PDA

View Full Version : I'd like to move to Canada (Vancouver) somebody is from there?



ilcontegis
September 26th, 2009, 08:08 AM
Hi guys,
I am Matteo from Italy.
I am now a 2nd year PhD student specializing in Geographycal Information Systems and Earthquake. Once finished my PhD in Japan I am thinking to move in Vancouver (Columbia University).
As I still have 1 year and half, I am thinking to go there to see how is before obviously....
But now I'd like to know if somebody of you is from Vancouver and has some spare time to have a bit of chat with me about his city as I do not trust so much what I read from books and internet.

Thank you very much for those that will be so kind to dedicate me a bit of their time.
Regards,
Matteo

p.s. why I wrote here? because I am a ubuntu/debian/archlinux user and I trust very much the linux community ;)

HappinessNow
September 26th, 2009, 08:10 AM
Hi guys,
I am Matteo from Italy.
I am now a 2nd year PhD student specializing in Geographycal Information Systems and Earthquake. Once finished my PhD in Japan I am thinking to move in Vancouver (Columbia University).
As I still have 1 year and half, I am thinking to go there to see how is before obviously....
But now I'd like to know if somebody of you is from Vancouver and has some spare time to have a bit of chat with me about his city as I do not trust so much what I read from books and internet.

Thank you very much for those that will be so kind to dedicate me a bit of their time.
Regards,
Matteo

p.s. why I wrote here? because I am a ubuntu/debian/archlinux user and I trust very much the linux community ;)Great Post!

Vancouver is the most beautiful city in North America! while I don't live there (wish I did) I do visit Vancouver very often.

Vancouver has perhaps one of the largest 'Chinatowns' in North America it makes the ones in San Francisco and New York pale in comparison.

Think of Vancouver as the Emerald City (like in the Wizard of Oz) a lot of the buildings are new and done in a beautiful Emerald green glass, this with the downtown surrounded by water and the mountains rising up dramatically in the background.

I can not say enough about the city, and the very friendly people.

Not having lived there I can not give any good advice on which is the best neighborhood to settle in but I suspect you want to be close to your school.

Good Luck! Vancouver is very beautiful and a great city yet it does have it seedy districts also; which some may find interesting still, ie Gaslight district.

On a side note, historically Vancouver and practically all of British Columbia was once part of the "Oregon Territory"; in the state of Oregon you will find the most beautiful city ion the USA: Portland, Oregon but Vancouver, BC reigns as the most beautiful city in North America (IMHO).

wojox
September 26th, 2009, 08:20 AM
I'd think you'd want to move there anyway. Don't they have a pretty good earthquake ratio per year? Especially Vancouver.

HappinessNow
September 26th, 2009, 08:24 AM
I'd think you'd want to move there anyway. Don't they have a pretty good earthquake ratio per year? Especially Vancouver.Not as high as California or Anchorage, Alaska but the whole Pacific Northwest has active volcanoes in the Cascade Range which contribute to Earthquake activity.

Also Vancouver BC has a high percentage of European and Asian populations which makes it very diversified.

cta16
September 26th, 2009, 08:32 AM
Vancouver doesn't even have one noticeable earthquake every year. This may not be the best time to do an exchange to Vancouver because the Olympics are happening next year. This means housing prices are skyrocketing.

When you say Columbia University, you mean University of British Columbia right?

HappinessNow
September 26th, 2009, 08:35 AM
Vancouver doesn't even have one noticeable earthquake every year. This may not be the best time to do an exchange to Vancouver because the Olympics are happening next year. This means housing prices are skyrocketing.

Not to worry the OP stated he is a 2nd year PHd student, it still has a year and a half to go.




As I still have 1 year and half,...

seanshoots
September 26th, 2009, 08:38 AM
I live near there.

ilcontegis
September 26th, 2009, 09:14 AM
Wow so many reply!
Thank you all.
I am thinking to move there in 1 and half, 2 years. so it will be just after the Olympics, I hope the prices will go down then (now they are really high). Just I cannot simply go there and say "hello, I'm nobody from Italy will you hire me in your university as researcher or teacher?" I need to start make connection and see if there is any possibility there.
That's why I decided to start from now to collect info and see how is the life there.

ilcontegis
September 26th, 2009, 09:17 AM
Vancouver doesn't even have one noticeable earthquake every year. This may not be the best time to do an exchange to Vancouver because the Olympics are happening next year. This means housing prices are skyrocketing.

When you say Columbia University, you mean University of British Columbia right?

Yes I mean the British Columbia University. Sorry.
I will go after the Olympics so it should be ok I hope.
In Vancouver the seismic activity is not that much remarkable (1 to 3 degree of magnitudo) but still around there there is a quite high activity.

ilcontegis
September 26th, 2009, 05:07 PM
up any vancouver people here?

eragon100
September 26th, 2009, 05:10 PM
I don't know about canada since I am from/live in the netherlands, but seriously, why on earth would you want to move out of Japan?? :confused:

You say you are from italy, so I would maybe be able to understand if you would want to go back there to rejoin family or something, but why on earth move from Japan to canada????

ilcontegis
September 26th, 2009, 05:18 PM
I don't know about canada since I am from/live in the netherlands, but seriously, why on earth would you want to move out of Japan?? :confused:

You say you are from italy, so I would maybe be able to understand if you would want to go back there to rejoin family or something, but why on earth move from Japan to canada????
japan is not exactly the best place to live.
I'm pretty sure that you as most of people have no idea of what is really japan and mainly what does it means to live and work here.:)
vancouver? why not. seems a nice place, i like to ski, i like to have friend (real friend not like in japan), and live close to the sea without pollution, etc..

p_quarles
September 26th, 2009, 05:37 PM
On a side note, historically Vancouver and practically all of British Columbia was once part of the "Oregon Territory"; in the state of Oregon you will find the most beautiful city ion the USA: Portland, Oregon but Vancouver, BC reigns as the most beautiful city in North America (IMHO).

Incorrect. No part of BC has ever been claimed by the United States.

coolbrook
September 26th, 2009, 05:42 PM
Incorrect. No part of BC has ever been claimed by the United States.

Simon Fraser just joined the NCAA.

schauerlich
September 26th, 2009, 05:57 PM
Incorrect. No part of BC has ever been claimed by the United States.

"54 40' or fight" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_boundary_dispute)? I guess it was never officially claimed by the US, but there certainly were people who wanted it to happen.

p_quarles
September 26th, 2009, 06:05 PM
"54 40' or fight" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_boundary_dispute)? I guess it was never officially claimed by the US, but there certainly were people who wanted it to happen.
Fair enough. But the Oregon Territory itself was born out of that dispute's resolution, so it's unrealistic to say that Vancouver was once part of the Oregon Territory. It wasn't.

eragon100
September 26th, 2009, 06:12 PM
japan is not exactly the best place to live.
I'm pretty sure that you as most of people have no idea of what is really japan and mainly what does it means to live and work here.:)
vancouver? why not. seems a nice place, i like to ski, i like to have friend (real friend not like in japan), and live close to the sea without pollution, etc..

I know it has it's problems, both economical (crisis) and social (Hikikomori for example), and it's extremely expensive, and there is always the risk of "being left a bit shaken" (yeah, I mean earthquakes).

However, is is also a very high tech country, it has lots of cool festivals and holidays and stuff, the language is fun too learn, it's the homeplace of anime (and the world's coolest conventions), it has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, the literacy rate is very high, the food is great, etc, etc, etc. So, what kind of things have happened to you there that you want to move to Canada? Just curious :wink:

sudoer541
September 26th, 2009, 07:51 PM
I am from Toronto, Ontario. I think Vancouver is a very nice place. I wanted to go to the Olympics but its 4 ~ hours with the airplane. I guess ill wait until the next winter Olympics in Montreal. That will take me less time to get there.
Back to the topic. Vancouver is a nice place but let me give you piece of advice. Dont shop from places that are for tourists. Shop only from places that are for local residents. It will be a lot cheaper!

Best regards.

HappinessNow
September 26th, 2009, 08:13 PM
On a side note, historically Vancouver and practically all of British Columbia was once part of the "Oregon Territory"...



Incorrect. No part of BC has ever been claimed by the United States.
Read your history, I never said it was claimed by the USA, I did say that it was part of the Oregon Territory, before the Oregon Territory became part of the USA and was jointly controlled by the USA and the United Kingdom. The Oregon Territory (or Oregon Country) was shared with the United Kingdom and the USA and stretched all the way up to present day Alaska.

Read up on your history around the time of President Polk and before.


October 20, 1818 The Treaty of 1818 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_1818) established the 49th parallel north (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/49th_parallel_north) west of the Lake of the Woods (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_of_the_Woods) as the border with British-held lands, and Oregon Country (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Country) was established as a shared land between the United States and United Kingdom.[26] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_the_United_States#cite_no te-25) Oregon Country consisted of most of present-day Idaho (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho) and Oregon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon), all of Washington (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington), and a portion of Montana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana), as well as the southern part of the Canadian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada) province of British Columbia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_the_United_States

This land was shared NOT disputed, present day British Columbia was once part of the Oregon Country shared between the USA and the United Kingdom.


June 18, 1846 The Oregon Treaty (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Treaty) established the 49th parallel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/49th_parallel) west of the Lake of the Woods as the continental border (so it did not include Vancouver Island (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Island)) with the lands held by the United Kingdom. The sharing of Oregon Country (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Country) ended, and the American portion becomes unorganized territory.[35] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_the_United_States#cite_no te-34)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_the_United_States

Keep in mind that the United Kingdom's only interest in the Oregon Territory(Country) was the fur trade done by the Hudson Bay Company. The majority of the Oregon Country was settled by Americans.

In June 18, 1846 when former President Polk was in power the boundaries were set with the Oregon Treaty.


The Treaty of 1818 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_1818) set the boundary between the United States and British North America (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_North_America) along the 49th parallel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/49th_parallel) of north latitude from Minnesota (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota) to the "Stony Mountains"[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Treaty#cite_note-Canado-American_Treaties_Text-1) (now known as the Rocky Mountains (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountains)). West of those mountains was known to the Americans as the Oregon Country (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Country) and to the British as the Columbia Department (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Department) or Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson%27s_Bay_Company). (Also included in the region was the southern portion of another fur district, New Caledonia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Caledonia_%28Canada%29).) The treaty provided for joint control of that land for ten years. Both countries could claim land and both were guaranteed free navigation throughout.
Joint control steadily grew less tolerable for both sides. After a British minister rejected U.S. President (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._President) James K. Polk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_K._Polk)'s offer to settle the boundary at the 49th parallel north (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/49th_parallel_north), Democratic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_%28United_States%29) expansionists (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expansionist) called for the annexation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annexation) of the entire region up to 54°40', the southern limit of Russian America (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_America) as established by parallel treaties between the Russian Empire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Empire) and the US (1824) and Britain (1825). However, after the outbreak of the Mexican-American War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican-American_War) diverted U.S. attention and resources,[citation needed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)] a compromise was reached.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Treaty


The Oregon Treaty set the U.S. and British North American (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_North_America) border at the 49th parallel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/49th_parallel) with the exception of Vancouver Island (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Island), which was retained in its entirety by the British. Vancouver Island, with all coastal islands, was constituted as the Colony of Vancouver Island (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_of_Vancouver_Island) in 1849 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1849). The U.S. portion of the region was organized as Oregon Territory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Territory) on August 14 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_14), 1848 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1848), with Washington Territory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Territory) being formed from it in 1853 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1853). The British portion remained unorganized until 1858 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1858) when the Colony of British Columbia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_of_British_Columbia) was declared as a result of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraser_Canyon_Gold_Rush) and fears of re-asserted American expansionist intentions. The two British colonies were amalgamated in 1866 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1866) as the Colony of British Columbia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Colonies_of_Vancouver_Island_and_British_Co lumbia). When the Colony of British Columbia joined Canada in 1871, the 49th Parallel and marine boundaries established by the Oregon Treaty became the U.S.-Canadian border (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.-Canadian_border).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Treaty

Technically, the USA did not have to have a 'claim' on what later became BC because it was jointly controlled by both the United Kingdom and the USA, known as the Oregon Country.

I do have to say that I should use the term "Oregon Country" and NOT "Oregon Territory" to avoid confusion on what I mean. :P

ilcontegis
September 27th, 2009, 03:05 AM
I know it has it's problems, both economical (crisis) and social (Hikikomori for example), and it's extremely expensive, and there is always the risk of "being left a bit shaken" (yeah, I mean earthquakes).

However, is is also a very high tech country, it has lots of cool festivals and holidays and stuff, the language is fun too learn, it's the homeplace of anime (and the world's coolest conventions), it has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, the literacy rate is very high, the food is great, etc, etc, etc. So, what kind of things have happened to you there that you want to move to Canada? Just curious :wink:

It is generally not so good place. homeplace of anime? yeah of disgusting perverted people (try to go to akihabara and you will see), the food is fantastic nothing to say, the literacy rate is really low, everybody is like a machine, no feeling no love anithing. Is like to live with a big group of robot. Very high tech only in the center, move 10 meters and you will see..

this one is my main reason.

Vostrocity
September 27th, 2009, 03:27 AM
@今幸福
Whoa that's a massive writeup. Didn't know all of you normal people knew so much about History.

@ilcontegis
Troll! I've been there and it's not that bad.


On the main note. I was born in Vancouver and my parents went to UBC. It's a beautiful city, with plenty to do. Lucky that you've lived in so many amazing places already, like Italy and Japan.

Exodist
September 27th, 2009, 04:38 AM
I been to Victoria not very far from Vancover and I didnt want to leave. It was breath taking.

schauerlich
September 27th, 2009, 04:42 AM
@今幸福
Whoa that's a massive writeup. Didn't know all of you normal people knew so much about History.

You're assuming 今幸福 is normal.

Jestersage
September 27th, 2009, 06:41 AM
If you happen to come to Vancouver, make sure you visit Freegeek Vancouver. IMHO, I think the "low end spec" is higher is Vancouver (2.0Gz + 512mb + 40Gb vs 1.5Gz + 20Gb)... in fact, we seems to have more high end stuff, with an occasional dual core/64bit machine that come by.

That, or we are just wasteful.

HappinessNow
September 27th, 2009, 07:08 AM
You're assuming 今幸福 is normal.

:lolflag:

ilcontegis
September 27th, 2009, 12:20 PM
@今幸福
Whoa that's a massive writeup. Didn't know all of you normal people knew so much about History.

@ilcontegis
Troll! I've been there and it's not that bad.


On the main note. I was born in Vancouver and my parents went to UBC. It's a beautiful city, with plenty to do. Lucky that you've lived in so many amazing places already, like Italy and Japan.

If you go in Japan to visit is very nice.....
Try to live there and you will see. There are a lot of nice things of course! But I really cannot stand this way of living, people are too cold, thinking only to work, always smiling in front of you but behind they are terrible!
Yes I am very lucky to be able to travel the world, this is my choice.
Do you have some time to tell me smth more about Vancouver and the UBC?
Thank you very much

eragon100
September 27th, 2009, 01:33 PM
If you go in Japan to visit is very nice.....
Try to live there and you will see. There are a lot of nice things of course! But I really cannot stand this way of living, people are too cold, thinking only to work, always smiling in front of you but behind they are terrible!


Now this might be because I am (slightly) autistic and don't often go to clubs and the like, and usually prefer to be left alone. I love to learn and organise things and work etc. Currently I am, in addition to standard 6 vwo (final years of the highest level of high school education here in the Netherlads), learning Japanese and extra mathematics. Oh, and I like to learn about/do some programming here and there, too. I organise all of the ubuntu release parties in my city and recently helped with the SFD in the Netherlands. I go to colleges etc. And altough I usually don't go to clubs and such, I love going to special interest meetings, such as anime/manga conventions, computer days, youth astronomy camps, etc.

I think I would probably like the no-nonsense attitude in Japan :KS

Machnikowski
September 27th, 2009, 03:33 PM
I am from Vancouver. It's an awesome city. Plus we get the Olympics next year ;)

hansdown
September 27th, 2009, 04:30 PM
Vancouver is very beautiful.

The two best known universities are, University Of British Columbia, and Simon Fraser University.

There is also University Of Northern B.C. The British Columbia Institute Of Technology has some interesting possibilities as well.

Seismic monitoring is very big here.

http://www.google.ca/search?q=seismic+monitoring+in+british+columbia+ca nada&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=com.ubuntu:en-US:unofficial&client=firefox-a

There is so much to see and do here, and the mixture of cultures is both vast and diverse.

cariboo
September 27th, 2009, 05:26 PM
There is a down side to living in Vancouver, it rains quite a bit. If you are from a drier climate, I live 500 Km north, it can get to be depressing.

toupeiro
September 27th, 2009, 05:52 PM
On a side note, historically Vancouver and practically all of British Columbia was once part of the "Oregon Territory"; in the state of Oregon you will find the most beautiful city ion the USA: Portland, Oregon but Vancouver, BC reigns as the most beautiful city in North America (IMHO).

Having not seen Vancouver for myself, For me its hard to imagine it being more beautiful than Victoria, BC. I've been there 4-5 times.

HappinessNow
September 27th, 2009, 05:56 PM
Having not seen Vancouver for myself, For me its hard to imagine it being more beautiful than Victoria, BC.

Having not visited Victoria BC myself, I hear it is very beautiful, but Vancouver is the most beautiful for large metropolitan cities in North America.

Victoria I trust is the most beautiful of smaller cities, I look forward to visiting soon.

I hear The Butchart Gardens (http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.butchartgardens.com/&ei=BJm_SvC0MpDT8Qawu72qAQ&sa=X&oi=spellmeleon_result&resnum=1&ct=result&usg=AFQjCNHO_UkPrgaBC8Xwl8ESjTo10iPubA) are spectacular.

Vostrocity
September 27th, 2009, 06:37 PM
There is a down side to living in Vancouver, it rains quite a bit. If you are from a drier climate, I live 500 Km north, it can get to be depressing.
Yes, Pacific-Northwest climate, so a ton of rain. But the upside is that the weather's very moderate all year.


Having not seen Vancouver for myself, For me its hard to imagine it being more beautiful than Victoria, BC. I've been there 4-5 times.
They're both beautiful, just different styles. I'd say I would rather live in Vancouver. It's the perfect place between the sea (Victoria) and the mountains (Banff).

hansdown
September 27th, 2009, 07:29 PM
There is a down side to living in Vancouver, it rains quite a bit. If you are from a drier climate, I live 500 Km north, it can get to be depressing.

In B.C. we don't tan. We rust.

:lolflag:

Joking aside, this has been the best spring/summer season in years.

Flying caveman
September 27th, 2009, 08:38 PM
Things I remember about UBC.

1. Awesome mountain bike trails just off campus.

2. Humongous pizza slices at the pizza place in the S.U.B.

3. The grassy knoll adjacent to the Student Union Building.

4. Getting drunk in the basement of the Henry Angus building every Friday.

5. The HazMat trucks in front of the Chemistry building

6. Squirrels.

7. Nippy September mornings.

8. Hey, there's David Suzuki!

9. Being the only White guy in my classes.

10. My girlfriend's stripper girlfriend.

There's a clothing optional beach too, but don't waste your time. Just a bunch of old hippies down there.

ilcontegis
September 28th, 2009, 12:25 AM
Things I remember about UBC.
9. Being the only White guy in my classes.


What do you mean? in UBC there are no white people? all black? as here in Japan I always feel a very strong racism against foreigners (so against me as well) did you felt this in Vancouver as well? I can't stand this kind of thing (another reason why I don't want to live so long in Japan, I'm feeling very much the ALIEN)

About the rain...
I do not understand so much..I checked on wikipedia the statistics of mm of rain every month. and it is around 1200 mm per year, in japan is almost same, in Ireland (where I did my MA) is a bit more. Ireland was a bit depressing not so much because it was raining but because it was always grey!

How about Vancouver? How often does it rain? (the statistics did not help me so much to understand in reality the situation how is) The sky is always grey there as well?
How is the typical Vancouver day?
For instance in Ireland it was: wake up, dark and grey, go to the University, maybe rain or grey...some sun in the afternoon (or rain again)....dark very early and grey.

Concerning the Universities in Vancouver I will check a bit what they are offering. Which one of them is the good one? or maybe they are all good ;)

Thank you guys for helping me!

utnubuuser
September 28th, 2009, 12:44 AM
Vancouver is powned.

hansdown
September 28th, 2009, 01:58 AM
Vancouver is powned.

Any experiences to share utnubuuser?

cariboo
September 28th, 2009, 02:51 AM
I used to live on the North Shore, specifically Deep Cove, during the winter it seemed to rain daily, even though the sun was shining in downtown Vancouver. Where I now live we get 40cm of rain a year, to me 120cm seems to be a lot of rain.

Greater Vancouver, Richmond specifically. has a large Asian population, so in some areas us white boys are few and far between. :)

Dimitriid
September 28th, 2009, 04:09 AM
What do you mean? in UBC there are no white people? all black? as here in Japan I always feel a very strong racism against foreigners (so against me as well) did you felt this in Vancouver as well? I can't stand this kind of thing (another reason why I don't want to live so long in Japan, I'm feeling very much the ALIEN)

More like all asian: lots of people from the far east as well as the Mid east. When I was there I never felt any racism at all from the general population. But when we talk about the government, oh boy they really have screwed over First Nation locals for centuries and their immigration policy its becoming really ugly real fast.



How about Vancouver? How often does it rain? (the statistics did not help me so much to understand in reality the situation how is) The sky is always grey there as well?
How is the typical Vancouver day?


It rains alright. When I was there there was like some kind of record for B.C. with like 27 days in a row constantly raining. Its not heavy rain for the most part, but most of the year temperatures are always below 15 C and at nights it gets as low as 3-5 so even a little rain can be awful, specially cause the city promotes public transportation so much with negative reinforcement ( seriously you have to pay like 6 or 7 bucks on park meters downtown is crazy ) and gas prices that are even more insane than the prices globally ( US 1.5 bucks per liter sometimes ) means that as a student, you will probably need to constantly wear a raincoat and boots otherwise walking everywhere and taking buses all day with rain an cold will be trouble.

ilcontegis
September 28th, 2009, 04:34 AM
More like all asian: lots of people from the far east as well as the Mid east. When I was there I never felt any racism at all from the general population. But when we talk about the government, oh boy they really have screwed over First Nation locals for centuries and their immigration policy its becoming really ugly real fast.



It rains alright. When I was there there was like some kind of record for B.C. with like 27 days in a row constantly raining. Its not heavy rain for the most part, but most of the year temperatures are always below 15 C and at nights it gets as low as 3-5 so even a little rain can be awful, specially cause the city promotes public transportation so much with negative reinforcement ( seriously you have to pay like 6 or 7 bucks on park meters downtown is crazy ) and gas prices that are even more insane than the prices globally ( US 1.5 bucks per liter sometimes ) means that as a student, you will probably need to constantly wear a raincoat and boots otherwise walking everywhere and taking buses all day with rain an cold will be trouble.

By your description, Vancouver seems a horrible place...wow..
full of immigrant (nothing against, but if I am the only white I will feel a bit alone), constant rain, over expensive, quite cold and humid. God seems a hell....is it really that much bad?

You shocked me quite a lot, I have to admit :confused:

futz
September 28th, 2009, 05:32 AM
By your description, Vancouver seems a horrible place...wow..
full of immigrant (nothing against, but if I am the only white I will feel a bit alone), constant rain, over expensive, quite cold and humid. God seems a hell....is it really that much bad?

You shocked me quite a lot, I have to admit :confused:
I've lived in the Vancouver area since 1989.

Vancouver (the west coast) can be pretty ugly in winter. It rains a lot. But in exchange for all the wet the weather is pretty mild all winter. It doesn't snow much here at sea level. We get a dump or two (or three) per winter, which sometimes hangs around for a while and then melts. One thing though, when it does snow it REALLY SNOWS! It pounds down fast and hard. Then it all melts, but flooding isn't a huge problem. This part of the Province is built to handle lots of water (all the rain).

Summers don't get nearly as hot as the interior of the Province. The ocean moderates the weather nicely. Very pleasant in spring/summer/fall.

Housing is very expensive here.

There are lots of Chinese and East Indian people here, but plenty of white people too. I think we're still the majority (I could be wrong), unlike in Toronto.

LowSky
September 28th, 2009, 05:34 AM
Vancouver is a rainy city, much of that part of north America is. But why Vancouver, why not Montreal, or Toronto? Why Canada at all? Also have you applied for citizenship or a visa, or even a job?

Are you looking for a job involving earthquake zones?
Have you thought of South America at all, for instance Argentina. The country is very European, especially Buenos Aires

ilcontegis
September 28th, 2009, 05:56 AM
Vancouver is a rainy city, much of that part of north America is. But why Vancouver, why not Montreal, or Toronto? Why Canada at all? Also have you applied for citizenship or a visa, or even a job?

Are you looking for a job involving earthquake zones?
Have you thought of South America at all, for instance Argentina. The country is very European, especially Buenos Aires

I did not decide anything at the moment I still have time to think (around 2 years, but in 1 year I'd like to start making contact and find some position).
I would like to continue my career as a post doctoral researcher and I heard that in Vancouver (British Columbia University) the university level is very good and the quality of life is good as well. That's all I already did France, Italy and Ireland so I moved to Japan, and now I would like to go to America. I choose Canada because I like green and I like snow. South America? maybe in the future, I need first to become fluent with spanish.

All Canada could be ok, but I read that in Vancouver there is the "best" weather conditions, and the rest of Canada is much worst. So I thought that it might be too much for me, already Vancouver seems to be cold and rainy.

I did not do anything at the moment. But in the future of course I will apply for visa and try to enter the BCU if I decide to move to Vancouver.

Yes I would like to research the behaviour of people when an earthquake happens and try to provide solution improving the safety of citizens. That's why I want to enter the BCU even if still I have no idea if I can enter the university.

cariboo
September 28th, 2009, 08:54 AM
If you can afford it, I would suggest you come for a visit before deciding whether you want to spend a few years here, there is plenty to do no matter what your interests are, outdoor activities are probably the number one thing to do.

The air is generally clear even on the Lower Mainland.

We have almost every type of climate you could ask for.

We even have minor earthquakes fairly often especially around Vancouver Island.

There are plenty of dormant volcanoes in the part of the province I live in.

The one thing to remember is that BC is larger in area than Texas, so it takes a while to get around the province.

Finally, some of the scenery is so gorgeous that I'm still amazed. I'd rather live in BC than any other part of Canada, or any other country I've visited so far.

ilcontegis
September 28th, 2009, 09:17 AM
If you can afford it, I would suggest you come for a visit before deciding whether you want to spend a few years here, there is plenty to do no matter what your interests are, outdoor activities are probably the number one thing to do.

The air is generally clear even on the Lower Mainland.

We have almost every type of climate you could ask for.

We even have minor earthquakes fairly often especially around Vancouver Island.

There are plenty of dormant volcanoes in the part of the province I live in.

The one thing to remember is that BC is larger in area than Texas, so it takes a while to get around the province.

Finally, some of the scenery is so gorgeous that I'm still amazed. I'd rather live in BC than any other part of Canada, or any other country I've visited so far.

Yes, I was thinking to subscribe to the Canadian Geography association and to go in March to the annual conference (this year will be in Alberta) and then go to see Vancouver. By doing in this way, my university will support me economically and it will be much easier for me go to visit.

Concerning the place to live, Vancouver is quite big and I understood that the weather changes lot according the location.
So, by knowing that which is the best place to have nice weather?
I was thinking to check close to the university (point grey, katsilano, dunbar, memorial park west,etc..) there areas are good places to live? how about the weather? If I understood well the North side of Vancouver is much more rainy...isn't it?

What is your opinion about the BCU? Is it really a good university?

I love to sky and do trekking, canoe, climb, etc....by seeing what Vancouver area has to offer seems a paradise...the only thing seems to be the weather :)

Thank you again to you all, for the big help you are giving me!

hansdown
September 28th, 2009, 11:43 AM
I used to live on the North Shore, specifically Deep Cove, during the winter it seemed to rain daily, even though the sun was shining in downtown Vancouver. Where I now live we get 40cm of rain a year, to me 120cm seems to be a lot of rain.

Greater Vancouver, Richmond specifically. has a large Asian population, so in some areas us white boys are few and far between. :)

Deep Cove does have it's own weather pattern. The clouds get socked in.

White Rock does too, only the sun shines far more than it does in Vancouver.

Vostrocity
September 29th, 2009, 03:20 AM
Yes, I was thinking to subscribe to the Canadian Geography association and to go in March to the annual conference (this year will be in Alberta) and then go to see Vancouver. By doing in this way, my university will support me economically and it will be much easier for me go to visit.

Concerning the place to live, Vancouver is quite big and I understood that the weather changes lot according the location.
So, by knowing that which is the best place to have nice weather?
I was thinking to check close to the university (point grey, katsilano, dunbar, memorial park west,etc..) there areas are good places to live? how about the weather? If I understood well the North side of Vancouver is much more rainy...isn't it?

What is your opinion about the BCU? Is it really a good university?

I love to sky and do trekking, canoe, climb, etc....by seeing what Vancouver area has to offer seems a paradise...the only thing seems to be the weather :)

Thank you again to you all, for the big help you are giving me!

Yes you really should go see it. You need to be there in person to see how beautiful it is.

Btw it's UBC not BCU. And yes it's a nice school, beautiful too.

The weather really isn't a problem at all. I really liked it. It does rain a lot but it's nice, soft rain that doesn't bother you.

Dimitriid
September 29th, 2009, 03:45 AM
By your description, Vancouver seems a horrible place...wow..
full of immigrant (nothing against, but if I am the only white I will feel a bit alone), constant rain, over expensive, quite cold and humid. God seems a hell....is it really that much bad?

You shocked me quite a lot, I have to admit :confused:

Well even though everybody is an immigrant people is very nice overall so I personally don't mind.

The weather is just as I described for the better part of the year, I happen to like cold weather like that but I can see why you wouldn't like it.

fillintheblanks
September 29th, 2009, 03:47 AM
vancouver has many italians too, you should have no problem fitting in.

ilcontegis
September 29th, 2009, 05:52 AM
vancouver has many italians too, you should have no problem fitting in.
usually I am a very friendly person, I can easily be friend with whoever.