingly cheap compared to their hometowns.
Wasnt there just an article posted in the last few pages that said relative to the average income, Vancouver is the second-most expensive city in the world to own a home in? Behind Hong Kong? By that logic while San Francisco is probably pricier than Vancouver, it more than makes up for that with more income...
Lone_Prodigy
Member
There's also this article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opin...blood-of-the-city-is-leaving/article28730533/
I think there are definitely issues in Vancouver. The government hasn't done anything to limit foreign investment or punish absentee owners, and also have sat on their hands too long with regards to increasing density. In terms of employment and industry, there aren't many huge companies setting up shop here. Sure we have Amazon, Microsoft, EA, and Hootsuite, but nothing compared to the head offices in Toronto and New York.
The Olympics, its geography, and proximity to Asia have made Vancouver an attractive destination. However, due to its small size and youth, it lacks the world-class tourist destinations of other popular cities. I think we've mentioned it before, but Vancouver is a cool place to live, but not exactly great for visiting.
So, yes, I can see how some become disillusioned. Salaries are low, buying a house is a pipe dream, and it lacks culture and history (debatable). Move to Alberta or Ontario for more money, realize that Vancouver doesn't confer enough of an advantage to return, and stay there.
I think there are definitely issues in Vancouver. The government hasn't done anything to limit foreign investment or punish absentee owners, and also have sat on their hands too long with regards to increasing density. In terms of employment and industry, there aren't many huge companies setting up shop here. Sure we have Amazon, Microsoft, EA, and Hootsuite, but nothing compared to the head offices in Toronto and New York.
The Olympics, its geography, and proximity to Asia have made Vancouver an attractive destination. However, due to its small size and youth, it lacks the world-class tourist destinations of other popular cities. I think we've mentioned it before, but Vancouver is a cool place to live, but not exactly great for visiting.
So, yes, I can see how some become disillusioned. Salaries are low, buying a house is a pipe dream, and it lacks culture and history (debatable). Move to Alberta or Ontario for more money, realize that Vancouver doesn't confer enough of an advantage to return, and stay there.
BlueBadger
Banned
I'm singing at the Canucks game on Thursday!! Woo!
Silver Arrows
Banned
Should I Periscope it for GAF? Ya ya.
BlueBadger
Banned
LOLL i'll try my best!Good on you, don't get depressed from the state of the team
Yaaaaasss!
BlueBadger
Banned
Do you get good seats for the game after?
I get 2 lower bowl tickets
So I'm bringing my guy with me!I get 2 lower bowl tickets
Awesome dude!
Getting a regular season game is a big deal!
Since Donnelly does pretty much all of them.
Thinking of doing something special for it like Mark does, (Has crowd sing)
or straight sing the whole thing?
BlueBadger
Banned
Straight sing the whole thing. I think that's something that Mark can only do since he's been doing it for so long. I have to pay my dues.
Lmao I just watched that. I truly hope I don't pull a Nelly Furtado
LOL look what I just found
http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/apa/5440968820.html
"On 25th and main, right by sophia & king Edward Ave # 231. The location is great but the landlords & most of the tenants are no good to say the least. The landlords son is a scumbag who has been to jail & says he isn't afraid to go back. He will threaten & harass you to get his room back. Really there getting there son to threaten people to get people in & out as candidates to marry their gran-daughter which is illegal. There gran-daughter they are trying to set you up with was a crazy phemonist racist cunt bitch with an std & hemorrhoids(I saw medication). She is really pretty & seems sweet at first but shes not sweet at, infact shes downright evil, let me tell you. She will do things like destroy your bathroom stuff, then yell at you towards the landlords door & make you look weird & make BS up, then cackles like a witch, just for asking her what happened. She plays games & frames you just for fun.
There on drugs, I've heard & seen signs of it. There x con son is also an ex drug addict & could still be one. They all abuse there power & tenants for no reason. They were mean, too nosy & personal, snobby, power controlling, nitpicking, when they could've just left me alone & everything would've been fine. They pick on innocent people for fun, for no reason. There sick.
If you leave anything around whether it is a Britta water filter, a nice bike helmet, basketball, soccer ball, nice shoes, hockey stick and pucks etc, consider it gone. If you ask were it went they will all yell & threaten you in many ways for accusing them when your really just asking, then they will evict you for calling the cops & making a police report & make BS up & will play reverse phycology. The place has at-least 2 layers of tiles which have black mold between them and on the windows. The balcony is rotting and decaying, they have silverfish bugs, they crank the heat up & down. If you ask them to fix anything its like your a bad tenant for asking & they threaten to evict you the next day, without notice &/or raise the rent, etc. They steal things from your place. They let you use your own section, in the garden, then grow plants in front of yours to block the sun. They try to charge you for free city street parking. They call your work & school & open your mail. They insult you, your friends & family etc. They come in your place a'lot, read your mail etc. Its way too personal etc.
There bastard scumbag slumlords. It seems nice at first but it will end up being a shit hole, a physically & stress-full, threatenin, unhealthy, unsafe place to live. It will be a scam & insult and an absolute nightmare in the end etc. Be ware, good luck out there."
SAVAGE
"Phemonist" :lol
IF all of that is true he cops wouldve done something a long time ago. Opening someone else's mail is a BIIIIIG no-no. But it's a hilarious read.
http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/apa/5440968820.html
"On 25th and main, right by sophia & king Edward Ave # 231. The location is great but the landlords & most of the tenants are no good to say the least. The landlords son is a scumbag who has been to jail & says he isn't afraid to go back. He will threaten & harass you to get his room back. Really there getting there son to threaten people to get people in & out as candidates to marry their gran-daughter which is illegal. There gran-daughter they are trying to set you up with was a crazy phemonist racist cunt bitch with an std & hemorrhoids(I saw medication). She is really pretty & seems sweet at first but shes not sweet at, infact shes downright evil, let me tell you. She will do things like destroy your bathroom stuff, then yell at you towards the landlords door & make you look weird & make BS up, then cackles like a witch, just for asking her what happened. She plays games & frames you just for fun.
There on drugs, I've heard & seen signs of it. There x con son is also an ex drug addict & could still be one. They all abuse there power & tenants for no reason. They were mean, too nosy & personal, snobby, power controlling, nitpicking, when they could've just left me alone & everything would've been fine. They pick on innocent people for fun, for no reason. There sick.
If you leave anything around whether it is a Britta water filter, a nice bike helmet, basketball, soccer ball, nice shoes, hockey stick and pucks etc, consider it gone. If you ask were it went they will all yell & threaten you in many ways for accusing them when your really just asking, then they will evict you for calling the cops & making a police report & make BS up & will play reverse phycology. The place has at-least 2 layers of tiles which have black mold between them and on the windows. The balcony is rotting and decaying, they have silverfish bugs, they crank the heat up & down. If you ask them to fix anything its like your a bad tenant for asking & they threaten to evict you the next day, without notice &/or raise the rent, etc. They steal things from your place. They let you use your own section, in the garden, then grow plants in front of yours to block the sun. They try to charge you for free city street parking. They call your work & school & open your mail. They insult you, your friends & family etc. They come in your place a'lot, read your mail etc. Its way too personal etc.
There bastard scumbag slumlords. It seems nice at first but it will end up being a shit hole, a physically & stress-full, threatenin, unhealthy, unsafe place to live. It will be a scam & insult and an absolute nightmare in the end etc. Be ware, good luck out there."
SAVAGE
"Phemonist" :lol
IF all of that is true he cops wouldve done something a long time ago. Opening someone else's mail is a BIIIIIG no-no. But it's a hilarious read.
I finally gave the article a read and... it's really poorly written. The first third of her piece has nothing to do with the price of housing and such. She is not a fan of the Pacific Northwest lifestyle and seems to be someone who's interested in corporate management which is absolutely not what Vancouver is about. She is a Toronto / New York / London type person. She dislikes Vancouver for the same reasons I'd live here over any of those places in a heartbeat.
As far as pricing goes, the prices she's quoting seem insane? Like, you can definitely get a good two bedroom space for $1600 a month... Why the fuck was her friend paying $850 for a 75 sqft room on Commercial shared with 10 people?
I think Vancouver is absolutely pricing itself out of affordability and we're seeing a brain drain. It's really hard to find good talent in this city (I think our last three hires work remotely) and I've seen some of the brightest minds I know move south for better opportunities. Seems like our pool of people is too small and the best are poached by Silicon Valley when it comes to tech which is something I'd say we're the best outside of Waterloo for in Canada =/
WrenchNinja
Member
So why's it called it blood alley anyway
Regarding housing in Vancouver, the BC budget was revealed yesterday, and the finance minister was on Global news talking about how they're lowering the taxes on new homes under $750k.
Reporter: How does that help the affordability crisis if the cap is set at $750k?
Minister: We're governing for all of BC, not just the richies in Point Grey.
Reporter: It's not a Point Grey thing, you can't even find a house in East Van for less than a million.
Minister: Well, with less snark, we're governing for all of BC, not just Vancouver.
Reporter: But isn't the Vancouver affordability crisis the thing this measure was intended to address?
Minister: Blah blah blah, richest province in Canada because our conservative tax policies are better than those commies in Alberta. All hail LNG.
So it's seems that the provincial government's response to the situation is "Condos or GTFO of Vancouver."
Oh and, they made it a law that home buyers must list their citizenship status, so eventually we're going to have some stats on whether or not foreign investors are actually causing the problem or if they're just a scapegoat.
Reporter: How does that help the affordability crisis if the cap is set at $750k?
Minister: We're governing for all of BC, not just the richies in Point Grey.
Reporter: It's not a Point Grey thing, you can't even find a house in East Van for less than a million.
Minister: Well, with less snark, we're governing for all of BC, not just Vancouver.
Reporter: But isn't the Vancouver affordability crisis the thing this measure was intended to address?
Minister: Blah blah blah, richest province in Canada because our conservative tax policies are better than those commies in Alberta. All hail LNG.
So it's seems that the provincial government's response to the situation is "Condos or GTFO of Vancouver."
Oh and, they made it a law that home buyers must list their citizenship status, so eventually we're going to have some stats on whether or not foreign investors are actually causing the problem or if they're just a scapegoat.
The radioshow I listened to had a segment on basically saying it means nothing because the problem isn't that not enough companies build cheap, new housing. The problem is that there is not enough zoning TO build new housing - so the few new condos that do manage to be allowed to be built snag incredible prices. On top of a lot of empty buildings owned by foreign money. It was some UBC SAUDER prof talking about this, basically saying we should introduce a tax on vacant homes owned by foreign investors, which I totally agree with. And allow for rezoning and re-building a lot of the townhouses into new, big apartment buildings probably wouldnt hurt either.
Lone_Prodigy
Member
I feel like you can replace San Francisco with Vancouver in that thread about the guy ranting about the homeless.
oh wow did you guys see this?
http://www.straight.com/blogra/6413...eo-link-discussion-promise-and-peril-big-data
Snowden giving a video-link talk about big data at QET. I'm totally going.
http://www.straight.com/blogra/6413...eo-link-discussion-promise-and-peril-big-data
Snowden giving a video-link talk about big data at QET. I'm totally going.
Fortunately you can still get a one-bedroom rental here at like, $1000+ CAD. In San Fran, it's more like $3000 USD ! We got lots of homeless here too with other provinces shipping their homeless here. Hopefully the new re-opening of the mental facility will help...
I was just talking to a friend of mine who just moved to London said she is paying $3000+ for a one-bedroom there. We both nearly fainted :O
Fortunately you can still get a one-bedroom rental here at like, $1000+ CAD. In San Fran, $3000 ! We got lots of homeless here too with other provinces shipping their homeless here
I was just talking to a friend of mine who just moved to London said she is paying $3000+ for a one-bedroom there. We both nearly fainted :O
Because both those cities have too many city regulations that prevent building up. If you think our viewcones laws are bad, the SF ones are horrible.
Enjoying Thailand right now ? How's the trip so far ?
Silver Arrows
Banned
Unfortunately, some of us aren't the forward thinking luminaries you are Tabris, and we prefer our houses.