Vancouver General Discussion Thread

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

Are you referring to the Challenger disaster?

yeah, they called it the lost tapes or something like that. Weird how I can remember it so well

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by Klazu

No BC plates have caught my eye, but I am sure there are people crazy enough to drive 5500 kilometers - one way! Has anyone ever done the BC - FL trip?

I met a bunch of girls in their 20s who used to do a biennial return trip from Prince George to Florida.

Seems crazy, but they seemed like they had fun doing it.

I think it would be a great one-way trip. Maybe if you're buying a Florida car on the cheap or something.

[240glt]

Down in Vancouver for a little R & R. Today looks like the type of day that is going to make going back to Edmonton very, very disappointing

Commercial Drive yesterday: pub hopped, dinner on the patio at Havana, people watched.. I love how that space has evolved over the years without the developers sinking their teeth into it (yet)

Downtown pretty as always, but man lots of vacant street front! What's up ?

Renting bikes and heading to Jericho today and we will probably spend the evening in & around west 4th area.

Sure do miss Vancouver.. Just too bad we couldn't afford to live here!

[Klazu]

Great to hear that you have been having a great time, 240glt! It is surely a BEAUTIFUL spring day today.

Not sure what area of Downtown you are meaning with your comment on vacant street front. I think the vacancy % is not that high (it has been recently discussed on this forum), but certain streets and blocks are having some troubles, mainly due to offering small and old spaces. Of course a big factor is also the ridiculously high rents which are hurting any small retail.

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

I think it would be a great one-way trip. Maybe if you're buying a Florida car on the cheap or something.

For sure and one sees Florida plates quite often here in Vancouver. I don't know if those are Vancouver snow birds coming back home or what.

What just boggles my mind is the amount of time it takes to drive there and back. 5500 kilometers takes 55 hours when driving 100km/h - that's over two days straight! And that's only one way. It is safe to say that the return trip will take a full week even with the minimal stopping and crazy driving.

I wonder how people can do that, considering how short vacations North Americans enjoy? Perhaps they are all people enjoying their retirement, I don't know.

[240glt]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Great to hear that you have been having a great time, 240glt! It is surely a BEAUTIFUL spring day today.

Not sure what area of Downtown you are meaning with your comment on vacant street front. I think the vacancy % is not that high (it has been recently discussed on this forum), but certain streets and blocks are having some troubles, mainly due to offering small and old spaces. Of course a big factor is also the ridiculously high rents which are hurting any small retail.

Yeah mostly noticed the vacant spots on the trendy streets like Robson

Last time I was down there was a lot of vacancy on Denman, but those spots have mostly filled in it seems

Such a nice day, after lunch on English bay going to rent a car and head to White Rock this afternoon for some beers and fish and chips on Marine Drive

[Klazu]

What is wrong with Canada Post! A stamp for a postcard to Europe: $2.50 / piece - like what the ???? Postcards cost $0.25 / piece, so it is ridiculous that the stamp cost ten times as much. What are they doing, booking a plane ticket for the card?

Some things in this country are ridiculously expensive...

[Klazu]

Those of you living in Metrotown - how do you like the area? I would like to know what is Metrotown like when you live there? I have been to Metrotown dozens of times, but it has always been just a brief visit and during daytime.

How safe is Metrotown (not the mall) in the evening or during the night? Do women dare to go jogging alone on the residential streets? How about Central Park? Is it completely safe during day or in the evening? What type of crime is typical in the area and how does it fare crime wise against rest of Burnaby?

What are your favorite things to do during weekends and in the evening? Excluding whatever Metropolis has, what else there is to do in the area? With all the new development in recent years, is the streetscape getting any busier or are all the people concentrated inside the mall?

How busy is Skytrain in the morning, when commuting to Downtown? Is it still convenient or is it so crowded with people that it is already uncomfortable?

Lastly, do you think that Metrotown is just a vertical bedroom community with a big mall, or does it have its own life and character?

I would really appreaciate comments from people living in the area to know it a bit better. Thanks!

[SpongeG]

central park is a cruising park at night, avoid the rustling bushes

[SpongeG]

i'm moving to vancouver island in two weeks! yay, i am leaving the frozen north of alberta and back to bc, scary expensive bc.

Anyway does anyone have any chef or cook contacts over there? am applying for jobs as a cook down in the cowichan valley nanaimo area and any leads would be great.

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

central park is a cruising park at night, avoid the rustling bushes

I am out of loop with the urban lingo. I think I get your point, but what exactly does a "cruising park" mean? People getting mugged in the park? Sexually harassed?

Is that really a thing? I don't recall reading this from newspapers not to mention frequently?

As the area is likely changing fast with the influx of new people, I would be interested to know how it is safety/entertainment wise and is it getting constantly better or worse?

[quobobo]

Originally Posted by Klazu

I would like to know what is Metrotown like when you live there?

I live in Vancouver but I work at Metrotown, often visit friends who live there, and have seriously considered moving there... so I'm maybe 1/3 qualified to answer this question?

tl;dr: very convenient for shopping+transit, crappy pedestrian experience, lots of Asian restaurants but very little else going on

There is a decent amount of pedestrian activity outside the mall. However, nearly every street is wide, busy, ugly and car-centric. It's not a neighbourhood where you go for a nice evening stroll.

If you like Asian food, there are tons of small restaurants along Kingsway and at Crystal Mall. That's my favourite part about the area. Expect *very* little in the way of western food, bars, and nightlife. If you want a non-fast-food western meal, your options are basically Cactus Club and Trattoria. If you want to grab a drink at a bar, you're out of luck.

Daily shopping is very convenient - most of the new towers are a short walk away from at least one grocery store (Price Smart, T&T+Superstore in the mall, and Save-On is opening soon).

[quobobo]

Originally Posted by Klazu

what exactly does a "cruising park" mean?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruising_for_sex

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by quobobo

tl;dr: very convenient for shopping+transit, crappy pedestrian experience, lots of Asian restaurants but very little else going on

Thanks, quobobo. This is pretty well aligned with my impression of the area as well. So it is basically a vertical bedroom community with a huge mall in the center.

How have you or your friends found it safety wise? Now that "cruising" was explained (thanks!), I don't see that being a big terrent. The same has been said about Stanley Park, but I have never found it unsafe. Sure, it gets sketchy in the evening, but mostly because there are very little lights in Stanley Park. Otherwise it has felt safe and I was wondering if Central Park is similar?

[SpongeG]

i wouldnt worry about it but i have heard of people walking into something they didnt want to see. I've worked in the area and had a friend in the area, there was always a lot of places to walk to along kingsway, he was west of willingdon, quite a lot of pedestrian action in the evenings

[Klazu]

Anyone else having an opinion on Metrotown area? I remember us having more forumers living in the area and your opinion would be appreciated. Please drop me a private message, if you don't want to be posting in this thread.

I checked out a suite in the area today and it is very tempting to consider, but the idea of moving out of Downtown feels hard. Rents in Metrotown are tempting and the views are boy, oh boy.

[Pinion]

I lived near Metrotown many decades ago before it was a thing (Closer to the Grand Villa casino, which was a Sheraton hotel back then) and didn't like it. Burnaby back then had all the downsides of Vancouver with none of the cool nature. At least now it's urbanizing.

[logan5]

Interesting to see how drastically Metrotown has changed in the last 2 decades. There was a time when there were quite a number of nightclubs and bars filled with drunks, video arcades filled with punk kids. It had some edge back then.

Metrotown was always kind of barren and bleak, but today it feels even more so as there isn't much in the way of social interaction. Go to condo tower, go to mall. Repeat. In my experience, Metrotown is the most boring place in Greater Vancouver, but probly one of the safest places Greater Vancouver. Central Park is a great amenity though, which I would consider completely safe, even at night. Gays out cruising are not going to attack you. Bonsor Community Center has a lot to offer, but when I used to go there back in the day, it was packed. It's probably much worse now.

I would choose Brentwood as an alternative over MT as it seems to be more of a place where you could meet people and maybe make some friends. And it's safe, and it's fairly close to Burnaby Heights (where you could get a bit of a Commercial Dr. type experience). Brentwood maybe lacks some things Metrotown has, but it is quickly catching up, and will (imo) surpass Metrotown relatively quickly.

[Klazu]

Thank you for your opinion, logan5. I also think that in the future Brentwood will be a more pleasing neighborhood than Metrotown, largely thanks to the much more appealing and communal open-air mall that they are currently building. But that is all few years down the road and for the time being it remains a huge construction site.

Commute wise both are great locations, but why I am so interested in Metrotown all of the sudden is because of several great opportunities having presented themselves recently. We are also completely fed up with the price level of Downtown, as we don't feel like paying $$$ for totally average condos or alternatively living very cramped. But it is a big mental challenge to leave Downtown and its unique lifestyle that we have been enjoying so much. But how much is that worth?

Let's see what will happen, but next week should be interesting. I would still appreciate more comments from people currently living in the Metrotown area. Thanks!

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by Klazu

....... Sure, it gets sketchy in the evening, but mostly because there are very little lights in Stanley Park.

This has always been a sticky point with me. I find Stanley Park, and its seawall in particular, very underlit and dark compared with many, if not most, other big cities. This seems an issue that has not really been addressed. Could we better light the park walks to make them safer, or do what they do in Paris: light them up splendidly ... then lock the park gates shut tight at sundown!!! ....(and I mean all the parks, large and small, except maybe the Bois de Vincennes & Bois de Boulogne)