OT: Why do people hate Vancouver?

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LickTheEnvelope

Time to Retool... again...
Dec 16, 2008
37,985
5,349
Vancouver
One odd example I had is one of my old Uni Profs moved to Vancouver just for the water. Said the tap water was the best he'd found.
 

thefeebster

Registered User
Mar 13, 2009
7,183
1,646
Vancouver
I think we've had this convo before regarding the friendliness of this city. I think the most accurate statement I've heard is that the majority of Vancouverites are polite, but not friendly. There is a distinction. Many are polite in general conversation and interaction, however, there is a level of distrust or isolation when it comes to developing friendships with ppl.

The tap water here is damn good. =D

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I was only in Rome for a day, i very much enjoyed it. I'd actually like to go back for much longer. What didn't you like about it?
 

bo2shink*

Guest
One odd example I had is one of my old Uni Profs moved to Vancouver just for the water. Said the tap water was the best he'd found.

http://www.abbynews.com/news/247583121.html

The neighbourhood of Clearbrook in Abbotsford is well named. Those seeking crystal clear tap water need only to head to South Fraser Way and Clearbrook Road.

The Clearbrook Waterworks District won the title of best tap water in the world at the 24th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting last weekend.

It is the third gold medal for the district.
 

Robongo01

Registered User
May 13, 2013
853
99
Vancouver
a lot of Vancouver amenities are taken for granted.

Then the fact it is surrounded by easily accessible outdoor activities that i love.

The prices suck and the nightlife could definitely improve a lot but there is still lots to do.

This. If you love the outdoors, then Vancouver is an amazing city with the close proximity of so many views, lakes, hiking/biking trails, camping etc. Sure summer is short, but if you love the outdoors the possibilities are endless. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in North America.
 
May 31, 2006
10,456
1,318
This is the type of hilarity this board needs more of.

Sorry if the truth offends you.

People need to take Vancouver for what it is: a mid-sized city with some nice parks and outdoor activities. Crappy nightlife, little in terms of cultural activities, and few economic opportunities. Compared to world class cities, Vancouver is an afterthought. The notion that it's a top-10 city in the world is just preposterous.
 

VanillaCoke

Registered User
Oct 30, 2013
24,976
11,313
So what? The point is there are many great parts encased in one rather compact area.

There definitely are, my point is that there's also many negative parts in that same area.

Many other cities have many of the great parts vancouver does without many of the negatives.

I spend 4-6 months a year in vancouver and it's very enjoyable to visit. Living there full time on the other hand is quite overrated.

Edit. The tap water is ****ing outstanding. Best I've ever had ainec
 
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Blue Suede Shoes

hound dog
May 5, 2012
1,791
0
I think we've had this convo before regarding the friendliness of this city. I think the most accurate statement I've heard is that the majority of Vancouverites are polite, but not friendly. There is a distinction. Many are polite in general conversation and interaction, however, there is a level of distrust or isolation when it comes to developing friendships with ppl.

The tap water here is damn good. =D

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I was only in Rome for a day, i very much enjoyed it. I'd actually like to go back for much longer. What didn't you like about it?

I think the problem is, it's hard to list everything about the place. After all, Rome wasn't billed in a day.
 

VanillaCoke

Registered User
Oct 30, 2013
24,976
11,313
Wow, really? I disagree.

What other large international cities have you been to that had nicer people? For reference, I've been to Bangkok, HK, Tokyo, Amsterdam, London, Frankfurt plus some tourist traps like Cancun, Ibiza, Varadero, etc. I would say that people in Vancouver are definitely more polite than all of those places.
People are polite for sure. Even nice maybe. But they're not happy relaxed friendly people.

I've been all down the west coast and Oregon and Northern California has great ppl.
All major cities west of Montreal, only Toronto was a close worse than vancouver.
Arizona , New Mexico, New York, Miami, Houston, Chicago, Denver, Mexico City, most major cities across Central America.
Only Paris and Barcelona overseas.
 

PM

Glass not 1/2 full
Apr 8, 2014
9,869
1,664
As a half Italian with a very Italian name and a small but passable knowledge of the language I thought I would love Rome and be welcomed by the locals. Nope. Never felt more like every single person was trying to screw me for every possible scrap of money I had. Made it through all the major attractions in a few days and will happily never return to that crap hole.

For whatever reason young people in Alberta and Toronto think its cool to hate Vancouver and that mentality has spread as those people have grown up. They also happen to be very loud obnoxious people so their opinion is heard more than others who would rather keep their thoughts to their self.

I personally love Vancouver but can't come close to affording to live there or even visit there that often. The city has probably the largest percentage of beautiful women north of California.
 

ArtG

Registered User
Feb 9, 2004
2,815
12
Vancouver, BC
Sorry if the truth offends you.

People need to take Vancouver for what it is: a mid-sized city with some nice parks and outdoor activities. Crappy nightlife, little in terms of cultural activities, and few economic opportunities. Compared to world class cities, Vancouver is an afterthought. The notion that it's a top-10 city in the world is just preposterous.
Yep.

Here's a good wiki article on the characteristics of the top global cities:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city#Characteristics

Vancouver is in the 20-30 range of most of the indices. The only lists I've seen Vancouver be in the top 5 of is "most liveable". This is not to say that I dislike living here but there are always tradeoffs and to be willfully blind of them is silly.
 

bo2shink*

Guest
Yep.

Here's a good wiki article on the characteristics of the top global cities:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city#Characteristics

Vancouver is in the 20-30 range of most of the indices. The only lists I've seen Vancouver be in the top 5 of is "most liveable". This is not to say that I dislike living here but there are always tradeoffs and to be willfully blind of them is silly.

Do you actually believe those criteria are what make a city a great place to be and live?
 

Toxic0n

We are all mumps
Dec 10, 2008
1,948
66
Tank nation
People are polite for sure. Even nice maybe. But they're not happy relaxed friendly people.

I've been all down the west coast and Oregon and Northern California has great ppl.
All major cities west of Montreal, only Toronto was a close worse than vancouver.
Arizona , New Mexico, New York, Miami, Houston, Chicago, Denver, Mexico City, most major cities across Central America.
Only Paris and Barcelona overseas.

I haven't been to any of those so I can't disprove it. I would probably accept that generally West Coast cities are more laid back.
However, my girlfriend is from New Mexico and she says you are on crack to even consider the people of that state to be friendly in any way. :laugh: I'm taking her side on this one.
She has also lived in Boulder for a few years... Denver she says is similar to Vancouver in some ways, laid back people being one of them. However, outside of the metropolitan area it's mostly conservative/rude/hicks.


The city has probably the largest percentage of beautiful women north of California.
This is true. Every time I have non-Cali American friends come visit, they are stunned by how fit/good looking most people are. We definitely take this for granted.
 

Hyzer

Jimbo is fired - the good guys won
Aug 10, 2012
4,918
2,106
Vancouver
The problem with Vancouver after living here for my entire life has been that its best traits can be beaten elsewhere while it's rarely the "worst" in any other given criteria. What I mean to say is that anyone coming from elsewhere will easily find something to complain about and feel that the "better" traits the city has to offer are just masking where it falls off. Popular example would be people seeing the downtown eastside and saying "wow, how could it be so expensive to live here? Look at how crummy this street is". That same person will go up Grouse Mountain and say "wow, it's a great view, better than anything in my home city, too bad it's just covering up the drug use". Stanley Park is great, but it has less to offer than Central Park in New York. The summer is mild, but short, and summers in Calgary and Montreal are arguably much better. The city might have lots of outdoor activities, but does it have the hustle and bustle of Toronto?

The biggest problem with Vancouver is that it quickly shot up from small, regional powerhouse to world class city in the span of 20 years. Population has more than doubled since the 80s, especially if you look at connected places like the Fraser Valley which is only "not-Vancouver" as a technicality, in my opinion. Additionally, a big problem is that a lot of the racial diversity is actually very segmented, with certain districts being way more weighted than others and I think that DOES leave to a silent, lighthearted racism that propagates everywhere but hides itself well from tourists.

That being said, I've traveled a decent amount. I'm currently on vacation in the Balkans and I just returned from a weekend trip to Rome. Rome ****ing sucks. I'm sorry but it sucks so much I can't even explain how much of a tourist trap it is. If you think Vancouver is anything near some of the other big "Western" cities in terms of presenting a facade to newcomers, you're just wrong. "Big" cities have their problems and the people in Vancouver aren't used to seeing them in their city yet, but it's far from a rough place and it literally has something to offer anyone. Calgarians are lucky to have their summer blue skies and Stampede, but as soon as winter turns itself in, we all know where we'd rather be.

Little bit off-topic, but I found Rome the same as you. I would never go back, ever. I already went to say I went once. Florence, however, was amazing.
 

Tinhorn1

Registered User
Aug 7, 2007
1,107
321
Wow, really? I disagree.

What other large international cities have you been to that had nicer people? For reference, I've been to Bangkok, HK, Tokyo, Amsterdam, London, Frankfurt plus some tourist traps like Cancun, Ibiza, Varadero, etc. I would say that people in Vancouver are definitely more polite than all of those places.

I agree on the polite, but I also find that we're (I don't claim to be superior) more closed than other maybe more brusque residents of places like New York. Striking up conversations with random Vancouverites can be hard to do, though pleasantries are easy if that's your thing. Service is also the friendliest of any city I've been to, though not as friendly as in small towns and often of the cloying and fake variety. Still, it's nice after you've been buffeted around in Berlin cafes for a while.
 

bo2shink*

Guest
Little bit off-topic, but I found Rome the same as you. I would never go back, ever. I already went to say I went once. Florence, however, was amazing.

I got a ticket over a year after driving in the restricted zone in Florence, but other than that, a great place.
 

SeawaterOnIce

Being invaded again.
Aug 28, 2011
15,407
18,318
RE: The people

People here are nice, and I have heard many European/South American international students claim this. The problem lies in that this city is perhaps a tad too cliquey. It is hard to fit in and find friends here unless you are an attractive bubbly extrovert or have a lingering group of friends from High School. There are avenues that you can take to meet new people, but overall I sort of have to agree. In my experience, I have to say that Quebec City, Montreal and Chicago are perhaps the easiest cities to meet new people.

Also I hear a lot of complaining about the dating scene. Women tend to say guys are either too aggressive or not aggressive enough. Guys say women are too picky. I basically hear a lot of *****ing without anyone taking the initiative, so I cannot agree with this sentiment. :laugh:
 
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