Relocation Dilemma

[CityOfJoy]

I posted this on TERB and someone recommended this would be a far better place for it.. so here it goes....

I am confused at the prospect of getting a very good job at a very good company with great benefits in Vancouver. I have never been to Vancouver ever. What are the things to know and think about... to consider and arrive at a reasonably good decision. From a relocation perspective.

Can you refer to any online links... I have tried the obvious ones but what I want to know is hows the life there compared to GTA, hows cost of living... whats a great $$$ salary to be good. Salary benefit comparisions. (e.g. if 65 K is good for Toronto, 60 K is good for Vancouver.. if it is)

Thanks in Advance.

 

[Aeiyah]

The tradeoff between T.O. and Van is $$$ for lifestyle. Generally, most living expenses are lower in T.O. - housing, food - than in Vancouver. This is not offset by wages. In general, T.O. wages are higher than Vancouver.

The decision then rests with trading $$$ for what I think is a much better lifestyle. If you don't mind the rain during the winter, Vancouver has a much better climate than T.O. Milder during the winter. Less hot and humid during the summer. Vancouver has less pollution. The city is much more laid back, less crowded. Vancouver has easy access to mountains (i.e. skiing during the winter, hiking during the summer) and beaches that are much cleaner than T.O. beaches.

 

[Buntoss]

If you are planning to buy a place, have a look at the Real Estate Prices.

www.realtylink.org

Or if you want to rent check the Vancouver Sun:

http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/index.html

Plus you can read about 10 year old knife carrying kids mugging and stabbing people!! Or how about the 15 year old kid that dragged a gas station attendant 7km to his death in a stolen car!!

Really, it's not a bad place to live, if you mind the high cost of living and high property crime rate, and if you are downtown, harassed every block by panhandlers!

 

[magoomba]

Vancouver's been knocked around in recent years as a "no fun" city.
It's hard to compare Toronto with Vancouver, cuz TO has such a large population.

It's definitely really laid back in Vancouver. I swear to god, half the folks don't have to go to work or something here.

Food's cheaper, salaries are okay not great, climate is excellent, housing is pretty expensive though rent has not gone up as much.

 

[CityOfJoy]

Hmm.. quite a mix of good and bad. Regarding crime, IMO Toronto the good is no longer the fact. Vancouver seems to have the same problems as any other metropolis would have.

How do the provincial level benefits compare? Like we in Ontario have OHIP etc.

 

[mustangjoe]

It's definitely really laid back in Vancouver. I swear to god, half the folks don't have to go to work or something here.

Yeah,. no shit. Everytime I go to the mall on a day off (weekdays) It's bloody impossible to find parking. It's 11am on a Tuesday morning and as I circle around and around the damn parking lots I always think to myself "Holly fuck, doesn't anyone work any more" ???

 

[mustangjoe]

Food's cheaper, salaries are okay not great, climate is excellent, housing is pretty expensive though rent has not gone up as much.

Yeah, right again. I use to buy houses and rent them out a few years ago, and the rent would take care of the property tax and mortgage payments and I'd still have postive cash flow. Now that the cost of housing has skyrocketed without doing the same to rent rates, it is no longer practical to do this unless you were to put at least 50% down.

I don't see how things can stay the same around here for much longer.

Housing/renting prices are all out of whack.

 

[mustangjoe]

yeah, the place is a shit hole. I actually, I would'nt even stop there to take a shit. Calling it a shit hole would be a compliment. I was there once for a week and all I wanted to do was to come home. I'll NEVER be back. And why does everyone walk so bloody fast there?

I hope a lot of people move here. I need rental rates to rise so I have more hooker money

 

[donnyknotts]

Hey Joe where do you find real estate that has a positive cash flow after putting 50% down?
With the prices here you'd still be needing to rent the joint for a couple grand a month!

 

[rickoshadows]

Hey Joe where do you find real estate that has a positive cash flow after putting 50% down?
With the prices here you'd still be needing to rent the joint for a couple grand a month!

Rent to a Grow Op!

rickoshadows

 

[mustangjoe]

Hey Joe where do you find real estate that has a positive cash flow after putting 50% down?
With the prices here you'd still be needing to rent the joint for a couple grand a month!

50% down on any house would create positive cash flow.

Example: modest bunaglow in East Vancouver would fetch $450k these days. after putting down 50% you're left carrying a $225k mortgage. at 5% over 25 years you'll be paying about $1200 a month. You should be able to rent the upstairs for about $1200 and the bottom 1 bdrm suite for $500 or so. Add on $300 a month for property tax and voila!! +++ cash flow.

Unfortunatly fair market value for rent is about the same as when that house was selling for half that price, so that's a bummer.

Better deals are to be had on downtown condos. You can still by a 500SF 10-15 year old condo for about 190k. put down 50%, carry 90k and your payments are only $480 month. add $150 a month for fees and your still only at $630 month. You can rent that place out for at least $1000/month. which is better +++ cash flow.

You asked, so I answered but now I have my own question. What does all this shit have to do with hookers? We are suppose to talk about hookers on this board and man oh man do I love my hookers.

 

[CityOfJoy]

So I finally was in Vancouver this past weekend and truth be told, I was impressed. Just the natural beauty of the city itself is worth something. I do get a feeling that being so close to the ocean and the mountains and hence the lifestyle choices it provides to citizens goes a long way in calming.

I did come across genuinely warm and friendly people willing to help. The attitude is simple down to earth. There should be no comparison made. I was driven around the city by a knowledegable guide who told me all about the neighbourhoods and their personalities. I love the Kits, West Vancouver (oh!).

All in all, if I get a job offer my life will be harder It won't be easy to decide. You guys have a wonderful city, I just wish I knew enough people in the city to get more info and company.

 

[zlmmm]

Google "Salary Calculator International"

http://www.homefair.com/homefair/se...=homefair&fromCountry=Canada&toCountry=Canada

 

[Akitasam]

Both Toronto and Vancouver suck

Big cities suck. You need to live 1/2 hour away from them to enjoy life. So here in Vancouver traffic that would be like living in Burnaby or in Toronto it would be Newmarket. Vancouver isn't as laid back as you think. It is a great city to visit but is shitty to live in. Pollution is increasing here every year and the local mountains are all houses now. Vancouverites now have the smug attitudes that Torontonians once had. Move to Montreal if you can. Mountains are just as nice and you cant understand what the locals are saying so its just like Vancouver in that regards. By the way Vancouver is not as ethically diversed as people say. Asians, East indians and whites does not ake us diveresed.

 

[Osiris]

The change in how people do business in Vancouver will frustrate you. In Toronto things are done on a much more professional basis, rather than an emotional one.

In Toronto people will tell you directly what they think, even when that means disagreeing with your position to your face. Not many people in Vancouver will do that, but rather will beat around the bush, prolong, or delay proceedings until you figure out they disagree. Vancouver people often mistake candor for rudeness.

In Toronto, business people will figure out who's in the driver's seat. While they may try to influence that person, they won't be surprised if the person does things the way they want. In Vancouver, there'll be a lot of red faces, whining, and complaining about how unfair it is for the person in control to do what they want.

Work is only one aspect of life. Vancouver is a better place to live, especially if you like the outdoors. Here you can ski on real mountains instead of belonging to a private club in Collingwood so you can tell all your clubmates about your annual trip to a real ski hill. Here you can sail on the ocean around the gulf islands, instead of across Lake Ontario to Buffalo or Rochester.

I could go on, but you probably get the idea by now.

 

[Akitasam]

You can sail in Georgian Bay in Ontario. Vancouver or anywhere else in Canada has nothing nearly as nice as the waters there. Vancouver really does suck when you think about it. Yeah theres the mountains but all we do is look at them and there still a 2 hour drive away from the city. Either way both cities are still better to live in then Calgary, Edmonton or Winnipeg. Follow your heart both are big cities with big city problems, but you also have the perks of big cities at your finger tips.

 

[LonelyGhost]

By the way Vancouver is not as ethically diversed as people say. Asians, East indians and whites does not ake us diveresed.

no kidding ... i lived in ontario for a while and really enjoyed the diversity ... came back here and was shocked that everyone was white!

i also agree with some of your other comments about attitude ... people say that we are 'laid-back' but i find it has a lot of underlying snobbery, arrogance, conceit, petulance, and indifference. you can end up 'knowing' a lot of people on the coast but have to dig hard and deep to find real friends.

when i first moved to ontario i was told people were not as 'friendly' -- i got more invites to people's homes, to parties and other events in my first year than i had in my entire life up to that point!

does that make the east better than the west? nope. just different -- but it also provides a good objective look at where one comes from and how it looks when you can stand outside it and see it for the first time.

saw a great 'ad' in the local paper yesterday: person wrote that they had been told "it would take 8 years to become a native Victorian ... I have finally arrived: I hate everyone now too!"