Vancouver, good and bad
Aug. 31st, 2008 11:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
guslgood
* the buses really are timely and frequent. More so than in any US city that I'm aware of.
* people I've met on the street tend to be polite, considerate citizens. People in bus stops make a proper line. This is unheard of for me! (even Helsinki was not like that).
* I've had conversations on the bus pretty much every day, and I've met some interesting individuals.
* Vancouver feels like A REAL CITY. It has a lively downtown, and is very cosmopolitan, with people from everywhere. Definitely more so than Seattle or even Boston. No more New York envy for me.
* the nature around here is beautiful. The city has lots of green space. There is a nice beach next to campus (from which I saw mountains with snow). Yet somehow the roads seem to be mercifully flat, mostly.
bad
* It's by far the rainiest place I've lived in the last 15 years (yearly, 1200mm vs Recife's 840mm, Amsterdam's 760mm and London's 580mm; although São Paulo surprisingly beats it with 1450mm). I might need to get a raincoat for my backpack. I saw one such thing on the bus. Fortunately, even the rainy days tend to have some sunshine (so far, anyway).
* UBC makes me feel like I'm at the mercy of the arbitrary whims of a huge impersonal machine.
* I've not yet found a strong geek culture.
* Rent is expensive. Food is expensive. Cell phone plans suck.
* the buses really are timely and frequent. More so than in any US city that I'm aware of.
* people I've met on the street tend to be polite, considerate citizens. People in bus stops make a proper line. This is unheard of for me! (even Helsinki was not like that).
* I've had conversations on the bus pretty much every day, and I've met some interesting individuals.
* Vancouver feels like A REAL CITY. It has a lively downtown, and is very cosmopolitan, with people from everywhere. Definitely more so than Seattle or even Boston. No more New York envy for me.
* the nature around here is beautiful. The city has lots of green space. There is a nice beach next to campus (from which I saw mountains with snow). Yet somehow the roads seem to be mercifully flat, mostly.
bad
* It's by far the rainiest place I've lived in the last 15 years (yearly, 1200mm vs Recife's 840mm, Amsterdam's 760mm and London's 580mm; although São Paulo surprisingly beats it with 1450mm). I might need to get a raincoat for my backpack. I saw one such thing on the bus. Fortunately, even the rainy days tend to have some sunshine (so far, anyway).
* UBC makes me feel like I'm at the mercy of the arbitrary whims of a huge impersonal machine.
* I've not yet found a strong geek culture.
* Rent is expensive. Food is expensive. Cell phone plans suck.
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Queues!
Date: 2008-09-01 03:34 pm (UTC)We always say "We're Sorry,"
We like to stand in line,
...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za1kYpbNXMw
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-01 03:41 pm (UTC)Wait until November. Actually, December: average of 54 hours of sun that month.
Lispvan!
Date: 2008-09-01 04:43 pm (UTC)Check out lispvan for some proper geek culture. We meet and talk lisp usually once a month. Also, it's going to rain for 9 months starting in a couple weeks... but the wind picks up and the sailing gets good ;).
Re: Lispvan!
Date: 2008-09-01 04:49 pm (UTC)Re: Lispvan!
Date: 2008-09-01 05:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-01 05:18 pm (UTC)Be ready for winter though. It's going to cloud up some time in November and won't stop raining until some time in April.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-01 05:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-01 05:27 pm (UTC)Though, having said that, I actually spend quite a bit of time in Vancouver.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-01 05:23 pm (UTC)I do agree with rent and food being expensive, and shitty cell phone plans.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-01 05:29 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-01 05:41 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-01 05:58 pm (UTC)But in our multicultural world, it's not so simple.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-01 11:18 pm (UTC)That sounds great to me!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-02 01:00 am (UTC)Lispvan!
Date: 2008-09-01 05:45 pm (UTC)Check out lispvan for some proper geek culture. We meet and talk lisp usually once a month. Also, it's going to rain for 9 months starting in a couple weeks... but the wind picks up and the sailing gets good ;).
drewc