Moving To Ba From Canada

[syngirl]

I decided to check it out myself, I dont know much but about the areas but surely this looks a pretty reasonable house considering its 30mins from downtown vancouver without traffic at ca$800k in North Vancouver.
http://www.realtor.c...mbia-V7K2M6#v=d

Buenos Aires detached house in Martinez (50mins to downtown without traffic) - same price, same number of bedrooms,same floor space, bonus of a pool and 7 foot high fence to keep the burglars out.
http://www.argentina.../?id_prop=16666

I was offered a job in vancouver about 6 years ago . I was tempted, it was the same wage as I was earning in London. But i wanted warmer climate and less rain.Seemed more affordable though.There is no way you`d get a detached house , 30mins from central london for ca$2m. You`d get an attached flat for ca$800k in London hehe. I guess Vancouver has become a victim of its own success.

I agree that living here you learn to appreciate the simpler things in life, and the social side is good. I do think the material things here between many people is exactly the same here though.It depends on the class of people you are around but I know many people here who have credit upto their necks in order to have a new car, Caribbean holiday or spending $10.000 pesos on a birthday party for little Juans 4th birthday. Even people who live in half finished houses here seem to have brand new cars. I guess cars here are more about status than houses.

I decided to check it out myself, I dont know much but about the areas but surely this looks a pretty reasonable house considering its 30mins from downtown vancouver without traffic at ca$800k in North Vancouver.
http://www.realtor.c...mbia-V7K2M6#v=d

Buenos Aires detached house in Martinez (50mins to downtown without traffic) - same price, same number of bedrooms,same floor space, bonus of a pool and 7 foot high fence to keep the burglars out.
http://www.argentina.../?id_prop=16666

Vancouver: [background=rgb(242, 242, 237)]Floor Space[/background]
[background=rgb(242, 242, 237)]1402 sqft[/background]


[background=rgb(242, 242, 237)]Martinez: Floor space: 400 sq m = 4000 sq ft[/background]

[background=rgb(242, 242, 237)]Need I say more???[/background]

 

[CanaCroat]

I don't miss the materialism, I don't miss their idea of social life. I would love to have the access to water and mountain sports again, and the food of course, but life beyond sports can be pretty blah. And expensive.

You said it right there, everyone is so concerned with who has what car, which clothes, how much money, it's quite disgusting. I hate that part of Vancouver so much. It feels like a big fashion show sometimes, many people are judgemental, or it feels that way at least. If you can look past that, there are definitely cool people to be found and if you look closely you can find some cool scenes and awesome things going on. Many people here are about the individual, there isn't that same sense of community.. my family is from Croatia and generally speaking (especially the poor area where my family is from) people have waaay less money and possessions than people here in Vancouver do but they seem much much happier, the social networks are much stronger, people come together. There is a different feeling in the air, there is a real sense of community, it's all about people and who you are with and spending time with family and friends. That is something that has been drawing me to South America in general, I constantly hear about how people are much more social and that when you find a good group of friends, it is like family, I really miss that... I have run into that almost everywhere I've travelled, but that feeling is lacking in Van unfortunately.
Vancouver is definitely beautiful, it will probably always be my home base, I have family and friends here, but I'm looking forward to spending time elsewhere for a while.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

You said it right there, everyone is so concerned with who has what car, which clothes, how much money, it's quite disgusting. I hate that part of Vancouver so much. It feels like a big fashion show sometimes...

Nobody in Buenos Aires, of course, is the least concerned with trivialities such as money or fashion.

 

[johnw100]

Vancouver: [background=rgb(242, 242, 237)]Floor Space[/background]
[background=rgb(242, 242, 237)]1402 sqft[/background]


[background=rgb(242, 242, 237)]Martinez: Floor space: 400 sq m = 4000 sq ft[/background]

[background=rgb(242, 242, 237)]Need I say more???[/background]

Does it?
A newly refurbished house in Vancouver vs an ageing house in BA albeit larger but twice the distance from downtown areas for the same price.

 

[johnw100]

You said it right there, everyone is so concerned with who has what car, which clothes, how much money, it's quite disgusting. I hate that part of Vancouver so much. It feels like a big fashion show sometimes, many people are judgemental, or it feels that way at least. If you can look past that, there are definitely cool people to be found and if you look closely you can find some cool scenes and awesome things going on. Many people here are about the individual, there isn't that same sense of community.. my family is from Croatia and generally speaking (especially the poor area where my family is from) people have waaay less money and possessions than people here in Vancouver do but they seem much much happier, the social networks are much stronger, people come together. There is a different feeling in the air, there is a real sense of community, it's all about people and who you are with and spending time with family and friends. That is something that has been drawing me to South America in general, I constantly hear about how people are much more social and that when you find a good group of friends, it is like family, I really miss that... I have run into that almost everywhere I've travelled, but that feeling is lacking in Van unfortunately.
Vancouver is definitely beautiful, it will probably always be my home base, I have family and friends here, but I'm looking forward to spending time elsewhere for a while.

Trust me Argentina isnt any different when it comes to material things and keeping up with the jones` , its just they have to pay more money and get less for it.
Just go to any birthday party here and you`ll see the competition between parents.
The difference is here that the family is alot tighter and closer knit. Cousins are treated like brothers and sisters. But I also have to say there is alot more conflicts in familes here. So many have broken apart due to money problems, fighting over who has what,etc. All comes down to families owning houses and land and somebody passes away and the siblings all fight over whats left. I remember looking for a plot to build a house and a good 1/2 of all the 20+ plots had legal disputes between family members.
Also in terms of happiness , i think a lot of it is a front. So much here depends on networking, its not what you know but who you know. People keep in contact to progress in work aswell as in social status.
I saw a recent survey of 100 world cities and Buenos AIres was about 2/3rds down. I remember seeing 2 canadian cities in the top 10. So many people here work very hard, often having two jobs to make ends meet. I`ve lived here for 3 years and its really made me appreciate what we had back home in the UK (apart from the weather). I have enjoyed Argentina, but its a tough place to live and its getting harder all the time with the economic situation.

 

[Ries]

I live an hour from Vancouver, and visit often.
I can assure you, its FAR more expensive than BA.
I know people who have bought funky houses, near downtown, in areas with junkies on the corners, for a million dollars.
The nicer close in family neighborhoods start at more like 2.5 Million.
A good restaurant there will easily run you a hundred dollars per person.
Sure, there is cheap ramen and dimsum, but in general, its a city of the very rich- mostly recent asian immigrants.

I would laugh at the "fashion show" comment, though.
Vancouver, like Seattle and Portland, is outdoors chic- you go to the fanciest places, and people are wearing patagonia and north face. There are a few expensive boutiques in Vancouver, maybe as many as in one block of Palermo Soho, but in general, fashion there is dowdy.

Food, though, is incredible. every nation is represented, and its all good.

my guess is that it would cost about 3 times as much to live there, if you owned a car and rented an apartment. If you bought, forget it. I can still find one bedrooms in Villa Crespo for a bit over 100K USD. Impossible to find a garage space in Vancouver for that. 2 bedroom apartments in english bay run from 3/4 of a million up to 2 million, quite easily, more, of course, for the really fancy ones.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

I live an hour from Vancouver, and visit often.
I can assure you, its FAR more expensive than BA.
I know people who have bought funky houses, near downtown, in areas with junkies on the corners, for a million dollars.
The nicer close in family neighborhoods start at more like 2.5 Million.
A good restaurant there will easily run you a hundred dollars per person.
Sure, there is cheap ramen and dimsum, but in general, its a city of the very rich- mostly recent asian immigrants.

I would laugh at the "fashion show" comment, though.
Vancouver, like Seattle and Portland, is outdoors chic- you go to the fanciest places, and people are wearing patagonia and north face. There are a few expensive boutiques in Vancouver, maybe as many as in one block of Palermo Soho, but in general, fashion there is dowdy.

Food, though, is incredible. every nation is represented, and its all good.

my guess is that it would cost about 3 times as much to live there, if you owned a car and rented an apartment. If you bought, forget it. I can still find one bedrooms in Villa Crespo for a bit over 100K USD. Impossible to find a garage space in Vancouver for that. 2 bedroom apartments in english bay run from 3/4 of a million up to 2 million, quite easily, more, of course, for the really fancy ones.

Bellingham's very nice.

 

[CanaCroat]

Bellingham's very nice.

hahahhaha

 

[Redbeanz]

I am interested in this thread because we have a good friend in Vancouver.
Just read in USA Today this week that, with the median housing cost at
10 times the median household income there, housing in Vancouver is
second only to Hong Kong, the most expensive in the world.

It certainly is beautiful, though!

 

[Ries]

Bellingham is pretty, and its a College town, so there are cheap tacos.
It is swarmed with Canadians, especially at the Costco and Trader Joes. The Trader Joes is the third or fourth busiest in the entire company, with over 150 employees for a small store, because the Canadians come down and just hoover up the stock, particularly cheese, wine, and odd ball gourmet treats.
They are thinking about building a second Costco, basically just to serve the Canadian trade.