2 (5) words: allyoucaneat sushi. :D

As dumb as it sounds, that is 1 of the main reasons why I am trying hard not to leave Vancouver.

I'm living in South Edmonton near Ellerslie and 111st (I'm pretty touristy still so forgive my lack of specific area). I've only been to places in the South area (such as South Commons), WEM, Southgate, U of A, and downtown twice (once for Canada Day). From the friends that I have here, they don't prefer the East/West/North areas of Edmonton claiming that they're sketchy. So with my limited area, the best views I get are nice houses that remind me of the layout of Richmond, lots of red brick buildings along the LRT route to U of A (coming from Century Park that is), and fields of green.

At the moment, there are swarms of mosquitoes in the area that I'm staying at and it's extremely bothersome. Some poor girl had so many red spots on her legs, it's ridiculous.

There is no car for me down here and I find transit much more expensive than in Vancouver ($84 for a monthly bus pass). Transit is also not as efficient here with average 30 minute intervals between buses. I agree, produce is cheaper but with my average comparison between my spendings in Edmonton vs Vancouver, I'm finding that I'm spending more here on the essentials (which include transit but I suppose that could be the big defining factor).

The only Pho I've tried was from T&T at WEM, it was alright but more expensive than the prices in Vancouver. But yea Japanese food is massively expensive here, and it's not great either

The pho by T&T is a PHO HOA. Don't expect much from a pho hoa! You want good pho, go to Chinatown!

I still don't know what you mean by essentials. Toilet paper? Clothing?

In edmonton the transit system is kinda lacking. You need car in edmonton. EVEN MORE SO in Calgary since everything is highways and all. Edmonton transit system LRT is not as complete as calgary's or vancouver's for that matter. yeah bussing would suck. and lrt is not as complete as vancouver's skytrain system.

Yeah but there's one station in downtown where they have fancy chandeliers and everything.. when i saw that i was like wow!! LOL

offtopic: but where's a good place for AYCE sushi? I thought the quality of ACYE sushi is getting worse and worse

After you tell them your from the big city of vancouver right?

I used to think the same thing about leasing a car...its stupid because at the end of the lease term your payments have amounted to nothing and you have nothing to show for it. But difference with a car is that it is constantly depreciating. So when you buy a new car off the lot, and it depreciates the 25-30% within the first 2 years, you are technically paying for its depreciation.

With the housing market, there are a good number of people who feel the current market in Vancouver is artificially inflated, and the bubble is on the verge of popping. $750k for an older house in East Van? $1.5M for a POS house in the Westside?? There are those who can afford to put a downpayment on a place and mortgage it out but choose not to because there's the possibility if the housing prices drop 20-30%, THAT becomes the time to buy. If you stretch yourself too thin, take out a big mortgage and then your property value suddenly drops perhaps to the point where what you owe is more than what the property is worth, and you are unable to make your payments, that's where foreclosure becomes an issue.

If you have the money, and believe strongly enough in the market taking a big dip, it makes sense to rent in the short term while you wait out the high market and you can always invest the downpayment money into something to generate income in the mean time. If the market doesn't dip, then you may see the money you've put into rent as 'wasted'. Like anything related to investment, there is a risk. The housing market here sucked donkey balls in the late 90's and early 2000's, and in hindsight that was the best time to scoop up property. But back in that day, it was so bad that people did not foresee it shooting up the way it has and as such many did not choose to invest in the housing market. Those that did, cashed in big due to their good luck or calculated decisions, whatever you want to call it. During the stock crash of 2008, stocks dropped 40-50%, and most have more or less recovered now. But it was so bad that people thought it would get even worse, couldn't or would take a long time to recover, otherwise, everybody would have bought low and sold high. So there is always an element of risk.

There are also people who own property which they choose not to live in, and the rental income generated from that property goes to paying their own rent to live in a more desireable home/area.

I think house ownership is overrated.

It's all the propaganda about "American Dream" that made you think that, owning a house, have kids+dogs, and eating bonbons is the way to live.

Just stay wherever you feel most comfortable. And for those who says this is the best place on Earth... shut down your computer, book some flights and get somewhere for the love of god.

Vancouver is one of the better places I know, but hardly on top of the list. We have very long winters (and no, just because you think 5 degree celcius is a nice winter, it doesn't mean it is.) and very short summers. The idea of a very good weather is to have very distinctive 4 seasons. Here in Van, any time after Sept. is consider "cold" by most comfort standards. I love Vancouver and have decided with my wife this is the place to settle given the limited options. But if we were given the options of choosing wherever, there are many other better places that we would like to stay.

Have you been to Whyte Ave on a Friday or Saturday? Its busier than downtown. I live downtown, but Whyte is way more happening - you should check it out.

The Rvierbend area has nice looking houses. My friend lives on the same block as George Laraqcue lol.

I think something everyone should keep in mind is how you'll be treated if you're a minority in a different city or country. Canada is relatively good (except perhaps Montreal) and you'll probably have no issues in the United States. But, things might not be so rosy outside of North America.

What's it like in Montreal?

LOL There's days I would move back to Ontario just for the food!

I just visited Quebec/Ontario and made a list of foods I had to eat during my trip, and specifically told my family/friends we cannot have sushi cause its too good here!

Smoked meat, poutine, shawarma, fattoush salad, crepes @ Coras (although there is one in Coq now), St Hubert, beaver tail, funnel cake, pizza and gravy (so good, you have to try!), ...

Montreal, well Quebec in general, can be very racist. For such an open minded society with a lot of ethnic diversity it is very surprising.

I think the station that you're thinking of is Central, but I was pretty wowed by it too lol.

Since there's so many Edmontonians in here, could you guys recommend me a good restaurant to go to for an anniversary? (that is preferably easy to transit to or in public areas such as Southgate/WEM/South Common - yes I know i'm limiting my options but if I'm to do a surprise, I gotta know where I'm going lol). Besides Tony Roma's (god damn those ribs are good), I've been to Red Piano and the restaurant looks sweet and the food is good, but I would like to try a different restaurant that isn't so painful on the wallet.

I used to own a house, now I rent. Thus I can appreciate why people want to own a house, I enjoyed it while I did.

I bought a house cause "it was the thing to do" and affordable at the time (2003). I wouldn't buy today cause it is not affordable, and I've learned more about the pitfalls of home ownership.

For instance, I rent a 2bdrm condo in Kits for $1800/mn. The same condo sells for $500K, and with 10% down on 30yr mortgage the payment would still be $2150 + $300 condo fee + $200 property tax. That's $850 more to own than to rent, at the lowest rates and longest amortization. Meanwhile you're only paying down the principal $650/mn.

Thus without house appreciation, you're negative $200/mn owning vs renting. So who's throwing away money now?

Then consider that house values don't always appreciate. We are nearing the end of a long run of appreciation, and history tells us that is usually followed by a claw back or a long flat period. For every year house values don't appreciate, you lose with respect to inflation.

Then consider the costs of maintenance. Houses don't last forever, certainly not the ones they build today. I put about $5K into my house in the 5 years I owned it in basic maintenance and upkeep. I put $0 into my rental, and don't do any of the work myself.

On that note - having a 20x20' patch of backyard is overrated. Its not big enough to do anything useful, and you have to mow it once a week. I prefer the beach, the city takes care of it, I just walk 4 blocks and enjoy it.

I reno'd my home, adding tile, built in units, deck, fence, landscaping, ... it was not cheap yet it was fun. Obviously I cannot do the same while renting - yet if I get tired of where I'm renting, I just find a nicer place and move. No hassles of renos, no expense of renos. Especially with condos, since even if you own there's a limited amount you can reno (there's only so much space!) so its often easier to move than reno a condo.

Renting is more stable than owning. Why? If you lose your job, you still have that high mortgage payment to make and you're stuck in that area looking for a job. If I lose my job I can give my landlord a month's notice, move somewhere cheaper, or move somewhere there is a job.

So the question is: why do you foolishly think renting is throwing money away? Did you just buy into the hype without actually thinking for yourself? No worries, I did too when I bought, I'm just glad I've had the chance to reflect on it without being caught in a wealth trap.

I bought a 1200 sq ft. duplex in the Marpole area in 2004 for $375k. I think the assessed value is now $600k+. Too bad I can't afford anything bigger!

ive thought about moving as well, but everyone and everything i know is here. main reason for me staying here though is the fact that i dont have to worry about buying a house. im my parents only son, they've told me several times now that this house is going to be my inheritance.

Is it outright racism, or passive? Do they give looks? Sorry to ask, I've never been.
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I have settled in Vancouver. Surrey to be specific. I'm originally from Rio de Janeiro, but I have lived in Cleveland too. Surrey is way nicer than Cleveland (at least it's not Detroit!), but not as nice as Rio, of course. There's no violence here whatsoever (at least by my standards), people are nice, easy-ish access to transportation, and while I overpaid for my condo, I didn't buy it with purely investment in mind, especially the way shit is going.

I would not move to Toronto, unless we were talking low six figures. Even then, I can get that in Vancouver. I went to Toronto in the summer, and it was just like Rio, except without the good food, beaches and beautiful women. Hot and muggy. Yuck.

Montreal is like Cleveland. Bad winters. Pass.

My brother's girlfriend is from Edmonton. Fucking tundra in the winter. Pass.

GVRD is nice. Not thinking of leaving.

Edit: Oh, yeah, I wouldn't buy a house in Vancouver. If I had a million to drop on a house, I'd buy something in Abbotsford, on top of a hill, overlooking all those beautiful mountains. And then drive to Whistler if I wanted to snowboard. It's not as if Vancouver has beaches anyway.

i was born and raised in alberta and i can't imagine going back there to live. sure, some things are cheaper and the people in general are nicer and more polite but the winter weather is harsh and the summers are fairly brutal too. it's basically snow from october until about february, short spring that's still cold, and then dog days of summer where everything dies and turns yellow.

imagine yourself, or your children walking to school in -27C plus windchill. i did that until the age of 12. wet hair freezes, eye lashes freeze, your nose burns from the cold, and semi-melted snow turns to ice overnight (i could walk on top of the frozen snow w/o breaking it).

affording a home here is tough but do-able; especially if you combine your income with your SO to purchase a property. for single people, you'll probably have to settle for an old apartment until you have enough put into your mortgage to have a downpayment for a townhouse/home. i believe the ideal downpayment has dropped from 25% to 20% recently. so for a $200,000 apartment (they still exist if you look for them), that's only a $40,000 deposit.

Whyte ave is almost exactly like Vancouver's commercial drive. They are both full of weird shit.

Quebec City (outside the tourist areas) are noticeably not very nice to minorities, especially if you do not speak French-Canadian. However, using rudimentary French-Canadian, you will be in fine in Montreal. As long as you try to speak the language, they will be okay with you...especially amongst the younger generation there.

Here comes the wave of Brazilian $$$$ coming to Vancouver that we've been warned about. LOL Jokes. Welcome to Van. I'm just waiting for the Brazilian women of Portuguese/Japanese backgrounds to come by as well. :fullofwin:

then move and get out of Vancouver


cya.

After an evening with my boys at Club Wanda, we were approached by a group of meatheads who told us to go back to "where we came from." It didn't occur to them that we spoke with perfect Anglo-Canadian accents.

When I was last in that city, I met up with an old friend (an attractive Chinese woman) who is fluently bilingual (she did study in Paris for a while). When I asked her about her experiences living in Montreal, she noted that many Montrealers are pretty narrow-minded and xenophobic. I guess the whole preservation of Quebecois culture thing has had some unfortunate side-effects.