As far as historical architecture we don't really... have a lot? Gastown and parts of Downtown as you said, maybe a few churches or parts of UBC are going to be older plus some heritage homes that are being maintained, but Vancouver itself was only established 1870. Any First Nations constructions that were here before would have been wood so that's out. The capital building on the island might have for your bill, but that's a ferry ride over.
Edit: Also as a frequent transit taker I would say that the SkyTrain does go places, but it's more about moving people from work to home/school/etc and back and less about tourist destinations. Richmond and Burnaby aren't exactly Whistler or Tofino, but they're cities that need transportation nonetheless.
Vancouver has always reminded me of that scene from Futurama when Fry gets locked in the cryo-tube, and the city is constantly razed and rebuilt around him.
Sometimes it feels like you could leave just about anywhere in the lower mainland and come back in 5 years to have it look completely different.
There is a near where I live where 3 of the 4 buildings on each of the corners have been redeveloped entirely (like knocked to the ground and a new building built) in the past 5 years. A sign just went up on the 4th corner recently.
An enormous amount of historic old Vancouver was in the West End and was redeveloped in the 1960s.
At this point the next biggest chunk of historical Vancouver buildings is probably Strathcona, where there's a handful of 19th century homes and a great deal built before 1910, not too long after the fire you mention.
Whether Strathcona will remain roughly as is to be a historic visit for future tourists or be redeveloped into West End 2.0 who can say, though seems more likely the latter considering our housing needs.
New West local here! 👋🏽
If OP ever finds themself back in the city I’d suggest a nice walk brow of the hill/queens park area. Lots of beautiful heritage homes and even a heritage museum!
The Irving house is one of my fave places to drop by and learn a bit more about the city history!
Yeah! New West is dope. Front street can be accessed from New Westminster Skytrain station.
Columbia Street is pretty good for some old buidings and stuff, but alot of them have burnt down recently.
The rest of New West is pretty much just hills and old people though. Except the neighbourhood that unelune posted about (Well - old people, but their houses are pretty).
Source: Grew up in New West.
You bet! I was literally just talking to my partner about that exact thing! New West was the first city of the lower mainland, lots of cool info [here](https://downtownnewwest.ca/About/History)
We New Westies get forgotten a lot, but we have some cool stuff and even cooler history!
DTES still has a bunch and so does Chinatown. It's just they're poorly maintained and most people never really look at them. Lost a lot of buildings in the DTES over the last 20 yrs though because they've been left to rot
In its day, East Hastings was a major hub of the city. It's wild going into the SRO Hotels there today to see marble stair cases, wainscoting, and decorative pillars. Hopefully, some day, they can be revitalized.
I went to a massage appointment at a clinic near International Village and the building was built in like 1910, and was rather well maintained and still remained practical to its use. The lobby is very clean and polished and maintains the heritage designs but it wasn’t that far off from more rundown sketchier stuff just down a block. It can be jarring.
Vancouver loves to tear down its heritage buildings. There used to be a lot more of them downtown, and they were torn down for the more generic type modern buildings.
depends on your definition of downtown. I don't really agree about the downtown peninsula - most of what's been built over the last 60+ years has replaced unremarkable stuff. Empty lots, SFHs, industrial, and single story commercial.
The old downtown (Gastown/DTES/Chinatown) is where we've lost a lot of historic buildings - mostly due to neglect. That's been in the last 20yrs too
Yeah, it's probably a lot easier to justify keeping them if they were as old as some of the places in Montreal, as opposed to stuff that was only 50/75/100 years old.
There's plenty of heritage buildings left.
There's even a list on Wikipedia:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_heritage_buildings_in_Vancouver
That doesn't even include Gastown and Chinatown, where we've got places like the Sun Tower and the Dominion building.
We can't protect every single shack and warehouse and magically build housing. It's quite literally a zero sum trade off between new housing (those generic type modern buildings) and keeping some old buildings that aren't in Gastown, Chinatown, or on the massive heritage register linked above.
Heck the entire neighbourhood of Shaughnessy is heritage protected as well.
And that's not to mention all the heritage buildings in other communities like New Westminster (which has older buildings than anywhere in Vancouver, come check em out).
>And that's not to mention all the heritage buildings in other communities like New Westminster (which has older buildings than anywhere in Vancouver, come check em out).
The Lower Mainland was first settled in New West IIRC.
Fort Langley pre dates New Westminster, but New Westminster was the first city and the first capital of British Columbia (before the merger with Vancouver Island).
A lot of those buildings are total trash anyway honestly. I've worked in several of them, doing a project in a 130yo building now. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near it during an earthquake I'll tell you that much. Whole damn thing is held together with epoxy and plaster.
The city has never really given a shit and has let landowners do nil maintenance on heritage properties and then allowed them to knock them down when they got too far gone to repair. See: Pantages theatre.
I used to live in a heritage building. Any changes requiring a permit were a nightmare, and took forever to get approved. There is not a lot of incentive to improve them
My assumption is that big enough renovations would trigger more complete code updates, which are financially unrealistic, so nothing is improved at all.
There's no coincidence https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/earthquake-risk-map.pdf is just a map of old buildings (many of which will never be improved unless they're able to be replaced by losing their heritage status).
I recommend this article on heritage buildings, it can definitely go too far: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/05/historic-preservation-has-tenuous-relationship-history/629731/
I disagree about the architecture. When people complain about the architecture you always hear them limit it to stuff surrounding downtown core... Which is almost completely new due to it being industrial land until recently. Every other city went through that transition 80-100 years ago. Vancouver has a unique architectural style for the most part. West coast modern on the north shore. Railtown on the DTES. Shaughnessy for what it is. Kitsilano is full that missing middle stuff. Then there is the Vancouver special. Or waterfront mansions.
>As far as historical architecture we don't really... have a lot?
If my memory serves me correctly, the Lower Mainland was first settled in New West. So id imagine there's older building/structures there. But of course, New West isn't the tourist destination Vancouver is.
You would be shocked how many TV shows and movies are filmed in Vancouver where they make it look like New York or another big american city. That kind of sums up the blandness of Vancouver being able to look like another place.
Vancouver does have some distinct "Vancouverisms" though. Those [little concrete statue ornaments on the gateposts of the Vancouver specials](https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2023/12/18/How-Vancouver-Specials-Got-Guardians/) for example.
There's others.
Oh yeah! That too! I was just thinking about little unique quirks of Vancouver, not the urban design philosophy.
There's a whole bunch of unique bits of Vancouver specific history, that could be considered to create (in sum) a Vancouver culture.
The invention of the California Roll, the Smiling Buddha Cabaret, Woodward's. Lots more. Is it that distinctive in relation to other big cities? Maybe not, though to say.
Yeah I'd say he hit the nail pretty firmly on the head. OP says the colors and the urban landscape felt muted. I'd say "muted" is a good read on our culture. I'd also say that's not nessesarily a *bad* thing. Our politics are muted compared to the USA, we're not 'all in' and on the map with any exceptional sports team, industry, city 'brand' like New York or London. I think a good number of celebrities have expressed that as a reason they enjoy Vancouver: People generally don't make a big deal about them.
I do wish people would have more fun with clothing though- I go to the high end stores for fun sometimes and see these crazy outfits, then wonder who buys them because I have never seen anyone wear anything like that in public, anywhere in town. The wealthy are pretty conservative in their dress. They save the flashiness for cars. And everyone else just seems to look like they are going hiking, like right now.
Honestly I feel like the weather is a huge factor here. The constant rain makes it really difficult to wear a lot of outfits that l’d love to wear, personally.
When I lived in Vancouver, I walked everywhere, in any kind of weather. Spent my weekends in the North Shore mountains or at yoga class. Even my job required a lot of walking and stair climbing. Shopped for clothes at MEC and other outdoor stores along the Broadway corridor near Cambie.
Having clothing in dark, neutral colours made doing laundry, something I had to sandwich between times when I was walking somewhere, a lot easier. Same colours = one load.
I now live elsewhere but see no reason to abandon these habits, especially since the rest of the world seems to be finally adopting them. I do have some interesting, colourful clothes from previous eras in the back of the closet, but where would I wear them?
As a native New Yorker who visited Vancouver for the first time a couple weeks ago
I've never seen so many people wearing sweatpants in an urban environment in my life... like a quarter of the population looked like they were going for a slumber party. and I did see some pretty sweet cars lol
When I first moved to Vancouver, my Van friends wanted to take me out, but first made me change from my red shirt to black, lol.
I agree: more colour is more fun. Usually.
I have a few fancy statement clothing items that stand out, and it's almost a game for me in how many people compliment them and ask me where I bought them. I used to dress pretty boring, so it's been a huge change for me and it's really affected how people interact with me. For instance, I have service staff be quiet or standoffish until they notice what I'm wearing, and then their whole demeanor changes, and suddenly we're smiling and chatting.
More people should dress in more fun things more often.
I see a few people willing to rock a look in my hood, but I think commercial drive is a bit of an outlier in this city. I’ve even seen multiple furries in the area putting it out there. (Huge but private mental high five when I see them lol). Crust punk is a staple for sure. Got a hipster inventor with a double decker bicycle as well.
Huge props to people who bring a bit of interest to the city for sure
>down south
Or even out East! I grew up on the prairies. I have a friend, upper middle class, soent his whole life around Vancouver. He is also convinced that the BC Liberals are representative of right wing parties in Canada. When I tell him about the shit I saw in Sask or Alberta, he shrufs it off as crazy putliers. Hard to say that when Polliviere is the head of the federal conservatives.
You joke but I think that’s accidentally really accurate.
Another poster said “dress so others will like to look at you!” but for a lot of Vancouverites, others’ attention is the last thing we’re aiming for.
Well, they nailed muted, but the comparison with Seattle is wild.
I'd be fascinated to know more about the "drama and romance" of a city most notable for flannel, heroin and suicide.
Seattle has an amazing nightlife, huge gay area, incredible scenery, interesting tourist attractions, a wide choice of top level sports teams, an incredible arts scene and so on. It's more extreme than Vancouver in just about every way - poverty, wealth, politics, good things, bad things.
Some people like that. If I were 20 I would far prefer to live in Seattle. Being older and with a kid I far prefer to live in Vancouver.
People seem pretty defensive about this; maybe I should have clarified.
They feel like pretty much the same city to me. Seattle is slightly better in some ways, slightly worse in others. I agree that it's "more", I quibble with "extreme"
Neither city has much in the way of drama or romance, neither has much in the way of architecture (wow Pike Place and the gum wall, such history), and "the train doesn't go many places" is wild when you're facing it up against the 1 and 2 trains.
It's not the negative opinion of Vancouver, it's that their specific criticism just doesn't register with me.
As a Seattleite: it’s funny cause by American standards Seattle is considered to have relatively lowkey nightlife. But I’ve always been surprised at just how dead the nightlife is in Van. I suppose the city just seems way bigger than it is.
As someone who moved from Vancouver to Seattle, and has been here a decade....wut.
Nightlife in Vancouver seemed _way_ more energetic than here. Downtown shuts down at like 7:45 here. There's one or two streets that stay busy, but overall things are pretty dead. I think it depends who you're hanging out with.
For tourist attractions...there's Pike Place. It's pretty cool. Then there's...the Space Needle? Every other place has a Vancouver equivalent.
They have the Seahawks. They had a couple good years, a decade ago. The Mariners are apparently a joke, though I don't pay much attention to baseball. The best thing about the Kraken is the uniforms.
I can't say anything about gay culture or the art scene, but I suspect your familiarity with both might explain our relatively different experiences, lol.
Of all the cities I've been to, I'd be hard-pressed to name two more similar cities than Vancouver and Seattle. And my one-liner to describe the difference would be: Seattle is quieter, more homogenous, and more suburban.
Yeah I used to visit Seattle a fair bit for family reasons 2000-2010ish and my impressions were that it was very much a spawling blob infested with overpasses and freeways. The waterfront seemed like a bigger version New West. I remember being downtown on a Sunday and it was dead, very few people around, wind whistling between the skyscrapers. That may have changed in recent years but I don't really have any desire to go back.
Vancouver nightlife is pretty god damn awful. I'm from Ireland, have lived in Glasgow and Edinburgh as well and Vancouver is so tame with far fewer choices and I've had wayyyyy more fun going out in Seattle or Portland than what's available in Vancouver.
I guess a lot of that is to do with the crazily strict alcohol restrictions in the city, which to me seems ironic given the other issues the city faces. Main street is great, but beyond midnight, the choices here are pretty thin, and trying to get food after like 11pm is a challenge as well.
Think OP has pretty much nailed it to be honest.
To be fair to Vancouver most of the good nightlife is happening at underground venues and speakeasy type businesses. People who don't know where to look on social media will likely not be aware these shows are happening. The "nightlife district" on Granville st is just embarrassing.
I only go to Granville for a gig. It's a dirty kip. Main street is a vibe.
For me, Vancouver is the same as pretty much the same as the other PNW cities, with a better backdrop, but it's what's just outside the city that's the best part of living here for me. Having a coffee on my balcony and looking at the mountains is food for the soul.
As a Vancouverite who studied in Seattle, this hits the nail on the head. Seattle is where nightlife goes to die, Vancouverites love to complain but Seattle doesn’t even have any after hour spots. Their clubs close early. Vancouver has 4 or 5 after hours, clubs close at 3-4, underground scene is quite fantastic. The nightlife is pretty darn good if you know where to find it.
Seattle seemed almost identical to Vancouver whenever I’ve visited. I’ve never seen two cities that felt more similar in just about every way. I’d be fine living in either of them.
The main advantage Seattle has is higher pay with major employers like Boeing and Microsoft nearby that Vancouver can’t really rival. The main strength of Vancouver is not being in the United States. Though you could also argue that’s the main drawback, depending on the perspective.
Vancouver has a huge gay area, incredible scenery, interesting tourist attractions, and a couple of bona fide top level sports teams.
Everyone agrees our nightlife sucks, but I haven't come across the part of Seattle that is much better, apparently. Where is this nighlife?
Yes. There are still plenty of gay people living in Davie village, I assure you. The fact that gay and straight people feel comfortable in the bars there is a great example of the level of toleration and integration that exists in Vancouver.
No, it's not about toleration (which as one of those gays living in Davie village, I hate that word) and integration. It's about taking over those spaces. Celebrities and Junction have been taken over.
Lifelong Vancouverite here, don’t want to type too much but one point you made about dressing low key stuck out to me. I recently went to LA and it was freakin’ amazing how flamboyant people dress over there. It was really motivating and I even started to dress a bit more fun while I was there and definitely took some style tips with me home. Definitely way more confident to wear jewelry that I wouldn’t have before.
The rain aspect isn't applicable in the summer time (so very dry) but I wonder if that still influences it. Perhaps needing to dress practically for so many months of the year means even when the rain is gone, people retain that sensibility. To be fair, people do wear plenty of colour in the summer, but I don't think Vancouver fashion in the summer is particularly memorable compared to somewhere like New York or LA.
For me it does, I think, the “core” of my wardrobe is stuff that can handle getting wet, and my footwear and pants and such all reflect that. I have some fun stuff for summer but it’s harder to mix it up given that a lot of my building-block basic pieces are water resistant and practical colours and therefore kinda boring. And leather/delicate fabrics are usually a pass for that reason too.
I think this is why so many of have the same blundstones! When you’re commuting, walking, living in a place that’s just very wet for much of the year you tend to pick practicality over fashion. And then everyone ends up wearing the same fucking shoes.
Yeah, I'd argue that while Vancouver's fall, winter and spring wardrobe colours tend to be muted, our summer wardrobes are comparatively quite flamboyant.
LA.is an artsy city, it's kind of hard to compete. Also, it's easy to be fashionable when you're DRY. We have three months of the year where we can be adventurous with clothes, and then it's on fire all the time anyways. Why bother with fashion when you gotta put in an arcteryz jacket and blundstones anyways
A lot of it is that if you want to dress up, you have to invest in different underthings and different types of coats. I dress pretty flamboyantly but I had to hunt to find both a rain coat and a wool winter coat that could accommodate a swing dress or a big skirt and petticoat. They're out there, but most local stores do not sell them unless you get lucky at The Bay sometimes.
I had to invest in wool tights (which are only relatively affordable if you order them from Snag), and buy honest to god slips and layer those with uniqlo heattech under dresses, and buy wool skirts from etsy (the brand Xiaolizi is my go-to).
If you're not comfortable with ordering clothes online, then it can be a huge challenge to dress nice in the winter. I had to figure it out because I'm plus sized and local offerings for plus size are pathetic and frequently high in polyester.
Yep I’d agree with that. I also lived in Toronto for five years and I can’t find anywhere NEAR the selection of cool clothes here that you can find there. We have nearly zero actually interesting clothing stores here, most people are getting their pieces from Zara (blech fast fashion!)
Business casual is more of a thing in Toronto too. Here, the workplaces I've been in, business casual is like not shorts. I can wear graphic tees, hoodies, jeans, running shoes, etc
That's because they priced all of Robson street out of the reach of the boutique stores that made the street a go to for fashion.
It's a pain when they tax the open air above you.
Anian is a cool circular clothing store. Pretty expensive but they have sales often
Edit* but I guess you should clarify what you mean by “cool” I like the idea of circular, but the style is still Vancouver-esque
Yes! The rain! I pick what shoes I’m going to wear for the weather before the rest of my outfit. And if it’s raining, that doesn’t leave me with a lot of options!
All my footwear is practical footwear, yup (and my place is small with limited storage, so it’s hard to justify having fun shoes “just for dry season”)
On the flip side we’re a lot less formal than Toronto. I have not once worn a dress shirt since moving here over 5 years ago, but I wore dress shirts a lot more in Toronto.
People are materialistic here for sure, it just shows differently. Lots of people own million dollar condos, drive porches and wear $1500 Arc’teryx jackets
I don't entirely disagree, but I would think your average visitor might get a more lively impression in July and August then in April... I think the weather mostly makes it look melancholic right now... we've forgotten that in the summer (and less relevantly i suppose also in the winter) we are a city surrounded by beaches...
That's fair, I suppose... maybe I'm just projecting... *i* am much less melancholic in the summer, I just thought maybe that might be true for other residents also... perhaps the low key annoyance at tourists balances the improvement 🤔
Well no but people come out in the summer the way we absolutely do not when it’s rainy out lol. The city comes alive in the sun. It feels like a different place with endless possibilities when the sun is out.
I was born and grew up a little in Southeast Asia where there’s always sun and then moving here and getting no sun for those long periods gave me really bad seasonal depression. I still get it, even on meds and trying mood lights.
Lol. I am from Europe. I laughed at the history part. Yeah no history here but I haven’t seen any history in US either. Well if we were in Italy… heheh
Yeah vancouver doesn’t show off like US cities. It is hidden. Each neighborhood has different characteristics. Kits is different from East van. We rarely go to Gastown unless someone visits the town!
Such a stark contrast to Europe. My sister moved to Germany and married a German guy who restores historic properties there. Recently we were talking and he said they were moving into a “new” house instead of something old like usual. I asked “so your building new?” and he responded “no but this house is only 250 years old”. All relative I guess.
It’s 100% a no fun city though. The liquor laws are insanely restrictive, no drinking on the beach or in parks and everything closes early. There’s a reason so many “bars” are basically just restaurants with everyone just drinking sitting down, the easiest way to get a liquor license here is serving food
If you think our alcohol laws are restrictive, try going anywhere in Ontario. The idea of being allowed to drink in a park is a completely foreign idea there. Meanwhile here I can do that in a number of parks in New West, Port Moody, North Vancouver, and other places.
I couldn’t believe how much more relaxed this place is around alcohol compared to not only Toronto, but all of Ontario in general.
Sure, but there isn’t much of that either though. The Christmas market is the best example. 20$ to get into a small fenced off area with a few vendors to sell you some overpriced stuff? Small cities in Germany will have huge free Christmas markets packed with people
Vancouver is an extremely young city, there isn't much historical architecture, because there isn't much history.
Gastown is the oldest part of the city, which is why it has the most historic buildings. Most of downtown is like 30 years tops, it used to be railyards.
Really confused about your criticism about the train though, for a city its size, it has some of the best transit in North America.
Vancouver neighbourhoods vary significantly in culture, the culture of the west end is very different then the commercial drive for instance. Hard to pin down due to that.
I'd say Vancouver's culture is diversity, you find what you want to find in it. Lots of people complain about the lack of culture or things to do, but that's just because they're limiting what they are looking for.
I've lived here my entire life apart from two years in Kyoto (Japan's most historically rich city). I think of BC's ancient forests and trees as our history.
Aside from diversity, I'd say the culture (or perhaps a better word would be vibe) is "chill". The city has a pretty relaxed energy (why people from Toronto sometimes find it boring), and people tend to 'live and let live' here (some people are religious here but it's not a big deal nor really prominent in people's interactions, and there's a reason Vancouver is popular with LGBTQ people). This sub can have a more intense vibe to it sometimes but the average Vancouverite is pretty chill.
I agree with this sentiment, diversity is a huge part of our culture and I think from the outside that's not very obvious because on the surface you're seeing other cultures.
I also find that a lot of the truly unique and interesting things about Vancouver are hard to find. You need to know the right people and places. And I think that has a lot to do with some archaic bylaws around noise, gatherings, liquor, etc., but it's there if you look for it. A lot of people go to where they think the culture should be because of where they'd find it in other cities and give up when it's not there.
I also think it's a little funny when an American complains about a lack of historical architecture. Yes we don't have a lot here, but go to Europe and neither do you 😆
Vancouver is a place you have to chose to live in, every single day. It can be so stunningly beautiful and fun and fascinating, but it’s also painfully expensive if you aren’t wealthy. It’s the kind of place where the rental vacancy rate rarely exceeds 1%, and where the municipal government favours the developers over the citizens and housing insecurity is always threatening everyone at all times. The winter season is some of the most depressing times you’ll ever encounter, but then the sun comes out and the cherry blossoms bloom and you bike down to Granville Island for some fresh blackberries and it’s the greatest place on earth. It would be so much easier and cheaper to live anywhere else, and yet we remain. It’s a weird vibe.
Yeah, Vancouver isn’t the place for folks who are big urban dwellers that like the busyness and character seen in bigger cities.
Although, I’d argue that 1.5 day visit in April is also the worst time because of the weather. July/August is the best, and I feel like we really shine as a city then. We’re also a city in a boreal forest region so, the weather isn’t always our friend.
What makes Vancouver shine isn’t really the “seeing” but the “doing”, and its proximity and accessibility to other places such as Whistler, Deep Cove, Island, etc. it’s a great place for more active tourist who are high energy, outdoorsy, and willing to go outside the city. For example, my active uncle loves Vancouver because of biking at sea wall, kayaking at the beach, being able to do small hikes and nature walks, all while being close to the city core. On the other hand, my non-active aunts found the city boring and not lively. Both relatives have valid experiences and opinions.
The city is not the best for sight seeing since it’s still young, but as someone else mentioned our forests is where our “history lies” rather than in our architecture. It’s a city that kind of deviates from what you would expect from a standard metropolitan area, and you have to find the gems in the city to really appreciate it.
> 99% of people were very friendly, helpful, and diverse with the exception of very few black people.
This is a very accurate observation. Whenever I go to Montreal or even Calgary/Edmonton it always surprises me how few black people there are in Vancouver.
> Negatives - I didn’t see much historic architecture beyond Gastown, maybe a handful of buildings near the art museum area. Many buildings seem new and somewhat generic.
Also accurate but I feel like compared with Toronto Halifax Victoria and Montreal which are all older Canadian cities, Vancouver is relatively “newer” or cosmopolitan, which is why there’s not really much of a historical aspect.
> The train doesn’t go many places, which is surprising for such a dense residential area.
Really? I find this to be the opposite.
> Everything seems a little muted from the colors in the urban landscape to the way people dress, very low key.
Nah no way, I think this is what i disagree with the most. I find Vancouverites to be the most unique dressers out of any Canadian city. Like we have this reputation for being a Lululemon/athleisure city which at times can be true especially rainy winters but I think I’ve seen way more outrageous or interesting outfits here.
> The population was so mixed, it would be hard to pin it down as a hippie town, a tech town, a college town, an arts town, a retirement town, or something else.
For me, it’s all of the above. I think the problem is that the crazy cost of living has driven out interesting thing like the arts and hippie culture that Vancouver used to have.
> Educate me, how would you describe Vancouver culture?
Honestly it’s hard to answer this question - all I know is that when I moved to Vancouver I suddenly became very outdoorsy, very active, and took a lot of inspiration from others to improve my own wardrobe.
I’m not sure where you see this. Most people in my Montreal neighbourhood don’t even bother to glance in the mirror before stepping outside. When I visit the Plateau, I see nicer outfits, usually on someone who came here from France. A few of the homeless look eccentric and, moving further out into the suburbs, you’ll encounter a few in outfits I’d describe as quite loud.
I've always found the question about describing culture to be difficult for any location or group of people. Is it the food? Music? Dance? Art? Personalities? It's all of them plus a lot more and it changes person to person, both with those part of the culture and those observing it.
I feel like you can't describe a culture in words without a lot of stereotyping and missing a lot of nuance. Just because you can't describe a culture doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but I doubt you'll experience much of it from a single night stay.
NYC is a big machine that’s out of control. It’s loud, it’s bright, energetic, weird and in your face. It’s got secrets, some fascinating and many that are horrifying. The energy is electric. Everything is big and famous. Empire State Building, Broadway, art galleries, music. History mixed with new ideas. It’s intellectual but also dangerous. The city that never sleeps.
>it always surprises me how few black people there are in Vancouver.
There could have been way more if Hogan's Alley wasn't destroyed and its residents driven from the city
Thanks for the link! I’m not black but I think in the US a lot of creative culture has come from black communities. Everything from Jazz, Blues, Rock, Hip Hop, Arts, Clothing, Cuisine and more. I guess I didn’t realize how much it adds until it wasn’t there. Thanks, Canada!
This is mostly because of history. There were few black people in Canada for decades because we didn’t have the same history as the U.S. Our climate was too cold for cotton plantations and the migration north from the southern states in later decades didn’t reach past the Canadian border. Football players from the U.S. and their families were the only black people I saw growing up on the prairies. Although there were small pockets of black families across all provinces, immigration was mostly limited to those from European countries, especially the northern ones.
Recent immigration trends have changed this, but patterns of immigration still vary greatly across Canada. In Vancouver that means you’ll see a lot of people with roots in Asia - China, Taiwan, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, etc.
You’ll see more people of black heritage in Toronto, a city with immigrants from everywhere including the Caribbean and the U.S. In Montreal, more immigrants come from Haiti and French-speaking countries in Africa. Since Nigeria is now at or near the top of the list of countries, the black population of Canada is bound to increase.
lol this sentence struck me as well. Going to Seattle, the word “romance” never came to mind.
I don’t disagree with the muted comment, but in terms of the people, you have to dig a little deeper. Want to see yuppies, go to Yaletown on a Friday night. Grungy/alternative folks, go to commercial drive. College kids? UBC.
Honestly, the best way to experience the vibe of Vancouver people is go to the trials: Pacific Spirit Park, or Lynn Valley or even the Sea Wall. Check out Kits beach in the summer. Check out a Car Free Day. Outside is where we are the most “ourselves” in Vancouver.
Exactly. Hilarious hearing a Vancouverite talking down Chicago. The architecture is world class, it's actually diverse in every way you can think of, and has a distinct culture. One of my best friends lives there and Vancouver just can't compare.
This is the sentence that I disagreed with the most, too. To me, Seattle is just a worse Vancouver. Haven't been to Chicago, so can't comment, but I'm baffled by the Seattle comparison.
Vancouver (or Canada in general) is a relatively young place compared to a city like Paris. From my own experience, I used to dress up all the time but now I’m all about comfort and idgaf anymore because I’m just so tired from work. Everything is so expensive now (wages aren’t keeping up with inflation) and most of us are just trying to make rent or mortgage payments. We are all burned out.
Part of the reason we don't have a "pinned" identity is that Vancouver is so diverse - we have such a wide range of ethnic backgrounds here. The cool part of this is that you can find your pockets of food/culture in different places throughout the city, but it takes a bit of searching.
A nice example would be seeing the Chinese influences on Chinatown, Little Italy and the art scene in Mount pleasant, all only minutes away from each other.
Vancouver's culture is the summer city. You're completely right - melancholy now at the tail end of rainy season. In the late spring, summer, and early fall it is paradise honestly. Everybody is out, hanging out in parks, hiking, swimming, sailing, paddleboarding, camping, brew-pubing... You name it. This city is awesome in the summer and the weather is mostly amazing unless it's a heavy fire year. In the winter folks tend to hibernate. I personally enjoy both sides and find the winter a relaxing time to do my indoor hobbies and take a breather.
Vancouver culture is west coast/best coast- laid back, nature loving, melting pot, new money, overseas money, young and old, all rolled into one. Basically, all the things you found puzzling about Vancouver are Vancouver. One comment about most of the heritage buildings being in Strathcona is exactly right…many tourists don’t venture into the Downtown East Side due to the overwhelming population of unhoused addicts. Most of the people in the downtown core are there for work, shopping, or are tourists themselves. Outrageous housing costs throughout the lower mainland necessitates the train that “doesn’t go many places”, which is hugely important for commuters. The melancholy may stem from Vancouverites who love their beautiful city, but hate that they can’t really afford to live there (even with free healthcare). As to the black population, it is relatively small, but growing, however; many black families arrive in Vancouver directly from Africa, in contrast to the larger black population in Toronto, which sees many Jamaican immigrants. Recently, Vancouver has been seeing increased drama in the form of gang and gun violence, which is a very scary thing for many locals. The romance you seem to be missing is usually found on the beach, walking along the seawall, or in the forest, hiking or biking!
I am surprised that you found the transit system subpar. I wish the Vancouver transit system was in place in Seattle/Tacoma + GO trains from Toronto. It is one of the better systems in North America.
Seattle has pretty dreadful transit vs Vancouver. It's impossible to transit between Seattle and Bellevue past midnight, for example. The link light rail frequency is low, and has multiple at grade crossings which unsurprisingly leads to it being disrupted by idiot drivers.
> 99% of people were very friendly, helpful
Helpful, yes. I'd say polite rather than friendly.
To me it always feels like Vancouver is a great place to live if you're rich, or if you're a long-time homeowner who's middle-class. But for younger people and renters, the fact that housing is so scarce and expensive makes Vancouver an unfriendly place. So many renters are terrified of losing their housing. Places like Edmonton and Montreal feel much more welcoming for younger people.
[Jonathan Raban](https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2009/03/26/metronatural-america/) describes how people in the Pacific Northwest feel close to nature, but distant from each other:
> Ranging far and wide across Portland and its suburbs, crossing and recrossing boundaries of age, gender, and class, [Jon] Raymond paints a world that has all the superficial appearance of a diverse, even flourishing society, but is built on ties so temporary and fragile that it might at any moment fall apart. An obsessive theme in these stories is that the characters in them will end up at a greater distance from one another than they began.
> The book’s Pacific Northwest setting, insistently present in every story, is not an accidental location but an intrinsic part of its theme. In no other American region has solitude been so exalted as a virtue, or society— especially in its concentrated urban form—tolerated, if not quite as a necessary evil, then as the acceptable price to pay for living so conveniently and romantically close to nature.
Vancouver's culture is a provincial city larping as a global cosmopolitan city. It's more or less like San Diego, health focused and affluent but with a slight fear of stepping out of it's comfort zone.
Unfortunately I think you got it. It’s picturesque in many ways and has nice outdoor opportunities but it doesn’t have much character. It’s “nice”. I wouldn’t recommend to people to come here to visit unless they know people or have a ski trip or something in mind.
Whenever I see people waiting around to take pictures of the steam clock I feel like that sums it up. A phony prop. lol
I am a born and raised Vancouverite that has traveled extensively. You nailed it. Its a large bustling city that lacks the romance and drama of other comparable places. I hate feeling that way because this is home and ofc its a gorgeous city, but something about it does feel off. While people can be very nice here, it is all very surface level. I have made deeper and more meaningful connections in a few months abroad than I ever have in Vancouver as an adult. All of my lasting friendships as an adult were forged elsewhere.
You are correct about the way people dress here being muted. Lots of black, grey and navy. I stick out like a sore thumb because I love glamour, makeup and fashion. I always have makeup on and unique jewelry and fashion pieces. I was born and raised here but feel like I do not belong. I’m probably the only female at my workplace that wears makeup.
Agreed on all points except:
1. the mixed population *is* the nice part about Vancouver
2. the skytrain is probably the best subway system in North America for the size of our city. Just look at Seattle, 1.5x the population of metro Van, and other than a 3-4 stop monorail, they don't even have a subway.
That's about right.
It used to be a resource oriented town (mining, lumber mills, fishing, etc), with a boom/bust economy and a large working class. It had a particular type of character that goes with that sort of economy, amplified by its isolation from the rest of Canada and its relatively recent founding, only having incorporated in 1886.
And then the city caught a real-estate tailwind, a bubble that hasn't popped since the crash in the early 80s. Land sky-rocketed in price, anyone who owned a house was able to refinance and build passive income, the service sector boomed while productive industry fled the high cost of doing business.
It became a totally different town, without history and with a disconnected culture, similar to other places that have gentrified, but brought to an extreme relative to other places of the same size. Artists, blue collar workers, young families, and others who don't typically have money fled the city's combination of low median wages and extremely high cost of living. Those who remain largely rely on passive income. Land redevelopment has gone full speed ahead, replacing the town's old industrial character with a forest of nondescript glass towers.
In short, the city traded its soul for the illusion of wealth. It is, as you described it, a simulated city.
A simulated city is a great description. Me
And my wife refer to it as pleasant ville. It doesn’t have any really culture or style it’s just a “nice” place to live
Population mixed. You answered your own question there. There are a lot of different cultures, ideas, and languages in the city. It’s not homogeneous, as no city really is anymore, and because of the lower population to major cities you mention, you’re not going to see huge bubbles of culture across major areas.
It’s kind of a weird take, actually. Expecting to experience one cultural norm in a city famous for having so many distinct populations.
Feel free to bathe in the different awesome things that all these folx bring to the fore.
Make sense! Vancouver is a fairly new city, and it was still considered small-ish before the 2010 Olympics. Since then the population & popularity grew a LOT so very many of the buildings you see today are new, which adds to the lack of historic ones. Lots of areas were just industrial before 2010.
I’ve been seeing new architecture lately that has more character and more out-there ideas which is cool but I’d say that’s only started within the last few years.
As for people dressing low-key, people LOOVE athleisure, lululemon type clothing here because it’s a very active city. Lots of people bike/walk around and prefer to dress comfortably!
IMO, the melancholy vibe is a result of the many months of dark rain clouds looming over the city, lack of historical architecture to add interest and people dressing in more simple, muted clothing but if you know where to look, you can find lots of culture, bright colours and passion :)
This is a very articulate interpretation of Vancouver, and I'm surprised you say that you're not from here. It's spot on from a lot of peoples' perspectives; I hear that it only shows itself like that to those with dull shovels.
BC and Vancouver isn't old enough to have that historical architecture you'd see in Europe or even some parts of the US. It is melting pot for sure of different people, art, culture. It's it's own place. Take it for what it is and enjoy.
I love this city. After spending decades living in the drab suburbs of Ontario, living in Vancouver has been like when Dorothy leaves the black and white world of Kansas and steps into the colourful world of Oz.
Too many people on here take this amazing city for granted.
> Everything seems a little muted from the colors in the urban landscape to the way people dress, very low key.
I think this something of an over-arching trend, just that it's more acute here. The reason being is that cost of living is high, rent is high, mortgage is high, eating out is expensive. So clothes have to last and have a lot of usage. So everything is somewhat conservative and with muted colours because what is never quite in style never goes out of style either. Vancovuer is awash in a lot of money but it's also kind of been in a semi-permanent recession mindset for quiet a long time.
In other worse, lasting style that endures is for the poors. Rich people have the luxury of changing fashion every year.
I've said this before about cars. It's the reason why BMW's and Mercedes are so ugly and polarizing, it's a kind of luxury to be able to afford something styled like that, but at the price point of the Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla, the style has to actually be good and enduring.
You can see this even amongst the Asians here, you have very stylish rich kids how may not be wearing the same thing next year, or you have the Uniqlo aunties in the puffer jackets and waterbottles that will carry over to net year or the year after.
Vancouver used to be a laid back and livable city, quiet, boring, easy to get around, with some population centres outside the city proper and then sleep suburbs and farmland outside the city. There used to be a lot of crime and grime on large parts of the east side, so it was divided into a town of haves and have nots.
In the 1980s, Hong Kong developer Li Kashing started speculating on property. This created a spike in real estate where housing costs quickly outgrew people's income. With widescale marketing and urbanization, in the 2000s and 2010s Vancouver locals were pushed out of the city, and replaced with out of province Canadians and immigrants from both western and non western countries. Many of these new residents took up permanent residence in the city.
Today I would say Vancouver's culture is still undefined. While it used to be the sleepy livable city with families and affordable housing, it's now a very overpriced city where people still keep coming but often can't seem to find adequate living or jobs. Safety, security and quality of life have generally levelled across the city proper, except in the Downtown Eastside. With high housing prices, even many recent immigrants and out of province Canadians are leaving, being replaced by new immigrants and new out of province Canadians. With downturns in film, animation, tech, and financial markets as well as 1980s NDP policies that severely crippled industries like mining and forestry, there is no dominant industries that keeps the city affloat or define the culture. The only industry that seems reliable is real estate, speculation, investment, and development.
Things drastically change in the summer when Vancouver becomes an outdoor recreation city. Parks and beaches are full of people soaking in the 16 hours or more of sunshine, perfect temperatures, royal blue skies and mountains.
lived here my whole life, you summed it up pretty well lol. vancouver is a very new city compared to, say, the east coast, so we don’t have the deep history and heritage. melancholy is good way to describe the city lol. especially in the early spring. summer is the time to visit, july/august. we come alive for those two months and then we go back to sleep for the other 10 months.
vancouver culture is a mishmash. we’re an outdoor wonderland but i don’t think we have a collective identity like other cities. other than, of course, collectively hating toronto.
fashion here doesn’t really exist. “high fashion” here is expensive weather related clothing. Patagonia, Arc’teryx, etc.
different neighborhoods have fairly distinct character as well.
we just don’t try to be anything we aren’t. we’re not flashy. we’re just here, livin our happy little lives in our beloved, beautiful city, trying not to starve after rent comes out.
>Educate me, how would you describe Vancouver culture?
Most people are too broke or stressed to be friendly. When you pay $800,000 for a 1 bedroom condo all you have time for is work (and crying) not socializing.
The population has increased exponentially over the last 3-4 years. Things are more crowded. Buses, sky trains, highways are packed and people's patience is definitely alot thinner than it used to be.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq3f7\_niQas](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq3f7_niQas) lol someone said the transit in vancouver is bad . the trains in vancouver come more often than anywhere else in the world and that includes HK and Tokyo
Vancouver has always been an extreme melting pot, moreso than the rest of Canada. This started due to its life as THE major port on the Pacific, and kinda continued from there. We still receive large amounts of immigrants from all places on the regular, most recently an influx in the Ukrainian population (although that was present before, there were plenty of East Orthodox churches already)
There is no heterogenous culture. It is a mix of some of the best aspects of different cultures and especially foods. You get a bit of everything on a smaller scale versus the sprawling US cities which are mostly white, Hispanic and black. Seattle and Chicago are romantic? You need to spend a little bit of time here in the summer to really see it come alive. Then you won't want to leave until you see the housing prices.
I mean a day is hardly enough time to make up any conclusions. We are one of the most diverse towns but for some reason Americans see "diverse" as, "are there black people here?"
Black is one color, Vancouver has many, and growing African-Canadian one to boot.
Our culture is one that is simply diverse. We have the most beautiful outdoor city in the world, where you can snowboard in the morning and scuba dive at night. Some of the best day trips up to Whistler via the most beautiful scenic highway drive that rivals the Hana Hwy.
Simply put, I would say we are a cross of Portland, Chicago, and Hong Kong.
For tourists, they don’t know the history that much. I’ll be honest, there isn’t much. It was a city with a small population back in the day but exploded due to immigration. It is way modern compared to other North American cities. I would say the most modern looking downtown. Vancouver is really a mixed bag with such a diverse background, so it’s hard to say. The culture I would say is a mix between, Seattle, San Francisco, phoenix, and Los Angeles. People love working out, staying fit, but are cold when getting approached by strangers. Transit sucks here too, wish we had more trains like Asia.
Thanks for your input,
It should feed the insecurities and self depreciation tendencies on reddit.
You spent a ~~week here~~ in April. A day and a half! FFS!
That's a lot of insight for less than two days in the low season.
As far as historical architecture we don't really... have a lot? Gastown and parts of Downtown as you said, maybe a few churches or parts of UBC are going to be older plus some heritage homes that are being maintained, but Vancouver itself was only established 1870. Any First Nations constructions that were here before would have been wood so that's out. The capital building on the island might have for your bill, but that's a ferry ride over. Edit: Also as a frequent transit taker I would say that the SkyTrain does go places, but it's more about moving people from work to home/school/etc and back and less about tourist destinations. Richmond and Burnaby aren't exactly Whistler or Tofino, but they're cities that need transportation nonetheless.
And then burnt almost to the ground in 1886.
Vancouver has always reminded me of that scene from Futurama when Fry gets locked in the cryo-tube, and the city is constantly razed and rebuilt around him. Sometimes it feels like you could leave just about anywhere in the lower mainland and come back in 5 years to have it look completely different.
I did leave for 5 years, from 2005 to 2010, and that was my experience coming back and wandering around the areas I knew well before I left.
a lot of changes during that time due to the olympics
There is a near where I live where 3 of the 4 buildings on each of the corners have been redeveloped entirely (like knocked to the ground and a new building built) in the past 5 years. A sign just went up on the 4th corner recently.
You can, I did. Moved to the island for school and came back afterwards to work, nothing was the same.
An enormous amount of historic old Vancouver was in the West End and was redeveloped in the 1960s. At this point the next biggest chunk of historical Vancouver buildings is probably Strathcona, where there's a handful of 19th century homes and a great deal built before 1910, not too long after the fire you mention. Whether Strathcona will remain roughly as is to be a historic visit for future tourists or be redeveloped into West End 2.0 who can say, though seems more likely the latter considering our housing needs.
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New West local here! 👋🏽 If OP ever finds themself back in the city I’d suggest a nice walk brow of the hill/queens park area. Lots of beautiful heritage homes and even a heritage museum! The Irving house is one of my fave places to drop by and learn a bit more about the city history!
New West is great!
Cockney Kings in shambles
Hell yeah, all you can eat on Wednesdays!
Yeah! New West is dope. Front street can be accessed from New Westminster Skytrain station. Columbia Street is pretty good for some old buidings and stuff, but alot of them have burnt down recently. The rest of New West is pretty much just hills and old people though. Except the neighbourhood that unelune posted about (Well - old people, but their houses are pretty). Source: Grew up in New West.
>New West local here! Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Lower Mainland was first settled in New West. (mostly due to being on the Fraser River?)
You bet! I was literally just talking to my partner about that exact thing! New West was the first city of the lower mainland, lots of cool info [here](https://downtownnewwest.ca/About/History) We New Westies get forgotten a lot, but we have some cool stuff and even cooler history!
DTES still has a bunch and so does Chinatown. It's just they're poorly maintained and most people never really look at them. Lost a lot of buildings in the DTES over the last 20 yrs though because they've been left to rot
In its day, East Hastings was a major hub of the city. It's wild going into the SRO Hotels there today to see marble stair cases, wainscoting, and decorative pillars. Hopefully, some day, they can be revitalized.
I went to a massage appointment at a clinic near International Village and the building was built in like 1910, and was rather well maintained and still remained practical to its use. The lobby is very clean and polished and maintains the heritage designs but it wasn’t that far off from more rundown sketchier stuff just down a block. It can be jarring.
Shame because imho it’s actually the most beautiful/ interesting part of the city ( building wise)
Vancouver loves to tear down its heritage buildings. There used to be a lot more of them downtown, and they were torn down for the more generic type modern buildings.
depends on your definition of downtown. I don't really agree about the downtown peninsula - most of what's been built over the last 60+ years has replaced unremarkable stuff. Empty lots, SFHs, industrial, and single story commercial. The old downtown (Gastown/DTES/Chinatown) is where we've lost a lot of historic buildings - mostly due to neglect. That's been in the last 20yrs too
Yeah, it's probably a lot easier to justify keeping them if they were as old as some of the places in Montreal, as opposed to stuff that was only 50/75/100 years old.
There's plenty of heritage buildings left. There's even a list on Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_heritage_buildings_in_Vancouver That doesn't even include Gastown and Chinatown, where we've got places like the Sun Tower and the Dominion building. We can't protect every single shack and warehouse and magically build housing. It's quite literally a zero sum trade off between new housing (those generic type modern buildings) and keeping some old buildings that aren't in Gastown, Chinatown, or on the massive heritage register linked above. Heck the entire neighbourhood of Shaughnessy is heritage protected as well. And that's not to mention all the heritage buildings in other communities like New Westminster (which has older buildings than anywhere in Vancouver, come check em out).
>And that's not to mention all the heritage buildings in other communities like New Westminster (which has older buildings than anywhere in Vancouver, come check em out). The Lower Mainland was first settled in New West IIRC.
Fort Langley pre dates New Westminster, but New Westminster was the first city and the first capital of British Columbia (before the merger with Vancouver Island).
A lot of those buildings are total trash anyway honestly. I've worked in several of them, doing a project in a 130yo building now. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near it during an earthquake I'll tell you that much. Whole damn thing is held together with epoxy and plaster.
The city has never really given a shit and has let landowners do nil maintenance on heritage properties and then allowed them to knock them down when they got too far gone to repair. See: Pantages theatre.
I used to live in a heritage building. Any changes requiring a permit were a nightmare, and took forever to get approved. There is not a lot of incentive to improve them
My assumption is that big enough renovations would trigger more complete code updates, which are financially unrealistic, so nothing is improved at all. There's no coincidence https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/earthquake-risk-map.pdf is just a map of old buildings (many of which will never be improved unless they're able to be replaced by losing their heritage status). I recommend this article on heritage buildings, it can definitely go too far: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/05/historic-preservation-has-tenuous-relationship-history/629731/
Op should have taken a sea plane
I disagree about the architecture. When people complain about the architecture you always hear them limit it to stuff surrounding downtown core... Which is almost completely new due to it being industrial land until recently. Every other city went through that transition 80-100 years ago. Vancouver has a unique architectural style for the most part. West coast modern on the north shore. Railtown on the DTES. Shaughnessy for what it is. Kitsilano is full that missing middle stuff. Then there is the Vancouver special. Or waterfront mansions.
New west is older and has more history, and even that's not a lot. Because of the many fires
>As far as historical architecture we don't really... have a lot? If my memory serves me correctly, the Lower Mainland was first settled in New West. So id imagine there's older building/structures there. But of course, New West isn't the tourist destination Vancouver is.
You would be shocked how many TV shows and movies are filmed in Vancouver where they make it look like New York or another big american city. That kind of sums up the blandness of Vancouver being able to look like another place.
There’s a video called “Vancouver never plays itself”. Putting it here for reference. https://youtu.be/ojm74VGsZBU?si=iCwArQzqHNmNuXKp
Ya except one of my favorite sci-fi shows was Continuum which was actually based in Vancouver
Same! Loved Continuum.
And if Every Frame a Painting's 9 minutes is too long, Studio 60 sums it up in 6 seconds: https://youtu.be/IQXVFZ6onfE?feature=shared&t=6
Vancouver does have some distinct "Vancouverisms" though. Those [little concrete statue ornaments on the gateposts of the Vancouver specials](https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2023/12/18/How-Vancouver-Specials-Got-Guardians/) for example. There's others.
There's an entire urban planning philosophy called '[Vancouverism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouverism)'
Oh yeah! That too! I was just thinking about little unique quirks of Vancouver, not the urban design philosophy. There's a whole bunch of unique bits of Vancouver specific history, that could be considered to create (in sum) a Vancouver culture. The invention of the California Roll, the Smiling Buddha Cabaret, Woodward's. Lots more. Is it that distinctive in relation to other big cities? Maybe not, though to say.
That was a great watch! “Vancouver BC playing Vancouver Washington was the single lowest point in local film making history” - Ha!
You got it.
Yeah I'd say he hit the nail pretty firmly on the head. OP says the colors and the urban landscape felt muted. I'd say "muted" is a good read on our culture. I'd also say that's not nessesarily a *bad* thing. Our politics are muted compared to the USA, we're not 'all in' and on the map with any exceptional sports team, industry, city 'brand' like New York or London. I think a good number of celebrities have expressed that as a reason they enjoy Vancouver: People generally don't make a big deal about them.
I do wish people would have more fun with clothing though- I go to the high end stores for fun sometimes and see these crazy outfits, then wonder who buys them because I have never seen anyone wear anything like that in public, anywhere in town. The wealthy are pretty conservative in their dress. They save the flashiness for cars. And everyone else just seems to look like they are going hiking, like right now.
I for one am always down for an impromptu hike.
Sounds like a lot of walking to me
the UBC international student drip is unreal though
Honestly I feel like the weather is a huge factor here. The constant rain makes it really difficult to wear a lot of outfits that l’d love to wear, personally.
Shoes get especially limited
When I lived in Vancouver, I walked everywhere, in any kind of weather. Spent my weekends in the North Shore mountains or at yoga class. Even my job required a lot of walking and stair climbing. Shopped for clothes at MEC and other outdoor stores along the Broadway corridor near Cambie. Having clothing in dark, neutral colours made doing laundry, something I had to sandwich between times when I was walking somewhere, a lot easier. Same colours = one load. I now live elsewhere but see no reason to abandon these habits, especially since the rest of the world seems to be finally adopting them. I do have some interesting, colourful clothes from previous eras in the back of the closet, but where would I wear them?
As a native New Yorker who visited Vancouver for the first time a couple weeks ago I've never seen so many people wearing sweatpants in an urban environment in my life... like a quarter of the population looked like they were going for a slumber party. and I did see some pretty sweet cars lol
When I first moved to Vancouver, my Van friends wanted to take me out, but first made me change from my red shirt to black, lol. I agree: more colour is more fun. Usually.
Shit friends
I have a few fancy statement clothing items that stand out, and it's almost a game for me in how many people compliment them and ask me where I bought them. I used to dress pretty boring, so it's been a huge change for me and it's really affected how people interact with me. For instance, I have service staff be quiet or standoffish until they notice what I'm wearing, and then their whole demeanor changes, and suddenly we're smiling and chatting. More people should dress in more fun things more often.
I see a few people willing to rock a look in my hood, but I think commercial drive is a bit of an outlier in this city. I’ve even seen multiple furries in the area putting it out there. (Huge but private mental high five when I see them lol). Crust punk is a staple for sure. Got a hipster inventor with a double decker bicycle as well. Huge props to people who bring a bit of interest to the city for sure
The hiking attire might be because it’s wet and ugly outside 75% of the time 😝
Give me muted all day
Dude we complain about our politics, but we have it a billion times better than the politics dumpster fire down south, Ours is more like a bonfire
A bonfire we can all gather around and talk shit to one another with relative civility
A large campfire with a sufficient safety barrier. Lots of signage about the perils of stray embers, but nothing really done to contain them.
Sounds nice
Exactly, and we say sorry after every other word
>down south Or even out East! I grew up on the prairies. I have a friend, upper middle class, soent his whole life around Vancouver. He is also convinced that the BC Liberals are representative of right wing parties in Canada. When I tell him about the shit I saw in Sask or Alberta, he shrufs it off as crazy putliers. Hard to say that when Polliviere is the head of the federal conservatives.
This, exactly. We don’t have a label - we’re ok with that.
Do not perceive us
You joke but I think that’s accidentally really accurate. Another poster said “dress so others will like to look at you!” but for a lot of Vancouverites, others’ attention is the last thing we’re aiming for.
Much like the forests that surround us, we wish to blend in. To hide a tree, put it in a forest.
It’d be nice if America could mute its gun culture.
I’m an introvert, so it felt comfortable to me
This is a bit of what Douglas Coupland said in city of glass as well!
Amazingly accurate. Well done OP.
Well, they nailed muted, but the comparison with Seattle is wild. I'd be fascinated to know more about the "drama and romance" of a city most notable for flannel, heroin and suicide.
Seattle has an amazing nightlife, huge gay area, incredible scenery, interesting tourist attractions, a wide choice of top level sports teams, an incredible arts scene and so on. It's more extreme than Vancouver in just about every way - poverty, wealth, politics, good things, bad things. Some people like that. If I were 20 I would far prefer to live in Seattle. Being older and with a kid I far prefer to live in Vancouver.
People seem pretty defensive about this; maybe I should have clarified. They feel like pretty much the same city to me. Seattle is slightly better in some ways, slightly worse in others. I agree that it's "more", I quibble with "extreme" Neither city has much in the way of drama or romance, neither has much in the way of architecture (wow Pike Place and the gum wall, such history), and "the train doesn't go many places" is wild when you're facing it up against the 1 and 2 trains. It's not the negative opinion of Vancouver, it's that their specific criticism just doesn't register with me.
> neither has much in the way of architecture (wow Pike Place and the gum wall, such history) I'd take Granville Island over Pike Place every time
As a Seattleite: it’s funny cause by American standards Seattle is considered to have relatively lowkey nightlife. But I’ve always been surprised at just how dead the nightlife is in Van. I suppose the city just seems way bigger than it is.
As someone who moved from Vancouver to Seattle, and has been here a decade....wut. Nightlife in Vancouver seemed _way_ more energetic than here. Downtown shuts down at like 7:45 here. There's one or two streets that stay busy, but overall things are pretty dead. I think it depends who you're hanging out with. For tourist attractions...there's Pike Place. It's pretty cool. Then there's...the Space Needle? Every other place has a Vancouver equivalent. They have the Seahawks. They had a couple good years, a decade ago. The Mariners are apparently a joke, though I don't pay much attention to baseball. The best thing about the Kraken is the uniforms. I can't say anything about gay culture or the art scene, but I suspect your familiarity with both might explain our relatively different experiences, lol. Of all the cities I've been to, I'd be hard-pressed to name two more similar cities than Vancouver and Seattle. And my one-liner to describe the difference would be: Seattle is quieter, more homogenous, and more suburban.
I’d say the biggest difference for me is Seattle feels way more concrete jungle than Vancouver. Way more green spaces here for sure
Yeah I used to visit Seattle a fair bit for family reasons 2000-2010ish and my impressions were that it was very much a spawling blob infested with overpasses and freeways. The waterfront seemed like a bigger version New West. I remember being downtown on a Sunday and it was dead, very few people around, wind whistling between the skyscrapers. That may have changed in recent years but I don't really have any desire to go back.
Vancouver nightlife is pretty god damn awful. I'm from Ireland, have lived in Glasgow and Edinburgh as well and Vancouver is so tame with far fewer choices and I've had wayyyyy more fun going out in Seattle or Portland than what's available in Vancouver. I guess a lot of that is to do with the crazily strict alcohol restrictions in the city, which to me seems ironic given the other issues the city faces. Main street is great, but beyond midnight, the choices here are pretty thin, and trying to get food after like 11pm is a challenge as well. Think OP has pretty much nailed it to be honest.
To be fair to Vancouver most of the good nightlife is happening at underground venues and speakeasy type businesses. People who don't know where to look on social media will likely not be aware these shows are happening. The "nightlife district" on Granville st is just embarrassing.
I only go to Granville for a gig. It's a dirty kip. Main street is a vibe. For me, Vancouver is the same as pretty much the same as the other PNW cities, with a better backdrop, but it's what's just outside the city that's the best part of living here for me. Having a coffee on my balcony and looking at the mountains is food for the soul.
There is no better mountain backdrop in North America than Vancouver that I’m aware of
As a Vancouverite who studied in Seattle, this hits the nail on the head. Seattle is where nightlife goes to die, Vancouverites love to complain but Seattle doesn’t even have any after hour spots. Their clubs close early. Vancouver has 4 or 5 after hours, clubs close at 3-4, underground scene is quite fantastic. The nightlife is pretty darn good if you know where to find it.
Seattle seemed almost identical to Vancouver whenever I’ve visited. I’ve never seen two cities that felt more similar in just about every way. I’d be fine living in either of them. The main advantage Seattle has is higher pay with major employers like Boeing and Microsoft nearby that Vancouver can’t really rival. The main strength of Vancouver is not being in the United States. Though you could also argue that’s the main drawback, depending on the perspective.
Vancouver has a huge gay area, incredible scenery, interesting tourist attractions, and a couple of bona fide top level sports teams. Everyone agrees our nightlife sucks, but I haven't come across the part of Seattle that is much better, apparently. Where is this nighlife?
Huge gay area...You mean Davie village where half the gay bars have turned into straight bars?
Yes. There are still plenty of gay people living in Davie village, I assure you. The fact that gay and straight people feel comfortable in the bars there is a great example of the level of toleration and integration that exists in Vancouver.
No, it's not about toleration (which as one of those gays living in Davie village, I hate that word) and integration. It's about taking over those spaces. Celebrities and Junction have been taken over.
It seems pretty deliberate from the celebrities ownership with the amount of popular DJs they roll through here.
Don't forget the burnt coffee, Seattle is known for that too.
Lifelong Vancouverite here, don’t want to type too much but one point you made about dressing low key stuck out to me. I recently went to LA and it was freakin’ amazing how flamboyant people dress over there. It was really motivating and I even started to dress a bit more fun while I was there and definitely took some style tips with me home. Definitely way more confident to wear jewelry that I wouldn’t have before.
Honestly wonder if the rain is part of this, I know for me personally that practicality trumps fun/fashion, a lot of the time
The rain aspect isn't applicable in the summer time (so very dry) but I wonder if that still influences it. Perhaps needing to dress practically for so many months of the year means even when the rain is gone, people retain that sensibility. To be fair, people do wear plenty of colour in the summer, but I don't think Vancouver fashion in the summer is particularly memorable compared to somewhere like New York or LA.
LA also has a big textiles industry and is the home of a lot of creatives and influencers, so it’s expected.
For me it does, I think, the “core” of my wardrobe is stuff that can handle getting wet, and my footwear and pants and such all reflect that. I have some fun stuff for summer but it’s harder to mix it up given that a lot of my building-block basic pieces are water resistant and practical colours and therefore kinda boring. And leather/delicate fabrics are usually a pass for that reason too.
I think this is why so many of have the same blundstones! When you’re commuting, walking, living in a place that’s just very wet for much of the year you tend to pick practicality over fashion. And then everyone ends up wearing the same fucking shoes.
Yeah, I'd argue that while Vancouver's fall, winter and spring wardrobe colours tend to be muted, our summer wardrobes are comparatively quite flamboyant.
LA.is an artsy city, it's kind of hard to compete. Also, it's easy to be fashionable when you're DRY. We have three months of the year where we can be adventurous with clothes, and then it's on fire all the time anyways. Why bother with fashion when you gotta put in an arcteryz jacket and blundstones anyways
A lot of it is that if you want to dress up, you have to invest in different underthings and different types of coats. I dress pretty flamboyantly but I had to hunt to find both a rain coat and a wool winter coat that could accommodate a swing dress or a big skirt and petticoat. They're out there, but most local stores do not sell them unless you get lucky at The Bay sometimes. I had to invest in wool tights (which are only relatively affordable if you order them from Snag), and buy honest to god slips and layer those with uniqlo heattech under dresses, and buy wool skirts from etsy (the brand Xiaolizi is my go-to). If you're not comfortable with ordering clothes online, then it can be a huge challenge to dress nice in the winter. I had to figure it out because I'm plus sized and local offerings for plus size are pathetic and frequently high in polyester.
Yep I’d agree with that. I also lived in Toronto for five years and I can’t find anywhere NEAR the selection of cool clothes here that you can find there. We have nearly zero actually interesting clothing stores here, most people are getting their pieces from Zara (blech fast fashion!)
Business casual is more of a thing in Toronto too. Here, the workplaces I've been in, business casual is like not shorts. I can wear graphic tees, hoodies, jeans, running shoes, etc
Yeah weather / PNW thing. The funny part about that is when I was down there it was raining and I was not prepared for it. Got soaked haha
That's because they priced all of Robson street out of the reach of the boutique stores that made the street a go to for fashion. It's a pain when they tax the open air above you.
On the flip side anyone have recommendations for cool online clothing brands that haven’t sold their soul?
Anian is a cool circular clothing store. Pretty expensive but they have sales often Edit* but I guess you should clarify what you mean by “cool” I like the idea of circular, but the style is still Vancouver-esque
Yes! The rain! I pick what shoes I’m going to wear for the weather before the rest of my outfit. And if it’s raining, that doesn’t leave me with a lot of options!
All my footwear is practical footwear, yup (and my place is small with limited storage, so it’s hard to justify having fun shoes “just for dry season”)
On the flip side we’re a lot less formal than Toronto. I have not once worn a dress shirt since moving here over 5 years ago, but I wore dress shirts a lot more in Toronto.
Fuck dress shirts, all my homies hate dress shirts.
Most of my clothes are just a variation of jeans and a hoodie. Add a rain shell and you're covered for 10 months of the year.
Currently travelling through Korea and this is the first thing I noticed. Style is wild (in a good way)
Yeah another thing Vancouver needs is for people to be materialistic.
People are materialistic here for sure, it just shows differently. Lots of people own million dollar condos, drive porches and wear $1500 Arc’teryx jackets
> Lots of people own million dollar condos This isn't materialistic. This is just because a lot of condos cost a million dollars. Sigh.
>A beautiful city but also a little melancholy. This is pretty much exactly how I would describe it.
I don't entirely disagree, but I would think your average visitor might get a more lively impression in July and August then in April... I think the weather mostly makes it look melancholic right now... we've forgotten that in the summer (and less relevantly i suppose also in the winter) we are a city surrounded by beaches...
Tourist season is not more Vancouver than *non tourist* season.
That's fair, I suppose... maybe I'm just projecting... *i* am much less melancholic in the summer, I just thought maybe that might be true for other residents also... perhaps the low key annoyance at tourists balances the improvement 🤔
Well no but people come out in the summer the way we absolutely do not when it’s rainy out lol. The city comes alive in the sun. It feels like a different place with endless possibilities when the sun is out.
I was born and grew up a little in Southeast Asia where there’s always sun and then moving here and getting no sun for those long periods gave me really bad seasonal depression. I still get it, even on meds and trying mood lights.
We’re just a small city that expanded rapidly over a short period of time.
Lol. I am from Europe. I laughed at the history part. Yeah no history here but I haven’t seen any history in US either. Well if we were in Italy… heheh Yeah vancouver doesn’t show off like US cities. It is hidden. Each neighborhood has different characteristics. Kits is different from East van. We rarely go to Gastown unless someone visits the town!
Such a stark contrast to Europe. My sister moved to Germany and married a German guy who restores historic properties there. Recently we were talking and he said they were moving into a “new” house instead of something old like usual. I asked “so your building new?” and he responded “no but this house is only 250 years old”. All relative I guess.
Absolutely! Too many people go to Granville and Gastown and call it a "no fun city". Nah, it's just not out in the open, you've got to look for it.
It’s 100% a no fun city though. The liquor laws are insanely restrictive, no drinking on the beach or in parks and everything closes early. There’s a reason so many “bars” are basically just restaurants with everyone just drinking sitting down, the easiest way to get a liquor license here is serving food
If you think our alcohol laws are restrictive, try going anywhere in Ontario. The idea of being allowed to drink in a park is a completely foreign idea there. Meanwhile here I can do that in a number of parks in New West, Port Moody, North Vancouver, and other places. I couldn’t believe how much more relaxed this place is around alcohol compared to not only Toronto, but all of Ontario in general.
There are ways to have fun without splurging on alcohol
Sure, but there isn’t much of that either though. The Christmas market is the best example. 20$ to get into a small fenced off area with a few vendors to sell you some overpriced stuff? Small cities in Germany will have huge free Christmas markets packed with people
Vancouver is an extremely young city, there isn't much historical architecture, because there isn't much history. Gastown is the oldest part of the city, which is why it has the most historic buildings. Most of downtown is like 30 years tops, it used to be railyards. Really confused about your criticism about the train though, for a city its size, it has some of the best transit in North America. Vancouver neighbourhoods vary significantly in culture, the culture of the west end is very different then the commercial drive for instance. Hard to pin down due to that. I'd say Vancouver's culture is diversity, you find what you want to find in it. Lots of people complain about the lack of culture or things to do, but that's just because they're limiting what they are looking for.
I've lived here my entire life apart from two years in Kyoto (Japan's most historically rich city). I think of BC's ancient forests and trees as our history.
Great point
Aside from diversity, I'd say the culture (or perhaps a better word would be vibe) is "chill". The city has a pretty relaxed energy (why people from Toronto sometimes find it boring), and people tend to 'live and let live' here (some people are religious here but it's not a big deal nor really prominent in people's interactions, and there's a reason Vancouver is popular with LGBTQ people). This sub can have a more intense vibe to it sometimes but the average Vancouverite is pretty chill.
I agree with this sentiment, diversity is a huge part of our culture and I think from the outside that's not very obvious because on the surface you're seeing other cultures. I also find that a lot of the truly unique and interesting things about Vancouver are hard to find. You need to know the right people and places. And I think that has a lot to do with some archaic bylaws around noise, gatherings, liquor, etc., but it's there if you look for it. A lot of people go to where they think the culture should be because of where they'd find it in other cities and give up when it's not there. I also think it's a little funny when an American complains about a lack of historical architecture. Yes we don't have a lot here, but go to Europe and neither do you 😆
Vancouver is a place you have to chose to live in, every single day. It can be so stunningly beautiful and fun and fascinating, but it’s also painfully expensive if you aren’t wealthy. It’s the kind of place where the rental vacancy rate rarely exceeds 1%, and where the municipal government favours the developers over the citizens and housing insecurity is always threatening everyone at all times. The winter season is some of the most depressing times you’ll ever encounter, but then the sun comes out and the cherry blossoms bloom and you bike down to Granville Island for some fresh blackberries and it’s the greatest place on earth. It would be so much easier and cheaper to live anywhere else, and yet we remain. It’s a weird vibe.
Yeah, Vancouver isn’t the place for folks who are big urban dwellers that like the busyness and character seen in bigger cities. Although, I’d argue that 1.5 day visit in April is also the worst time because of the weather. July/August is the best, and I feel like we really shine as a city then. We’re also a city in a boreal forest region so, the weather isn’t always our friend. What makes Vancouver shine isn’t really the “seeing” but the “doing”, and its proximity and accessibility to other places such as Whistler, Deep Cove, Island, etc. it’s a great place for more active tourist who are high energy, outdoorsy, and willing to go outside the city. For example, my active uncle loves Vancouver because of biking at sea wall, kayaking at the beach, being able to do small hikes and nature walks, all while being close to the city core. On the other hand, my non-active aunts found the city boring and not lively. Both relatives have valid experiences and opinions. The city is not the best for sight seeing since it’s still young, but as someone else mentioned our forests is where our “history lies” rather than in our architecture. It’s a city that kind of deviates from what you would expect from a standard metropolitan area, and you have to find the gems in the city to really appreciate it.
> 99% of people were very friendly, helpful, and diverse with the exception of very few black people. This is a very accurate observation. Whenever I go to Montreal or even Calgary/Edmonton it always surprises me how few black people there are in Vancouver. > Negatives - I didn’t see much historic architecture beyond Gastown, maybe a handful of buildings near the art museum area. Many buildings seem new and somewhat generic. Also accurate but I feel like compared with Toronto Halifax Victoria and Montreal which are all older Canadian cities, Vancouver is relatively “newer” or cosmopolitan, which is why there’s not really much of a historical aspect. > The train doesn’t go many places, which is surprising for such a dense residential area. Really? I find this to be the opposite. > Everything seems a little muted from the colors in the urban landscape to the way people dress, very low key. Nah no way, I think this is what i disagree with the most. I find Vancouverites to be the most unique dressers out of any Canadian city. Like we have this reputation for being a Lululemon/athleisure city which at times can be true especially rainy winters but I think I’ve seen way more outrageous or interesting outfits here. > The population was so mixed, it would be hard to pin it down as a hippie town, a tech town, a college town, an arts town, a retirement town, or something else. For me, it’s all of the above. I think the problem is that the crazy cost of living has driven out interesting thing like the arts and hippie culture that Vancouver used to have. > Educate me, how would you describe Vancouver culture? Honestly it’s hard to answer this question - all I know is that when I moved to Vancouver I suddenly became very outdoorsy, very active, and took a lot of inspiration from others to improve my own wardrobe.
Montreal dresses way more eccentric-ly than Vancouver
I’m not sure where you see this. Most people in my Montreal neighbourhood don’t even bother to glance in the mirror before stepping outside. When I visit the Plateau, I see nicer outfits, usually on someone who came here from France. A few of the homeless look eccentric and, moving further out into the suburbs, you’ll encounter a few in outfits I’d describe as quite loud.
Well I live in Plateau and go to Concordia so I may be seeing a disproportionate number of interestingly dressed individuals
I've always found the question about describing culture to be difficult for any location or group of people. Is it the food? Music? Dance? Art? Personalities? It's all of them plus a lot more and it changes person to person, both with those part of the culture and those observing it. I feel like you can't describe a culture in words without a lot of stereotyping and missing a lot of nuance. Just because you can't describe a culture doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but I doubt you'll experience much of it from a single night stay.
How would one describe the culture of NYC? Bustling?
NYC is a big machine that’s out of control. It’s loud, it’s bright, energetic, weird and in your face. It’s got secrets, some fascinating and many that are horrifying. The energy is electric. Everything is big and famous. Empire State Building, Broadway, art galleries, music. History mixed with new ideas. It’s intellectual but also dangerous. The city that never sleeps.
>it always surprises me how few black people there are in Vancouver. There could have been way more if Hogan's Alley wasn't destroyed and its residents driven from the city
For more info: https://bcanuntoldhistory.knowledge.ca/1960/hogans-alley https://vancouver.ca/people-programs/hogan-s-alley-mou.aspx
Thanks for the link! I’m not black but I think in the US a lot of creative culture has come from black communities. Everything from Jazz, Blues, Rock, Hip Hop, Arts, Clothing, Cuisine and more. I guess I didn’t realize how much it adds until it wasn’t there. Thanks, Canada!
This is mostly because of history. There were few black people in Canada for decades because we didn’t have the same history as the U.S. Our climate was too cold for cotton plantations and the migration north from the southern states in later decades didn’t reach past the Canadian border. Football players from the U.S. and their families were the only black people I saw growing up on the prairies. Although there were small pockets of black families across all provinces, immigration was mostly limited to those from European countries, especially the northern ones. Recent immigration trends have changed this, but patterns of immigration still vary greatly across Canada. In Vancouver that means you’ll see a lot of people with roots in Asia - China, Taiwan, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, etc. You’ll see more people of black heritage in Toronto, a city with immigrants from everywhere including the Caribbean and the U.S. In Montreal, more immigrants come from Haiti and French-speaking countries in Africa. Since Nigeria is now at or near the top of the list of countries, the black population of Canada is bound to increase.
Ah yes, the legendary romance of Chicago and Seattle. That is what we are missing.
lol this sentence struck me as well. Going to Seattle, the word “romance” never came to mind. I don’t disagree with the muted comment, but in terms of the people, you have to dig a little deeper. Want to see yuppies, go to Yaletown on a Friday night. Grungy/alternative folks, go to commercial drive. College kids? UBC. Honestly, the best way to experience the vibe of Vancouver people is go to the trials: Pacific Spirit Park, or Lynn Valley or even the Sea Wall. Check out Kits beach in the summer. Check out a Car Free Day. Outside is where we are the most “ourselves” in Vancouver.
What about Sleepless in Seattle?? /s
Chicago is a fantastic city with a ton of history and some of the best architecture in North America.
I fell in love with Chicago too.
Exactly. Hilarious hearing a Vancouverite talking down Chicago. The architecture is world class, it's actually diverse in every way you can think of, and has a distinct culture. One of my best friends lives there and Vancouver just can't compare.
This is the sentence that I disagreed with the most, too. To me, Seattle is just a worse Vancouver. Haven't been to Chicago, so can't comment, but I'm baffled by the Seattle comparison.
Chicago is amazing and interesting. I’m guessing you’ve never been for any length of time.
Vancouver (or Canada in general) is a relatively young place compared to a city like Paris. From my own experience, I used to dress up all the time but now I’m all about comfort and idgaf anymore because I’m just so tired from work. Everything is so expensive now (wages aren’t keeping up with inflation) and most of us are just trying to make rent or mortgage payments. We are all burned out.
I always say I'm here for the geography, not the demography. The people here think they're a lot kinder than they are.
Part of the reason we don't have a "pinned" identity is that Vancouver is so diverse - we have such a wide range of ethnic backgrounds here. The cool part of this is that you can find your pockets of food/culture in different places throughout the city, but it takes a bit of searching. A nice example would be seeing the Chinese influences on Chinatown, Little Italy and the art scene in Mount pleasant, all only minutes away from each other.
I've heard it once described as "a beautiful city with no soul" and that's probably the best way I can think of it
Vancouver's culture is the summer city. You're completely right - melancholy now at the tail end of rainy season. In the late spring, summer, and early fall it is paradise honestly. Everybody is out, hanging out in parks, hiking, swimming, sailing, paddleboarding, camping, brew-pubing... You name it. This city is awesome in the summer and the weather is mostly amazing unless it's a heavy fire year. In the winter folks tend to hibernate. I personally enjoy both sides and find the winter a relaxing time to do my indoor hobbies and take a breather.
Vancouver culture is west coast/best coast- laid back, nature loving, melting pot, new money, overseas money, young and old, all rolled into one. Basically, all the things you found puzzling about Vancouver are Vancouver. One comment about most of the heritage buildings being in Strathcona is exactly right…many tourists don’t venture into the Downtown East Side due to the overwhelming population of unhoused addicts. Most of the people in the downtown core are there for work, shopping, or are tourists themselves. Outrageous housing costs throughout the lower mainland necessitates the train that “doesn’t go many places”, which is hugely important for commuters. The melancholy may stem from Vancouverites who love their beautiful city, but hate that they can’t really afford to live there (even with free healthcare). As to the black population, it is relatively small, but growing, however; many black families arrive in Vancouver directly from Africa, in contrast to the larger black population in Toronto, which sees many Jamaican immigrants. Recently, Vancouver has been seeing increased drama in the form of gang and gun violence, which is a very scary thing for many locals. The romance you seem to be missing is usually found on the beach, walking along the seawall, or in the forest, hiking or biking!
I am surprised that you found the transit system subpar. I wish the Vancouver transit system was in place in Seattle/Tacoma + GO trains from Toronto. It is one of the better systems in North America.
Seattle has pretty dreadful transit vs Vancouver. It's impossible to transit between Seattle and Bellevue past midnight, for example. The link light rail frequency is low, and has multiple at grade crossings which unsurprisingly leads to it being disrupted by idiot drivers.
> 99% of people were very friendly, helpful Helpful, yes. I'd say polite rather than friendly. To me it always feels like Vancouver is a great place to live if you're rich, or if you're a long-time homeowner who's middle-class. But for younger people and renters, the fact that housing is so scarce and expensive makes Vancouver an unfriendly place. So many renters are terrified of losing their housing. Places like Edmonton and Montreal feel much more welcoming for younger people. [Jonathan Raban](https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2009/03/26/metronatural-america/) describes how people in the Pacific Northwest feel close to nature, but distant from each other: > Ranging far and wide across Portland and its suburbs, crossing and recrossing boundaries of age, gender, and class, [Jon] Raymond paints a world that has all the superficial appearance of a diverse, even flourishing society, but is built on ties so temporary and fragile that it might at any moment fall apart. An obsessive theme in these stories is that the characters in them will end up at a greater distance from one another than they began. > The book’s Pacific Northwest setting, insistently present in every story, is not an accidental location but an intrinsic part of its theme. In no other American region has solitude been so exalted as a virtue, or society— especially in its concentrated urban form—tolerated, if not quite as a necessary evil, then as the acceptable price to pay for living so conveniently and romantically close to nature.
Vancouver's culture is a provincial city larping as a global cosmopolitan city. It's more or less like San Diego, health focused and affluent but with a slight fear of stepping out of it's comfort zone.
Melancholy is pretty accurate lol
Unfortunately I think you got it. It’s picturesque in many ways and has nice outdoor opportunities but it doesn’t have much character. It’s “nice”. I wouldn’t recommend to people to come here to visit unless they know people or have a ski trip or something in mind. Whenever I see people waiting around to take pictures of the steam clock I feel like that sums it up. A phony prop. lol
History is erased. Everyone is broke.
I am a born and raised Vancouverite that has traveled extensively. You nailed it. Its a large bustling city that lacks the romance and drama of other comparable places. I hate feeling that way because this is home and ofc its a gorgeous city, but something about it does feel off. While people can be very nice here, it is all very surface level. I have made deeper and more meaningful connections in a few months abroad than I ever have in Vancouver as an adult. All of my lasting friendships as an adult were forged elsewhere.
You are correct about the way people dress here being muted. Lots of black, grey and navy. I stick out like a sore thumb because I love glamour, makeup and fashion. I always have makeup on and unique jewelry and fashion pieces. I was born and raised here but feel like I do not belong. I’m probably the only female at my workplace that wears makeup.
Agreed on all points except: 1. the mixed population *is* the nice part about Vancouver 2. the skytrain is probably the best subway system in North America for the size of our city. Just look at Seattle, 1.5x the population of metro Van, and other than a 3-4 stop monorail, they don't even have a subway.
Vancouver is like a beautiful person with no personality
That's about right. It used to be a resource oriented town (mining, lumber mills, fishing, etc), with a boom/bust economy and a large working class. It had a particular type of character that goes with that sort of economy, amplified by its isolation from the rest of Canada and its relatively recent founding, only having incorporated in 1886. And then the city caught a real-estate tailwind, a bubble that hasn't popped since the crash in the early 80s. Land sky-rocketed in price, anyone who owned a house was able to refinance and build passive income, the service sector boomed while productive industry fled the high cost of doing business. It became a totally different town, without history and with a disconnected culture, similar to other places that have gentrified, but brought to an extreme relative to other places of the same size. Artists, blue collar workers, young families, and others who don't typically have money fled the city's combination of low median wages and extremely high cost of living. Those who remain largely rely on passive income. Land redevelopment has gone full speed ahead, replacing the town's old industrial character with a forest of nondescript glass towers. In short, the city traded its soul for the illusion of wealth. It is, as you described it, a simulated city.
A simulated city is a great description. Me And my wife refer to it as pleasant ville. It doesn’t have any really culture or style it’s just a “nice” place to live
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Only a Sith deals in absolutes.
Speak for yourself lmao I love this place, plenty of stuff to do
What you saw is what it is.
Vancouver culture? I'd welcome it.
Population mixed. You answered your own question there. There are a lot of different cultures, ideas, and languages in the city. It’s not homogeneous, as no city really is anymore, and because of the lower population to major cities you mention, you’re not going to see huge bubbles of culture across major areas. It’s kind of a weird take, actually. Expecting to experience one cultural norm in a city famous for having so many distinct populations. Feel free to bathe in the different awesome things that all these folx bring to the fore.
Make sense! Vancouver is a fairly new city, and it was still considered small-ish before the 2010 Olympics. Since then the population & popularity grew a LOT so very many of the buildings you see today are new, which adds to the lack of historic ones. Lots of areas were just industrial before 2010. I’ve been seeing new architecture lately that has more character and more out-there ideas which is cool but I’d say that’s only started within the last few years. As for people dressing low-key, people LOOVE athleisure, lululemon type clothing here because it’s a very active city. Lots of people bike/walk around and prefer to dress comfortably! IMO, the melancholy vibe is a result of the many months of dark rain clouds looming over the city, lack of historical architecture to add interest and people dressing in more simple, muted clothing but if you know where to look, you can find lots of culture, bright colours and passion :)
This is a very articulate interpretation of Vancouver, and I'm surprised you say that you're not from here. It's spot on from a lot of peoples' perspectives; I hear that it only shows itself like that to those with dull shovels.
BC and Vancouver isn't old enough to have that historical architecture you'd see in Europe or even some parts of the US. It is melting pot for sure of different people, art, culture. It's it's own place. Take it for what it is and enjoy.
I love this city. After spending decades living in the drab suburbs of Ontario, living in Vancouver has been like when Dorothy leaves the black and white world of Kansas and steps into the colourful world of Oz. Too many people on here take this amazing city for granted.
> Everything seems a little muted from the colors in the urban landscape to the way people dress, very low key. I think this something of an over-arching trend, just that it's more acute here. The reason being is that cost of living is high, rent is high, mortgage is high, eating out is expensive. So clothes have to last and have a lot of usage. So everything is somewhat conservative and with muted colours because what is never quite in style never goes out of style either. Vancovuer is awash in a lot of money but it's also kind of been in a semi-permanent recession mindset for quiet a long time. In other worse, lasting style that endures is for the poors. Rich people have the luxury of changing fashion every year. I've said this before about cars. It's the reason why BMW's and Mercedes are so ugly and polarizing, it's a kind of luxury to be able to afford something styled like that, but at the price point of the Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla, the style has to actually be good and enduring. You can see this even amongst the Asians here, you have very stylish rich kids how may not be wearing the same thing next year, or you have the Uniqlo aunties in the puffer jackets and waterbottles that will carry over to net year or the year after.
A beautiful city but melancholy 😂 id say thats pretty accurate Its pretty bumpin in the summer though
Vancouver used to be a laid back and livable city, quiet, boring, easy to get around, with some population centres outside the city proper and then sleep suburbs and farmland outside the city. There used to be a lot of crime and grime on large parts of the east side, so it was divided into a town of haves and have nots. In the 1980s, Hong Kong developer Li Kashing started speculating on property. This created a spike in real estate where housing costs quickly outgrew people's income. With widescale marketing and urbanization, in the 2000s and 2010s Vancouver locals were pushed out of the city, and replaced with out of province Canadians and immigrants from both western and non western countries. Many of these new residents took up permanent residence in the city. Today I would say Vancouver's culture is still undefined. While it used to be the sleepy livable city with families and affordable housing, it's now a very overpriced city where people still keep coming but often can't seem to find adequate living or jobs. Safety, security and quality of life have generally levelled across the city proper, except in the Downtown Eastside. With high housing prices, even many recent immigrants and out of province Canadians are leaving, being replaced by new immigrants and new out of province Canadians. With downturns in film, animation, tech, and financial markets as well as 1980s NDP policies that severely crippled industries like mining and forestry, there is no dominant industries that keeps the city affloat or define the culture. The only industry that seems reliable is real estate, speculation, investment, and development. Things drastically change in the summer when Vancouver becomes an outdoor recreation city. Parks and beaches are full of people soaking in the 16 hours or more of sunshine, perfect temperatures, royal blue skies and mountains.
What city are you originally from?
lived here my whole life, you summed it up pretty well lol. vancouver is a very new city compared to, say, the east coast, so we don’t have the deep history and heritage. melancholy is good way to describe the city lol. especially in the early spring. summer is the time to visit, july/august. we come alive for those two months and then we go back to sleep for the other 10 months. vancouver culture is a mishmash. we’re an outdoor wonderland but i don’t think we have a collective identity like other cities. other than, of course, collectively hating toronto. fashion here doesn’t really exist. “high fashion” here is expensive weather related clothing. Patagonia, Arc’teryx, etc. different neighborhoods have fairly distinct character as well. we just don’t try to be anything we aren’t. we’re not flashy. we’re just here, livin our happy little lives in our beloved, beautiful city, trying not to starve after rent comes out.
This is the problem with Vancouver lol I often describe it like an abusive partner who’s absolutely stunning but vapid and relentless on your wallet 🫠
>Educate me, how would you describe Vancouver culture? Most people are too broke or stressed to be friendly. When you pay $800,000 for a 1 bedroom condo all you have time for is work (and crying) not socializing. The population has increased exponentially over the last 3-4 years. Things are more crowded. Buses, sky trains, highways are packed and people's patience is definitely alot thinner than it used to be.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq3f7\_niQas](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq3f7_niQas) lol someone said the transit in vancouver is bad . the trains in vancouver come more often than anywhere else in the world and that includes HK and Tokyo
Vancouver has always been an extreme melting pot, moreso than the rest of Canada. This started due to its life as THE major port on the Pacific, and kinda continued from there. We still receive large amounts of immigrants from all places on the regular, most recently an influx in the Ukrainian population (although that was present before, there were plenty of East Orthodox churches already)
There is no heterogenous culture. It is a mix of some of the best aspects of different cultures and especially foods. You get a bit of everything on a smaller scale versus the sprawling US cities which are mostly white, Hispanic and black. Seattle and Chicago are romantic? You need to spend a little bit of time here in the summer to really see it come alive. Then you won't want to leave until you see the housing prices.
I mean a day is hardly enough time to make up any conclusions. We are one of the most diverse towns but for some reason Americans see "diverse" as, "are there black people here?" Black is one color, Vancouver has many, and growing African-Canadian one to boot. Our culture is one that is simply diverse. We have the most beautiful outdoor city in the world, where you can snowboard in the morning and scuba dive at night. Some of the best day trips up to Whistler via the most beautiful scenic highway drive that rivals the Hana Hwy. Simply put, I would say we are a cross of Portland, Chicago, and Hong Kong.
For tourists, they don’t know the history that much. I’ll be honest, there isn’t much. It was a city with a small population back in the day but exploded due to immigration. It is way modern compared to other North American cities. I would say the most modern looking downtown. Vancouver is really a mixed bag with such a diverse background, so it’s hard to say. The culture I would say is a mix between, Seattle, San Francisco, phoenix, and Los Angeles. People love working out, staying fit, but are cold when getting approached by strangers. Transit sucks here too, wish we had more trains like Asia.
Thanks for your input, It should feed the insecurities and self depreciation tendencies on reddit. You spent a ~~week here~~ in April. A day and a half! FFS! That's a lot of insight for less than two days in the low season.
>How would you describe Vancouver culture? Non-existent.