Vancouver - Just Got Here

Shalamov

ustari wrote: »

Thinking of living in Kitsilano when we get over in July.

How have you found the area so far?

How long into downtown using public transport?
Is it worth getting the SkyTrain in or is the bus as quick considering you would have to change?
Grocery shopping, would being relatively close to Safeway or the like suffice for the vast majority of shopping?

One thing that has suprised me is how few apartments are available furnished.

Thanks in advance.

Kits is a great place to live. Nice and friendly, and close to the beach. Takes me about 10-15 mins to get into town on the bus, depending on the time of day. SkyTrain doesn't run to Kits, so you'll be on the bus. There's a Safeway on 4th and Balsam/Vine, a Wholefoods on 4th and Vine and an IGA on Broadway and Vine. These are fairly central, and I'm sure there're others as you go further south. Nice coffeeshops all around.

However, if you don't relish the yoga lifestyle you might get frustrated with the place. It's all about healthy living. The bars are generally awful in Kits, to boot - sports bars with more screens than people! And the standard of the apartments/living areas is not great. Took us a lot of viewings to get what we wanted (modern) and even then it's a tiny place. Rent is pricey.

Summer is Kits is meant to be fantastic. The beach and outdoor pool really add to it. If you want to make the most of the area I wouldn't go much further south than 12th - it's pretty dead beyond there.

ustari

Thanks AmyPL and Shalamov.

Think it is between living in Downtown and Kits for us, I know these are the pricier areas but no worse than Dublin anyway it seems.

What would the demographic in the area typically be?
We are in our mid 20s.

Anywhere to avoid renting in the area?
It seems quite a few of the places include utilities in the rental price? Is this common practice?
How much is heating in the winter for you? Interested to get an estimate, don't want to get any shocking bills in 10 months time!

Would you typically go into town for nights out? What about restaurants?
If you could compare it to a town in Dublin what would it be similar to? (Presuming you are Irish and from Dublin, I know...)

Thank you for your help, nice to have a human perspective on it.

Shalamov

ustari wrote: »

Thanks AmyPL and Shalamov.

Think it is between living in Downtown and Kits for us, I know these are the pricier areas but no worse than Dublin anyway it seems.

What would the demographic in the area typically be?
We are in our mid 20s.

Anywhere to avoid renting in the area?
It seems quite a few of the places include utilities in the rental price? Is this common practice?
How much is heating in the winter for you? Interested to get an estimate, don't want to get any shocking bills in 10 months time!

Would you typically go into town for nights out? What about restaurants?
If you could compare it to a town in Dublin what would it be similar to? (Presuming you are Irish and from Dublin, I know...)

Thank you for your help, nice to have a human perspective on it.

Kits is a bit of a haven for young people. There are a lot of residents in their 20s/30s, so you won't struggle on that front. It makes sense, as the standard of property, as I said, is fairly poor. The further south you go towards Shaughnessy, the older and more family-orientated it gets.

There are no 'no-go' areas in Kits (and very few in the city as a whole). Like I said, I'd avoid living south of 12th, as you will have nothing but crickets for company. I've walked around there in the evening and it's deathly quiet. There are literally no bars around.

Our utilities are included in the rent, but I can't speak for others. Depends on your landlord. Paid about $70-80 to BC Hydro every two months over winter.

There are a good few nice restaurants in Kits. You'd struggle to find a decent place for a drink afterwards though. But it's close enough to everything, so it's not a huge problem. A fair comparison to a Dublin suburb would be Ranelagh without its pubs but with a beach - close to town, young crowd, fairly decent standard of living.

Frank Bullitt

Welcome!

Hope you love the place as much as I do, it will test you at times, but its worth it.

ciaran67

ustari wrote: »

Thanks AmyPL and Shalamov.

Think it is between living in Downtown and Kits for us, I know these are the pricier areas but no worse than Dublin anyway it seems.
What would the demographic in the area typically be?
We are in our mid 20s.

Anywhere to avoid renting in the area?
It seems quite a few of the places include utilities in the rental price? Is this common practice?
How much is heating in the winter for you? Interested to get an estimate, don't want to get any shocking bills in 10 months time!

Would you typically go into town for nights out? What about restaurants?
If you could compare it to a town in Dublin what would it be similar to? (Presuming you are Irish and from Dublin, I know...)

Thank you for your help, nice to have a human perspective on it.

Areas to avoid are so obvious you'll know when you're there. There aren't any no go American style ghettos. Vancouver is ridiculously safe.

Kits is full of tossers and very over priced.

circadian

Kits is expensive, somewhere near a skytrain stop a little further out will get a lot more for the cash. Trains are very regular and if you don't go too far 15-20 minutes to town.

Also you might find yourself working in Burnaby so again being near a skytrain is handy.

Vancouver is easy to get around, great public transport and doesn't take too long to get anywhere decent.

Shalamov

ciaran67 wrote: »

Kits is full of tossers and very over priced.

Cheers buddy!

NewsMeQuick

ustari wrote: »

Thinking of living in Kitsilano when we get over in July.

How have you found the area so far?

How long into downtown using public transport?
Is it worth getting the SkyTrain in or is the bus as quick considering you would have to change?
Grocery shopping, would being relatively close to Safeway or the like suffice for the vast majority of shopping?

One thing that has suprised me is how few apartments are available furnished.

Thanks in advance.

I only seen this now.

I love Kits. I read a lot of hype about it before I got here and it nearly turned me off it. I chose it as a good base for getting what I needed done. It's a beautiful neighbourhood, people are friendly, it really is brilliant being close to the beaches, I mean the weather says it about 19 degrees, it feels like 25+ and it's great. There are plenty of shops, cafes, banks. I've been all over Vancouver and I've seen a few I didn't like or had lots of shared apartments/houses with absolutely nothing else nearby but bus stops out. That's what made Kits all the better for me.

(p.s. it is no joke, they are vegetarian, spinach-loving, coconut-drinking, "I don't eat processed food" / "I don't eat food additives" crazy around here. I have A BIT of that in me, it made me a weirdo back home, here, they would drive you to drink talking about, I kid you not!!)

Yep there are two supermarkets within walking distance. Given that it's so hot now, I hop on the bus to and from. You don't want to carry your stuff 15 mins down the street in this heat. The bus is very cheap. I get a weekly pack of tickets of 10, which allows trips for 90 minutes per ticket, for $21 dollars for fare zone 1 (from UBC west, downtown north, to Hastings on east, to Marpole on south) which to me is great.

Shared accom, it depends what your're looking for, I've found maybe four out of five places shared, are furnished.

GrumPy

NewsMeQuick wrote: »

Shared accom, it depends what your're looking for, I've found maybe four out of five places shared, are furnished.

So, you're living in shared accom, or you're still looking? I still haven't figured out where you sleep at night! :pac:

ciaran67

Shalamov wrote: »

Cheers buddy!

present company excepted, of course!

Shalamov

ciaran67 wrote: »

present company excepted, of course!

NewsMeQuick

GrumPy wrote: »

So, you're living in shared accom, or you're still looking? I still haven't figured out where you sleep at night! :pac:

Both! lol

And just sometimes I sleep on your couch :pac:

Sinfonia

ustari wrote: »

Think it is between living in Downtown and Kits for us, I know these are the pricier areas but no worse than Dublin anyway it seems.

I wouldn't zone in on those areas, there's so many other great areas. Shalamov compared Kits to Ranelagh, but Mount Pleasant/South Main area would be a lot closer to Ranelagh I think.

Check out areas like Mount Pleasant/South Main, South Cambie, Strathcona, Commercial Drive, even Hastings-Sunrise and areas in the DTES.

Downtown and west Vancouver in general are going to be better known as good places to live, because the whole east side was essentially a kip not TOO long ago, but it's very different now. I'd much rather live in East Van.

ciaran67

Sinfonia wrote: »

I wouldn't zone in on those areas, there's so many other great areas. Shalamov compared Kits to Ranelagh, but Mount Pleasant/South Main area would be a lot closer to Ranelagh I think.

Check out areas like Mount Pleasant/South Main, South Cambie, Strathcona, Commercial Drive, even Hastings-Sunrise and areas in the DTES.

Downtown and west Vancouver in general are going to be better known as good places to live, because the whole east side was essentially a kip not TOO long ago, but it's very different now. I'd much rather live in East Van.

Unfortunately they wont let you in without 3/4 length trousers, a thick beard and a woolly hat.

Shalamov

Sinfonia wrote: »

I wouldn't zone in on those areas, there's so many other great areas. Shalamov compared Kits to Ranelagh, but Mount Pleasant/South Main area would be a lot closer to Ranelagh I think.

Check out areas like Mount Pleasant/South Main, South Cambie, Strathcona, Commercial Drive, even Hastings-Sunrise and areas in the DTES.

That's a fair point. In terms of nightlife and general vibrancy, these areas are probably the best in the city. Main, in general, is a decent street.

guest124

How big is the city compared to Dublin?

I've seen a lot of apartments advertised (online) for Burnaby, how far away is that from Vancouver city? Rough estimate?
Like... would it be like living in Maynooth?

Im clueless.

Jamsiek

guest124 wrote: »

How big is the city compared to Dublin?

I've seen a lot of apartments advertised (online) for Burnaby, how far away is that from Vancouver city? Rough estimate?
Like... would it be like living in Maynooth?

Im clueless.

The metro Vancouver area has 2.5 million people so it's bigger than Dublin in that regard.
Burnaby is a suburb really and it very accessible from the downtown core.
It would be bigger than Maynooth I'd say
Metrotown is there, 2nd biggest shopping mall in the country last time I heard.

Scruffy19

Jamsiek wrote: »

The metro Vancouver area has 2.5 million people so it's bigger than Dublin in that regard.
Burnaby is a suburb really and it very accessible from the downtown core.
It would be bigger than Maynooth I'd say
Metrotown is there, 2nd biggest shopping mall in the country last time I heard.

Was down in metrotown mall on sat, that place is massive! By far the biggest mall ive been in yet!

scottmcb04

guest124 wrote: »

How big is the city compared to Dublin?

I've seen a lot of apartments advertised (online) for Burnaby, how far away is that from Vancouver city? Rough estimate?
Like... would it be like living in Maynooth?

Im clueless.

Burnaby is roughly half an hour away from downtown on the skytrain so its handy enough... its a pretty small general area as in the public transport can get ya almost anywhere in an hour(not including living in places like coquitlam and the like)

guest124

Jamsiek wrote: »

The metro Vancouver area has 2.5 million people so it's bigger than Dublin in that regard.
Burnaby is a suburb really and it very accessible from the downtown core.
It would be bigger than Maynooth I'd say
Metrotown is there, 2nd biggest shopping mall in the country last time I heard.

Thanks! But yeah, I kinda just meant area-wise, cause I've been told it's a small city so I wondered how small! I'm not from Dublin or Maynooth but have visited both often so familiar with Maynooth-Dublin commute and thought maybe the commute time (public transport) would be similar for Burnaby.

I'm not going to Vancouver for awhile yet but trying to suss out what areas are affordable but central-ish

guest124

scottmcb04 wrote: »

Burnaby is roughly half an hour away from downtown on the skytrain so its handy enough... its a pretty small general area as in the public transport can get ya almost anywhere in an hour(not including living in places like coquitlam and the like)

Thanks for the info!

Jamsiek

guest124 wrote: »

Thanks! But yeah, I kinda just meant area-wise, cause I've been told it's a small city so I wondered how small! I'm not from Dublin or Maynooth but have visited both often so familiar with Maynooth-Dublin commute and thought maybe the commute time (public transport) would be similar for Burnaby.

I'm not going to Vancouver for awhile yet but trying to suss out what areas are affordable but central-ish

It's not that small really but by no means huge.
It's the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Canada after Toronto and Montreal.
The public transport system is pretty good. The skytrain will get you to Burnaby in roughly 30 mins.
Good luck with the move, it's a beautiful place.

Jamsiek

Scruffy19 wrote: »

Was down in metrotown mall on sat, that place is massive! By far the biggest mall ive been in yet!

Yes it's massive, you could easily get lost in the place.

guest124

Jamsiek wrote: »

It's not that small really but by no means huge.
It's the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Canada after Toronto and Montreal.
The public transport system is pretty good. The skytrain will get you to Burnaby in roughly 30 mins.
Good luck with the move, it's a beautiful place, you will like it.

30 minutes isn't too bad! I think Burnaby will be my back up area for accommodation if I cant find anywhere central.

Thanks again for the info, I'll be asking so many more question on the lead up to the move!

kronsington

Hello all,

i arrived into VC 5 days ago and my first impressions are that the place is simply stunning. Im living in Kits and its a great area, even if I feel extremely unhealthy around most of the locals. Have spent a bit of time down at spanish banks and kits beach so far, briefly saw some of the main city at the weekend- false creek, granville, hastings- and will of course check out more as i go on. just finding my feet and getting all the essentials covered. trying to get work sorted asap. im going to a networking breakfast this friday at 7am at Mahoneys (not sure where that is)- check out VIBE Vancouver, details are there. Happy to meet any fellow boardies at any stage. Thanks

Jamsiek

kronsington wrote: »

Hello all,

i arrived into VC 5 days ago and my first impressions are that the place is simply stunning. Im living in Kits and its a great area, even if I feel extremely unhealthy around most of the locals. Have spent a bit of time down at spanish banks and kits beach so far, briefly saw some of the main city at the weekend- false creek, granville, hastings- and will of course check out more as i go on. just finding my feet and getting all the essentials covered. trying to get work sorted asap. im going to a networking breakfast this friday at 7am at Mahoneys (not sure where that is)- check out VIBE Vancouver, details are there. Happy to meet any fellow boardies at any stage. Thanks

Welcome to Vancouver, I'm going to the VIBE breakfast too.
Mahoney's is on Burrard landing, stunning views from there by the way.
Those meetings are worth going to.
The Irish really look out for each other here.

ciaran67

Scruffy19 wrote: »

Was down in metrotown mall on sat, that place is massive! By far the biggest mall ive been in yet!

Never ever go at xmas. Its bonkers.

Another area to look at is Richmond. Its got great access to downtown, up the Canada line, and the best chinese food in Canada. The middle and lower parts are just residential apart from Steveston, at the bottom, which is a kind of fishing villagey/seaside kind of vibe. You get good deals off the fishing boats on prawns and salmon. The top half is like being in Hong Kong (not a dig btw). Even the signs are in Mandarin/Cantonese. Ive got a smattering now seeing as I have so many Chinese passengers.

el diablo

Scruffy19 wrote: »

Was down in metrotown mall on sat, that place is massive! By far the biggest mall ive been in yet!

Bigger than The Ilac Centre?

By the way, West Ed Mall in Edmonton is twice as big as Metrotown.

It is the largest shopping centre in North America.

Scruffy19

guest124 wrote: »

30 minutes isn't too bad! I think Burnaby will be my back up area for accommodation if I cant find anywhere central.

Thanks again for the info, I'll be asking so many more question on the lead up to the move!

Why doesnt anyone look into North Van? I love it! Your not far from downtown (15mins on seabus), place is alot quieter imo and theres still tons of food shops etc all with-in walking distance plus you have the added bonus of being close to the mountains for summer and winter People say "aww its too expensive", theres cheaper places in lower lonsdale than there is in the west end!

ciaran67 wrote: »

Never ever go at xmas. Its bonkers.

It was bonkers the other day! On thing I hate it is people who are walking through the mall and they randomly stop and start looking around them, and you nearly walk into them - that mall is full of these people!

el diablo wrote: »

Bigger than The Ilac Centre?

By the way, West Ed Mall in Edmonton is twice as big as Metrotown.

It is the largest shopping centre in North America.

Ive actually never been to that shopping centre from my memory but id say it is! Its massive and never ending!

Just reading all this stuff about Vancouver is making me feel all warm inside...

I spent 3 months there in the Summer 2007 and this is just bringing back the memories of it, beautiful city and had some great experiences in my short time there. Probably heading to Toronto myself in February although haven't ruled out Montreal and I might have to have another think about Vancouver now..