OT: Does it annoy you how often celebrities whine about Vancouver?

[sting101]

 

[VanJack]

I'm old enough to remember when the X-Files was filming in Vancouver, and co-star David Duchovny complained about all the rain in Vancouver and was tired of living here during the winter. So the producers caved in and moved the series to L.A. where it barely lasted another season or so.

Little did they realize that 'all the rain, fog and mist' in Vancouver was what created to ambience and the brooding nature of the series. Once they moved into the 52-week Sunshine State, it just seemed silly and flopped.

There's a reason why they call Vancouver 'Hollywood North". Fortunately most of the Entertain Moguls recognize this and line up to shoot here. So what does it really matter what a few 'Grade B' celebrities think of the city?

 

[Riggins]

I think at times Vancouverites are very prone to getting way up their own asses about how much better Vancouver's climate is than Edmonton's or Toronto's while forgetting that the climate in the lower mainland is still absolutely shit 8 months/year compared to most places in the world.

I don't think anyone should really be surprised that someone from LA would consider spending a winter in Vancouver to be roughly the same thing as someone from Vancouver forced to spend a winter in Winnipeg.

I agree with this take. I love Vancouver at its best but if I had endless resources I'd probably live here from May-October and somewhere sunny from November-April. I don't really blame people hating the fall/winter here if they're used to a lot of sunshine.

 

[StreetHawk]

I'm old enough to remember when the X-Files was filming in Vancouver, and co-star David Duchovny complained about all the rain in Vancouver and was tired of living here during the winter. So the producers caved in and moved the series to L.A. where it barely lasted another season or so.

Little did they realize that 'all the rain, fog and mist' in Vancouver was what created to ambience and the brooding nature of the series. Once they moved into the 52-week Sunshine State, it just seemed silly and flopped.

There's a reason why they call Vancouver 'Hollywood North". Fortunately most of the Entertain Moguls recognize this and line up to shoot here. So what does it really matter what a few 'Grade B' celebrities think of the city?

If people by now don’t know about the Vancouver weather from November to March I don’t know what to say about them.

mid you are an actor you either want the job or you don’t. Hurts you fanbase if you badmouth the city you shoot in. Not just to those in the city but in other cities who are not impressed by an entertainer complaining about weather when they have a pretty good life.

 

[Fatass]

I agree with this take. I love Vancouver at its best but if I had endless resources I'd probably live here from May-October and somewhere sunny from November-April. I don't really blame people hating the fall/winter here if they're used to a lot of sunshine.

I’m the opposite. Winters here, with all the rainy days, are great. The rain keeps most people indoors, so there’s lots of outdoor spaces with few people. During Summers most of those outdoor spaces are too crowded to enjoy.

 

[biturbo19]

Another thing to add is people probably don't realize the hours TV leads like Ruby Rose and 'Archie' put in. Not really something to be sympathetic about considering how many aspiring actors would kill to be in the position their in, but the point is they're probably not going to have a lot of free time to enjoy Vancouver. Like this is all secondary to me but I think it caused a bit of a commotion in the local actors union when 'Archie' crashed his care driving himself home from set at 4:00am or something like that.

Googled it just to make sure I was being accurate, and here: 'Riverdale' Star KJ Apa Crashes Car After Falling Asleep At The Wheel



You can see why maybe the guy didn't like his time in Vancouver that much. Ruby Rose didn't crash her car but she also struggled with the work balance required to play Batwoman.

I mean, you're a young, affluent actor...when you finish your long day of filming, just hire a car service and have a drink and a nap on the way back home like a sensible human being. Those kind of complaints aren't really about "Vancouver" so much as, just being unable to cope with the demands of playing a lead role in a major television production.

Wife and I live most of the year in Van City, but have a summer home in small town Nova Scotia. It’s not the weather that has us needing to get out for spells here and there; it’s the crowded spaces and volumes of people. Plus, sorry Vsncouverites, but (for the most part) the people in small town Nova Scotia are way more down to earth.

This is the biggest thing to me. I love Vancouver. It's beautiful, it has a nice temperate climate that i like, it has a lot of really nice public transit infrastructure and progressive ideas compared to most other cities in Canada. Half my family is from there, the rest of my immediate family went to school there, and i've spent a ton of time visiting and appreciating it throughout my life. I used to think that was where i wanted to end up, but i don't think i could live there today. It's not even "small town" East Coast that feels way more down to earth. Even "big city" East Coast just has a completely different, relaxed vibe that is so much more pleasant to me.

Vancouver feels like it's turned into this sort of weird "faux chill" place. Like an awkward halfway between the laid back, behind the times Maritimes, and the frantic "everything is happening" latest thing chasing, hippest jive on earth sort of Los Angeles energy.

For more than a decade now, even just visiting...Vancouver feels weirdly stressful to me. It's just dripping with class tensions and some sort of unsettling drive to try to be on the cutting edge of everything. I feel wholly out of place in Vancouver. Like walking into a Rolls Royce dealership in some tattered dirty work clothes. Like i'm constantly being judged. Idk if i'm just more sensitive to it as i've grown older, but i don't remember it being like that when i was a lot younger. Can almost feel the pressures of housing prices and cost of living forcing people further and further out into the fringes. You start to get out into Langley, Aldergrove, Abbotsford, and it starts to feel less like that...but you can kinda feel some resentment and spite in that so many people there, are forced to spend half their day commuting to and from Vancouver.

There's just a strange "intensity" to Vancouver and peripheral area in general these days, that doesn't seem appealing. Weird energy.

Vancouverites get up there own asses on more than just the climate. The whole Best Place on Earth thing.

And i say this as someome who has lived in 8 different countries around the world as well as travelling 50 and who think Vancouver is my favourite place/best place on earth.

I think the best comparable is Seattle for variety of reasons.

I loooove Seattle. Its obviously similar geography wise, has a similar population, lifestyle etc.

Vancouver is more naturally beauty but Seattle is much better culture wise.

Despite Seattle being a better city job wise vs costs such as housing Vancouvers biggest suckiness is that it comes across much more as a "richmans city".


Its gone from a city that was a quiet "backwater" to one that is on the center stage with all the costs and few of the benefits.

Yeah. "Richman's City" is the feeling i get. Which, is a weird thing for celebrities to complain about. But it kinda makes sense...in that it has the feel of that "richman's city", but doesn't really have the rest of the accouterments of a place like LA or NYC that typically come with that. It has the cost of living that makes it feel "expensive" and less approachable, but without all of the "glam" and "fame". Which i can absolutely see why some celebrities wouldn't like that.

People say this alot but how many people legitimately take advantage of that nature. I mean beyond what many other cities can provide?

Back in he 90s when i live there and breifly again in mid 2000s i would go back country hiking and camping 3-4 times each summer plus I as big into mountain biking. And I as in the minority. Like small minority.


People say this lot but I doubt they actually take advantage or said advantage.

If you really like nature and want to make it a regular part of your life...there are certainly plenty of other cities across the country where you can make that happen. A lot of the "nature" around Vancouver itself these days, seems like it's more kinda..."touristy" and polished? It's like..."nature, but groomed to be less wild"? The reality is...i don't think most people actually want to live, surround by that much raw nature and wilderness. They want to be able to drive a normal car, to a normal place, and do some fun outdoor activities in a setting reasonably comparable to "nature" a number of times a year. Otherwise, places like Prince George, Fort St. John, Tumbler Ridge, or little communities in the interior like Castlegar and Trail or Revelstoke and Valemount would be huge boomtowns.

Vancouver's pitch, is that you can live in a big city with all of that convenience. But not have to to too far out, or into the back woods with specialized equipment, to have a "nature experience". That's the compelling part for a lot of people.

they're like the land rover of jackets i guess? i guess there's worse things to go overkill on than a jacket that will keep you really really dry.



feel like instagram has been a major factor here.



i haven't been on the granville strip after dark since the late 90s or gastown since occasionally going to the lamplighter in the mid-2000s, but if the way people i hear talk talk is accurate (which it totally might not be because it sounds hella nimby/classist), the ever-widening geographic separation between where barstars live way out in the fraser valley and the places downtown they go to for nightlife makes them act like wild animals because they don't see it as their backyard and they're on vacation mode.

i do feel like there's some truth to this though, this whole idea that vancouver priced people out so far that it was okay to set it on fire in 2011.

the resentment, in any event, is hella real; you can even see it in a few comments in this thread.

It seems like a pretty real issue to me. You price people so far out that they're spending half their waking life driving to and from things in "Vancouver"...and i'd expect some resentment. I think this whole dynamic has become a bit of a defining characteristic of Vancouver and the Fraser Valley area. And it isn't "relaxed" or "chill".

It's funny, when it comes to "celebrities" complaining about Vancouver though. In that they're often having the exact opposite experience. They're living in swanky downtown digs, but spending all of their time actually commuting and filming and working out in "the sticks".

 

[Hit the post]

Another thing to add is people probably don't realize the hours TV leads like Ruby Rose and 'Archie' put in. Not really something to be sympathetic about considering how many aspiring actors would kill to be in the position their in, but the point is they're probably not going to have a lot of free time to enjoy Vancouver. Like this is all secondary to me but I think it caused a bit of a commotion in the local actors union when 'Archie' crashed his care driving himself home from set at 4:00am or something like that.

Googled it just to make sure I was being accurate, and here: 'Riverdale' Star KJ Apa Crashes Car After Falling Asleep At The Wheel



You can see why maybe the guy didn't like his time in Vancouver that much. Ruby Rose didn't crash her car but she also struggled with the work balance required to play Batwoman.

Apa made something like 40k per episode/$800,000 per year couldn’t afford a taxi.

 

[wavaxa2]

I’m the opposite. Winters here, with all the rainy days, are great. The rain keeps most people indoors, so there’s lots of outdoor spaces with few people. During Summers most of those outdoor spaces are too crowded to enjoy.

As misanthropic as it sounds, I totally agree with you. I hate running into other people when I go for a hike.

 

[StreetHawk]

Apa made something like 40k per episode/$800,000 per year couldn’t afford a taxi.

Heard on Live with Kelly and Ryan, when her husband (Marc Conseulos) guest hosted, who is on the Riverdale show, he said that he had a driver take him to set each morning. Granted, he is a veteran actor, but not the star on the show. But, he's smart enough to know the rigours and hours of tv shows, so he is prepared.

Too bad he didn't pass that advice onto his co-stars. Sometimes, the scenes of the show call for being outdoors at night. Who knows. But, seriously though, unless you need the outdoor background scene, why are they filming past midnight if you are indoors on set?

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

I mean, you're a young, affluent actor...when you finish your long day of filming, just hire a car service and have a drink and a nap on the way back home like a sensible human being. Those kind of complaints aren't really about "Vancouver" so much as, just being unable to cope with the demands of playing a lead role in a major television production.



This is the biggest thing to me. I love Vancouver. It's beautiful, it has a nice temperate climate that i like, it has a lot of really nice public transit infrastructure and progressive ideas compared to most other cities in Canada. Half my family is from there, the rest of my immediate family went to school there, and i've spent a ton of time visiting and appreciating it throughout my life. I used to think that was where i wanted to end up, but i don't think i could live there today. It's not even "small town" East Coast that feels way more down to earth. Even "big city" East Coast just has a completely different, relaxed vibe that is so much more pleasant to me.

Vancouver feels like it's turned into this sort of weird "faux chill" place. Like an awkward halfway between the laid back, behind the times Maritimes, and the frantic "everything is happening" latest thing chasing, hippest jive on earth sort of Los Angeles energy.

For more than a decade now, even just visiting...Vancouver feels weirdly stressful to me. It's just dripping with class tensions and some sort of unsettling drive to try to be on the cutting edge of everything. I feel wholly out of place in Vancouver. Like walking into a Rolls Royce dealership in some tattered dirty work clothes. Like i'm constantly being judged. Idk if i'm just more sensitive to it as i've grown older, but i don't remember it being like that when i was a lot younger. Can almost feel the pressures of housing prices and cost of living forcing people further and further out into the fringes. You start to get out into Langley, Aldergrove, Abbotsford, and it starts to feel less like that...but you can kinda feel some resentment and spite in that so many people there, are forced to spend half their day commuting to and from Vancouver.

There's just a strange "intensity" to Vancouver and peripheral area in general these days, that doesn't seem appealing. Weird energy.




Yeah. "Richman's City" is the feeling i get. Which, is a weird thing for celebrities to complain about. But it kinda makes sense...in that it has the feel of that "richman's city", but doesn't really have the rest of the accouterments of a place like LA or NYC that typically come with that. It has the cost of living that makes it feel "expensive" and less approachable, but without all of the "glam" and "fame". Which i can absolutely see why some celebrities wouldn't like that.




If you really like nature and want to make it a regular part of your life...there are certainly plenty of other cities across the country where you can make that happen. A lot of the "nature" around Vancouver itself these days, seems like it's more kinda..."touristy" and polished? It's like..."nature, but groomed to be less wild"? The reality is...i don't think most people actually want to live, surround by that much raw nature and wilderness. They want to be able to drive a normal car, to a normal place, and do some fun outdoor activities in a setting reasonably comparable to "nature" a number of times a year. Otherwise, places like Prince George, Fort St. John, Tumbler Ridge, or little communities in the interior like Castlegar and Trail or Revelstoke and Valemount would be huge boomtowns.

Vancouver's pitch, is that you can live in a big city with all of that convenience. But not have to to too far out, or into the back woods with specialized equipment, to have a "nature experience". That's the compelling part for a lot of people.




It seems like a pretty real issue to me. You price people so far out that they're spending half their waking life driving to and from things in "Vancouver"...and i'd expect some resentment. I think this whole dynamic has become a bit of a defining characteristic of Vancouver and the Fraser Valley area. And it isn't "relaxed" or "chill".

It's funny, when it comes to "celebrities" complaining about Vancouver though. In that they're often having the exact opposite experience. They're living in swanky downtown digs, but spending all of their time actually commuting and filming and working out in "the sticks".

i’d only add that there’s also a clear racial aspect that for 30 years has been like gasoline to all of this

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

Don’t care because actors and celebrities are usually less educated than the average person. But I think it’s mainly a result of so many things being filmed here, that from the number of people working here, there were going to be some complaints. And I can understand some of the issues people have, like Archie hating on the night life. Vancouver doesn’t have a particularly great scene and people here are known to be cold, cliquey, and arrogant.

 

[VanJack]

Then there was Steve Francis when he was drafted by the ill-fated Grizzlies....said something to the effect: "It's a different country with a strange postal code; it rains a lot and they take a lot of your money."

I knew right then and there, that the Grizz and the NBA were probably doomed in VanCity.

 

[Hollywood Burrows]

well I definitely think it sucks here, but probably not for the same reasons as celebs.

Anyway I think they all know the only reason anything gets shot here is because it's cheaper than shooting elsewhere. That probably makes them bitter about their careers etc

 

[Jay Cee]

I find people tend to whine about people whining about Vancouver by far more than people actually whine about Vancouver.

 

[EpochLink]

Then there was Steve Francis when he was drafted by the ill-fated Grizzlies....said something to the effect: "It's a different country with a strange postal code; it rains a lot and they take a lot of your money."

I knew right then and there, that the Grizz and the NBA were probably doomed in VanCity.

And look at Steve Francis now, drugged up, unhealthy and last I heard was in trouble with the law.

f*** that guy anyways, didn’t do Jack shit in the NBA.