The photo almost captures something about Vancouver that I've always found odd. Unrelated to the gorgeous view of the mountains, that is.
There's a certain style of architecture to the high-rise apartment and office complexes there that's different from most other cities I've seen. Something about the way the windows and ledges are arranged. This close-up of one of the buildings in your photo *almost* illustrates what I'm talking about...
From a distance, it looks almost post-apocalyptic. As if some of the windows are broken and the building is abandoned. I know that's not the case, but it just *looks* like that to me.
It's the dominant style in some Asian cities and in Honolulu. I agree with you about how it looks. It helps that apartment towers in Honolulu (outside of a few clusters) tend to be a little lower-class and to have laundry drying on the balcony, lots of junk, some broken windows, etc.
Climate is pretty much the same. A bit hard to say, since the last two years have been pretty weird, anyway.
Livability is amazing. Much better transit, and no freeways through the urban core. A wide choice of good, walkable neighborhoods, all of them very good sized. Health care for $54/month.
Culture... well, I personally rank that somewhat under Seattle, and it's why despite all the above I won't really hesitate to move back. Vancouver is a bit like every major west coast US city rolled into one. The LA shines through at times. It's a bit too glitzy and superficial for my tastes, too well dressed and trendy. Somewhat less polite, as well, mostly in a passive just-not-bothering-to-pay-attention kind of way. Not huge amounts, mind you, but enough that I notice. (Particularly on the bus -- Seattle riders are so... professional about the whole thing. Seattle bus drivers are also much better.)
I can agree with Fish on many points, although I would argue that in the urban core, things are quite a bit different--both the bus drivers and the people, it seems. Hell, I live in Yaletown, which is the most yuppie, glitzy, superficial part of town. But, really, give me the West End over anywhere in Seattle any day.
ETA: I can't seem to express thoughts coherently after a night at Steamworks. I will try again later. But what I am trying to say is that I have found many Vancouvers in a single Vancouver and it's kind of all about where you put yourself and where you are. Which .. god, that sounds even dumber and more new-agey, so I should just quit trying here.
That said, if you were thinking of giving Van a try, wait until next April at the earliest omfg f the olympics.
Also: Seattle has much, much, much better microbrew. Much.
Nope, that (many Vancouvers in a single Vancouver) makes perfect sense. Most metro areas seem that way. If you realistically take Seattle Metro to include all the surrounding (touching) cities, it's very true here.
There's many Seattles in Seattle proper, even, to say nothing of the things people think of as Seattle proper. Surely Queen Anne, Cap Hill, Belltown, the U District, and Ballard are different Seattles, to name but a few. They have things in common, but are distinct in many other ways, from road layout to who lives there to what goes on there, transit, architecture, etc.
Sorry, I was unclear. I meant to say it was even *more* true of Seattle if you including the adjacent cities. I agree it is very true even within just Seattle proper.
I dunno, Vancouver has its outlying areas, though I suppose if you go by the largest statistical conglomeration that is used in the area, Bellingham-Olympia, there's no comparison in BC.
(Yes, Everett-Olympia and Everett-Tacoma still hold that true and are much more commonly-used, but I can't resist the absurdity of Bellingham-Olympia. I mean really.)
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There's a certain style of architecture to the high-rise apartment and office complexes there that's different from most other cities I've seen. Something about the way the windows and ledges are arranged. This close-up of one of the buildings in your photo *almost* illustrates what I'm talking about...
From a distance, it looks almost post-apocalyptic. As if some of the windows are broken and the building is abandoned. I know that's not the case, but it just *looks* like that to me.
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-B.
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Livability is amazing. Much better transit, and no freeways through the urban core. A wide choice of good, walkable neighborhoods, all of them very good sized. Health care for $54/month.
Culture... well, I personally rank that somewhat under Seattle, and it's why despite all the above I won't really hesitate to move back. Vancouver is a bit like every major west coast US city rolled into one. The LA shines through at times. It's a bit too glitzy and superficial for my tastes, too well dressed and trendy. Somewhat less polite, as well, mostly in a passive just-not-bothering-to-pay-attention kind of way. Not huge amounts, mind you, but enough that I notice. (Particularly on the bus -- Seattle riders are so... professional about the whole thing. Seattle bus drivers are also much better.)
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ETA: I can't seem to express thoughts coherently after a night at Steamworks. I will try again later. But what I am trying to say is that I have found many Vancouvers in a single Vancouver and it's kind of all about where you put yourself and where you are. Which .. god, that sounds even dumber and more new-agey, so I should just quit trying here.
That said, if you were thinking of giving Van a try, wait until next April at the earliest omfg f the olympics.
Also: Seattle has much, much, much better microbrew. Much.
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(Yes, Everett-Olympia and Everett-Tacoma still hold that true and are much more commonly-used, but I can't resist the absurdity of Bellingham-Olympia. I mean really.)
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