Vancouver Downtown - Canada

To me Vancouver is one of the most beautiful cities on earth. The mountains surround it, while the ocean is right at the finger tip as well. You can spend your afternoon, free days and weekends walking by diverse beaches, doing standup paddling, sailing and many more water sports. You can take a bus or car for not even an hour for either a hike in the mountains or in winter for skiing. You can explore diverse parks in the area, some all natural where you explore a rainforest in real life or well-maintained ones with diverse flowers blooming. So much nature at the fingertips is just gorgeous not mentioning how close a trip to Vancouver Island or up the Sea to Sky Highway is or even to the Rocky Mountains. Vancouver ist not just the downtown area on which I focus on in this blog, but also the area south and east of the downtown, as you can see in my last blog about the other areas of Vancouver.

Everyone told me that even though all the nature is around you Vancouver experiences a ton of rain so you can’t do that much anyways. Oh, were they wrong. Yes, it rains maybe even every week and snows maybe three days a year, as long as you are not on the mountains obviously. But the rain is mostly short and each few days you have a clear blue sky and mostly mild temperatures. Also, I never really mind a rain as long as it is not super stormy and comes at you from the side. The time in Vancouver was the most active I have ever been in my life apart from my regular travels where I’m mostly super busy exploring as well. But in Vancouver I stayed from October 2019 to October 2020 so around a year and most of the days I went outside. Sometimes only to have my dinner by the beach for a cute picknick. Sometimes by walking to work but often to walk by the beaches, Stanley Park or in between the stunning sky scrapers all over downtown. That’s another big plus for the city. You not only have beautiful nature all around you, you have all the perks of living in a huge city as well. Tons of restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs, shopping areas, supermarkets and all you expect from a big city.

Apart from the time in a hostel at the start, I never lived in downtown. My boyfriend paid around 800 CAD for a sunroom in Burrard Street at the corner of Davie Street. There was only space for a small mattress and a small drawer and it was only separated from the kitchen by a curtain, so with no privacy at all. The apartment was shared with two brothers in one room, a couple in a second room and a girl in the chamber with no windows and just a small bed. She was allowed to use a wardrobe in the corridor, if not she would have only have the space under her bed for storage. So, you can imagine the prices of an apartment in downtown.

I could tell more stories about the housing market in Vancouver because it is for sure crazy. Most people I know lived in shared apartment or houses as more is super hard to either find or afford or both. Even the secretary in the college I worked at was living in a shared space while being over 60. Not because she loved it, but because she could not afford anything else in Vancouver downtown.

I myself never had a lease over 3 month and lived in four places in the Vancouver area, not including the time in the hostel. None of those places were in downtown. I paid the same amount of rent than my boyfriend in downtown for my place at the east border of Vancouver for a nice room with a queen bed, a desk, a wardrobe and a real door for privacy. But I had to take the bus for half an hour to work, which is still fine, I guess while from his place I could walk 20 minutes to work.

The rent prices were one of the reasons why I doubted if I could see myself living in Vancouver long term. They take up a way bigger share from your income than they did back in Germany where everyone is complaining as well. Would they only know how bad it is somewhere else… But the downsides like this area are out weight by the surroundings and the kindness of the people. To me it didn’t feel superficial but loving and open. More about that down below and since I already got lost enough in the pros and cons of this unique city. Here you go with some visuals.

False Creek

False Creek skyline with the Science World. As you can see a lot of water, skyscrapers and the mountains in the background. The Vancouver downtown is surrounded by water and an half island. In the south you have the False Creek, in the west the English Bay, north the Burrard Inlet leading into the Vancouver Harbour in the east. To the north, west and also south it is connected to the mainland by divese bridges.

Sunset Beach

This gorgeous beach was one of our go to places. Loads of times we took our lunch or dinner down to the beach to have a picnic while relaxing at the beach with a great view. It was just a few minutes away from the place my boyfriend stayed at most of his time in Vancouver. It has a walkway as well as a sandy beach and a meadow if you’re not keen to have sand all over 😉 So there is loads of space to relax, play sports or have a walk. We watched tons of stunning sunsets at this beach, so it lives up to his name. Some of those on the pictures below.

You can even find some palm trees at the start of the beach.

Arcos sculpture by the beach.

Walkway up to the Inukshuk statue.

View over to the Sunset Beach from the Vanier Park in Kitsilano.

Stunning, isn’t it?!

English Bay Beach

If you continue your walk north of the Sunset Beach you will reach this beautiful beach. It experiences some more tide and is also a nice activity, relax or sunset spot.

The A-maze-ing Laughter sculptures, I honestly find them quite scarry…

Sunset at low tide.

Stanley Park

All the way north is another half island connected to downtown and via bridge to North Vancouver. It is a natural park full of rain forest woods, even small lakes and surrounded by beaches, rocks and a way all the way around to explore. You can walk, bike or skate around it, as it has a nice pathway without cars to take care off.

Lions Gate Bridge over to North Vancouver.

Around Vancouver you can often see harbour seals.

Gastown

Steaming Clock in Gastown, where once an hour you can whitness steam comming of the clock 😄

I worked in Gastown for a short while. It is a social area, with loads of nice bars, restaurants and also clubs. But for me it is too close to the West Hastings Street. In Vancouver sadly there is a big homeless problem. The West Hastings Street and the surrounding areas are where the homless camp. That way not the whole city is full of them and there they have focussed help like food services and so on. But it feels like zombie land to me... It is not unsafe if you walk there by daylight and even by night, as they stay by themselves in another world being drugged anyway. The max would be that they ask you for some cash or food. It makes me feel sad and for me it is weird having them so concentrated in one part of the city. I feel like the whole west coast, also in the USA, have such big homeloss problems, as the winters don’t get too cold. We whitnessed that in Seattle as well. I really hope politics finds a way to help those people. If you talk to locals they have different explanations for this problem. Some blame the housing prices, some the healthcare system, because it doesn’t take care of psychological health, some the drugs themselves. I honestly don’t know what the cause is, it might be all of the above and more. I just see that they need help and I hope they will somehow get that.

The Harbour Center view tower, where the pictures below are shot from. It’s quite affordable and you have a nice view over Vancouver and its surroundings.

Canada Place on the left, the harbour around it and North Vancouver on the other side of the water with all the beautiful mountains surrounding it.

Same view but at night, I really love this view!

Chinatown

At the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden I had a gorgeous tour with a lovely Chinese born living in Vancouver for decades. He was a volunteer not wanting anything for it. He talked about the culture and where all the lovely details of the garden come from. He even showed me the green house with their bonzais when he realized that I am such an Asian fan. Normally the tour takes half an hour but we talked way longer than that. He even gave me some nice restaurant tips. It is a super cute garden as a nice downtime in the middle of downtown. I fully recommend to go if you have some extra time.

Skyline Views

View back to downtown from the Jericho Hill Grounds west of downtown where I lived near by at the end.

View to downtown from the Queen Elizabeth Park south of downtown which I presented in the last blog about Vancouver.

View from the Boundary Road east of downton where I had my first stay in Vancouver directly.

Same view from above but zoomed in for sunset on another day.

Life in Vancouver

Coal Harbour was close to my first job where I spend most of my breaks walking by the water and as soon as the weather got better also to have my lunch in the sun.

Canadians are one of a kind! They line up at bus stops and everyone goes in in order when it is their turn. The say “hello” and “thank you” to the bus driver and cashier in a supermarket. They randomly compliment you if they like your outfit. They smile at you and it’s easy to talk to strangers. They are super helpful, respectful and kind. I always felt so welcome and safe!

Honestly, I still miss it! I tried to adapt that mentality and at first back in Germany I said “hello” and “thank you” to every cashier, every bus driver and sometimes even to strangers. Some smiled, some said “thank you” but way to often they looked confused, they even ignored me or looked at me as if I’m crazy. If I smiled at someone in public, some smiled back, but sadly they are the minority. In Berlin some even though I’m making fun of them and came at me with harsh words. Well… You can’t change the world. So sadly, now adays I do it way less.

I really miss the nice Canadian way, not superficial, like some call the US, but warm and loving.

Also fascinating to me is the Canadian way of life and their pace in life. They don’t sprint to get the bus and they don’t seem to be stressed while doing chores in the city. Also, at work they do a good job but they don’t rush everything. Not all is super effective and optimized but it is effective enough. I can’t count the many times by boss told me to go get a tea, take a breath or not jump up as soon as the hour break was done if we were still in the middle of a good conversation. I often did what he asked me to do in half the time he expected. The typical German effectiveness… They don’t burn themselves up as much, or stress just to get it done quicker and therefore have so much more energy after work for the great joys of life. In Germany most of my coworkers do their duties after work, some go to the gym to stay healthy but mostly not because they love it and then just do stuff at home, mostly on their sofa because they are too exhausted to do anything else. That also applies to the weekends of many people I know. I was the same before Canada due to my super stressfull and time consuming job, but nowadays those days are less. Yes, I enjoy some rest as well, but not because I’m burned out from work, but because I deserve rest anyways. But I’m so much more active walking outside or doing weekend trips because I don’t hustle too much during the week and have energy for it. Not that I’m lazy at work, I do a great job, but without over time and without stressing about it after work and on the weekends or at least less of it. So, I did manage to take some of the Canadian way of life with me, even though I have to constantly remind me of it, as it is easy to get sucked in by the lived hustle culture around you. So, a reminder to you: take life a little slower than you normally would, so you have more energy for the really important things in life.

Covid in Canada

Covid hit Vancouver early March 2020. We just got back from an extended weekend in Seattle and just a weekend after the border to the USA was closed due to Covid restrictions and remained closed for many months. Only Canadian citizens or permanent residents were allowed to leave the country and come back but they had to endure a two-week isolation when returning. That was one of the reasons why I stayed so long after the lockdown started without having a job, because I knew if I left I couldn’t come back and I still had the hopes that it will get better soon.

I lost my job just a few weeks after the border was closed. The college I worked for had to shut down mostly and only kept the teachers who were teaching online and one out of each department to keep the main business running. Me and a bunch of coworkers got called into a room and got told that we were laid off by the next day. I was shocked. Just a few days before that I had a talk with the principal about the shot of them sponsoring me for a permanent residency in Canada. I wasn’t sure yet if I really wanted to stay long-term but I wanted to extend my time in Vancouver for at least a few years to find out if it could be my forever home. It wasn’t supposed to be. Without a job secured that sponsors you there is no chance to extend a work visa. Weirdly when I had already booked my flight out of Canada and was on one of my farewell road trips they called asking if I’d like to come back as they didn’t calculate with enough staff. That was almost half a year after they had let me go. But it was already too late, as my working holiday visa had just expired and I was only on a tourist visa to enjoy some last few weeks and prepare to leave.

Before that I had applied for a ton of different jobs but apart from a short time job in a warehouse, I had found none. The chances of finding a job mid Covid was tight. Especially with a working holiday visa that was running out soon as most wanted someone long term and since they didn’t know me yet they weren’t willing to sponsor my permanent resident application.

Still Canada handled Covid really well. They blocked at least every second seat in each bus so that we could do social distancing in public transportation as well. We had to wear masks almost everywhere except when being outside. In the supermarket you could only walk one way and not return if you forgot something. At the cashier and even before entering you would line up while keeping distance. Since the Canadians are kind people and saw the good in those measures, as it was to protect from further spreading, they obeyed and so did I. Everywhere you went there were lines and even if you had to wait sometimes two or three busses to finally get a spot, as due to the restrictions space in them was limited, people willingly did wait and did not complain about it.

All the restaurants could only do take out, clothing shops, bars, fitness studios and many other places had to shut down, some shopping streets seemed deserted. The owners would barricade the shopping windows and sprayers would use the new surfaces to spray art to alive the city again. At the same time everyone was thankful for the care workers and so most of the art was about them as super heroes and displayed people with masks. I did feel really safe but still hoped that things might change soon. As you know, it took a while and I didn’t experience Canada back in normality as I had to leave before that. Still before we left more and more restrictions got lifted. We could go to restaurants again with some space between the tables. Gyms reopened and further more. I am really thankful that while that time I was in such a reasonable and safe county.

If I was so in love with this city and even country, why did it take me so long to post this blog and edit the pictures? Exactly because of that. As you might have seen, the time in Vancouver was not always easy, especially due to Covid and losing a job and not finding a nice long term rent to stay. I felt as if I have failed by not being able to stay longer and as if I just gave up. But I didn’t only give up easily, I really tried to fight and send out more applications than ever, even for jobs I normally would have never taken. But it wasn’t supposed to be. I had a great time in Canada and I’m super thankful for it.

Now years later I am at peace with where I’m at now. But editing the pictures, sorting through which ones to post and what to write was deeply emotional to me and not easy. Going through with it felt like a final good bye to a life in Vancouver and I wasn’t ready for it yet. It felt like settling down with less, in a different place in the world, while before, without processing it like this, it still wasn’t a finished chapter.

Never in my live I felt so at peace with me and the world like I did in Vancouver. Still today I sometimes think about how I could establish the bliss I felt while living in Vancouver here in Hamburg. But it just isn’t the same. While Hamburg is also close to the ocean and has big rivers and water sources and nice architecture. Walking by the Elbe is just not the same as by the Sunset Beach and even though Planten un Blomen is a nice park it could never compete with Queen Elizabeth Park. But now I realize, it doesn’t have to be the same. While Germans are grumpy and closed up compared to the Canadians (I know, not all of them, I’m generalizing, but the random stranger on the street is), living in Germany also has it pros. We have an even better health care system. We still have social security and compared to what I earn here I can live a way higher lifestyle than I did in Canada. Not only because of rent but also because of a the lower general cost of living like groceries and public transportation. Also, the only student loan I have is not due to the cost of studying itself but due to the living cost I had during that time and it is nothing compared to what Canadians pay even though that is already less than US citizens.

Btw. talking about finances, I actually got back home with the same savings in my bank account that I had before the working holiday. Sure, in between my savings were less, so they were a necessary buffer if you don’t want to work right away, but they got filled up pretty quickly again as soon as I started working. All in all, I got back with the same money I had before. So, if some of you doubt not being able to afford such a break, as long as you have a working visa like the one in Canada or Australia, you most likely don’t need a ton of savings and it won’t cost you a thing in the long run. If I wouldn’t have done the Iceland road trip before I got to Canada and spend almost a month in Aruba afterwards, I would have even gotten back with some more money at hand. Even if I couldn’t have paid all my travel and living expenses by the money I earned in Canada, it would have been worth it for me! If you want some more details about the finances feel free to comment and I might do a blog about it.

So, all in all, this is one of the most vulnerable blogs I have made so far. I try to keep some of the Canadian life in my heart, like being friendly for no reason and without wanting anything in return, like living a more active life and exploring the surroundings of where I live, like being thankful for everything I have and taking a slower approach at living by not rushing everything and getting stressed less easily. It doesn’t work every day, but it does work more often than not nowadays.