OT: Moving to Vancouver

[RandV]

You're far more likely to get in trouble at a club or a party than while jogging anywhere in Vancouver-proper, DTES included. Stanley Park is probably the only dangerous night-time jogging spot in the whole city.

Technically yes but the point stands its still different for a woman, depending on the woman. For a typical guy if you're walking down a dark street and see some sketchy guy ahead of you the worst you may think could happen is he'll pull a weapon and ask for your wallet. A lady may see the same sketchy guy and fear not only a mugging but sexual assault.

Even though neither is likely to ever happen if you still have that fear in the back of your head it's going to be much scarier on the ladies side. It's not something I would have thought of myself but I can relate it from my girlfriend.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

She's also said she's not a fan of East hastings for various reasons...

yeah not the greatest neighborhood in the city.

Edit: Although seems fine after reading some posters here.

 

[YouCantYandleThis*]

Check out Fan Club downtown. Small Jazz/Blues joint always seeming to be looking for new musicians.

Not sure how well they pay...but worth a check.

 

[604]

I lived downtown in a couple places for years and have a few comments about it:

1) Living downtown means living on the downtown peninsula. If you do that, and work downtown, then you don't even need a car (my car's battery died from under use five times while I lived downtown). I don't know anyone who lived on the downtown peninsula and regretted it.

2) There's a lot of places to rent so you might as well lowball a little bit. I enjoyed living on Marinaside the best and would suggest you look at prompton.com and request their rental listing to see what they have.

3) If safety is a big issue, and you like to run/cycle, try to live in False Creek North (Yaletown) or Coal Harbour near the seawall. Nothing beats summer living next to a giant park and the sea wall.

4) Rent between places that cost $1.5M and places that cost $450K due to their locations only varies by a hundred or two a month. Might as well stay in the most "desirable" neighborhood. I actually had someone I was going to rent from in East Van tell me that since we had the same job and she knew what I was going to be making. If you can find the extra hundred a month for rent, what you save in your commute will make up the difference...living on the seawall with a pool and steam room are just extras.

5) Wherever you rent, make sure you get visitor's parking. It really helps your friends out.

 

[Sproo]

My wife and I moved here a couple years ago from Toronto. We checked out a wide range of neighbourhoods and settled on a place is by Commercial Dr. and the EastVan/Hastings-Sunrise area and we really like it. We're getting excellent value for our rent compared to the other places in (mostly in Kits) that we were considering, and while it might not be as 'trendy' as a lot of other areas there is a real good mix of different types of people which keeps everything pretty interesting. I've also become pretty fond of the area around Fraser/Kingsway and Main/Broadway. Being close to commercial station has become a lot more convenient than I originally expected.

A lot of it depends on where you need to go every day. We go to UBC almost every day so we didn't really want to go anywhere any further East than where we're at now, but North Van has struck me as really nice, and even parts of Burnaby and NewWest seem alright if you can tolerate the more 'suburb-y' vibes.

And regarding DTES, it is definitely far from a comfortable area to be in but I've found that the majority of the people there are not malicious but are just people struggling with a lot of mental health, abuse and addiction issues. I've heard a lot of interesting stories talking with some of them on the #20 bus (which drives right through the heart of the DTES). Last week some (presumably) homeless guy was talking to me about some art commission he was a part of in the 60's or 70's in Ottawa for PM Trudeau. Fascinating.

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

DTES is an absolute disaster. Easily on par with ****** 3rd world countries.

But its not really unsafe. Having said that a single female should not be walking through some of the side streets in that area at night.

 

[Johnny LaRue]

Obligatory North Van post. 15 minute seabus ride away from downtown and the most nature-ish area in Vancouver.

North Van is awesome. This man speaks the truth.

If nightlife is your thing, I wouldn't recommend North Van. Seabus stops at 1:30AM and so does the bus for that matter if you live east of the second narrows. You'll get tired of $30 cab rides real fast. It's a great place to raise a family, and can be okay if you grew up there and that's where your friends are. I would not recommend it for someone new to the city who will spend a lot of time downtown.

The n24 runs until all hours and then you can take a cab from the Quay whenever you need to. I love in LoLo so I don't even need a cab! It's awesome. I have never had an issue getting home.

 

[Dado]

DTES is an absolute disaster. Easily on par with ****** 3rd world countries.

That's the sort of hyperbole that just adds to the confusion. DTES is absolutely nothing like a 3rd world slum.

 

[Tuff Gong]

Kind of sounds like what we looked for when moving from Calgary to Vancouver, but we ended up here here.

Pro's:
Just outside Yaletown, in the middle of everything
One of the only rental places you'll find here
Comes with parking
In-suite laundry machines and dishwasher
Pets are allowed! (dogs allowed up to 25lbs)
With two towers one 30 floors and the other 23 there's pretty much always vacancy's.

.

Any dog under 50lbs is not a dog. It is a cat. And cats are useless. - Ron Swanson.

 

[ziploc]

That's the sort of hyperbole that just adds to the confusion. DTES is absolutely nothing like a 3rd world slum.

I've lived in the DTES for 8 years. I love it and am thrilled to raise my kids in this neighbourhood. It's only really dangerous if you're in a dangerous lifestyle. The worst time of the week is easily Friday and Saturday nights when people come from out of the area to some of the clubs and pubs, and then get into fights, urinate everywhere and harass homeless guys. That's the only time I feel remotely in danger. Like just about any neighbourhood you have to be aware that there are some things you shouldn't do (don't call anyone a "goof" or a "rat", don't take pictures of people using drugs, don't walk down an alley alone late at night).

Though it is true to say that some people in the DTES are living in some of the worst condition in the western world (with the big exception that food is always available for free).

 

[luongo321]

Your best bet is to move somewhere around Main & Broadway. You can afford the rents (give or take, may have to move closer to Fraiser or Clark), the area is gentrifying, and the music scene is stronger than most of the city (which is weak as a whole).

You'll be close to the Biltmore (the live music venue in town - IMO), and have a reasonable amount of money left over from rent to actually enjoy yourself from time to time. Whatever you do - DO NOT MOVE DOWNTOWN or to KITS. These places are insanely expensive for what they offer and all you get is a bunch of rich kid 'culture'.

Hope this helps.

EDIT: Now that I've read some stuff - East Hastings isn't that bad depending on where you're talking about. East of Clark it gets much more reasonable. This is now known as the "East Village" but most people still call it Hastings Sunrise. I own a bar and often speculate on which neighbourhood is up and coming in order to lock down cheap lease rates in areas ready to blow up - my current target is this area....

Sometimes you can luck out and get a decent deal. The owner of an apartment in kits (cornwall) was looking to rent out a room in their apartment and I pay $600 for everything (laundry, wireless internet, shaw so i can watch the canuck in hd ). I didn't even need to find a bed. I have to live with the owner, but it still worked out pretty damn well for me.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

Well, now I'm a little torn. Hearing a lot of good things about the east end. up and coming neighborhood, good groceries and amenities. I think the key for us is probably not to be too south. I'm not a 'live right downtown next to a million skyscrapers' type. Right now in Toronto, I live downtown-ish. I'm about a 10 minute drive right to the downtown core where everything is going on. But i have nice parks and groceries and restaurants near me while transit is really good in my location. That sounds a little more the like East Van. I guess we'll just keep looking everywhere and see if we can find a steal. My GF said that anything south of 41st is kinda no-man's land so I guess definitely stay north of there, maybe even a little higher.

 

[Tiranis]

Found this little guide that gives a brief description of the notable areas in the city: http://www.vanmag.com/real_estate/Neighbourhood_Guide and you can find some videos on YouTube for most of these areas.

 

[racerjoe]

Your scene would not be my scene, music-wise, but I know that this place is around at least: http://www.cellarjazz.com/

I believe it is one of the top ranked Jazz clubs in the world. Someone the other day was telling me why.

First Welcome and good luck. Vancouver like TO has many pockets to find exactly what you are looking for. If you like the outdoors the Northshore is the place for you, with some of the best in hiking mountain biking, and well, just about anything you want to do outside.

As a muscisian, really there is lots all around, I am not sure I would say any one spot is the best for that.

Kits is a real nice area, and you probably could find a 1 br for $1200 downtown, it may just not be in one of the nicer buildings or best neighbourhoods.

 

[RobertKron]

Basically live north of 25th, or even up to like 49th, and west of Nanaimo-ish and you're super accessible to pretty much everything good in the city.

That said, I go downtown downtown less than once a month on average. It is very much a city of neighbourhoods, and if you end up in one that suits you, you'll likely find yourself mostly sticking close to home day-to-day.

 

[chopkins]

North Van is awesome. This man speaks the truth.



The n24 runs until all hours and then you can take a cab from the Quay whenever you need to. I love in LoLo so I don't even need a cab! It's awesome. I have never had an issue getting home.

Never heard that before.

 

[lowerlameland]

Definitely don't live south of 41st. I'm from down there and it's a boring place to be... I'm in the West End now, way west, almost in the park, and my wife and I love it down here. It's a bit isolating in a strange way because most of my friends live around Main or Commercial and parking down here is so terrible, they don't come this way to visit or drink. I always have to head that way. But anyway, you'll find stuff you like about any one of Kits, Yaletown, Commercial, Main, West End, DTES. I'm not a huge fan of Yaletown or Kits really, a bit too conservative/trendy for me, but anyway just pick a nice building and rent you can afford and you'll be fine. The biggest risk in the DTES is if you accidentally leave something visible in your car. Lots of smash and grabs, but I think that might have lessened in recent years a bit. I had my favourite bass stolen out of a friend's house over that way too... All the good bits here are really relatively close together, so where you end up won't matter all that much. But I'd put in a vote for the West End because being on the seawall or in the park in about 45 seconds is pretty excellent!

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

That's the sort of hyperbole that just adds to the confusion. DTES is absolutely nothing like a 3rd world slum.

Disagree. Its very much like many of the ****** places ive been. And i did not say slum.

 

[Tiranis]

Disagree. Its very much like many of the ****** places ive been. And i did not say slum.

How long has it been since you've lived in Vancouver? DTES is not even close to a 3rd world country. Not even in the same realm both in how it looks and in crime stats. Not to mention that most of the crime in the DTES is pretty much poor-on-poor crime so anyone else is extremely unlikely to be affected by it in any way.

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

How long has it been since you've lived in Vancouver? DTES is not even close to a 3rd world country. Not even in the same realm both in how it looks and in crime stats. Not to mention that most of the crime in the DTES is pretty much poor-on-poor crime so anyone else is extremely unlikely to be affected by it in any way.

Never said anything about the crime, nor are ****** 3rd world countries crime ridden.

I personally dont think DTES is all that dangerous but its an absolute **** hole.

 

[cbjerrisgaard]

Never said anything about the crime, nor are ****** 3rd world countries crime ridden.

I personally dont think DTES is all that dangerous but its an absolute **** hole.

Depends where you're talking about. Technically Gastown is in the DTES. As is the Woodwards building. As is the condos around the Stadium. As is Chinatown.

Main and Hastings? - ****hole. Cambie and Hastings? - Pretty much gentrified at this point.

Straphcona is also one of the most gorgeous neighbourhoods in the city if you like heritage buildings.

 

[RandV]

Well, now I'm a little torn. Hearing a lot of good things about the east end. up and coming neighborhood, good groceries and amenities. I think the key for us is probably not to be too south. I'm not a 'live right downtown next to a million skyscrapers' type. Right now in Toronto, I live downtown-ish. I'm about a 10 minute drive right to the downtown core where everything is going on. But i have nice parks and groceries and restaurants near me while transit is really good in my location. That sounds a little more the like East Van. I guess we'll just keep looking everywhere and see if we can find a steal. My GF said that anything south of 41st is kinda no-man's land so I guess definitely stay north of there, maybe even a little higher.

Yaletown is definitely the skyscraper type area, I live on the outskirts so it's not too bad but if that's the case the West End would be a better place to look. Lot's of apartments but they're much older so they tend to be smaller with a lot more variety.

And a tip if you're moving to Van, not sure how the system is in Toronto but the Vancouver Public Library is great. In addition to books they also have pretty much every movie and even TV series available to book out. They even have video games I think. And just recently they started something called an inspiration pass, the wait list is probably a year long but when you get it for two weeks you get free access for 2 to almost all the attractions in Vancouver, everything from the symphony & opera to the various gardens and misc attractions like science world and the aquarium.

 

[Dado]

I personally dont think DTES is all that dangerous but its an absolute **** hole.

In the 3rd world, ****holes actually have big holes full of ****.

There is nothing about DTES - not one single feature - that is even remotely 3rd world.

 

[thefeebster]

1) Living downtown means living on the downtown peninsula. If you do that, and work downtown, then you don't even need a car (my car's battery died from under use five times while I lived downtown). I don't know anyone who lived on the downtown peninsula and regretted it.

I've experienced the exact same thing. I've lived in Yaletown going on 8 years now and I only use my car maybe twice a week. I've had to call people to jump my car about 10 times during this time. I thought it was because my car is old, but maybe it was just under used!

--------

Regarding DTES, I would never want to live in Gastown or the Main-Hastings area. Not even woodwards area. But after traveling to China and Egypt this year, there is no way this can be considered conditions described as a 3rd world country.

Someone talked about smash and grabs, definitely a lot by the stadium sky train and the Spectrum buildings (on top of Costco). I walk by this every weekday, I've lost count of shattered windows I've seen.

 

[Jyrki]

Disagree. Its very much like many of the ****** places ive been. And i did not say slum.

I grew up in the "3rd world"; I'd rather walk around Hastings and Main at 2 AM than be outside at 10 PM in the neighbourhood I lived in.