reflections on leaving vancouver

posted January 22nd, 2020 at 11:21 AM

* disclaimer - before you start with the "dont let the door hit you" shit, i'm leaving because my industry is, not because im saying "fuck you, vancouver" or my own failures * vancouver has been home for 20 years for me and the countdown is on until my departure.. a culmination of circumstances led me to make the hard call take a really good job offer in a city i once used to live. theres a lot of things i'm going to miss and lot of things that im not going to miss. not going to be fooled by any grass is greener stuff but its going to be good to leave. i cant really talk about it to the people with families that are hanging on by their fingernails, but everyone i talk to who has left confides that there is a certain darkness and depression that vancouver has. they're just letting me in on it now. (besides all the awful politics of real estate and homelessness) the flakes are certainly showing their true colours now that the clock is ticking. this last season has been one of the lowest points in my life and im looking forward to a change in lifestyle and habits, meeting new people, exploring more culture and places, doing the things that i am good at besides just working all the time and actually dating again. i will come back once a year in september, my favourite month here. then i will still see all the people i only saw once a year anyway.

13 Comments

One thing you're not going to miss…

Jan 22, 2020 at 8:28pm

… is capital letters.

ooshpick

Jan 22, 2020 at 10:19pm

your thoughts are really well expressed and you convey your sense of the city so well. maybe you should try taking up writing. i wish you all the best in your new city.

Good post

Jan 22, 2020 at 11:16pm

I thought you really nailed Vancouver when you mention “a certain darkness and depression that Vancouver has.”
Good luck in your travels.

yvr_lurker

Jan 23, 2020 at 12:06am

I understand the sentiment here. If I was a younger person looking for a place to establish a base (job, family etc..), there is no way I would come here. I came to work at UBC in 1993 lured by the job and supposed lifestyle. It has been generally good, but in my view the city has lost so much over the past 15 years (housing crisis, great divide between rich and poor, and little soul). I still like the skiing at Cypress and cycling in the summer, but much has been lost over the past 20 years. Also, I often feel I am a character in Blade Runner living here with the incessant rain all winter. Depressing. My suggestion is to move elsewhere. I really enjoyed Christmas in Otokooks just outside Calgary and every summer go hiking in Kananaskis. Not many people and good family life (if you can get a secure job). Leave here while you can, YVR is still on the decline.

I get it

Jan 23, 2020 at 12:56am

I had to leave.
I was sad to go, but the real estate situation was, and is, out of control, and I had better work, life, and rental options elsewhere.
It will be interesting to you to see what you think of Vancouver once you've been out of the city for a while. Twenty years is a long time and you probably know Vancouver well, but I found that when I visited again my vision was clearer. I was holding on to an old vision of Vancouver when the city still had the potential to be diverse and interesting. Now it's mainly about cultural posturing and shopping.
The trade off between cost of living and quality of life is grossly out of whack.

It's funny you said "...looking forward to a change in lifestyle and habits, meeting new people, exploring more culture and places, doing the things that i am good at besides just working all the time and actually dating again." because that's why I moved to Vancouver in the first place so many years ago. Damn.

Anonymous

Jan 23, 2020 at 5:57am

I lived in Vancouver several years ago, back when it was still a sleepy little backwater and despite everything I find there's nothing particular to miss about the place.