2.41/5
808 reviews
Photo by Mike Benna via Unsplash

Vancouver

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beautiful

good

excellent

bit

true

expensive

prices

life

listed

cost

coworking

great

food

thought

bad

appeal

tax

nightlife

Vancouver is widely praised for its outdoor beauty, clean environment, and overall safety. It offers a calm, nature-filled lifestyle that appeals strongly to families and those seeking a peaceful urban base. The city is family-friendly, with plenty of parks and child-friendly amenities. It also stands out for its high-quality housing and excellent variety of Asian cuisine at reasonable prices. Residents often comment on the modern amenities available in newer accommodations, despite the overall high cost of living.

However, Vancouver is also frequently described as expensive, sterile, and socially cold. The social atmosphere has been criticized for being passive-aggressive and insular, which makes it tougher for newcomers to form connections. Its nightlife and overall urban energy are minimal at best, making it less suitable for younger singles or those used to more vibrant cities. There are also strong concerns mentioned about increasing issues with homelessness and drug addiction in some parts of the city, which negatively impact public spaces and the overall experience in certain areas.

In summary, it's a good fit for families or those who value nature, quiet, and modern comforts, but less so for those seeking a lively or socially engaging city life.

AI-generated summary of reviews

Great for a visit. Beautiful scenery. Good food. I thought it would be great to live here, start a startup and be in the same time zone as SF, close to Seattle, etc. But compared to Vancouver in 2009, one big change that totally ruined it for me: Absolute zombie apocalypse of drug addicts and shouting/violent home less people. It was shockingly bad. The locals often visibly carry naxalone (anti-overdose medicine, I learned) because there are so many people overdosing in the street. Police were nowhere to be seen. Such a shame, I would have loved to live in this beautiful city otherwise.

3 years ago

Reviewing from permanent resident perspective. Excellent place to be if you have young kids; tons of parks, playgrounds, activities, and family-oriented.

I can see how it wouldn't appeal much to single long-stay visitors. I call it "Singaportland" when trying to describe the vibe to remote colleagues. Clean, safe, orderly, but a bit constructed. You pay a serious CoL tax for the perks. Zero appeal for Chiang-Mai-nomad types, based on pricing and culture.

3 years ago

I think the reviews here a bit overly negative. It's true it's a city with a not of nightlife or activity, but that's not why people move to Vancouver. You move to Vancouver if you want a relaxed lifestyle with beautiful nature and access to the outdoors, fresh air, and a good climate (by Canadian standards), without having to give up on the comforts of a city-lifestyle.

While it's expensive, you mostly get quality. My rental is not that much more expensive than I paid in many european cities, yet I get a completely modern flat with mountain views, and countless amenities (gym, pool, sauna). It's true Vancouver housing is expensive, but usually it's very high quality. For food, Vancouver has some of the best selection of asian cuisine you can find, and the prices are quite reasonable imo.
If you want a nightlife oriented life, or a crazy vibrant urban experience, you won't find it in Vancouver. If you want a calm base in one of the most naturally beautiful regions in the world, and are willing to spend a bit of money for it, then Vancouver is a good fit. I've lived in 10+ cities and Vanouver may be my favorite, although it's true it's not for everyone.

3 years ago

Read the review that starts "I live here and I can tell you that many of the stats listed are wrong" - its spot on accurate
I will add to that - Vancouver is brain-numbingly boring and dead. There is noticeable and toxic mix of pedestrians, cyclists and car drivers. Mix in a very Vancouver trait of entitlement, and watch the the passive aggression fly.
Vancouverites generally are a cold bunch making it difficult for newcomers. Worst of all they believe in their own created hype that live in the best world-class city. It does get annoying.
Pretty, yes, in places, good mountains, excellent outdoors. Beyond that, dead!

5 years ago

I live here and I can tell you that many of the stats listed are wrong. Getting an edible dinner for $10 is an utter fantasy. Typically that's what you pay for an appetizer. A 1-bdr in the city centre will cost you at least $1600 but probably more like $2000+ and chances are it will be a hell-hole at those prices. The night life is indeed terrible here. The saving grace is that there's dozens of micro-brewery pubs with very interesting beer very close to the city centre. But they're legally required to close at 23:00 and after that your options are mostly trash unless you happen to have insider knowledge about arty happenings. Most of the night life is so bad that it will make you feel like a tourist even if you're a local.
There is no Uber or ride-sharing of any kind here, the taxi lobby is far too strong.
Tipping? Absolutely yes, minimum 15%! People that work in restaurants here cannot survive on their meagre wages.
A really important thing to know is that listed prices here never include tax, so everything costs 12% more than you thought it would -- and at a restaurant your cost including taxes and tip will be at least 30% more than what you see on the menu.
Don't come here unless you're looking for a quiet retirement. Go to Seoul or Berlin or Montreal instead. It will be cheaper, more social, more cultured, more fun, and there will be a lot more to do.

6 years ago

There is a new coworking space called FreeSpace that is only $49.99 per month and offers access to all three locations (Kits, Chinatown, Yaletown). The way it works is FreeSpace partners with local restaurants that are only open in the evenings and transforms them into unique, comfortable and affordable drop in coworking spaces during the day while the restaurant is closed. The don't have private boardrooms or phone booths for confidential exchanges, but they do have free coffee, outlets at every seat, and super fast Wifi (300mbps- I was surprised!). It doesn't have all of the bells and whistles that a lot of other coworking spaces available but if you are just looking for somewhere to stop in, grab a coffee, and get to work, this is an excellent alternative at a fraction of the cost. Check it out www.thisfreespace.com

7 years ago

✅ Beautiful scenery and nature

✅ Clean and safe

✅ High quality housing

✅ Good food scene (especially Asian cuisine)

✅ Family-friendly with lots of parks and activities

✅ Very safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Many Nomads.com members here all year round

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Great hospitals

✅ Roads are very safe

✅ Great freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ Everyone speaks English

✅ Very safe for women

✅ Very family friendly

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ (Medical) marijuana MAY be legal, unenforced or decriminalized (always double check this)

❌ Extremely expensive cost of living

❌ Very limited nightlife or cultural vibrancy

❌ Cold or unfriendly social culture

❌ Visible drug and homelessness issues

❌ Extremely expensive

❌ Not much to do

❌ Gets cold in the winter

❌ Very damp now

❌ Nomads.com members didn't like going here

❌ Difficult to make friends

❌ Many people smoke tobacco

❌ High alcohol consumption

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

4°C / 39°F cold

6°C / 43°F cold

7°C / 45°F cold

8°C / 46°F cold

12°C / 54°F cool

15°C / 59°F cool

22°C / 72°F mild

19°C / 66°F mild

16°C / 61°F cool

11°C / 52°F cool

7°C / 45°F cold

1°C / 34°F cold

Real (median)

5°C / 41°F
very cold

6°C / 43°F
very cold

8°C / 46°F
cold

12°C / 54°F
cool

15°C / 58°F
cool

22°C / 72°F
mild

19°C / 66°F
mild

16°C / 61°F
cool

11°C / 52°F
cool

7°C / 45°F
cold

3°C / 37°F
very cold

Humidity

damp
79%

damp
76%

damp
75%

nice
68%

damp
72%

nice
73%

nice
76%

damp
80%

damp
81%

damp
80%

damp
74%

Most common

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

Rain

rainy
309mm

rainy
175mm

rainy
130mm

rainy
51mm

rainy
82mm

rainy
65mm

dry
1mm

dry
31mm

rainy
128mm

rainy
289mm

rainy
354mm

rainy
283mm

Cloud

cloudy
53%

pockets
44%

cloudy
51%

pockets
25%

pockets
39%

pockets
33%

pockets
15%

pockets
30%

pockets
42%

cloudy
59%

cloudy
58%

pockets
48%

Air quality

clean
23 US AQI

clean
26 US AQI

clean
28 US AQI

clean
19 US AQI

clean
16 US AQI

clean
18 US AQI

clean
27 US AQI

clean
17 US AQI

clean
25 US AQI

clean
30 US AQI

clean
22 US AQI

Sun

safe
1 UVI

safe
2 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

safe
2 UVI

safe
1 UVI

Remote workers

1,096 people

857 people

1,045 people

1,000 people

1,389 people

1,555 people

1,626 people

1,627 people

1,920 people

1,671 people

990 people

1,167 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Vancouver's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

	Testing Engineer @ Trial Library
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	Senior Front End Engineer @ Maxflow BV / CrazyGames
	Technical Documentation Engineer @ Tether Operations Limited
	Software Engineer III @ Nextech
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	Member of Technical Staff Transpare... @ Anchorage Digital

Help pick the best photos for Vancouver and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

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$1,511 / mo

🌇 Also went here295 people

Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 33° 91° 29° 84°

✈️17h

$4,219 / mo

🌇 Also went here234 people

1,600 remote workers in Vancouver now, of which 8+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.41/5 (Rank #464) 808 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍4 liked it 👎2 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Good
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	😳 Extremely expensive: $5,371 / mo
📡 Internet	🙂 Good: 24Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥶 A bit cold: 16°C61°F (feels 17°C63°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	💦 Damp: 74%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Great: 42 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Great: 18 US AQI
👌 Safety	Good
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Good
🤝 Lack of racism*	Great
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Great
💰 Income level*	Very high: $3,513 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Great
😤 People density	🧘‍♀️ Sprawling: 2k ppl/km² (1 per 25x25m)
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Okay
🏥 Hospitals	Great
😄 Happiness*	Okay
🍸 Nightlife	Okay
📶 Free WiFi in city	Great
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Okay
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Okay
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Great
👩 Female friendly	Great
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly	Great
🎅 Startup Score	Okay

🌍 Continent	North America
🚩 Country	Canada
🗓️ Average trip length	18 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	24 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌥 16°C 61°F + 💦 Damp (74%) = feels 17°C 63°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 42 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👍 18 US AQI
🔌 Power	115V 60Hz
🧔 Best neighborhood to stay	Mount Pleasant
🚀 Upcoming neighborhood	Sunset
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 10 CAD in USD	USD 7.16
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	CAD 100 = USD 72
💸 Tipping	Yes, 15%
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best coworking space	HiVE
💻 Best alt. coworking space	Launch Academy
🚰 Tap water	👌 Yes, safe to drink
♻️ Return rate	👍10% of visitors return
📸 Visitors per year	2,652,600 visitors
📸 Tourists now	50,837 tourists
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	630,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$42,154 / year
😤 Population density	🧘‍♀️ empty: 25x25m (625m²) per person
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 47% 👱‍♀️ 53%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 53% 👱‍♀️ 47%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 79% 👱‍♀️ 21%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Best Buy
🏠 Apartment listings	kijiji
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	West Jet
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Air Canada

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$5,371 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$3,215 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$7,264 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$2,075 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$5,104 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$3,505 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$1,819 / month
🏠 Median home price	$930,359
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$239 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$115 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$236 / month
🍛 Dinner	$18
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$5
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$4
👩‍🏫 International school	$17,761 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$26 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$5 / trip
💰 Estimated tax on $50,000	$12,825
💰 Estimated tax on $100,000	$34,643
💰 Estimated tax on $250,000	$109,369