Vancouver — The Downside

Recently I posted about Vancouver being chosen as the Number One most livable city in the world in 2007, for the fifth year in a row, by the Economist. I think the photos I used to illustrate that post would be enough to convince anyone that the city is indeed beautiful, with the snow-capped mountains rising almost straight out of the water.

But now let’s consider the downside of Vancouver. You could say it is a bit rainy here. We define a Vancouverite as someone who runs between the raindrops, not bothering with an umbrella, although we all have them in the car. I usually have about half a dozen or more in the trunk or boot as some say. If you forget yours I can certainly lend you one, maybe even match your outfit. However…..

Although popularly thought of as being a rainy city, Vancouver has only 166 days per year with measurable precipitation on average, and 289 days with measurable sunshine. Nonetheless, from November until March, it is not uncommon for there to be 20 consecutive days with some amount of rain.

In actual fact, the total rainfall here is around 45 inches or 1155 mm for the metric folk. Compare that to the annual rainfall in my hometown of Sydney, Australia. 1175mm. Now did you ever hear anyone call Sydney a rainy city? I don’t think so.

But Vancouver is in Canada for heaven’s sake, so there must be snow. Well obviously the higher elevations receive snow but at sea level it is less common. The snow tends to be quite wet and road conditions are less than ideal when it snows. We have limited snow removal equipment and the bus routes are the priority. We don’t really know how to drive in snow and we mostly drive with all weather tires instead of real snow tires so accidents abound.

Outside my front door, wet snow, early December 2007

We actually have only a 13% chance of having a white Christmas. Within a 24 hour period the blizzard of 1996 brought a 24 inches snowfall which brought the city to a halt for several days. Low temperatures usually range from just above freezing to -3 or -4 degrees Celsius, with only an average of 46 days per year below freezing. We are not called the banana belt region of Canada for nothing.

So now we have dealt with the weather, let’s turn to the complaint which one of my commenters always makes about this city. Well he needles me about it on occasion. Vancouver is the drug capital of Canada, he says. Well if you google that statement guess what comes up? The number one spot belongs to James’s post where he used that expression. The only other reference using that statement is the one he cited in his post. Other more likely references are Vancouver being the crime capital of Canada.

Of course drugs are a problem here. Due to the mild climate here we get many drug addicts and Vancouver is a port city on the Pacific Rim, hence the heroin and cocaine trades are alive and well. The property crime rate is the highest in Canada because that’s how the drug addicts support their habit, with breaking and entering. Or prostitution. Another story.

While smoking marijuana is not legal in Vancouver, it is not a crime the police spend a lot of time pursuing. In fact several Mayors have called for marijuana to be made legal and sold like alcohol or tobacco but this has never come into effect.

But let’s talk about marijuana grow-ops. In BC there are an estimated 18,000 grow-ops. In Vancouver these are in houses, usually rented, where marijuana is grown hydroponically. Police raid them periodically and dismantle them but seldom charge anyone. We had one directly opposite us for almost a year in a rented house and never knew until it was raided and a crop estimated to be worth $375,000 was removed, a crop that you can produce every couple of months, so I’m told. Grow-ops are everywhere and no area is exempt from them, no matter how upscale. In fact BC is known for its high quality marijuana. BC Bud, as it is known, is like a brand name, in fact. Did you know that marijuana cultivation also plays an important role in British Columbia’s economy? According to some it plays a bigger role than forestry, for it is estimated to be a $6 billion industry on an annual basis.

The latest drug-related industry in Vancouver is the production of ecstasy. Just this past week, in a court trial, five men were convicted of producing a controlled substance (ecstasy), possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking and conspiracy to commit an indictable offense. The sentences handed down ranged from 4 years to 8 years. The two industrial-sized drug labs these men operated were located inside upscale residences in Richmond, B.C., a suburb located south of Vancouver.

It seems that it is legal to import the compounds used to manufacture ecstasy into Canada whereas this is not the case in the United States. However these individuals were discovered by tracing a 600 kg shipment of sodium borohydride which is used in the manufacture of ecstasy. Although it seems that some of these shipments enter through the Vancouver port illegally, in the following example supposedly as water chesnuts. This time 4500 kg of MDP2P (3,4-methylenedioxy-phenyl-2-propanone) were seized. Sigh. Another reason for the Americans to dislike us. We seem to supply their mind-altering drug habits.

But you are not convinced that the above factors are a downside. After all the drug scene does not affect the life of the ordinary citizen, apart from the break-ins and we all have alarms. Just like many other people you want to come to Vancouver. And come they do. From other parts of Canada and from all over the world. It’s a lovely city and very multicultural so you’ll probably feel very much at home very quickly. Of course you’ll have to find somewhere to live for you and your family and that means you’ll have to consider the real estate situation.

Let’s consider this house below, currently for sale. I know this house very well, for I lived in the house two doors to the left of it for 14 years before moving to the larger house where I live now. The grey house you see to the right is owned by someone in my Thursday walking group.

The house itself is over 60 years old and very ordinary. A tiny 800 square feet stucco bungalow with two bedrooms and an unfinished basement. Not a family home, maybe for a couple, as lived there when we were neighbours. The lot is not bad, 53 by 130 foot. It’s been rented so probably not in great condition. It’s a nice location but a fair way from the bus and the shops. The school is very close but then you can’t have children in this house for it’s too small. In fact it is probably a knock down. Why they even suggest it. Build your dream house.

So the asking price is $1,700,000. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, one million seven hundred thousand dollars, for basically a standard block of land, about 9 km from downtown. Now how is that for a downside to this city? One of the most expensive cities in North America for real estate. In fact prices have almost doubled in the last five years.

$1,700,000.00

4035 W 37TH AV, Dunbar, Vancouver West,

Excellent location, steps to Pacific Spirit Park, close to UBC. Build your dream house on large 53 x 130 south facing lot. Needs 48 hours to show as tenanted. All sizes and ages are approx only, buyer to verify if important to buyer.

Finished Floor Area: 800.0 sq ft. Property Type: House, Lot Frontage: 53 ft. Basement: Unfinished, Lot Depth: 130 ft. Bedrooms: 2, Age: 66, Bathrooms: (Full:2, Half:0)

Update: Today I found out from my friend who lives in the grey house next door that the above house has just sold for $1.8 million dollars, $100,000 over the asking price. It will continue to be rented for two years when it will be demolished to make way for a new one.

Did I mention that we are in an earthquake zone? More than 100 earthquakes of a magnitude greater than 5, which is strong enough to cause damage, have occurred off Vancouver Island in the past 70 years. The three different tectonic plates off the island constantly collide or slide past each other or move apart, actually pushing Vancouver Island upward and putting it under tremendous stress. In this area a major damage-causing earthquake is expected to occur every 20 to 50 years with the “big one”, the catastrophic one, at 8.5 plus on the Richter scale, occurring every 300 to 600 years. The latter is said to be long overdue in the region and would have the following effect:

A recent study based on this scenario predicts 10 to 30 per cent of the area’s homes would be damaged, 60 to 100 per cent of the older, unreinforced masonry buildings would suffer some degree of collapse, 15 per cent of the highrises would be rendered uninhabitable, many of the bridges and schools would be severely damaged, and thousands would die. It would be the largest natural disaster in Canadian history. (From here.)

Oh dear, but since I am always recommending Vancouver on my blog it seemed only fair to show the other side of the coin. But now I wonder if I should pack up and leave. I am turning myself against living here by considering all these factors and who knows what I have forgotten.

I think that I will go look at my other post. Vancouver is a beautiful city and after 46 years here it does feel like home. After all, nowhere is perfect, is it?

This was originally posted at my site, Nobody Important, for my international readers but I thought it might be of interest here.

Apologies for the spacing. I’m not so good with Wordpress.