The Decline of Vancouver.

Posted by: heckler

I am fearful of cashing out, downsizing to the boonies (SSC or Island), due to likelihood of bidding wars and loosing out on offers for a new location.

One less three bed/three bath family sized DNV  townhome available for a young family to sink 70% of their income into.   Our two cats love the space to run.

We have been looking around also, Hate the idea of being homeless ( renting), there is fuck all avail anywhere we would want to live.

I heard the term but never really paid attention to what "a Vancover special " was, but according to this artical I live in one built in 77

even tho its not in Vancover, even tho the foundation is 3ft deep, it doesnt really feel like a basement,

the Vancover special was perfect to park the aging parents until they kick off

then you make basement suite

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/stories-about-here-vancouver-special-1.6434818

"Its key feature is a low-pitched roof, which, compared to steeper roofs, required fewer materials — and was therefore cheaper to build.

But the Vancouver Special wasn't just cheap: its first floor also exploited a loophole, allowing it to be larger than other homes.

In the 1960s, if you wanted to construct a house, there were limitations to how much square footage the first floor could occupy.

But basements were not included in that calculation, and Cudney took advantage of this by building his first floor 18 inches below the ground — just enough for it to qualify as a 'basement.' "

I think basement depths can vary but you generally know a Vancouver special right away. I thought they are generally defined by the layout where:

you come in the front door to what's usually a fairly small landing with stairs leading up and down.

The stairs going up will take you to the kitchen and living room opposite each other on one side

Then a hallway with usually three bedrooms and a bathroom.

People reconfigure the basements more often but generally another bedroom and bathroom, laundry room and a large rec room.

The common "upgrade" is to extend the front of the house so the entry is more of an mud room. I grew up in a Vancouver special and it was a great layout for our family of 5 except for the tiny entrance.

Our last two houses we've avoided them though just because there's no real character/they're a bit generic, but functionally they're great.

10,000 units in Vangroovy would make " the Vancover special " > a bit generic, there are only so many ways to configure a rectangular box on a 33' city lot but I think the main idea if one was to read the artical was to get past the zoning bylaws rather than cater to any kind of inner fengshui,

sure the design is boring as hell but its also the best/ cheapest config to put a suite into, make $$$ to achieve financial independence while addressing the housing issues which are rampant pretty much everywhere in BC right now

I think I was only ever inside 1 Vancover special, buddy was 1st gen Italian so there was no lawn cuz every square inch of yard was planted in vegetables and his ancient mother lived with him which was good for housing and food security yada yada

No need to defend it, I more or less acknowledged all of those points. I was just clarifying what the typical layout is. Calling them generic was not meant to be pejorative, just an objective statement of fact.

That said saying it's the best option is probably only true if the assumption is that the housing shortage will be fixed with single family dwellings with suites.

Really that just perpetuates the current situation. A better option is probably duplexes laid out front-to-back.

as an immigrant, id say the best option is to stop having people come here.

Posted by: Adam-West

as an immigrant, id say the best option is to stop having people come here.

You make good funny!

I only have one friend who was born in North Van (that I am aware of).  

Even in the late 90’s several high-school friends gave it a go to move to Vangroovy but couldn't afford it and came back home.

One thing I notice is that there seems to be an attitude of "entitlement" to the fact that it is a right to live here.  Living in Vancouver is not a right and a privilege that you have to earn.  I notice this especially for those whom want to live on the Shore or do so.  Having been born and raised in Lynn Valley I notice this a lot from those like me whom were also born and raised here.  The idea of having to move to somewhere else or, heaven forbid, Abbotsford or Langley, is unthinkable despite the fact the cost of living is lower (relatively of course).  Many whom I grew up with have never left the Shore wanting to stay but instead of buying when you could of in an affordable area (when it was) they instead rent and now are out of the ability to ever own anything anywhere.  They have built up no equity or savings either.  I live in Langley now and bought when it was attainable but I would love to go back to the Shore and have missed it since leaving (actually, I would prefer Lions Bay or Squamish now that North Van is so congested).  The idea of not living in NV is so unthinkable to many I know it shocks me.  In the end they will be left with nothing since rents can go nothing but up and available units go down.  Many I know have been told to move out as the unit is being used for older children of the landlords whom themselves cannot find anywhere to rent and it stands to reason you are going to think of family first.  

I get it we all want to live in a nice area that suits our lifestyle and proclivities but the simple fact is that Vancouver is turning into another Monaco and attainability and affordability are long gone and never coming back.  I have no idea how anyone under 30 today is going to have any hope of staying here unless they come into money or have a high paying job from the start.  The demographic shift in the next 10 years is going to be a real eye opener.  Even worse is the ambivalence of employers whom seem to think it is not their problem but cannot find workers as the wages offered cannot support the livability of the people they need to work.  But where are these workers coming from?  A Starbucks barista is not living in an apartment downtown alone that's for sure.  Or anyone in the service industry for that matter.

Posted by: Polymath

The demographic shift in the next 10 years is going to be a real eye opener.  Even worse is the ambivalence of employers whom seem to think it is not their problem but cannot find workers as the wages offered cannot support the livability of the people they need to work.  But where are these workers coming from?  A Starbucks barista is not living in an apartment downtown alone that's for sure.  Or anyone in the service industry for that matter.

The workers will come from where they always have for a 'settler's country' like Canada: foreign workers and immigrants willing to scrape and grind to have a better life. This coupled with inflationary pressures is perhaps 'their' strategy to distribute and incentivize population shift to outside of major population centers.  Getting more to be a dog-eat-dog world here with diminishing safety nets, I just hope we don't fully acquiesce to the 'fuck you, I got mine' mentality that has been permeating in our culture.

The wife and I have a place in North Van, but would we ever live there again? Not a fucking chance. We'll rent it for a few years then sell it. I like visiting the area, especially in the winter when we're socked in with snow in Kamloops, but the city has lost all it's appeal for us. It's so busy that I feel claustrophobic, like I can't get away from people. So many folks are just wasting theirs lives stuck in traffic, or planning their lives around when they can leave their house. We value our freedom of movement and our personal time - to get up any morning and just go wherever we want within a reasonable driving distance. There's more to life than frittering away money.

Then there's Vancouver's cost of living and housing prices. If you're into the market already, then good for you. If you can cash out and work elsewhere, do it.

We bought a place in Newfoundland a couple years ago. $155k west facing, ocean views, fully renovated. Eventually we'll move back there because it's cheap to live and thrive, the island is beautiful, and the people are beyond amazing. I can't describe how good it is, you just have to experience it.

Posted by: Lowcard

The wife and I have a place in North Van, but would we ever live there again? Not a fucking chance. We'll rent it for a few years then sell it. I like visiting the area, especially in the winter when we're socked in with snow in Kamloops, but the city has lost all it's appeal for us. It's so busy that I feel claustrophobic, like I can't get away from people. So many folks are just wasting theirs lives stuck in traffic, or planning their lives around when they can leave their house. We value our freedom of movement and our personal time - to get up any morning and just go wherever we want within a reasonable driving distance. There's more to life than frittering away money.

Then there's Vancouver's cost of living and housing prices. If you're into the market already, then good for you. If you can cash out and work elsewhere, do it.

We bought a place in Newfoundland a couple years ago. $155k west facing, ocean views, fully renovated. Eventually we'll move back there because it's cheap to live and thrive, the island is beautiful, and the people are beyond amazing. I can't describe how good it is, you just have to experience it.

My brother spent a year working in Placentia and he did not share your view of NFLD.  He said the people there were quite insular and didn't really enjoy out of province people much.  He can be an asshole though, so who knows.  He is planning on moving the Nova Scotia for similar reasons to yours.

I've been out to visit NFLD three times (family in st johns). Beautiful Province for sure, but the photos of snow in June that get sent around on the family group chat is enough barrier to entry for me.

Also one of the trips was in winter. Miserable. Not that Vancouver is particularly pleasant during the rainy months, but I'll take wintertime access to Whistler over access to uh... George Street?

*laughs at you guys in north island* LOL.