[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by Traum

From the discussion I am reading here, an unspoken underlying assumption is -- people don't want to leave Vancouver. I get that people don't want to leave Vancouver. Hell, I don't want to leave Vancouver if I can avoid that as well! As a realistic and pragmatic person, however, I look at the numbers, and whether I like it or not, the numbers will at least partially dictate what I can / would have to do because the numbers have to work -- ie. the finances need to be sustainable.

If I were a fresh ugrad earning that $45k/yr salary while trying to pay off my $50k student loan debt... I can't stay in Vancouver unless there is a very good reason to do so. Calgary, Edmonton, or even buttfuck Saskatchewan have people happily living there too. I went to university in an Ontario university town, and I have friends there that used to live in Toronto when they were kids. But after going to university at the tiny university town, they fell in love with the city, found a job, and stayed there for good. Just as Toronto isn't the Center of the Universe, Vancouver isn't necessarily the center stage of the party either -- or at least, it doesn't have to be.

When the day comes where I can no longer afford to stay in Vanocuver, I think I'll probably try to find some place cheap on the Island and go there instead. (I hope that kind of place would still exist by then.)

Better get on that island bandwagon soon if you want to retire there. Even Kelowna prices are getting to insane levels and that's no Vancouver.