[giallo]

How severe the issues are downtown right now, I don't know. I haven't been back to Vancouver since 2019, and I'd really need to see things firsthand to give myself a proper impression.

What I do see and hear is the perception of downtown taking a negative turn. My brother, who I've always seen as Mr. Downtown, had to be pulled away from it kicking and screaming when he had his second child. Obviously, downtown is nearly impossible to live as a family of four, so he moved out to the 'burbs, but constantly goes back to meet up with friends and hang out.

A few days ago, when talking about me moving back to Vancouver, he uttered a phrase I never in a million years thought I'd here. He said "Don't move downtown. It's full of junkies, and it's getting worse by the month."

It's all antidotal, of course, but I was shocked to hear him say that. He's always been the biggest proponent of Vancouver's downtown peninsula.