Vancouver no longer most liveable city in any survey!

[Hed Kandi]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%2...es#cite_note-6

[delboy]

best leave then

[jlousa]

Old news and besides does not belong in this section, moving it to the appropriate section.

[Conrad]

I think these surveys are rubbish anyway. Mountains... ocean... green-thinking... blah, blah... we've heard it all before. Reality: public transit is maxed out, traffic is insane and the cost of living here is very high. The degree of livability in any city depends on how much money you have. So sick of these surveys.

[ckkelley]

^
Really? I agree that these lists don't represent the average person but why so upset?

[ckkelley]

d/p--------

[WaxItYourself]

At least we're still ahead of Toronto. That's all that matters.

[Cypherus]

Originally Posted by WaxItYourself

At least we're still ahead of Toronto. That's all that matters.

I agree. You can't even visit the "Great Canadian Skyline" thread without being exposed to 10 pictures of downtown Toronto on each page.

On topic, for Melbourne to be #1 isn't surprising. A cursory view of the city on Google Earth gives you a good indication of the city's solid urban planning and land use policies.

[ckkelley]

Aw hell, we had a pretty good run!

[Conrad]

Originally Posted by ckkelley

^
Really? I agree that these lists don't represent the average person but why so upset?

Because, like you rightly stated, these lists don't represent the average person. What are these surveys based on? Who is participating in them? I've never been asked, have you? Seems to me they're based on data more than real life experiences. Don't get me wrong, I like Vancouver. It's an interesting, ever-evolving city with beautiful surrounds, but it's not perfect. Ranking high on these "most liveable cities" lists lulls people into a false sense of pride where people start strutting around with a meaningless, chest-thumping "were number one" mentality. There's nothing wrong with being proud of your city, but it should be based in reality, flaws and all. Not on a list put together by some committee comprised of people who probably don't even live here. We give these lists more credibility than they deserve.

[cornholio]

Originally Posted by Conrad

I think these surveys are rubbish anyway. Mountains... ocean... green-thinking... blah, blah... we've heard it all before. Reality: public transit is maxed out, traffic is insane and the cost of living here is very high. The degree of livability in any city depends on how much money you have. So sick of these surveys.

The world is a big place and I think overall Vancouver doesnt have ANY serious traffic problems compared to the average city, the transit is much better then the average city and the cost of living is not too bad(the cost of property is high but rents are average). That doesnt mean Vancouver doesnt have problems, personally I bring up allot of them often but hell anytime I get away I realize how difficult life is in so many other cites out there. Having said that my current opinion is based on living in Sao Paul, a city with no urban planing and arguably the worst traffic congestion in the world.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by cornholio

the cost of living is not too bad(the cost of property is high but rents are average).

You can't be serious. Vancouver is one of the least affordable cities in the world, a combination of sky high real estate and bargain basement wages.

[Pinion]

The fact that we lost our #1 ranking in one because of issues with the Malahat highway on Vancouver Island displays how much research is put into these. It's purely for ego and tourism boards.

[ckkelley]

Originally Posted by Conrad

Because, like you rightly stated, these lists don't represent the average person. What are these surveys based on? Who is participating in them? I've never been asked, have you? Seems to me they're based on data more than real life experiences. Don't get me wrong, I like Vancouver. It's an interesting, ever-evolving city with beautiful surrounds, but it's not perfect. Ranking high on these "most liveable cities" lists lulls people into a false sense of pride where people start strutting around with a meaningless, chest-thumping "were number one" mentality. There's nothing wrong with being proud of your city, but it should be based in reality, flaws and all. Not on a list put together by some committee comprised of people who probably don't even live here. We give these lists more credibility than they deserve.

With all due respect your view has never occurred to me. But really, so what? Who cares what some people might think. I don't. We agree that to the average person these types of lists aren't relevant.

[cornholio]

Originally Posted by Doug

You can't be serious. Vancouver is one of the least affordable cities in the world, a combination of sky high real estate and bargain basement wages.

Least affordable?? For buying property sure, no one needs to buy property here to live here. I never did understood why people place so much importance on owning the place you live in. Rents are cheap and what you get for what you pay is amazing. Plus renting gives a person mobility, mobility is priceless. Cost of living in Vancouver is low, I dont give a crap what these expat surveys say, I have enough personal and real experiences to know that these surveys are total bull. Jut dont buy property here, if you are so desperate to own property, for I assume investment purposes then buy somewhere else, the world is a big place, you dont have to own where you live.

[delboy]

Originally Posted by Doug

You can't be serious. Vancouver is one of the least affordable cities in the world, a combination of sky high real estate and bargain basement wages.

actually i agree with him.

I've lived around the world fair bit, and rent in Vancouver is relatively reasonable compared to other places. As a renter in Vancouver, i never found the cost of living that much more than places like Calgary or Toronto. I spend a fair bit of time travelling throughout the year, especially Edmonton and Calgary and don't find day to day costs, outside of gas, much less really.

Where things change dramitically is when you make the leap into homeownership.

[delboy]

Originally Posted by cornholio

Least affordable?? For buying property sure, no one needs to buy property here to live here. I never did understood why people place so much importance on owning the place you live in. Rents are cheap and what you get for what you pay is amazing. Plus renting gives a person mobility, mobility is priceless. Cost of living in Vancouver is low, I dont give a crap what these expat surveys say, I have enough personal and real experiences to know that these surveys are total bull. Jut dont buy property here, if you are so desperate to own property, for I assume investment purposes then buy somewhere else, the world is a big place, you dont have to own where you live.

I agree 100 percent.....

[delboy]

I agree that these studies are of little real application and see them more as a check list at what places are getting right, such as health care etc.

Given our soggy climate, I always wondered how we faired so well on the livability scale. That being said, rain aside, vancity is a very livable place. I would rate Vancouver as one of the top cities that I have lived in and visited, perhaps not the best, but certainly up there.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by cornholio

Least affordable?? For buying property sure, no one needs to buy property here to live here. I never did understood why people place so much importance on owning the place you live in. Rents are cheap and what you get for what you pay is amazing. Plus renting gives a person mobility, mobility is priceless. Cost of living in Vancouver is low, I dont give a crap what these expat surveys say, I have enough personal and real experiences to know that these surveys are total bull. Jut dont buy property here, if you are so desperate to own property, for I assume investment purposes then buy somewhere else, the world is a big place, you dont have to own where you live.

+1000000

People here look at real estate and have no idea what "cost of living" truly means. Go to London or NYC and try to live the same lifestyle you do here for a week.

[artvandelay]

Originally Posted by cornholio

Least affordable?? For buying property sure, no one needs to buy property here to live here. I never did understood why people place so much importance on owning the place you live in. Rents are cheap and what you get for what you pay is amazing. Plus renting gives a person mobility, mobility is priceless. Cost of living in Vancouver is low, I dont give a crap what these expat surveys say, I have enough personal and real experiences to know that these surveys are total bull. Jut dont buy property here, if you are so desperate to own property, for I assume investment purposes then buy somewhere else, the world is a big place, you dont have to own where you live.

From a financial standpoint, renting is essentially a waste of money unless it's a very short-term situation (less than year). Sinking a vast amount of money each month for zero equity doesn't make much sense when a you could have the option of a similarly priced mortgage payment. This is the main problem with affordability in Vancouver.