@myo???
The reputation of the chinese food there is impressive…
http://www.cjnews.com/news/canada/vancouver-drive-israeli-high-tech-hub
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Nice. Yea, a lot of startups has been opening up office in Vancouver for cheaper labor (55K vs 110K) for fresh grad. And this is outside of currency exchange rate. I could see that Vancouver could be popular spot for tech industry (just like it has been named North Hollywood since price is cheaper and government is willing to work with movie studios). But talent pool is still very small. University of British Columbia has decent but not that great Computer Science. But I do miss Vancouver and its delicious Chinese food & fresh/cheap Sushi restaurants!!
My folks are retired in vancity, so we go back frequently. It’s an awesome place to live (way better than most parts in SFBA in terms of cleanness, safety, education etc), but it’s hellishly expensive. Just like @myo said, the wages are way below most parts in US, but the housing costs are worse than SFBA. That alone is a problem for attracting young workers - and if the employers think they can get by with sub-par wages, they should know that they’re getting sub-par employees, frankly.
Talent pool wise, I don’t think it’s bad. Given the right wage / living cost ratio, I’m sure students from all over Canada (Alberta, Waterloo, Toronto) would be happy to live in Vancouver. Plus, it’s literally across the border from Seattle which has huge talent (who are struggling to get H1B, green card, etc), so that’s a plus.
So yeah, I don’t think Vancouver’s weakness is the location/talent pool. It’s the pay (+ income tax higher than CA) vs. living cost. Blame the real estate hoarders I say 
Vancouver is the only livable place in Canada and with Seattle like weather…High cost of living and lots of rainy cold weather…pretty limited opportunities for newcomers…I am going to Mexico this week…full of Canadians escaping the winter weather…
Fresh ok, but the rest is an oxymoron no??? Unreal…
Vancouver housing is more expensive than SF. How do people survive on much lower income there?
Just that SFH is really high, median price is I think 1.2M or something like that. So masses has to buy Condos & Townhouses. Not like SF, they are pretty common there and convenient with public transportation. 1 Br Condos are 300K to 3 Br is 550K or something like that.
Or move out of the proper Vancouver area with 1.5 hrs drive to commute.
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3 Br condo for 550k, that’s not bad. Is it on leased land or something?
No, regular land ownership. And 1 block away from sky train that can take you to downtown in 25 mins.
plus that dreaded monthly HOA fee of course…
Of course! But I found that HOA fees in BayArea much more outragerous. For Vancouver, having more than 300 / month is a lot. Typically they are around 250 / month for 3 bedroom apartment.
No doubt (it is more here), but worth pointing out so that you can tell us how much less it is there…
Heck, I would certainly add that as a possible retirement place for some months out of the year…
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What is the best time of year there (warm no rain)???
Best time if you don’t care for skiing is June - Sept (inclusive).
Why should sushi be expensive? $3.50 for a roll with rice, seaweed and a cucumber that takes 1 minute to make?
Ok, perfect, since SF proper is typically cooler in the summer anyways, so after Vancouver, coming back here in Sept/Oct should hit our indian summer period perfectly. Now, I just have to plan out the other 7 months…
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Well, the “fresh” usually refers to things like fish which if fresh usually ain’t cheap around here anyway and i ain’t talking rolls with their itty bitty pieces of filling - nigiri pieces!!!