The Economist: Vancouver Mindnumbingly Boring

[connect2source]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

But what about people for whom mountain climbing, hiking, jogging, cycling and getting sweaty are not their ideas of urban excitement and culture? I personally love nature and outdoor activities but by definition those kinds of physical activities have nothing to do with the great benefits of urban civilization. They are activities that largely take place outside of the city or at least on its perimeter, and you can do them just as easily whether you live in Vancouver or in Campbell River. They are products of Vancouver's geography, not Vancouver itself.

Pointing out Vancouver's many outdoor activities does nothing to address the charge that Vancouver focuses far too much on its geography/natural beauty and not enough on creating a brand of urban arts, entertainment and culture that a truly dynamic city of Vancouver's size should be able to offer.

Agreed!! I just accept that our proximity to the outdoors is our culture and the advantage over say, Campbell River is, for example, something like the Grouse Grind 15 mins from a major centre.

[connect2source]

Originally Posted by vanman

I wonder if we've ever passed each other haha. I do the Grind before work 1-2 times a week. I really find the "I climbed up a fookin mountain today" thought in the back of my mind helps me get through a long boring day.

I do the same, my real estate work is nonstop these days so it's an hour of 'me time' that few can mess with.

[Klazu]

It is hilarious how much attention this not-newsworthy article is getting. Now even Mayor Moonbeam has chipped in:

http://metronews.ca/news/vancouver/1...bingly-boring/

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by st7860

For Japanese and Koreans they typically chose Australia for one of two reasons: the hot weather or the rather loose visa requirements for 2 year workers there

Flights to Australia are also much cheaper than to Canada.

The government of Australia also seems to be far more active in getting Japans attention for tourism than Canada (among other econimic ties).

But, with that being said, having now lived in Japan for two years, it amazes me how popular and well known Vancouver is. It is still a very popular destination for young Japanese (and old for the Rocky Mountain trip).

I even live in a very rural part of Japan, and yet I still constantly meet people who have been to Vancouver or are planning to go. This is where events such as the Olympics do pay for themselves in advertising.

Vancouver actually has a rather large and active Japanese community compared to many western places in the world (Japanese are not the same as Chinese, they are much less likely to leave home and live somewhere else).

Again, just from my personal experience, but in North America the most popular / well known destinations for Japanese seem to be New York, California, Hawaii, and Vancouver (many times including Whistler, Victoria, and or the Rocky Mountains). After that there is some interest in Toronto (Niagara Falls), Las Vegas, and Florida.

Most Japanese seem to have a lot of fun in Van. Having the great outdoors os close is a huge benefit, and it is embraced within the urban fabric, just look at Stanley park, the beaches, and the entire sea wall system. That is part of the urban atmosphere of Van.

Also, Vancouver is an amazing city for food. I cannot tell you how much I miss the food in Vancouver. The variety and quality is amazing.

There are also many good pub / club scenes in various areas (Gastown, Main, Commercial, etc...)]

Vancouver does need more theatre, museums, and other such facilities, and it is not the most exciting city on earth (again, I do agree it needs to improve) but again, to call it outright boring is untrue. There is a lot of fun to be had.

[st7860]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Flights to Australia are also much cheaper than to Canada.

The government of Australia also seems to be far more active in getting Japans attention for tourism than Canada (among other econimic ties).

But, with that being said, having now lived in Japan for two years, it amazes me how popular and well known Vancouver is. It is still a very popular destination for young Japanese (and old for the Rocky Mountain trip).

I even live in a very rural part of Japan, and yet I still constantly meet people who have been to Vancouver or are planning to go. This is where events such as the Olympics do pay for themselves in advertising.

Vancouver actually has a rather large and active Japanese community compared to many western places in the world (Japanese are not the same as Chinese, they are much less likely to leave home and live somewhere else).

Again, just from my personal experience, but in North America the most popular / well known destinations for Japanese seem to be New York, California, Hawaii, and Vancouver (many times including Whistler, Victoria, and or the Rocky Mountains). After that there is some interest in Toronto (Niagara Falls), Las Vegas, and Florida.

Among the Japanese in vancouver there are two types for the boys and two types for the girls. For the guys , some come just for a year of English and fun then they go home start a typical boring career. A minority would like to stay but they won't try that hard. For the girls , again some just want to have fun then go back , and others will try very hard to stay if they have enough money to do so . You're right about band, niagra falls, etc . Some Japanese that dislike other Japanese will go to Calgary, banff, or Ontario but most stay in vancouver except for excursions to the Rockies or Niagara Falls etc

Funny thing is though, the quota for Japanese young people to Canada is only a bit bigger than the Korean quota but for some reason the Koreans tend to crowd into the iec canada program more .

Vancouver has been a magnet for Japanese for over 30 years . I haven't been to the capilano salmon hatchery in north vancouver for over five years however the last time I was there the salmon display cases had bilingual English Japanese signs . It shouldn't be a surprise that Japanese know about vancouver. Many Japanese , especially young ones or elder widows without a family would love to stay in vancouver forever . However the difference between Japanese and Chinese is that overall, while most Japanese visitors would like to stay a long time , only a minority would try very hard to find a way .

With regards to the Australian thing , I'm not sure about the pronto but I just know that the Aussie programs have giant quotas and the country is hot so it attracts some Japanese and Koreans more than canada

I'd go so far as to say that if there weren't so many Japanese and Koreans in downtown that condo rents might fall a bit .

[Pinion]

Originally Posted by Wooster

Reminds be of the beginning of this bit by Chris Rock.

NSFW (swearing)

• Video Link

He's currently divorcing his wife because he was bored of her

http://www.tmz.com/2014/12/30/chris-...laak-marriage/

[Jebby]

Originally Posted by st7860

In Germany its considered socially acceptable to have an exceptional career and yet continue to rent for your whole life, that's what I heard.

It has to do a lot with Germans being very adverse to debt. If you don't have the money to buy a house, you don't. It's also the reason why a majority of German's don't have credit cards.

[cornholio]

Originally Posted by Jebby

It has to do a lot with Germans being very adverse to debt. If you don't have the money to buy a house, you don't. It's also the reason why a majority of German's don't have credit cards.

Germany has a large public housing stock and large subsidies. There is absolutely no reason to own beyond preference. It always surprises me when people are not aware of how socialist Germany is. If the NDP were to win the next federal election and our provincial NDP also won and both implemented every single one of their policies (and I know their policy hand book in and out) Canada would still be well right of Germany. In countries with strong socialist histories, like Germany, there is absolutely no reason to own or buy. Its just housing. Everyone has it. Owning is just a added burden, and not very efficient.

[st7860]

Originally Posted by cornholio

Owning is just a added burden, and not very efficient.

Every one of your friends & family that you have mentioned in public on this board (including yourself) were and/or are still homeowners according to you.

[cornholio]

Originally Posted by st7860

Every one of your friends & family that you have mentioned in public on this board (including yourself) were and/or are still homeowners according to you.

We live in Canada. I was discussing Germany. Whats your point? Canada is structured in such a way that in order to be able to retire comfortably you must own. The rent would eat away at too much of a persons pension without enough help from the government beyond keeping people alive.

[st7860]

Originally Posted by cornholio

We live in Canada. I was discussing Germany. Whats your point? Canada is structured in such a way that in order to be able to retire comfortably you must own. The rent would eat away at too much of a persons pension without enough help from the government beyond keeping people alive.

"Owning is just a added burden, and not very efficient."

[cornholio]

Originally Posted by st7860

"Owning is just a added burden, and not very efficient."

And it is. Its just another reason why Quality of life in Germany is better. But once again this is Canada and we must play by the Canadian rules. Had we had a strong public housing strategy, like in Germany, owning would be a non issue and we would not have all these realestate discussions.

[ssiguy]

I think the fantastic outdoor activities and scenery are a great draw but also hurt the urbanity of the city itself.

Vancouverites like the outdoors and they have a great playground at their disposal. The down side of that is that due to so much of the city being focused on it's outer beauty and outside activities, the city itself is rather dull.

Vancouver's cultural scene for a city it's size is pretty pathetic and city hall seems to have gone out of it's way to rid the city of any kind of spontaneity. The city has become so absorbed with "liveability" issues that it has sapped the life right out of the city. City Hall equates liveability with sterility and predictability.

I guess that's the issue with Vancouver itself...........it's pretty, nice, pleasant, and painfully predictable. Vancouver is a city that offers no surprises. This makes for a comfortable place but not an invigorating or dynamic one.

That's the problem with liveability............it's based on averages and assumes everybody wants the same predictable things.

[Caliplanner1]

Originally Posted by st7860

"Owning is just a added burden, and not very efficient."

st7860, when one retires in North America with a house either all paid for or mostly paid for they can either choose to live on/off a reverse mortgage or sell the property and survive off that equity based profit/income!

[st7860]

Originally Posted by Caliplanner1

st7860, when one retires in North America with a house either all paid for or mostly paid for they can either choose to live on/off a reverse mortgage or sell the property and survive off that equity based profit/income!

That quote was from someone else., but yes , a primary residence is one of the important retirement tools in some
Peoples lives

[st7860]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

I think the fantastic outdoor activities and scenery are a great draw but also hurt the urbanity of the city itself.

Vancouverites like the outdoors and they have a great playground at their disposal. The down side of that is that due to so much of the city being focused on it's outer beauty and outside activities, the city itself is rather dull.

Vancouver's cultural scene for a city it's size is pretty pathetic and city hall seems to have gone out of it's way to rid the city of any kind of spontaneity. The city has become so absorbed with "liveability" issues that it has sapped the life right out of the city. City Hall equates liveability with sterility and predictability.

I guess that's the issue with Vancouver itself...........it's pretty, nice, pleasant, and painfully predictable. Vancouver is a city that offers no surprises. This makes for a comfortable place but not an invigorating or dynamic one.

That's the problem with liveability............it's based on averages and assumes everybody wants the same predictable things.

That's actually quite right . Although clubvibes was founded in vancouver , vancouver isn't known for fancy night life or live theatre. The drinking laws are irritating as well .

But then , people don't come to vancouver to party. They come for the parks and stuff. I actually fully non sarcastically agree with you - if nature and or taking transit isn't your thing , then Toronto or Montreal would be more suitable .

[MolsonExport]

if nature and or taking transit isn't your thing , then Toronto or Montreal would be more suitable .

yeah, because Torontonians and Montrealers aren't into nature or taking transit.

Sorry, but that is a ridiculous statement. I've lived in all three cities, so please don't bore me with cherry-picked "data".

[Caliplanner1]

One big factor for Vancouver's "cultural backwardness" (as defined by its critics) is the city's lack of a vibrant global corporate head office business environment (beyond the limited rural/primary resourced based economies of mining/lumber/fishing etc.)! The presence of global head offices (in say high technologies/finance/high-order consumer goods etc.) do tend to attract vibrant corporate patrons of the arts!

[Miu]

Originally Posted by cornholio

Germany has a large public housing stock and large subsidies. There is absolutely no reason to own beyond preference. It always surprises me when people are not aware of how socialist Germany is. If the NDP were to win the next federal election and our provincial NDP also won and both implemented every single one of their policies (and I know their policy hand book in and out) Canada would still be well right of Germany. In countries with strong socialist histories, like Germany, there is absolutely no reason to own or buy. Its just housing. Everyone has it. Owning is just a added burden, and not very efficient.

Germany doesn't have a very large public housing stock at all. Subsidized housing makes up roughly 4% of the overall stock, which is rather low by developed-world standards and probably not much different from Canada. Britain, by comparison, has the largest public housing stock of any Western European country (17% of the total) but a higher home ownership rate, while other low-ownership countries such as Switzerland also have a negligible public housing sector. In Europe, there appears to be an inverse relationship between economic development and home ownership (with some outliers) and the existence or absence of public housing doesn't seem to have anything to do with it.

The reason why in Germany, specifically, there is no stigma attached to renting is actually the exact opposite of what you're suggesting: After WWII, with a larger percentage of its housing stock destroyed than any other Western European country and many people lacking any collateral to qualify for a mortgage loan, the German government was among the first in Europe to deregulate the rental market in order to encourage private investment in much-needed housing. With a highly competitive, largely market-based rental sector, the quality of housing was generally high and abundant supply kept rents relatively low.

In the U.K., on the other hand, the rental market was strictly regulated and dominated by government-owned council housing well into the 80s. The lack of competition produced the neglect typically associated with public housing, and renting quickly came to be associated with poverty, leading everyone who could afford it to buy.

Apart from that, the reasons why Germany didn't take part in the last big property boom are mostly macro-economic (low inflation and population growth kept home prices stable and suppressed demand, while higher real interest rates than many other countries suppressed demand for credit). This has changed in the past few years though, and the German real estate market is booming.

[st7860]

Originally Posted by Miu

Germany doesn't have a very large public housing stock at all. Subsidized housing makes up roughly 4% of the overall stock, which is rather low by developed-world standards and probably not much different from Canada.

You know a lot about Germany so I'm wondering is it true that a university degree is almost but not completely free for any person including a visitor as long as they can speak German? That's what I heard