Quote:
Originally Posted by someone123
I lived there a few years ago. I think it's a great spot and I'd live there again, but it is more practical than "sexy" as far as neighbourhoods go. I've also lived in a prettier part of Kitsilano. It looked a lot nicer, the place I lived in was nicer, and there was a beach nearby, but it was less convenient.
Vancouver unfortunately does not have a lot of good medium density (let's say lowrise apartments or rowhouse) character neighbourhoods. The stuff around Granville Island and Oak Street below Broadway has a moderate population density but most of the developments have large footprints, are plain looking, and have a pretty limited mix of uses. It's pleasant but never seemed like a very urban neighbourhood to me.
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Very little of Vancouver is what I would call "sexy". A "sexy" neighbourhood would be like inner city Barcelona, or something like that: intriguing alleyways lined with hole-in-the-wall bars and little restaurants and tiny little shops. That whole feel is anathema to Vancouver, which was a planned city from the start and a place that likes beauty to come from order.
Regardless, I'm getting old and I'll take practical over sexy any day. I prefer to cook and entertain at home over eating out, so I want a neighbourhood where I'm close to decent grocery stores. I don't stumble home from bars anymore, so I don't need to be close to these places. Vancouver has a very feeble bar/pub culture, anyway.
In a way, I'm wondering if I would prefer suburbia? I think it'll hit more of us than we'd like to admit. There are good reasons for not living in suburbia, though. I still like to walk around to clear my head, and suburbia offers very few opportunities to do so. I also am an avid cyclist and, again, suburbia is poorly designed for that. And all my friends live in the city, so why would I transport myself far away from them?