Quote:
Originally Posted by twdm
What is this so called draw that you can't find anywhere else in the world. I mean you keep saying Vancouver is some sugar plum fairyland, but you haven't pointed out how it is "better" than every other city in the world.
Do keep in mind that a city with high property prices needs the same high personal incomes to support the prices. Basic fundamentals.
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#1 is Schools i'd say, creating a better life for your family from elsewhere starts from the ground up. Private schools amongst the best in the nation, and excellent public schools in the areas people want to buy.
#2 environment. Social, geographical, fiscal, etc. are for the most part, all massive improvements for the foreigners moving here.
#3 Government. A lax government seen as a tax haven where people can store their cash for a rainy day. Again, these people arent people who have a few hundred thousand in equity and are coming here for a new life, these are people with 10's of millions of dollars at their disposal.
on top of that, free health care and access to great private health care, social assistance, open market on banking, business, finances, etc.
#4 Freedom. Moving from Mainland China and other parts of the world, where would you get this libertarian, laid back, not having to look over your shoulder environment? As many of these articles on mainland china buying up the housing market have outlined, the reality of total autonomy over your own private, rightfully owned, property in China is a pipe dream, even for the insanely wealthy.
#5 acceptance. The Chinese and other races coming to Canada and Vancouver especially probably feel about as welcomed as you're going to get in a foreign country. I took the skytrain to metrotown the other weekend and had to walk to kingsway through the mall.. on the skytrain bridge filled with probably 120+ people, i'm pretty sure i was the only white person there. in the middle of the evening rush on a Friday. Didnt think much of it, as it's pretty common now a days to be the minority.. but as an immigrant.. it must feel pretty good to fit right in the second you step off the plane..
Sure, there's plenty of places all over North America with similar cultural diversity, but in the states, and even back east, there is definitely a bigger "red neck" quota, and far less general acceptance than there is here. When the biggest "racism" story to come out is some retarded 12 year olds writing "muzlims go back to wer you came frum" on a high school wall, i'd say you're pretty safe to carry on your business as usual, and for most people, act and conduct yourself exactly the way you're used to back in China.
Then after all those factors you get get into the minutiae of the lower mainland, in the beauty, accessibility, climate, location, proximity to the states, proximity to the far east, etc. etc. etc.
I know 4444 liked to chime in regarding "better" places to live earlier in the thread, presumably living abroad in Germany. However, was noticeably absent in the thread regarding the mass sexual assaults happening in his adopted country as a result of the mass exodus of Syrian refugees.
As of last i heard, over a million Syrian refugee's admitted into Germany, essentially the heart and engine of Europe.. How very attractive..
I always see in the comments section of all these housing crisis articles, the typical 22-35 year old commenting "lol.. who wants to live here anyways.. so many better places to live"
so.. you're basing that on that one month you spent on a contiki tour in italy?
Dont get me wrong, absolutely there are better places to live in this world for each individual. Different places offer different things. People feel more at home in other places, or they suit their personalities better, terrific.
However, to kind of dismiss Vancouver as some hyped up, over inflated balloon which is going to burst and nothing will ever be the same is just ignorant.
In terms of North America, this is it for me. I've never lived anywhere other than Vancouver, but I've traveled fairly extensively throughout Canada and the US. The West coast is already done, south of the border, no thanks, you're taking Vancouver over anything below us. Perhaps little niche neighborhoods in SoCal or something, sure, but again, there are 2000 sq foot ranchers in Sacramento going for $800,000..
Eastern seaboard of the states somewhat intrigues me, but the East coast in General is a completely different vibe and people. At this point in my life, i'm not one to completely change who i am in order to work my way into the social norm. So thats off the list.
So.. We get going across oceans now.. because obviously i'm not going south of the US border, further south you go the less your life is worth until you're getting kidnapped for your iphone.. so yea..
In terms of living, lets start by throwing everything else besides Europe out the window. While moving to SE Asia would be
-Cheap
-Relatively Easy
-Lots of English there
-etc etc.
lets be real, for the most part the majority of the people who live in these countries, live and act as third worlders do. Overall, nothing there is an upgrade.
So.. Back to Europe..
for me, it begins and ends with this "migrant crisis" And i'm sure as hell glad i've spent extensive time in Europe prior to all this shit, because I have a picture in my head of what some of these places are going to look like when i return, and it's not a pretty picture. in 2014 Southern France and the French/Italian riviera already had a noticeable population of African migrants, from beggars, to drug users, they were quite evident in most places, and that included the non-tourist type stops along the tracks.
I'll give the Scandinavian countries the benefit of the doubt, as most limited their refugee intake, and most were already in quite good shape, great countries, great people, great culture, the only downside is it's dark 7 months of the year and you want to blow your brains out before it's half way through.
The only place i've ever been that i even remotely entertained the idea of living in was Switzerland. Truly a peoples utopia. The cleanest, most efficient, safest, place i've ever traveled to. However, again we are getting into huge $$$ for living, and the taxes and incomes reflect how clean and industrious the Swiss are. So have fun uprooting and making a living there.
Hmm.. seems like we've come back full circle.. Seems pretty nice here sitting at my computer rolling up a joint and cracking a beer, watching the Canucks game with my feet up... you know, not having to worry about secret police busting down my door and seizing my assests.. or getting gang raped by sryians on the walk to safeway..
pretty nice indeed..