Vancity: Vancouver cost of living could trigger mass exodus

[Gucci Mane]

fuck it is real difficult living in the lower mainland. mortgage is $1900/month and rental income is $1200. this $700 a month mortgage payment that my parents and i pay for our little 5000sqft shack really has us drained. shits real rough....

[Hondaracer]

yea for sure, which is probably preferred as opposed to drizzly days for weeks on end.

Snowfall is another big change, growing up in surrey I can distinctly remember year after year significant snowfall, now it's lucky to have a dusting

[!LittleDragon]

Originally Posted by Traum

It isn't so much the total amount of rainfall that we get. Rather, it's the number of dry vs wet days that seems to have changed, almost certainly as a result of global climate change.

When I was a kid, Vancouver always used to only have drizzles. The rain was so gentle back then you didn't even need an umbrella. But nowadays? We can go on for 2 - 3 weeks without rain, and then when it comes down, it really comes down like an epic downpour. Of course, we still get some of the mild stuff, but it is definitely not the same.

I suck at googling this kind of thing, but if we look at the total number of dry days vs rainy days, I'm willing to bet that we have been shifting towards having far more dry days now than we did in the past.

Number of Days with Precipitation over the Last 25 Years (annual data) for Vancouver

Number of days with precipitation hasn't changed either? The snow graph is interesting... http://vancouver.weatherstats.ca/cha...w-25years.html Fairly consistent the past 25 years but when it spikes up, it spikes a lot.

[Manic!]

Originally Posted by Traum

It isn't so much the total amount of rainfall that we get. Rather, it's the number of dry vs wet days that seems to have changed, almost certainly as a result of global climate change.

When I was a kid, Vancouver always used to only have drizzles. The rain was so gentle back then you didn't even need an umbrella. But nowadays? We can go on for 2 - 3 weeks without rain, and then when it comes down, it really comes down like an epic downpour. Of course, we still get some of the mild stuff, but it is definitely not the same.

I suck at googling this kind of thing, but if we look at the total number of dry days vs rainy days, I'm willing to bet that we have been shifting towards having far more dry days now than we did in the past.

Number of Days of Rain over the Last 25 Years (annual data) for VancouverNumber of Days
Year Number of Days
1990 166
1991 157
1992 153
1993 139
1994 166
1995 149
1996 169
1997 184
1998 168
1999 193
2000 171
2001 169
2002 149
2003 159
2004 178
2005 158
2006 176
2007 197
2008 162
2009 147
2010 187
2011 162
2012 176
2013 157
2014 155
2015 65

Number of Days of Rain over the Last 25 Years (annual data) for Vancouver

[Hondaracer]

Interesting..because as Somone who is outside for work most of the day or at least in and out its seemed like a night and day difference in the last few years because mornings aren't full of dread lol

[ilovebacon]

^ i would love to see more sun shine

[Traum]

Thank you for digging the rainy days graph up.

I read the graph differently than you do though. Out of the last 25 years, the average and median number of rainy days are 169.5 and 169, respectively. But if you look back at the last 7 years (from 2008 - 2014), the average and median days are only 167.3 and 164, with the abnormally wet 2012 included. Take 2012 out, the average number of wet days drop to 164.8. From 1990 - 2007, the average number of wet days is 170.4.

So I'd interpret the weather as one that has been getting dryer.

[!LittleDragon]

lol, well, that's just cherry picking numbers... but rain wasn't the point I was trying to make. It's the lack of sunshine, especially the winter. Short days and when there's daylight, the sun is covered up by clouds. Doesn't have to rain to be depressing... Not just a Vancouver thing, it's this whole area of the continent all the way down to Oregon...

[multicartual]

Originally Posted by Pidish

fuck it is real difficult living in the lower mainland. mortgage is $1900/month and rental income is $1200. this $700 a month mortgage payment that my parents and i pay for our little 5000sqft shack really has us drained. shits real rough....

You live at home?

[multicartual]

Originally Posted by !LittleDragon

It's the lack of sunshine, especially the winter.

I love the bipolar weather and day / night cycles of Vancouver!


This place fucking rocks... you just need the cash to enjoy it!


Those without money ALWAYS hate it here.

[RiceIntegraRS]

i find it crazy that some of u dont think its absurd that foreigners are buying their way into a city that my generation, my parents generation, and some of our grandparents generation has built with our tax dollars. Now some, if not most of us are being squeezed out of this city to have a foreigner reap the rewards of the city it took decades to build just because they have money to do so.

[!LittleDragon]

I have money and hate it here... but I'm here because of friends and family. To compensate, I take many trips a year to places where the sun shines and the water is blue and the beach isn't made of pebbles... lol

[pengu]

To all the people defending Vancouver as a "world class city", It's a fucking dump run by condo companies and asian investors. We have more crime than most other comparable cities, we're more expensive and we have less jobs.

It shouldn't cost $1m to live in the suburbs. And if building supplies really are worth so much, then why do other cities have reasonable property prices and not Vancouver? It's 100% government's fault for not curbing foreign investors, I remember when I could walk around Metro Van as a child and people were somewhat sociable and most people were of Canadian descent. I don't mind foreigners, but when they don't integrate, generally don't contribute to the community in any positive way and make my city unavailable for me.. that crosses the line. When in Rome, do as the Romans.

[multicartual]

Originally Posted by !LittleDragon

I have money and hate it here... but I'm here because of friends and family. To compensate, I take many trips a year to places where the sun shines and the water is blue and the beach isn't made of pebbles... lol

You sound like one of those people who, even with money, hasn't had much personal growth or really explored what they like and don't like in life.

Vancouver is literally a destination for the rich. You can find nearly everything and anyone you want here.

You follow the idea of what makes a "vacation" by what is sold to you, rather than looking around you and finding those things right here:









Vancouver is a paradise, I could live anywhere in the world and I choose here

[!LittleDragon]

Originally Posted by RiceIntegraRS

i find it crazy that some of u dont think its absurd that foreigners are buying their way into a city that my generation, my parents generation, and some of our grandparents generation has built with our tax dollars. Now some, if not most of us are being squeezed out of this city to have a foreigner reap the rewards of the city it took decades to build just because they have money to do so.

Not absurd at all. Like I said, they bring wealth. If someone bought an Aventador with cash, they paid more in taxes than most people make all year. Contributing more to the city's coffers than most people do in 10 years with one purchase. (don't bother correcting me on the numbers, I'm just throwing numbers out for the sake of argument) What's happening with all that extra tax money? Is the government using it to improve healthcare? Education? More bike lanes?

[multicartual]

Originally Posted by pengu

To all the people defending Vancouver as a "world class city", It's a fucking dump run by condo companies and asian investors.

You choose to see it as that

[pengu]

Originally Posted by !LittleDragon

Not absurd at all. Like I said, they bring wealth. If someone bought an Aventador with cash, they paid more in taxes than most people make all year. Contributing more to the city's coffers than most people do in 10 years with one purchase. (don't bother correcting me on the numbers, I'm just throwing numbers out for the sake of argument) What's happening with all that extra tax money? Is the government using it to improve healthcare? Education? More bike lanes?

Can't buy a Lambo if they don't live here.

[Harvey Specter]

Originally Posted by Pidish

fuck it is real difficult living in the lower mainland. mortgage is $1900/month and rental income is $1200. this $700 a month mortgage payment that my parents and i pay for our little 5000sqft shack really has us drained. shits real rough....

That's awesome brah but not everyone wants to go live in Surrey, have 5 cars parked out on the lawn and have 10 people living in 2 basement suites.

[pengu]

Originally Posted by Pidish

fuck it is real difficult living in the lower mainland. mortgage is $1900/month and rental income is $1200. this $700 a month mortgage payment that my parents and i pay for our little 5000sqft shack really has us drained. shits real rough....

Rule of thumb is 30% of income goes to housing. How to afford even a shitty, tiny house in Metro Van while making $65,000 (Which by the way, is the average wage in Vancouver). Anywhere else in Canada you could afford a house on $60,000. 20 year mortgage, 5% down payment and total cost of $1m after taxes and obligatory bidding war. Plus property tax, maintenance and other costs associated with home ownership.

[!LittleDragon]

Originally Posted by multicartual

You sound like one of those people who, even with money, hasn't had much personal growth or really explored what they like and don't like in life.

Vancouver is literally a destination for the rich. You can find nearly everything and anyone you want here.

You follow the idea of what makes a "vacation" by what is sold to you, rather than looking around you and finding those things right here:









Vancouver is a paradise, I could live anywhere in the world and I choose here

I don't "vacation" to those places. I literally go there to "live" for a weeks at a time. I know what I like and it ain't here... Like I said, friends and family are the only reason why I'm here. They're more important to me than where I live. But I do keep $1000 for a one way ticket to Hawaii as a backup plan in case all my investments go kaboom. I'd rather be homeless there than here. Immigration is gonna have to try and find me living in the forest... lol

[!LittleDragon]

Originally Posted by pengu

Can't buy a Lambo if they don't live here.

That was just an example. Doesn't have to be a Lambo. If it's a number of properties, that's a lot of property tax they're paying on an annual basis. Point is, money spent here = taxes.

[pengu]

Originally Posted by !LittleDragon

That was just an example. Doesn't have to be a Lambo. If it's a number of properties, that's a lot of property tax they're paying on an annual basis. Point is, money spent here = taxes.

I'd prefer an average property price of $400,000 over any sort of taxes earned for my government as it's money I actually save in my pocket as opposed to used for Translink executive pay.

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by pengu

It shouldn't cost $1m to live in the suburbs. And if building supplies really are worth so much, then why do other cities have reasonable property prices and not Vancouver? It's 100% government's fault for not curbing foreign investors, I remember when I could walk around Metro Van as a child and people were somewhat sociable and most people were of Canadian descent. I don't mind foreigners, but when they don't integrate, generally don't contribute to the community in any positive way and make my city unavailable for me.. that crosses the line. When in Rome, do as the Romans.

Because Vancouver offers a lot of things to Asian investors that other cities don't:

- Reasonable Canadian immigration policies
- Proximity to Asia and air links to China
- Very established Chinese ex-pat/ethnic enclave
- Generous social programs for their children and relatives
- Clean air and a slower pace of life

[multicartual]

Originally Posted by pengu

Rule of thumb is 30% of income goes to housing. How to afford even a shitty, tiny house in Metro Van while making $65,000

Why not rent?


My life is really awesome and there is literally never a moment where I stop having a good time and go "oh man life would be better if I owned this place"

[Sid Vicious]

Originally Posted by pengu

To all the people defending Vancouver as a "world class city", It's a fucking dump run by condo companies and asian investors. We have more crime than most other comparable cities, we're more expensive and we have less jobs.

It shouldn't cost $1m to live in the suburbs. And if building supplies really are worth so much, then why do other cities have reasonable property prices and not Vancouver? It's 100% government's fault for not curbing foreign investors, I remember when I could walk around Metro Van as a child and people were somewhat sociable and most people were of Canadian descent. I don't mind foreigners, but when they don't integrate, generally don't contribute to the community in any positive way and make my city unavailable for me.. that crosses the line. When in Rome, do as the Romans.

what do you expect the government to do? everytime a government has intervened in that manner, they've created a number of other unforeseen problems.