10 Things I Hate About Vancouver
February 10th, 2008 by Michael Kwan
Having been born and raised in Vancouver, you could say that I know a few things about this city. If you asked me where you should go shopping, I could probably point you in the right direction. If you asked for restaurant recommendations, I could probably help you there too.
For the most part, it’s pretty safe to say that I love Vancouver, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have my gripes about this town. In no particular order, here are ten things that almost make me want to leave this town.
1. Rain
That’s an easy one. We get a lot of the wet stuff here and it can make for a rather miserable mood for a good part of the year. The dreary weather can probably explain the relatively high prevalence of seasonal affective disorder.
2. Vancouver drivers can’t handle snow
Vancouver doesn’t get very much in terms of snow. As a result, the drivers in this city are typically very unprepared and have no idea how to maneuver in the snow. They all slam on the brakes, drive too fast, or end up in the ditch. This city pretty much shuts down with just an inch of snow.
3. Canada’s poorest postal code
While there are great organizations like Union Gospel Mission doing what they can, Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is the poorest neighbourhood in Canada. I’m not entirely sure what can be done, but something needs to be done about this overwhelming poverty.
4. Housing is expensive
Unless you’re pulling down six figures, it’s nearly impossible for a single person to own any sort of property in Vancouver. It’s a little out of control when a modest 600 square foot apartment goes for $300,000. And that’s not even downtown. Needless to say, the boom hasn’t burst (yet).
5. Possibly too liberal
While I’m sure that I sit closer to the left end of the political spectrum, I find that Vancouver (Canada?) can be a little too far to the left sometimes. Just the mere mention of abortion or the death penalty can solicit a huge uproar.
6. Gimme gimme gimme
Vancouverites, myself included, complain a lot. We want cheaper university tuition, perfectly maintained roads, better public transit… but no one will accept any sort of raise in income tax, property tax, or transit fares.
7. Wha? No English
Because Vancouver is such a multicultural city, there are many immigrants that can get along just fine without speaking a single word of English. I love the variety of food we get, but communication can be a challenge when you go to certain stores or certain neighborhoods.
8. Cheap things to do
This is probably the result of living in this city my whole life, but I’m running out of fun things to do, mostly at night, that won’t cost me a pretty penny. The costs of fine dining and watching movies can add up pretty quickly, but I’m at a loss as to what else I can be doing. Pool? Bowling? Go-karting? Been there, done that.
9. Horrible highway system
Years ago, someone decided that they didn’t want a highway running through the middle of the city. As a result, we are now suffering from a very bad system of surface roads that result in nothing but congestion, frustration, and road rage. Even compared to somewhere like Seattle, Vancouver’s traffic is pretty bad.
10. Expensive cellular
The issue of expensive wireless data is not isolated to Vancouver, but it really sucks when compare to the relatively cheap data that people south of the border can have. Guys like Bob Buskirk can enjoy high-speed EVDO anywhere in the country for one flat rate, whereas the same service could cost as much as $50/MB here.
UPDATE (2/13/08): This post has been picked up by StumbleUpon, so if you could spare a Stumble (link is just above the related posts list), that’d be awesome. Thanks!
Filed under Travel.
stop complaining, I live in PGH…I could list 50 things
Please see entry #6.
haha…
hey if you want less left leaning people you should move to Alberta. We so right it’s ironic (that we’re on the left side of the country).
Oh and we get lot’s of sun, even when it’s -30C
I don’t care about the death penalty or abortion or soft drugs and such but I feel we’re far too liberal in terms of CRIME. Criminals can do whatever they want these days. If some jackass broke into my car and I shot him in the face, for some reason, *I* would be at fault.
I think we should all be allowed to shoot criminals in the face. Like…if they’re threatening harm to my family, friends or property…I should be able to smack him in the head with a shovel.
Ed, that’s because a gunshot to the face is not a comparable defense to a car break in. When a simple baseball bat can deter the guy, a gun would be an overcast.
That being said, as much as I am quite liberal minded, I am in favour of the death penalty. I can’t justify my taxes paying for meals and housing for criminals who are apparently too dangerous to be released. Also stiffer penalties against gangs, gun crimes (watch out Ed) and what not.
When it comes to local economics I’m very right wing. Ship the homeless people off to sheltors, allow growth, add highways, expand roads, build more expensive beautiful buildings to cleanse the city. Did you know I used to be hitler in my previous life? Just kidding. Maybe not.
Who wants comparable defense? I want overwhelming and complete ownage of criminals.
…actually, I feel much the same as Jeff. Ship criminals to death town and bring us more money.
i must agree with your list of 10, i am sure we could all add to it.. but i really don’t like the rain.. and i am glad to see that is on the top of the list (although you stated in no particular order) but if anyone ever asks, what do you not like about vancouver, rain would be the first thing that comes to mind to many ppl! and eddie, that seems a little harsh to be shootng criminals in the face,dont you think.. hehehe.. they have to earn a living as well , lol, j/k
Also the snow driving thing - so true. I drive a 4X4 so I can get through snow no problem and I’m smart enough to not slam on my brakes or drive too fast etc. Most people do not know how to react to snow in their cars, and are completely hopeless unless they have snow chains and everything set up. Even then they mess up.
Regarding highways, Vancouver got it right, so right. Here in Toronto, they built some of the biggest, ugliest, noisiest freeways in North America and traffic is still a mess. If you build it, they will fill it.
Imagine if False Creek and English Bay were cut off from the downtown by a towering 6-lane freeway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardiner_Expressway
I have a whole category dedicated to “cheap things to do” but it’s mostly stuff for the weekends or special events.
[...] Sunday, I wrote a post listing 10 things I hate about Vancouver. Having been born and raised in this city, it’s easy to pick out countless items to dislike [...]
“9. Horrible highway system”
You can give credit to Larry Beasley for that choice (more of less). But its not actually too bad of any idea. Its actually a really good idea and many other cities in the world are expanding on the Vancouver model. Remember; “Congestion is our Friend”.
“10. Expensive cellular”
This will hopefully get solved very soon with the Canadian government “opening up the airwaves” so to speak. I agree that the prices are far too high and the fact that I have to bitch and complain to the cell phone companies all the time doesnt make anything any better.
[...] Miss604 is one of Vancouver’s most famous bloggers, so it only makes sense that she loves this city. It’s easy to point out the variety of cuisine and our obsession with hockey, but she also notes that she loves the nerds, the bus drivers, and the monkey puzzle trees too. She even likes the balance. [...]
[...] more efficient, but you also have to put up with big city traffic. One of the biggest things that I hate about Vancouver is that no one knows how to drive in the snow, so when you add the white stuff in with gridiron [...]
Regarding #2: I would tend to agree, although (as you point out) with the limited exposure to such conditions it is hard to blame Vancouverites for their lack of preparedness. In such conditions people would be prudent to find alternate means of transportation.
Point #8 is interesting: are you suggesting that if you grew up in any other city you would somehow be less bored over time? It is my experience that locals everywhere tend to grow weary of their surroundings, which is why people generally go away for vacation.
I am rather ambivalent about point #9: my main complaint is the limited capacity of the bridges.
As for #10: are there actually cheaper cellular plans elsewhere in Canada? I agree that the US generally has superior plans, but as a consumer I only had to make a phone call and ask for a better rate from Telus… I now have unlimited data (EVDO) for $15/month.