Before going any further off topic,

First off, get rid of the CMHC and CREA then cut off easy access to cheap domestic credit; then sit back and watch price correct itself

All other methods are band-aid solutions.

Banks are paid interest as a form of consideration for the risk which they undertake, CMHC protects the bank from that risk in consideration for the premium paid – by the home buyer, not the bank. (Which is IMO, just slightly backwards)

Ultimately CMHC is backed by the Gov, in the event of a housing/default crisis, the Gov would step in to bail CMHC and the banks out – via the tax payers.

Ultimately then, you have banks that are basically guaranteed to never suffer a significant loss as a result of home mortgage loan defaults as they have insurance (paid for by the mortgagee) and the Gov to bail them out. (Taxpayer dollars!)

I wonder what the interest rates would look like today if the CMHC didn’t exist, I suspect it would be much higher and getting approved for a mortgage would be much more difficult. But god forbid, that would mean the banks actually have some skin in the game.

Which city in Canada do you think is still a hidden gem and a good place to consider moving to where it is affordable, has beautiful landscape and some culture.

Victoria, Courtenay, Comox.

I just moved back from Victoria (lived there for 5 years) - wonderful place. Great for raising a family and way lower cost of living. Nice culture there too.

Courtenay/Comox is lovely as well - even lower cost of living though the work opportunities aren't very good.

Victoria is a nice place if you're into the whole British empire nostalgia thing. It's probably the most British place in North America. If you work for the provincial government, you're golden. Climate is nice too.

There's lots of communities on the island where you can get land and a garage/wrecking yard for your various projects. The trouble is finding a job that pays more than 60K/year. If you're self-employed, you could make a go of it.

I read through the whole article.

I think haters are going to hate.

I used to live in Coal Harbour and I agree with him that a lot of the condos look empty. If you walk around at night, there aren't many apartments with their lights on.

However, I live in Richmond now, and when I go to playgrounds with my toddler, almost every kid is speaking mandarin. When I go to restaurants in Richmond, the majority of the Chinese people there are speaking mandarin. Obviously, there are quite a few "mainlanders" that have decided to stay, live, and contribute to the economy.

Has Vancouver changed? Definitely. But so has the rest of the world. I wouldn't say it is in decline. This isn't Detroit or New Orleans.

I can't wait until I can own another Vancouverite, give it 20 years

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Prince Rupert?

Victoria can be pretty British but that's really just the core of the city. Once you're 5 minutes out it's any other BC town. Low density housing, leafy streets and very friendly people. I loved it. I had a place with room for my 2 cars, was down by the water and was a 12 min walk to work. Could golf 10 months of the year.

The pay ain't great outside of a small number of companies but the lower cost of living really helps especially if you don't mind a 25 minute commute (that's considered a long way in Victoria).

yep.

the city is upgrading, and will leave you behind whether you like it or not. you have to keep up with the rest of the people, whether or not they were born here or came here first or not.

add another 0 to the end of your income. make that your goal. that should be everyone's goal.

imagine if properties here were already sky high cuz everyone here were rich, then no mainlanders would move here :p haha... unlikely though.

could this not also be the case of working class chinese immigrants have also come here, those that work, pay taxes, etc. i.e. the kind of immigrants that add value (preferably from all over the world, not just china/india, as is the trend for Vancouver) - the only thing is, vancouver has no spine and will not make people assimilate.

i love different cultures - but i also think it is a show of respect for your new home to assimilate. then again, maybe assimilation in vancouver just means joining the community - in richmond, that's chinese.

this is just my opinion, maybe i'm a minority. maybe that's why i left?

This and everyone's grandparents getting money from the government when they didn't work/contribute to the economy.

Agreed with Skinny. Everyone is just trying to have a better life for themselves and their families. Somewhere along the way you're going to end up unintentionally stepping on others to get where you want. As a metaphor think of everyone's quality of life as a energy. This works well also because of the world's current population. The total quality of life available can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only change forms. So when your quality of life is going up you're probably taking it from someone else (eg. taking their resources).

But the foreign investment in real estate we've experienced in the last decade is just ridiculous. But hey they're just playing the game.

I think assimilation is a Canada vs USA thing. In Canada, we seem to value diversity and other cultures. In the states, they expect you to assimilate and become part of the city, not form your own city.

Respect is a relative thing. I remember 20 years ago people were hating on the hongers for showing up with money. Now mainlanders are getting the same thing. Actually, most of the hate is from the hongers. So the question is, if I immigrated to the lower mainland today, what am I supposed to assimilate to? I guess it depends if you end up living in Richmond (very Asian) or North Vancouver (very white).

My quality of life is awesome but I still have to do some work for the money that shows up


Really you're not elite until you have to do nothing for your money, sex partners and status... you're modern royalty once you achieve money for nothing, chicks for free and the acknowledgement from the lesser that you are the bigger cowboy based on your name and amount of internet followers!