Consistently listed among the top three best cities to live in the world, moving to Vancouver will bring you into Canadian city with a variety of everything. Canada's westernmost metropolis lies in an idyllic setting between the ocean and the Rocky Mountains, affording its residents a wide selection of recreational and leisure activities.
Vancouverites never cease to boast of their ability to spend the morning in the mountains - skiing or hiking, and then head down to the ocean for an afternoon's sailing. But despite the constant view of snow on the nearby mountaintops, Vancouver actually possesses a relatively mild year-round climate, with a heavier amount of misting and rainfall than most North Americans are used to. Geographically, the city is defined by the Burrand Inlet on its North Side and the Fraser River to the south. The city itself consists of both flat and hilly portions, and its Stanley Park on the north end of the Burrand Inlet is one of the largest urban parks in North America.
Moving to Vancouver does have its downsides however. Currently, Vancouver's population density in the downtown is the third-highest of any metropolitan area in North America,and its real estate costs are currently the highest in Canada. As well, in 2005 Vancouver possessed the second-highest crime rate among major Canadian cities, mostly because of its high property crime rates centered on the east side of the downtown area. The most popular of these property crimes is automobile break-ins, which many people believe to be a direct result of Vancouver's soft position on drugs.
On a more positive note, moving to Vancouver will allow you to experience the variety of the cities diverse immigrant groups. Currently, the Chinese are the city's largest visible minority group. With the handover of Hong Kong to the Chinese in 1997, many of the wealthier residents of Hong Kong relocated permanently to Vancouver in the mid to late nineties. While Vancouver possesses the second-largest Chinatown in North America, many other nationalities are also well represented within the city. Koreatown, Greek town, Japan town, as well as Little India and Little Italy all have a place within Vancouver. Bilingual street signs are fairly common occurrence within many of these ethnic concentrations. All in all, relocating to Vancouver will afford you wonderful experience of an exceptionally multicultural city.
Academically, Vancouver is home to two major universities - the University of British Columbia [UBC] as well as Simon Fraser University [SFU]. There are also a variety of community colleges, which include The British Columbia Institute of Technology,[BCIT], the Vancouver Community College [VCC], Capilano College, Langara College, and the Kwantien University College. Vancouver is also home to the very well-respected Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design as well as the Vancouver Film School.
If you're thinking about moving to Vancouver for its economic potential, you'll be interested in knowing that it is a major center for the forestry industry, with the companies CanFor and West Fraser Timber Company each keeping their headquarters within the city. As well, Vancouver is a major center for the Canadian mining industry and contains a variety of headquarters for small to medium-sized mining ventures within its boundaries. Within the banking sector, a variety of financial institutions have relocated to Vancouver. Among them are HSBC Canada, RBC, Scotiabank, CIBC, BMO, and TD Canada trust. As you may already know, many major Hollywood productions have been moving north to Vancouver, to such a great extent in fact, that Vancouver is often nicknamed Hollywood North. There are a variety of American TV series which are shot completely in Vancouver, with the city standing in for New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and even Washington DC.
Trade with America and other parts of the world is a central key for Vancouver's economy. The Port of Vancouver ranks first in North America in total foreign exports and second for total volume of cargo in North America, with more than $43 billion worth of goods being shipped every year. Shipping related jobs account for nearly 70,000 positions within Vancouver, and they are a major portion of the city's economic output.
All of these various elements add up to make Vancouver one of Canada's most interesting and beautiful cities. The mixtures of geographies, the diversity within both the economy and the population have all led to make moving to Vancouver an excellent choice. So if you're relocating to Vancouver, please take a look at our selected Vancouver city links. http://www.vancouver.ca/ http://www.tourismvancouver.com/visitors/
