Thinking of moving to Vancouver - where to look?

[djmk]

Originally Posted by Rusty Gull

^More like International Village and Beatty Street area -- parts of which are very, very nice. It's an area that is slowly moving up (though painstakingly so). I went to see a movie there the other night, and there were a lot of junkies in the area, with some hanging around at the McDonalds in International Village. So it's definitely urban enough, and it's well served by transit - but whether it works for you personally would be something only you could decide. (My friend, who is single, lives there and loves it, but even he admits his building has been under siege from time to time by car thieves, and once someone tried to start a fire in his building!)

i thought that was chinatown....

tinsletown is by far my favorite movie theater around, but otherwise, international village sucks

[dreambrother808]

Originally Posted by s211

Empty materialism is as much an evil as self-possessed self-importance.

Let's agree to disagree. It's not like I'd expect you to understand anything that I say based upon the kind of comments you post.
I may be assertive in my positions, and have a certain sense of pride in what I believe. I'm not going to apologize for that.
Perhaps you should stop attacking everyone here that you disagree with though and just let others' opinions be.

I know that's hard to do. It's very hard for me, myself, to refrain when people post things that aggravate me.
I am also not always capable of censoring myself. But still, make an effort. It would be appreciated, by most of us I would think.

[jlousa]

Crosstown is called Crosstown because it's the area that connects Yaletown/Chinatown/Gastown, hence Crosstown. Best part about crosstown is you have everything at your disposal without being labeled a yuppie a hipster or a junkie.

[amac]

Originally Posted by CorporateWhore

So the gf and I are toying with the idea of moving to Vancouver. We currently live in New York City (she's from here, I've lived here for about 7 years, came from Calgary). While we like the urban lifestyle, we're a little tired of living in such a tiny space, not having any outdoor space, and being caught a bit in the so-called rat race. I really would like to shift my focus towards the outdoors and having more space....and Vancouver seems like a nice mix of beauty, culture, and the outdoors. I know it's not cheap, but compared to NY, it's definitely more affordable.

I realized though, that apart from a couple of short visits, I really wouldn't even know which areas to look in, so I was hoping someone here could suggest a few areas to look into. Is there a section of Vancouver (or even in the greater Vancouver area) that strikes a nice balance of character with the ability to have easy access to the outdoors/more space....all at a reasonable price? From what I can tell, with a budget of 350-400k, a house is probably out of the question in most areas, so we would be fine with an apartment with some sort of patio space or something....which from some quick searches, seems reasonable to get.

So two things!

1)What areas/neighborhoods of the Greater Vancouver area would you recommend for a couple who are looking to shift their life away from the rat race a bit, but still have easy access to it if necessary (still have to work of course). I remember hearing that Kitsilano is fairly nice. Is North or West Vancouver a good option? Are places like Richmond too cookie-cutter suburb?

2)What websites are best to search for apartments or real estate?

Any help is appreciated, so thanks in advance.

All the suburbs are shit so don't bother. Richmond is just another word for Hell. Downtown, West End (close to beach), Mount Pleasant (hipster-ish), Kitsilano (if you dig the yoga/yuppie/LandRover-driving types) are your best bets. 400k should get you a nice, slapped-together, hi-rise glass micro condo with no A/C and a puny balcony... but I suppose that would sound appealing to a New Yorker. If you enjoy all the culture and character that New York has to offer you'll be sorely disappointed here, but if you dig all that outdoorsy stuff like hiking, kayaking and skiing then this is your kinda town - assuming you can still afford to do those things after paying the mortgage. Fear not though, the sushi here is cheap, plentiful and delicious. Good luck! (I really do mean that).

[entheosfog]

And I thought Crosstown was, like, Broadway and Cambie. I'm not sure why I thought that though.
I do think the 'real' Crosstown area has loads of potential. It would be nice to see International Village at it's true potential as well. It's massive in there but I only frequent the movie theatres there.
And the Arco Building across from the McDonalds would make some sweet lofts. I'm sure it'll happen one day...

[jlousa]

Broadway and Cambie is home to the PCI development named Crossroads, hence the common mistake.

[Rusty Gull]

Just a thought - if the streetcar is ever extended to Chinatown/Gastown, the Crosstown neighbourhood would totally take off -- for the better. I'm really interested to see what kind of impact Woodwards will have on the area in the meantime. The more I think about it, Crosstown is probably a terrific bet for someone moving to Vancouver from NYC with $400 k in their pocket - just enough to buy a nice condo with a harbour view!

[agrant]

Originally Posted by Rusty Gull

Just a thought - if the streetcar is ever extended to Chinatown/Gastown, the Crosstown neighbourhood would totally take off -- for the better. I'm really interested to see what kind of impact Woodwards will have on the area in the meantime. The more I think about it, Crosstown is probably a terrific bet for someone moving to Vancouver from NYC with $400 k in their pocket - just enough to buy a nice condo with a harbour view!

Isn't there some other condos nearing completion in that crosstown area? Does Espana count? Certainly should help business at Tinseltown.

[s211]

Originally Posted by dreambrother808

Let's agree to disagree. It's not like I'd expect you to understand anything that I say based upon the kind of comments you post.
I may be assertive in my positions, and have a certain sense of pride in what I believe. I'm not going to apologize for that.
Perhaps you should stop attacking everyone here that you disagree with though and just let others' opinions be.

I know that's hard to do. It's very hard for me, myself, to refrain when people post things that aggravate me.
I am also not always capable of censoring myself. But still, make an effort. It would be appreciated, by most of us I would think.

Comment wasn't directed at you.

[GMasterAres]

My opinion depends on what exactly you're looking for and I haven't read the entire thread to see if you've clarified things a bit more. If you're looking to buy or rent that will make a difference. If you're looking for space vs no space then that will also make a difference.

You mentioned not being extremely happy with living in a New York shoebox. Well Vancouver is still one of the most expensive cities in North America (if not the world) to live in so the odds are if you want to buy downtown you'll also be in a shoebox. If you want to rent, again probably a shoebox.

Kits, the average home there is near half a million and up so again you'd most likely have to rent unless you luck out on an appartment on Broadway or 4th. Anywhere else in Vancouver itself won't put you near the great-outdoors if you're talking hikes, mountain biking, or camping.

If you're talking just strolling parks, then many of the areas above that have been mentioned would be sufficient. If you're looking to buy you either have to get outside Downtown or look towards the Suburbs. People that say the suburbs are shit don't leave their 5 block by 5 block radius ever and couldn't locate Vancouver's airport on a map so you can quite confidently ignore them.

For great-outdoors I enjoy Coquitlam and the North Shore. You can get some decent places on the North Shore (North Vancouver city/district) and that would put you not super far from the core of Vancouver or the mountains. White Rock and South Surrey are also very nice areas to live in. If you want to frequest Vancouver itself though I wouldn't move out towards Surrey for the time being until Gateway is complete or unless you live right on the skytrain line (or near to aka along Fraser Highway / 104th).

My suggestion again would be MLS. I'd also not entirely discount parts of New Westminster or North Burnaby as you can get a city feel without the need of being in the extremely high cost downtown areas. Both new West and North Burnaby would also place you close to skytrain which can get you downtown in 20 minutes or less if you still want to be able to walk around Stanley Park.

General rule of thumb:

1) Closer to Downtown = Higher the price and fewer the space
2) Further from Downtown = Lower the price and greater the space

So weigh your options and don't make a decision without coming and visiting. My sister and her boyfriend have lived here their entire life and they've spent the last 3 months shopping around for the best area for them to live in. That's two people that know the region and are still contemplating the best location for their lifestyle. So it isn't a decision you can make in a second.

[quobobo]

Originally Posted by jhausner

Kits, the average home there is near half a million and up so again you'd most likely have to rent unless you luck out on an appartment on Broadway or 4th. Anywhere else in Vancouver itself won't put you near the great-outdoors if you're talking hikes, mountain biking, or camping.

Could you clarify why you think Kits is the best place in Vancouver for those things? You can't really do any of those in Pacific Spirit (not really Kits but that the only thing close - is that what you're thinking of?).

People that say the suburbs are shit don't leave their 5 block by 5 block radius ever and couldn't locate Vancouver's airport on a map so you can quite confidently ignore them.

Or maybe they have lived in the suburbs but prefer urban areas (and no, downtown Richmond/Surrey/Coquitlam or Metrotown don't really cut it for a lot of people). It depends on your priorities.