There are beaches and mountains, little houses and huge high rises (including a block of flats with a tree planted on the roof...)
The people are friendly, the food is awesome, it's totally obvious why this is one of the most livable cities.
I am charmed by the big library and the marina where you can spot seals. The park is large and amazing, the Tall One and I have already found our bench by the ducks (and an occasional raccoon). It's better than Central Park, I said it. It seems quieter and cleaner. Now I only really saw NYC's green mile under snow but I'm telling you, Stanley Park is another level.
I love the little villages nestled into the streets off the main drag, we were staying just off Davie and its full of small businesses and gay bars. It feels alive and happy! The whole city feels this way!
After a few weeks of stressful job and flat hunting we've figured out why this place isn't home to all. It's expensive.
Everyone who knows anything about Vancouver told us it was, we nodded as if we understood even though we didn't and totally naively thought we could manage it.
So far we've viewed a handful of places, on one end the apartment was brand new, fully furnished with its own washer/dryer (this is a big deal here) BUT the landlord was quick to remind us to be wary of junkies openly shooting up outside the gates. Every town has a bad street, we were on it.
On the other end we were lucky to find a cheap place a stones throw from our new favourite bench, with a decent lease and keen landlord. We got there to find a strange smell, dirty carpets and a hole in one of the inside doors... Bugger.
After an intense discussion over Mango Black Tea Lemonades (pour moi) and Orange Sodas (Tall One) we reached the point of no return. On recommendation from a kind stranger we have decided to pick up our ginormous kit bags and head up the mountains to Whistler.
All my friends will gasp and shudder at the thought of me pretending to enjoy the snow. One thing I've learnt from the last three months is that if the opportunity is there you have to take it, I've eaten raw crawfish and walked on a glass bridge above the Grand Canyon. Neither of these things would have happened a year ago!
There's snow turning back now... I'll make sure the Tall One films me falling over. A lot.
