Is Vancouver the Most Livable City?

What is life in Vancouver like? Is it the most livable city in Canada? In this video, we explore the city, it's culture, job opportunities and the cost of living. Tune in!
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[@natedogg890]

The truth is that it's getting less and less liveable every year. It's a city designed for about 150k people to live in comfort and the rest to live in near poverty and constant stress. You will not be one of those lucky few

[@KamBar2020]

Homeless Encampments 🤯

[@PukuBuffet]

This is absolutely true. The city wasn't like this even 10 years ago- now the average one bedroom apartment in the downtown area costs 3000/month. Even apartments in Burnaby or even Coquitlam cost over 2000/month. In addition, the relative ease with which skilled workers from all over world could acquire work permits or even citizenship has overflooded the limited market, which was meager to begin with. The truth of the matter is that Vancouver was and is becoming more of a trust fund city- that is, it is a convenient place for rich families to send their kids, and the local economy simply can't manage the expenses that the city is forcing down our throats.

[@natedogg890]

@@PukuBuffet Agree on every point, I think even beyond the cost of living, Vancouver proper is an absolutely horribly planned city for growth. There are no highways going through the city, the biking infrastructure is fantastic, but for some reason the city planners took two lane throughways like King Ed, and removed one of the driving lanes to make room for more bike lanes and street parking when there are amazing bike routes just 4 blocks up. They keep building up highrise condos now without upgrading any road infrastructure or capacity for the 1000s of new cars that are coming in every year, and they mess up every single transit extension so its over capacity as soon as it's done. It's like if somebody took a proper city like Singapore and ran it on the lowest possible graphic settings XD

[@IanForsythWestCoast]

I have to disagree with all of you. Vancouver hasn’t been 150,000 since 1929, almost 100 years ago, when the city was still surrounded by farms. Yes, it is expensive, and yes it has some very challenging social problems brought on by an ineffective drug management program, and a couple of decade when all housing built was condo and single family homes and cities across Canada were left with a crisis level housing crisis, both in available housing stock, and affordability. These are problems that with the required political will can be effectively addressed. Even right now though Vancouver has a tremendously economically varied population, there are a lot fewer rich people here per capita than Calgary, Toronto, even Kelowna. The best things that the citizens of Vancouver ever did was to stop the freeways criss-crossing the city, including the waterfront. And anyone who thinks we’re not better off being a freeway free city, have you ever driven in Toronto, Seattle, Houston or Las Angeles, where the gridlock is across 8 lanes, and completely disconnects neighbourhoods and carves the cities up. A downtown waterfront freeway would have obliterated Chinatown and Gastown, and the nascent freeway that was just started before it was shut down eliminated Hogan’s Alley, a thriving African Canadian community that simply ceased to exist. Seattle and Boston are ripping out or burying legacy freeways. I drive around Vancouver for a living, and there’s always an alternate route. Admittedly bridges and tunnels can be a nightmare, but no more or less than freeway cities. If you think we’d be a better city with freeways going everywhere, you’re on the wrong side of history.

[@natedogg890]

​@@IanForsythWestCoast Oh, I never meant that Vancouver should have 150k people, I meant that only a small portion of people in Vancouver DO live comfortably here in terms of standard of living and financial well being. Those people are either very rich immigrants or people who are lucky enough to have bought their houses before the late 2000s. As you mentioned, Vancouver doesn't have as many wealthy people as other cities, that's because there are very few well developed industries there that provide good jobs, it's essentially become a local economy completely dependent on house flipping and money laundering. I'm also only talking about Vancouver proper here, not any of the burbs. I also don't think an 8 lane freeway downtown would be ideal either, but expanding existing roads like SW Marine, 41st and 25th would really help the traffic situation. Even just getting rid of the bike lanes and road parking would DOUBLE their capacity. I used to bike everywhere in Vancouver, and there are amazing bike routes with almost no car traffic just a few blocks away from both of those roads that go all the way across the city. It's just poor city planning, there's no way around it, and that extends to transit too. You have to get at least some of these things right to make a city livable and Vancouver has just squandered chance after chance I don't think comparing what a Vancouver with highways could be to American cities makes much sense here since purposefully redlining and segregating communities of colour contributed a lot to their city planning. At the end of the day cost of living issues has hurt Vancouver's diversity and vibrancy way more than highways would. Just go to Calgary these days to see how a city can thrive when focused more on cost of living. Though Calgary is getting much worse price wise now because of all the internal migration from BC and Ontario, so its hard to win XD

[@IanForsythWestCoast]

Great video guys, Vancouver born and raised, I spotted a few mistakes. You were justifiably confused over the multiple uses of the word West as it applies to Vancouver. The City of Vancouver is surrounded on 3 sides by water, the largest one is Burrard Inlet, where the harbour is located, when you look across the water to the mountains, you’re looking at the North Shore. This is where you’ll find 3 separate municipalities, North Vancouver, so named because they are indeed north of Vancouver, West Vancouver isn’t really west of Vancouver, but it is west of North Vancouver. Still with me? The bridges you identified as going to North and West Vancouver, are local bridges inside Vancouver that cross False Creek, an inland waterway that isolates the downtown peninsula which includes Stanley Park and the recognized “downtown”, central business district. West Vancouver is one of the richest and most expensive municipalities in Canada. So leaving West Vancouver aside, as it is an autonomous municipality that in terms of population is quite small, less than 50,000 people. In Vancouver you have the Westside, the Eastside, Vancouver South, the Westend which is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in the city and is found wedged between Stanley Park and downtown, with beaches on the southern edge, and a village atmosphere in several areas. The West/East divide falls a couple of blocks west of Main St at Ontario Street. The Westside and the Westend are separated by English Bay/False Creek, with the Westside extending all the way out to Point Grey and the University of British Columbia. The Westside of Vancouver contains many of the most exclusive and expensive neighbourhoods in Canada, led by the oldest, Shaughnessy, which was developed around 1907-1918 and still contains many of the original mansions and gardens from that time. East Vancouver or Vancouver East, or the Eastside, and takes up all the land east of Ontario street to the boundary with Burnaby. Within Vancouver East, in the northern part adjacent to downtown is the Downtown Eastside, which is where the unhoused, addicted, and untreated mental health compromised people are concentrated. Vancouver does have Canada’s mildest mainland climate, and is a much less brutal place to live outside than anywhere else in the country. An ongoing influx of new residents doesn’t make the problems faced by the Downtown Eastside any easier to solve. Thanks again for making such an informative video with such a brief visit. Please come back for at least a week, I’d love to show you some of Vancouver’s secrets.

[@ww3k]

This person knows their stuff

[@2GringosOnTheGulf]

It's a beautiful city but the drug problem and the cost of living is outrageous. It's been in steady decline for years, it was ramped up in 2019. Legalizing drugs was a huge mistake. Canada will never be the same. Cheers from 2 Canadians 🇨🇦 happily living in Mexico. 🇲🇽✌🏼🥰

[@iamelle3498]

I lived there for 3 yrs but the dark gloomy skies during winter makes u got depressed easier. I prefer the snowy solid walkways but sunny day in Ontario!

[@2GringosOnTheGulf]

Ya cloud wet weather gets pretty depressing fast.

[@Gloryboyquan]

brother I'm moving to Vancouver end of year from Colombia 24male any tips help appreciated ​@@2GringosOnTheGulf

[@francoistchiakpemarketing]

Thank you for the video. Vancouver is such a beautiful city, despite its reputation as the most expensive in Canada.

[@nicktankard1244]

Vancouver is extremely expensive, but it's worth it compared to the rest of the country. Can't imagine living anywhere else in Canada. The only way I'm leaving Vancouver is if I leave Canada altogether. But it is a struggle here. The homeless problem is bad in pretty much all major Canadian cities these days.

[@KamBar2020]

@@nicktankard1244 Lets Go TRUDEAU 🇨🇳

[@shauncameron8390]

But Vancouver takes the cake.

[@sexygeek8996]

Leaving Canada was definitely the right decision for me. Canada isn't worth the cost and the weather in Vancouver isn't that great by world standards.

[@rvgytroblox634]

@@shauncameron8390 vancouver doeesn't have many homeless i live there. yes you can expect a few tens in downtown but it's not bad at all. its concentrated only on hasting and chinatown

[@PukuBuffet]

This is absolutely true. The city wasn't like this even 10 years ago- now the average one bedroom apartment in the downtown area costs 3000/month. Even apartments in Burnaby or even Coquitlam cost over 2000/month. In addition, the relative ease with which skilled workers from all over world could acquire work permits or even citizenship has overflooded the limited market, which was meager to begin with. The truth of the matter is that Vancouver was and is becoming more of a trust fund city- that is, it is a convenient place for rich families to send their kids, and the local economy simply can't manage the expenses that the city is forcing down our throats.

[@dineshmalla3651]

It is a city intertwined with sea, mountains and forest and is one of the most spectacular. But the people have ruined it.

[@MakeThatChange]

People always ruin everything don’t they!

[@nicktankard1244]

The suburbs you mentioned are cheaper, but they are nothing like Vancouver proper. They are typical NA suburbs where you have to drive everywhere and there is not much to do. Also, there are no jobs, and commuting to Vancouver is a nightmare. So it's a totally different lifestyle. I'm always tempted to move out because of the housing prices, but what will I do there? Half of Vancouver's attraction is how dense and compact it is. You can walk or take transit, which is nice.

[@MakeThatChange]

Great point

[@sexygeek8996]

Many of the "suburbs" mentioned at the end are too far from Vancouver to be considered suburbs.

[@Ornamental-Trees]

To my mind, it still has a good potential, factoring in the geo features and cheap utility costs; to become more populated, and of course, more expensive. Buy there and wait for the right time in the future to make a fortune and become retired young. I guess, it won't be too long before the minimum home prices get over 5 million Dollars.

[@DanPocketRocket]

Great video! Vancouver is great if you bought your house 10+ years ago. Otherwise it's like Whole Foods nickname Whole Paycheque. I live and own in the burbs. 95% of my friends live outside Van because we have families and the few who do usually only have a single child and live in a shoe box

[@keithwollenberg5237]

Maybe you didn't grow up in market economies, but you seem to have trouble getting your heads around the idea that anything extremely desirable, and in limited supply, will necessarily be expensive if it is available on the open market. Peak Vancouver was in the early to mid-80s. If you enjoy vast financial resources, you can still make it a great place to live, but the whole region is now painfully over-crowded, and all the infrastructure and amenities are over-subscribed.

[@MakeThatChange]

What makes you think we have trouble with that?

[@keithwollenberg5237]

@@MakeThatChange It's been a theme in a few of your videos about Canadian cities. You will say something along the lines of "X seems really great, but it's not that great, because it has the disadvantage of being so expensive !" and you say the latter part as if it is a surprise, rather than something that follows logically from the first premise. I might just be misinterpreting your tone, but that's the way it sounds to me.

[@MakeThatChange]

Well, we highlight main points, and it’s up to the public to decide what aspects matter to them the most. 99% of our audience watching these videos are cost conscious. Those who aren’t - likely won’t be watching KZbin videos to decide in the first place - they’ll travel there and experience the city for themselves.

[@keithwollenberg5237]

@@MakeThatChange My point is that the ratio of desirability to cost is only remarkable if the item (in this case, city) falls significantly above or below the curve. For example "This city is far nicer than its real estate prices would suggest", or "Although this city is quite expensive, it seemed to us that the value isn't there, and you don't get very much for all that money." Otherwise, most of your viewers will just assume that the cost is proportionate to the desirability.

[@MakeThatChange]

Thank you for your feedback.

[@keithwollenberg5237]

Also, when your said Iron Worker's (Memorial) Bridge (also known as 2nd Narrows), you showed a picture of the Burrard Street Bridge.

[@NotNoord]

Rent, house and utilities were in Canadian or US dollars? If in Canadian dollars, then the prices are quite reasonable compared to Amsterdam.

[@MakeThatChange]

Canadian dollars

[@countroshculla]

I loe the city. I know it is expensive and I would want a nice hefty salary package if I lived there but what a place.

[@MakeThatChange]

It’s gorgeous

[@divitkarekar5803]

I think you are wrong about the income tax part,British Columbia has lower income tax than Ontario Check any income tax/salary after tax calculators if you want Also great video😍the views of Vancouver and BC in general are very stunning It's beautiful almost anywhere you go

[@Ara198826]

it is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. I will definitely live there when/if I win the lottery 😅

[@keithwollenberg5237]

For almost 100 years, the local Vancouver exhibition (PNE) has, as part of the festivities, raffled off a home. As a measure of how bad it has gotten, for at the past 20 years, the home has been in one of the outlying areas. That is to say that -- even as a lottery prize -- a house in Vancouver has been out of reach.

[@Ara198826]

@keithwollenberg5237 I would rent a tiny apartment in white rock or even Abbotsford 😩 I live in Saskatoon now while it is a very charming city , once you see vancouver it is hard to imagine a nicer place 😅

[@keithwollenberg5237]

@@Ara198826 White Rock is nice, but from what I know of Saskatoon, Abbotsford would actually be a downgrade in terms of everything but weather.

[@ibrahim_im]

thank you😘

[@MakeThatChange]

You're welcome 😊

[@amathew22]

I find the mark up is around 30% in average compared to Toronto.

[@charzanboo9940]

Awesome video! I found it difficult to find work in my profession after graduation due to the intense competition. Thus, I lived, worked, and gained experience in other places like Calgary and Ottawa to build myself up and come back. But yeah, there are more cheaper surrounding cities to live and commute from that makes things doable: Surrey, Langley, Delta, etc. Unfortunately, they get bad reputations from Vancourities due to elitism and hearsay.

[@keithwollenberg5237]

There are places to live outside of Vancouver. But the ones that are actually pleasant -- West Vancouver, Anmore, Crescent Beach, White Rock -- are just as expensive as Vancouver. Abbotsford is basically a warmer, rainier Lloydminster with higher taxes.

[@charzanboo9940]

@@keithwollenberg5237 Then don't shirk places with a higher percentage of minorities. Broaden your horizons.

[@keithwollenberg5237]

@@charzanboo9940 Vancouver and environs used to restrict neighbourhood access by race, but it hasn't done so in my lifetime. The places I listed are just the ones with access to the ocean. Not being rich, I have mostly lived in the other places, so I have given them a try, am not relying on hearsay, and can make the comparison. And in case you missed it (the video did describe it) everyone in Vancouver is a minority now -- no one racial group comprises more than 50% of the population.

[@SureshKumar-wh4wf]

My dream place to settle

[@Botman_Rubthem]

What you gonna do here?

[@jakearsenta2144]

I suggest don’t. Try moving to Minneapolis instead. Much better option

[@charzanboo9940]

​@@jakearsenta2144 How does one do that? Getting employment sponsorship from Minneapolis is easy or something?

[@abrahamtesfamariamhabtesio1148]

Next bring to us about Toronto thanks

[@KamBar2020]

Edmonton and Calgary Way Better though 👀💯

[@DPHPGF]

​@KamBar2020 Edmonton??? Yuck. Just as many homeless/ drug addicts, but absolutely nothing to do, no scenery and brown ugly landscapes all summer , with death cold all winter. Edmonton isn't in the same league as Vancouver. Calgary is pretty good.

[@uteschlotte3964]

If Vancouver is liveable or not is depence on where you come from. I am from Germany and I am fed up of the momentary crazy politics and to see how Germany is running down. So I checked in May 2024 if Vancouver is an option to move. To me Vancouver was not attractive at all and the momentary situation and politics from Justin Trudeau remind me a lot of our government. So I got to the conclusion, that living in Germany is still much better than anywhere else I have been before. But if you come from Asia, Russia or Africa - Canada is probably paradise.

[@KamBar2020]

Tell that to Asians from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Hongkong, Taiwan and 🇨🇳🤯

[@jakearsenta2144]

I’d actually rather live in Russia than Canada.

[@natedogg890]

@@jakearsenta2144 Ok bud

[@nicktankard1244]

I moved from Germany to Vancouver about 3 years ago and I regret it. Germany is better

[@nicktankard1244]

@@jakearsenta2144 as a Russian I can tell you definitely not! I escaped Russia about 6 years ago and I'm so glad that I'm in Vancouver and not there. My family is still there and it's not good

[@newworld6474]

Beijing, Hong Kong, Zurich, Geneva, Vienna, San Jose, Munich, Shanghai, Annecy, Lisbon etc are better ... IMO ... but Vancouver is nice in the summer ...

[@ivancaballero5123]

Living with the average income in Vancouver, it is just depressing :v

[@murraytown4]

I’m glad you were able to discover Vancouver. I’m a huge fan. It has its haters. Yes. It is expensive. Yes. It has a homeless problem. What major city does not have these problems in 2024. Vancouver is a global city. Global cities are costly. Unfortunately, there are those who want to enjoy all that Vancouver has to offer, but want it on the cheap. That is impossible. People need to be realistic, manage their expectations and make tradeoffs. I’m from Victoria originally so remember Vancouver of the seventies and eighties. Expo ‘86 anyone? I’ve looked at properties in Vancouver. They can be had at Ontario prices but you get much less space. The city, in fact becomes your living room and garden. As to the cute little towns around Vancouver? IMHO there are none except for maybe north of the city. The lower mainland is nothing but strip malls and urban sprawl. Yuck. If I had to live in Surrey, I’d stay in Ottawa. The closest ‘cute’ city is Victoria, on the island. No. Vancouver is not for everyone. But for those who it is not for, it’s a great vacation spot.

[@charzanboo9940]

You sound like a Vancouver elitist, lol. You make some good points but as mentioned in this video, Vancouver ranks #2 in cost of living *globally* and doesn't, in general, deliver in regards to what other cities like New York, London, Beijing, Paris, etc. deliver to its inhabitants. I know because I've lived in almost all of them. BC and Canada have weak laws compared to the rest that allowed money laundering and fraud to inflate the housing market. As for your comment on Surrey, you are comparing apples to oranges. Surrey is the future and is still developing (much faster than Vancouver because there is still land to build). Thus, it has yet to build a cultural heritage in its architecture and city landscapes. Victoria would be a more apt comparison to Ottawa.

[@murraytown4]

@@charzanboo9940 I’m no elitist but have no time for all the whiners and Karens out there who s*** on everything. I grew up in Victoria and have lived all of my adult life in Ottawa…so an apt comparison.

[@keithwollenberg5237]

"Unfortunately, there are those who want to enjoy all that Vancouver has to offer, but want it on the cheap. That is impossible. People need to be realistic, manage their expectations and make tradeoffs." The thing is, there are many of us who, like you, remember when it was possible, so the change is disappointing.

[@shauncameron8390]

@@charzanboo9940 Vancouver is actually #3.

[@charzanboo9940]

@@shauncameron8390 At the 15:11 timestamp, Vancouver is listed #2...

[@TheSafetySmith]

Travelled the world, lived in the Lower Mainland and due to 1% greed, lack of ethical leadership both federally and during the provincial LIBS reign here the current government is trying to right the economic ship with the municipalities when it comes to realistic housing purchase and rental costs. The costs for properties are inflated by an unsustainable 30% for new and up to 40% for older fix up and/or tear down. Small business shops are squeezed out leaving many new empty commercial spaces. Property investment corps buy out owners that had a 25-35 year business plan to replace with an unrealistic five-year plan. To live here if you can afford it is an awesome place to live in all seasons.

[@saad_ghannam]

If you have money (all of it), then the answer is yes, otherwise good luck habibi

[@phoenix0110]

To 2030, 300k more people will become homeless. The salary didn't grow as fast as the asset value and rents

[@lnejavi]

What month did you guys visit Vancouver?

[@MakeThatChange]

It was end of May!

[@keithwollenberg5237]

@@MakeThatChange Vancouver usually shows its very best around the Victoria Day long weekend.

[@MakeThatChange]

noted!

[@erge-px8up]

Vancouver looks nice in a photo yes that's true. The natural surroundings are beautiful. The economy is not very good, everything is very expensive, the weather will give you SAD, and Vancouverites as a whole are snobby, unfriendly and cliquish. It's not a good place to live at all and definitely not a good place to raise a family especially with the extensive drug abuse all over the city. It is a nice place to visit but that's about it.

[@matreshka_19691]

👏

[@icevoss9917]

Uhhh that's shocking 😮

[@Jimmyhndrx]

you are out of your mind. worst place forsure!

[@MakeThatChange]

Why place is best?

[@icevoss9917]

I wouldn't live in Vancouver ever. I don't think it is a beautiful city at all. You guys have lived to long in Canada, your blinded. All the highrises, and dirty streets, the noises, the homeless and drug zombies. Come on you all...

[@jakearsenta2144]

Vancouver is not liveable at all. I would suggest moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota instead. Just as beautiful as Vancouver. It may not have mountains or the ocean but it has its other beauties and is 1/10th the cost of Vancouver. If not CANADA as a whole.

[@nicktankard1244]

Vancouver is somewhat liveable if you have a decent income. I would gladly move to Minneapolis but it's another country with one of the hardest immigration rules in the world.

[@newworld6474]

Geneva, Zurich, Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Annecy etc and Hong Kong ... look better to me ...

[@keithwollenberg5237]

Please describe the other, non-ocean, non-mountain beauties that make Minneapolis just as beautiful as Vancouver. I suspect we might be dealing with an "eye of the beholder" situation, here.

[@jakearsenta2144]

@@keithwollenberg5237 North America’s best airport. Good luck finding that in Vancouver. Mayo Clinic (also something Vancouver doesn’t have). Friendly people. SAFETY. SMART CITY. Prince. Best of all… AFFORDABLE HOUSING!!!!

[@jakearsenta2144]

@@nicktankard1244 Not liveable at all.