Yes, and everyone with: investment holdings, a house they've treated like an atm or even just a house goes nuts because they've lost that value.

At a 25% drop across the board, a lot of the investments go under water, a house attached to a large LOC goes with them, and the people with just a house get screwed.

Therefore, no change in policy.

Yeah most people don't get this. One of the guys in the video clearly says "these are for working middle class" not low income.


At the end of the day the term "low income" is bullshit anyways. You're "low income?" Go find a new job, do some training, advance in something rather than whining for constant hand outs and cheap housing in one of the most expensive cities in N/A.

You want cheap/free/subsidized housing? Be prepared to move to Chilliwack... in my mind anyways.

http://fringebowlteamblog.com/images...p_clap_gif.gif

Exactly how I feel, except I feel this way about the working middle class too that do nothing but sit on their asses and complain about costs and expenses and how they're not earning enough. There's lots of opportunities to make good money in Vancouver, just get motivated, improve your training/education & work harder.

Thank you!

People in the GVRD feel as if they are entitled to living in close proximity to downtown and are resentful that they are unable to do so with a modest income, but living in Vancouver is not a right, it's a privilege. Regardless of whether an individual personally feels as if Vancouver is a world class city, the international real estate market clearly believes it is and prices are merely a reflection of that.

If my living costs were of no concern, I would be living in Kits. Living costs are a concern though, I'm not finished school and my income reflects that, so I made the tough choice of moving to Abbotsford. There's nothing I enjoy about living here, aside from cheap gas, and I drive into Richmond or Vancouver at least twice a week and often three times, thank god for the cheap gas. My rent is currently half what I paid at one point and I have an apartment, which will enable me to graduate without debt and a respectable portion of a down payment. It's about prioritizing and accepting that you have a Surrey budget, despite having Yaletown tastes.

I've been living in a 404sq ft studio the past 1.5 years now.

i "downgraded" from a 600sq feet, but im 2minute walk from richmond center, the skytrain, and work.

the place, i admit is crammed, i have two full speaker systems, a huge desk, 2 couches, and of course my bed, but i don't mind. the only complaint is i have no balcony, and i could use more closet space (there's not that much even for a guy lol).

i now only fill up my gas tank once every 1.5 months. i drive 2200km a year now (according to the odo).

i save a lot.

if you guys have been to any of the big cities, you'll know it's a normal thing. HK, tokyo, NY, you name it.

I'd rather live in my little studio, than something triple or quadruple the size, but out in surrey or further. fuck that shit man. time is money. i hate commuting.

anyways the fact is, 99% of my time spent at home is in front of the computer, on the couch, or on my bed. it's no different than living at your parents home, except you have a kitchen and washroom in your "room".

i'm glad to see this type of rental unit is being made. i think i have a few co-workers who would love to pay for something similar to this.

My thoughts exactly. Also minus the flat screen because it's an unnecessary luxury. Personally if I am a student id rather not have a TV.

I don't mind a small space as I'm living in one right now. For $850 though, that is not cheap at all!
I live outside the city, 10minute drive at night, 20 in traffic, 30 by transit and only pay half that!

I kinda dig getting paid to live here. Two bedroom penty with a view baby.

We will see cheaper house price only when interest rate goes back up to 6% for mortgage. sad.

Thank god there are some reasonable and rational people on RS.

Big fat North Americans, with their gas guzzling SUVs and McMansions in the middle of nowhere (aka suburbia) always expect things to be SUPER-SIZED and above all CHEAP. Yet these bozos fail to see all the other qualitative costs of living their WAL-MART lifestyle.

James Howard Kunstler on Ted Talks on the subject: (Those who think his talk is aimed primarily at Americans think again. After WW2 most of Canada was built following american protocols (ie. sprawling suburbs, strip malls, big box stores, etc.) Vancouver is a rare exception in that our city founders designed our city following European designs (mix use city w/ abundant green space/no highways/etc.). This is one of the main reasons why real estate is so expensive here. No amount of money can buy you these amenities, the city either has them or it doesn't because it takes decades of concerted effort to build (just ask Portland, Seattle, etc. who are trying to emulate what in urban planning circles call Vancouverism).

You fail to mention the cost of transportation. For those who work/live/play in Vancouver, they don't need a car (that is, it's optional). Because of peak oil and the relentless demand from developing countries, gasoline costs can only go up.

The average North American spends about 20-25% of their income on their automobiles. This is an astronomical amount when you consider it not just in dollar terms but in terms of time working to service your car. In other words, all things equal, if you don't need a car, you can take an additional 2.5 months vacation time off every year for the rest of your working life! Or you can buy a nicer home, or you can retires YEARS earlier, or live in a nice city (ala Vancouver). AND you will escape HUNDREDS OF HOURS every year commuting and being stuck in traffic. Clearly, more and more people are choosing the optimal choice, just look at all the development in Vancouver. :)

Well, if you know your history, "Vancouverism" was kind of a cop out.

There was a plan to have a highway run from downtown to the #1. The plan was to level a neighborhood and be connected to the highway grid.

In fact, construction started. Ever wonder why the Georgia Viaduct is a 4 lane elevated highway that dumps you in the middle of nowhere?

They did manage to first level the bad area where all the black people lived, so it wasn't a total loss for the time(please read that as sarcasm-in the 1960's, it was cool to hate on the black people)

There was a major save stratacona(sp?) action by the residents and the project was cancelled.

All major cities went through the same thing in the 60's...more highways, more lanes. Boston just spent a couple billion dollars getting rid of their elevated highway, and in so doing, turned a blight in their city into an urban design dream. Suddenly, the ugly backs of buildings were facing brand new green space and the revitalization was amazing.

Halifax was doing the same thing. They as well managed to level the black part of town to build a bridge, which 40 years later people are still angry about. There was a plan to level the downtown and put in a highway but thankfully that was crushed, and instead the historic properties is the reason to visit Halifax...as there isn't much else. I would argue that in that case, they may have in turn killed Halifax's ability to be a hub of any kind.

I don't get the commuter lifestyle myself. I've never done it officially, but my brother in law did it for years from Abbotsford to Burnaby to work for Brinks. He finally got into the prisons as a guard, thinking finally his commute was over...and they sent him to Harrison, an hour and a half in the other direction! In retrospect, it made him kind of bitter because when they split up, he became very angry.

I think a 30 minute drive to work is nice. It's far enough away that there is a separation, when you have to take snow off your car it feels like its worth while and you can listen to more than one song on the drive.

When I first moved to the island I did the Malahat commute every day into Victoria for 6 months.

I actually enjoyed the drive on the highway part itself, the Malahat is a nice highway when the traffic is flowing well. It just sucks when you hit Colwood and it becomes bumper to bumper the rest of the way into town, and it got a lot worse once summer is over, or getting TO the highway after work.

Right now my commute is 6km, takes me 10 minutes of all city driving, 5th and 6th gear are pretty much useless, my car barely wams up to temp (I actually take an extra-long route so that my car has time to get more temperature in it). I hate it.

My work is moving in the new year 1/2 way out to the ferries, and I'm actually looking forward to a bit of a drive. It's only going to add maybe 5 minutes to my commute.

I was giving an example that you can save half the money living a bit further (giving 3 options of transportation) If you're a productive individual, you'll find a way to do work while on the bus too