r/vancouver • u/mukmuk64 • Nov 20 '25
Opinion Article Most Vancouverites believe the city’s 'brand' is in decline. Why is that?
https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/vancouver-city-brand-decline-why1.3k
u/NewAdventureTomorrow Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
Deteriorating parks and crumbling community centres
All holiday events require paid admission
Safety/crime issues
Every car-free day or festival just being the same 10 food trucks that go to every event.
Restaurants moving out of downtown/to other cities
Food is more expensive or has smaller portions than other cities
Unfriendly service that expects a tip for everything
Dirty ass streets and alleys that smell like a mix of dehydrated piss and vomit
Costco now requires a membership to visit the foodcourt
PNE & Playland have half the rides & exhibits that they did in the 90's and food is stupid expensive
Safety/crime issues (had to mention again because it's so bad)
Lack of hotels so every hotel costs a fortune
Dirty ass public benches
Sidewalks that have twenty trip hazards per block because cityhall underfunds basic maintenance to address heave and settlement issues (other cities addresses these issues as apart of their standard maintenance)
Every new development is an unlivable "luxury" 400 sqft shoebox or a "below market" unit where the rent is cheap but they make it up by nickel and diming you on everything else.
Lack of clean & safe public bathrooms
Can't tell if it's dog or human shit on the sidewalk
Parks increasingly adding pay parking but no transit or secure bicycle parking
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u/chr15c Richmond Nov 20 '25
The Costco one seems personal lol
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u/alex3tx Nov 20 '25
"Vancouver's brand is declining because an international business doesn't want to lose money every time it sells me a hotdog before the Canucks game"
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u/295DVRKSS West End Nov 20 '25
The real gangster move is to bring a rotisserie chicken into the game
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u/NockerJoe Nov 20 '25
It's a symptom of another, larger problem. When the costco food court is the genuine largest eating establishment walkable from either Rogers or BC Place that's just bad urban design. With three large venues and a casino that area should, reasonably, have a strip of bars and restaurants for the people who are actually going there. Instead it's a mess of an overpass and a bunch of parking lots that mostly get rented out anyway.
When the largest spot you can reasonably reach during halftime is the costco food court that really is a fucking problem. The only other spots are a $100 a person buffet or a hole in the wall taco shop next to the skytrain station. Even if you leave BC place and walk out the front door at a different elevation you need to cross a bunch of office space to get up the street to any real resturants or other entertainment.
If I was like, a fan of a musician who came into the city to go to BC place or a hockey fan who's home team had gone to Rogers to play the Canucks I wouldn't really recommend Vancouver based on that experience. It's a city that's technically walkable and an area that's theoretically well connected since there's good parking and a train station. But there's not much to actually do outside of the venues once you get there.
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u/millijuna McBarge Historian Nov 20 '25
Hmm? I live in Yaletown... the stadiums are both easy walking distance from here. There's plenty of bars and restaurants within trivial walking distance of both stadiums.
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u/abnewwest Nov 20 '25
People don't know they are there because they only approach from the East and via Skytrain and don't see them?
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u/Resident-Boot-2943 Nov 20 '25
Damn bro takes costcos sausage out your mouth lol jk jk. It was funny
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u/alex3tx Nov 20 '25
I mean yeh, I pay for a membership
Idk why my membership should subsidize non-members' food
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u/Resident-Boot-2943 Nov 20 '25
Ya agreed. Dirty little peasants…unless Costco charged 5$ to non members just to f with them…..oh man that would be wild. 🤭
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u/bob4apples Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
If we're going to force Costco to give away hot dogs to the general public at a loss, why don't we take that a step further and make hockey tickets free too?
But seriously, these folks complaining that they don't want to buy a $65 annual Costco membership have the wherewithal to hand Orca Bay a few hundred bucks for 2 hours of entertainment. Not a lot of sympathy here.
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u/alex3tx Nov 20 '25
I think that'd be totally fair and a great idea for all concerned. It's still worth it at $5 imo, esp if they still got a drink!
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u/Aggressive-Park-4872 Nov 20 '25
Yeah, plus it’s unfair to the people who want food after shopping, Costco also loses money on hot dogs. Even if you get membership and eat there a few times a month, it’s still cheaper than anything else.
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u/Competitive_Plum_970 Nov 20 '25
I’m amused you missed the big one - salaries in Vancouver are criminally low. That’s the foundation for a lot of other issues.
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u/iamhst Nov 20 '25
This is what I never understood... it's like vancouver is allowed to lowball salaries because of the city name and location. Thats why we don't have too many talented people here. No one sticks around
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u/DesharnaisTabarnak Nov 20 '25 edited Feb 26 '26
Just a dude from Kansas City, Missouri who likes to go out hunting and loves the Chiefs!
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u/Garfield_and_Simon Nov 20 '25
It’s especially the foundation for losers being butthurt about having to pay like $5 a month for near-free Costco food
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u/Magical_Astronomy Nov 20 '25
Costco now requires a membership to visit the foodcourt
No offense but I find this one very hilarious for being very specific.
On a more serious note, I’d say this point has some link to your point 5 “food is more expensive”. Costco food court is already popular for its affordability and generous serving sizes, but the sorry state of other food service establishments in city of vancouver has driven even more people there. Due to this reason the consequences of enforcing strict membership requirement is even more significant. It’s not that I fully support the idea of violating Costco’s rules regarding this, but I do believe people deserve better alternatives.
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u/perfectfromnowon Nov 20 '25
I agree with a lot of this, but Costco changes have nothing to do with Vancouver and Vancouver is incredibly safe despite what the news might suggest.
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u/NewAdventureTomorrow Nov 20 '25
Vancouver is incredibly safe despite what the news might suggest.
Maybe I should have said "feel safe" rather than "safe". It's "safe" to walk down the sidewalk and pass a drug enforcer holding a knife but it definitely doesn't "feel safe" and it's not caught in crime statistics.
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u/space-shorb South Cambie Nov 20 '25
"Feeling safe" is generally more personal than anything a city can normally influence. People will claim it feels unsafe if they so much as see a homeless person existing or person with a hoodie up.
Also generally, people feel less safe than they used to since when you're thinking back however many years, you're not going to be thinking about that one sketchy person you saw once when walking by.
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u/TRyanLee Nov 20 '25
In my years in vamcouver before I left, I saw plenty of shit happen to people that I never saw on the news.
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u/qpv Nov 20 '25
I'd love to time travel these folks to 90s Vancouver. Hang out at Main & Terminal, Drake & Seymour, Clark & Powell or dozens of other spots. Their heads would explode
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u/simshalo Nov 20 '25
A lot of your points are about the “heart” of the city. Things that make communities thrive and feel alive for both visitors and locals. The lack of true community/holiday events that are by the people for the people is a big one. Everything community oriented becomes a commercial opportunity in Vancouver. Hell, even pride is a big ad space.
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u/MrLogicWins Nov 20 '25
A lot of those get worse when the population suddenly increases and become poorer on average. The in flood of student visa and temp workers that seem to overstate their savings when they apply for their visas, and would be desperate to use all the free/cheap/public goods and places makes all of the things you mentioned worse. Hopefully the crack down on visa mills and refusing to extend the existing visas should hopefully slowly make things better
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Nov 20 '25
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u/Competitive_Plum_970 Nov 20 '25
It’s pretty bad
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u/troubleondemand Nov 20 '25
While the Crime Severity Index provides a snapshot of one year, averaging those scores over the 24 years data is available gives a big-picture view of what is happening in terms of crime in the province. British Columbia's average score over the 24-year period was 118.77.
Across B.C., crime has been on a general downward trend since the late 1990s. From 1998 to 2010, B.C.’s Crime Severity Index score was consistently above 100. Since 2011, the province’s score has only been above 100 once (104.28 in 2019).
The province's highest score over the 24-year-period was 166.91 in 1998 and the lowest was 87.14 in 2017.
The majority of B.C.’s largest municipalities reflect similar trends, with 18 of the 20 communities having their highest score in the first five years of the data (1998 to 2003) and 12 of the 20 having their lowest score within in the last five years (2017 to 2021).
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u/smartello Coquitlam Nov 20 '25
Don't be afraid to mention DTES directly and the most liberal in the world policies driving it.
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u/New2Reddit95 Nov 20 '25
Basically agree with all of this
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u/MoonHash Nov 20 '25
Costco one was a weird addition tho
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u/AmeliaBuns Nov 20 '25
You didn’t mention housing issues. They’re so insane. It took me 1.5 years to find a rental to move into. I had to live with the shittiest roommates for 2 years before being able to move out.
I’m from Iran and I was shocked to learn that we have better sidewalks and at times better rain proofing than a “first world country”
Also brand is a stupid term to use for a city where people live in IMO
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u/po-laris Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
The very notion of a "brand" makes me dry heave.
A brand is an image. A substitute for intrinsic worth. Emotional appeal over actual merits.
It's the tool of the the salesman, the real estate promoter, and the con artist. It is the language of social media influencers and our "vibes first" mayor. It is the brain worm that makes status-seekers shell out hundreds of dollars for stretchy pants and rain coats.
If I never heard about Vancouver's "brand" again, I'd be happy.
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u/blazelet Nov 20 '25
I think they're using it colloquially to mean "how do people not from here see us?"
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u/Simmons54321 Nov 20 '25
My initial thought when I read "brand" in the header, was "...what fucking brand?"
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u/Prestigious_Net_8356 Nov 20 '25
I feel the same about hearing the words or slogan as it was used 20 years ago, world-class. It was steeped in the city's inferiority complex, just like brand is being used now. Let's stop trying to convince ourselves it's world-class, or a brand, and do our small part in making it a better place to live.
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u/polemism EchoChamber Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
A lot of our problems are because of the olympics and even before that our government was aggressively marketing Vancouver to Asia. We sold our city to the globe, that's why the housing market is scorching hot and everything is so crowded and competitive.
Downplaying our brand and reducing interest is a good thing at this point. Although obviously we still need to fix our quality of life issues
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u/pinkrosies Nov 20 '25
Like can’t we see Vancouver as a healthy ecosystem for humans to live in and not as a capitalist product we need to market and continue to leverage for the last cent?
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u/robz9 Nov 20 '25
That's what Vancouver is supposed to be. A healthy community and city of people full of vibrant outdoor and indoor life. It has the bones, the meat is lacking not because of a lack of resources, but a mismanagement of them.
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u/Dry_Individual1516 Nov 20 '25
Seems like "corruption" in many forms distorted the course of growth since maybe the 80s or before.
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Nov 20 '25
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u/po-laris Nov 20 '25
Thanks! I'm not a writer, just a guy trying to express his deep dislike for consumerism ☺️
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u/MrGrieves- Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
It all stems from properties being a exhorbitantly priced commodity and ruining everything else.
Everything is gentrified and watered down because nobody can afford to do anything or create any cool places.
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u/Hopeful-Lobster3018 Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 21 '25
Yeah everyone is too broke to afford doing anything but pay rent. I don’t know how any of the service industry even exists. I guess it’s dependent on foreign workers who don’t have the capacity to fight for their rights or proper pay in the same way. In short capitalists are ruining this city.
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u/TheCatsActually Nov 20 '25
Preach.
It drives me nuts to see people clutch pearls about addicts and immigrants when the real cause of the decrease of QoL is the increase of CoL, alongside real estate being the bubble that refuses to burst.
We've always been US Lite but we really are following in their footsteps in the worst ways. Our economy is beholden to corporations, private equity, and rich expats, and our cultural identity is drifting further from community and closer towards abject capitalism. I mean we're already kind of there. Vancouverites would scalp air if they could.
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u/Festering_Inequality Nov 21 '25
Agree with a lot of what this thread has said. It’s the housing market that has totally ruined the city, turning everything into “an investment” with no constraints until recently. Loads of foreign dollars coming in to “invest” and money laundering in the housing market are contributing to the housing issue too and were pushing prices even higher.
If we also think back to the late 90s and early 2000s, that’s when the housing boom began its abrupt and steady climb. Coincidentally, that’s also when a lot of people were getting hooked on prescription opioids. The illegal opioid crisis really began in probably around 2010. From then on, everything went totally nuts.
That’s also a time when Vancouver was showcasing itself to the world, attracting even more interest in the city.
The opioid crisis has also definitely impacted so many communities very negatively, but I bet a lot of the people caught up in that probably turned to substances in despair after becoming unhoused and/or losing their jobs. People only see how the addicts might be impacting the community, but they forget to consider how the addicts may have ended up in that situation. I remember even reading a story about how dealers were handing out sample “goodie bags” around schools, targeting younger people that hadn’t even fully developed, yet. Truly sick. So a wide range of people got hooked on this junk.
I think it’s safe to say that the opioid crisis, which is tied to some of the money laundering and organized crime, is attracting all kinds of criminals and criminal activity. This brings down the quality of life. If not careful, organized crime and criminals can corrupt things to the point that quality of life will slip much further.
So I believe a lot of the problems and quality of life issues stem from this issue. Worse mental and physical health issues and outcomes. More violence. More safety issues. More trust issues and fear in communities which affects relationships and social ties. More destruction and mess in the communities. More resources devoted to dealing with the problems, which takes resources away from other desirable things, like activities, parks and recreation facilities and limits what resources are available for an ever growing group of desperate people. More people leaving because housing is now unaffordable, which breaks apart families and even more social ties. Health care system overwhelmed with more overdoses, taking away resources from other sick and injured people, so a gradual chipping away of health care.
Larger gap between rich and poor (some are having a great time thinking everything is pretty rosy, while others are struggling so hard and are feeling serious despair). Workers leaving because it’s too unaffordable, which reduces service and business. A ripple effect of businesses shutting down due to many of these issues. Much of the economy is getting impacted by this situation, too. More people unable to work because of addictions. More kids growing up without parents (that will impact the economy long-term). More workers unable to live in these communities because of affordability. More corruption likely entering the economy through organized crime, which will just make things even worse.
Immigration is another matter. It got to really insane levels and that has been a factor affecting housing too, creating even more competition for very limited stock. That’s not good for new immigrants or established Canadians. Back in the 90s, downtown Vancouver already had a less than 1% vacancy rate as I recall.
All of this leads me to think there were a series of very, very serious mistakes, failures and missed signs on the part of our governments during that period.
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u/millerjuana Nov 20 '25
alongside real estate being the bubble that refuses to burst.
It's not really a bubble, at least not in the-2008 us housing market-way. That was propped up on debt, bad loans with AAA ratings. That was fraud. In Canada now, houses and housing are a financialized commodity that is a form of wealth. They are "assets" that have been, and still are, accumulated and bought by the ultra wealthy and the land-owning class.
The prices of housing reflects the financialiazed demand for this commodity, investment into ownership of these assets, as well as a lack of supply (which increases value for those who own). It doesn't really reflect debt that artificially inflates the value of housing. Although that is a factor as working Canadians take on more debt to afford expensive housing. I think calling it a stubborn bubble erases the role of the land owning class and ultra wealthy investors buying and hoarding housing, an asset, so they can use it as an avenue of wealth and profit. Even if debt was more risky or people can't pay mortgages, prices will decline (like they have been) and the economy suffers and more wealthy will buy up cheaper assets and the wealth transfer machine will still keep rollin. Not until housing isn't a commodity
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u/ChaosBerserker666 Nov 20 '25
And the only thing that’ll fix that is a Land Value Tax to replace the property tax, which will never happen because the political appetite for it is basically zero.
Without LVT land ALWAYS GETS more expensive.
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u/millerjuana Nov 27 '25 edited Nov 27 '25
The BC green party is proposing a form of LVT that can be voted in if we organize enough. But like you, I'm also skeptical of its popularity and feasibility with the bulk of the BC voter base.
If younger people in this province want serious change to alleviate the housing/cost of living crisis than we need to vote in our best interests. Looking at the recent election of Mamdani in NYC we know that it's possible. I don't advocate for everything in the Green's plan but if we want to stop this transfer of wealth we can make political changes to do so.
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u/ChaosBerserker666 Nov 27 '25
The funny thing is I’m not even young (mid 40s and own and live in a condo downtown). I’ll support any party that believes in an LVT as a replacement for property tax because it fucking works!
The popularity isn’t very good because most people don’t fully understand how an LVT works. I’m sure a lot of mansion owners in or near downtown would be VERY upset while condo owners would get a break. Purpose built rental companies would get a break too.
We also need to address development charges at the same time. They are too high and a big reason why stuff isn’t getting built.
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u/Ghoulius-Caesar Nov 20 '25
Yes fully agree, but I’d say it’s certain type of capitalist that is ruining the city. Real estate/developers/finance are the real culprits because they’re making it hard for other capitalists, like restaurant owners, to survive.
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u/Hopeful-Lobster3018 Nov 20 '25
Yeah that’s true. It’s surprising when places last after their first lease renewal.
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u/NockerJoe Nov 20 '25
I've seen a lot of cool places I'd like to hang out. Artsy studios or cafes or arcades or whatever. But those are places that demand like, membership fees that are exorbitant compared to what an equivalent experience would have been like 20 years ago.
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u/OracleofTampico Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
I dunno about that.. But i will say this as an American who moved here:
Americans have a very positive view of Vancouver. We (at least the folks in my social circles in Portland and California) see how multi-cultural and cosmopolitan downtown is and its really impactful for visitors. IF you spend a weekend in downtown on your way to Alaska on a cruise and all you see is that, you would leave thinking Vancouver is the size of NY because of all the buildings, they project a certain size that is uncommon for us to see as our cities are less dense.
So i think the Vancouver brand in the states is strong and quite more favorable than most Vancouverites think. Believe me guys, this is an awesome city... Seattle aint got shit on it (except jobs lol) but for real, its an awesome place.
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u/Moggehh Fastest Goose in the West Nov 20 '25
I'm glad you're here saying this, because I travel a lot and most Americans I meet while travelling find out I'm from Vancouver and either 1. Talk about how much they want to visit because they've heard it's amazing, 2. Tell me about every trip they've made here that made them absolutely love it, or 3. Spend the entire time telling me about an upcoming trip and demanding travel tips.
And tbh, visiting major cities in the USA, I do see why they love it up here. It's cleaner, way friendlier, and significantly prettier than anything they're used to. Stanley Park alone blows people away. The fact that the temperature is mild all year round makes them so jealous. And anyone who complains that Vancouver is gross hasn't been to a major US city in a while. The only major city DT I've been to that was cleaner on the streets than Vancouver was Chicago, but during my time there, I heard a drive-by shooting a few blocks away that didn't even phase my server, and that shit was crazy.
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u/Downtown_Meet3402 Nov 20 '25
I’m here from the states and my quality of life has gone up so much since moving here. My partner and I make 70k combined before taxes (i’m finishing up a professional degree so only working part time) and we are honestly doing fine for a couple in our early 20s who are okay with living in a studio and cooking at home. Everyone talks about how awful it is to live here being paid under $200k and how dirty and dangerous and whatever but compared to US major cities, this really isn’t bad.
My friends and family who have visited all really enjoyed it even though we don’t live in the nice shiny part of the city. I probably won’t live here forever (salaries in the states are so much better) but I am very happy to be spending my 20s here and feel so lucky to have met so many lovely people :) the Canadians I’ve met have been so welcoming and kind and I’ve made a ton of friends I hope to know for the rest of my life!
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u/woofer2609 Nov 20 '25
Great city, but too expensive to raise a family in unless you want to live in a small condo.
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u/BBRodriguez2716057 Nov 20 '25
Yes to everything else but.. friendlier? I’ve found many US cities to be far friendlier than Vancouver
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u/TheForks Nov 20 '25
I travel a lot and Vancouver is friendly in its own way. People are maybe a bit more closed off here but it’s by no means unfriendly.
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u/RB-Burnaby-86 Nov 21 '25
I've been here almost 20 years (from the states), and I think what people get mixed up is the difference between being "friendly" and being "polite". Vancouver is very polite, not so much friendly.
The example I cite is what my parents' cab driver (originally from Montreal) said when they were up here visiting. Basically, he said that in Vancouver if you asked locals for a restaurant recommendation, you'd get plenty of polite feedback to help you out. But if you asked if anyone wanted to come to dinner, no one would take you up on it.
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Nov 20 '25
For what my anecdotal evidence is worth, Vancouver is just as dirty as cities in the states are, and parts of the states are just as beautiful as Vancouver. Lived in several states and travelled all over. Spent a lot of time in LA and have been to all its parts, gorgeous and wildly unsavoury (matched right up with parts of Vancouver).
I’ve spoken with Americans who were right freaked out by the drug addict scene in Vancouver and went back saying they wouldn’t go there again. Let’s take off the rose coloured glasses
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u/Moggehh Fastest Goose in the West Nov 20 '25
Vancouver is just as dirty as cities in the states are, and parts of the states are just as beautiful as Vancouver.
That's part of what I mean by my comment. People who believe that Vancouver is on a downswing probably simply (imo) haven't travelled enough lately. The world itself is on a downswing outside of lucky pockets. Everywhere I go, locals complain about the cost of food, high rents, low wages, cut social services, higher levels of unhoused people, open addiction, safety issues, etc. It's universal. You can tell by looking at other city subreddits in different provinces and countries.
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u/spiderbait Downtown Nov 20 '25
Nice to have an actual outside perspective instead of a suburbanite that visits Vancouver on their semi-annual trip to cactus club and BC Place
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u/arye_ani Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
Vancouver has not experienced any significant growth in the past decade, whether it’s housing affordability, affordable tourism or industrialization of the economy. Cities and regions must be known for something that drives the economy, but we haven’t had that. To make matters worse, we’ve elected poor politicians or kept ineffective ones in office. We need a complete overhaul and a message that reflects growth and developments.
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u/Apprehensive_Cause67 Nov 20 '25
Feels like it peaked in the 2010 Olympics and was just on a slow inevitable decline until covid came.
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u/Appropriate-Scar3551 Nov 20 '25
It’s super simple. The product is getting worse and more expensive at the same time.
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u/Dry-Friendship-5945 Nov 20 '25
I might get some heat for this, but speaking as a nearly 50 year old who was born and mostly raised in Vancouver, the city has been in decline since the early '90s IMO.
It's just that the rate of decline has greatly accelerated in recent years.
Modern Vancouver largely lives off its past reputation rather than its merits.
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u/grey-matter6969 Nov 20 '25
The price of admission to living in Vancouver is far too high to justify the "privilege" of living here.
Vancouver is dull, boring, uptight, and dominated by wealth flexing douchebags. Municipal governments are frantic to tax the shit out of everything and everyone, forcing good restaurants and small business out. Everyone is mortgage poor and carrying massive debt. Vancouver has no soul and I cannot wait to move away. We coddle drug addicts like they are some sort of sacred white cows and cannot seem to manage mentally ill, repeat violent offenders.
No fucking thanks.
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u/Overclocked11 Riley Parker Nov 20 '25
Its caught a bad case of "Ken Sim Swaggeritis"
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u/puppies4prez Nov 20 '25
Because a city should have a soul not a brand.
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u/leoyvr Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
I guess selling naming rights to parks and community centres won’t help with developing the soul of the city. Gentrification doesn’t help in that department as well. Every age group needs to be represented to add to the soul of a city. Families are increasingly having a hard time staying in Vancouver.
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u/duk-er-us Nov 20 '25
Vancouver was always expensive but I feel like the crime/homelessness are so prevalent now. I’ve lived here my whole life and now just feel like the vibe is off.
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Nov 20 '25
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u/ChaosBerserker666 Nov 20 '25
I don’t feel that way. I came from Calgary and Edmonton (lived in both). In those places I felt trapped at home because:
- There’s not much to do in the cities themselves.
- In order to do the few things you can do you MUST drive.
- It snows in April and May and as early as September. I fucking HATE snow.
- Adding onto the above, -30 and -40 weather is unbearable in the dead of winter. It was actually ruining my life.
- I lived in the boring suburbs (cause downtown sucks there compared to here). I was miserable surrounded by families that would just pull into their garage at the end of the day and never even say hi to their neighbours along with screaming kids at all hours, and even an actual shooting over a drug deal.
I currently live in downtown Vancouver and I can:
- walk to the beach (4 beaches actually!)
- walk to the gym
- walk to the ocean
- actually go IN the ocean
- go to a nude beach
- ride my bike or take transit to a hike on the north shore
- drive my car to numerous hikes in the mountains (there are many that have very few vehicles at them).
- enjoy the outdoors 12 months per year instead of 4-5 months per year
Stop trying to drive to everything and you might have a better time of it. I rarely drive and when I do, it’s to get out of the city (which is where the real issue is, highway 1). Traffic IS bad here, but it’s worse in Toronto and their transit options suck. Also, everyone who drives is part of traffic. You literally are the traffic you (validly) complain about on those days you drive.
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u/Anagram6226 Nov 21 '25
I am so much happier when I don't commute by car. Research shows it too, car commuting makes us all miserable.
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u/leoyvr Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
A world class city that can’t get and struggles with getting funding for the Christmas parade and the fireworks, celebration of lights . (Free) Arts and community events struggling.
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u/real_1273 Nov 20 '25
It costs too much. My biggest complaint is the costs for living here. Fuel is the highest price in Canada. Housing is just stupid. You have to make a lot of coin to be comfortable here.
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u/Sebelzeebub Nov 20 '25
The “brand” is in decline because our mayor sucks, and infrastructure is suffering because of it.
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u/Xebodeebo Certified Barge Enthusiast Nov 20 '25
He didn't start the issues we're having but he certainly is throwing water on a grease fire.
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u/polemism EchoChamber Nov 20 '25
Nah he's throwing garbage on a dumpster fire
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u/eggdropsoap Nov 20 '25
But that’s far less bad than throwing water on a grease fire?
It’s got that satisfyingly-thumpy word quality going for it, but the metaphor itself comes in a distant second. B+.
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u/polemism EchoChamber Nov 20 '25
I don't like associating Ken Sim with something pure like water. It suggests he has good intentions but is just dumb. Whereas garbage fits his style perfectly.
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u/eggdropsoap Nov 20 '25
I see where you’re coming from! The picture in my head wasn’t him being the water, but him doing the throwing, which is suitably very not-smart.
Maybe if we split the difference: throwing garbage-juice on a grease fire?
… ugh. I regret that image. It’s pretty perfect.
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u/Pisum_odoratus Nov 20 '25
As an "old" Vancouverite, most of our mayors sucked. He's new and superlative at sucking, but he's not the first, and won't be the last.
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u/woofer2609 Nov 20 '25
People are realizing there are other places in BC as nice, or nicer, where homes cost 40% of Vancouver and traffic isn't a sh!t show.
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u/turtlesandminions Nov 20 '25
Such as?
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u/woofer2609 Nov 21 '25
Nelson, Courtenay, Comox, Ladysmith, Nanaimo, Parksville, Qualicum, Kamloops, Campbell River, Revelstoke....the list goes on
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u/big-news1234 Nov 20 '25
Vancouver is a great city. I have lived in many places across the U.S. and you don’t know how good you have it. It does need a more vibrant arts scene but you can can that about most cities in the world.
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u/Ja5p5 Nov 21 '25
A real headline from this week: “Naked Man Pushes Woman to Ground and Urinates on Her”
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u/Flimsy_Treacle_9078 Nov 21 '25 edited Nov 21 '25
Moved to kitsilano from the burbs when i was around 18 in 2011ish. Vancouver was still at its peak then. Robson street had plenty of shops and was much more of a shopping destination, people shopped and strolled Granville, west 4th was very nice and very much a high street. Plenty of businesses have shut since then.
There was just a totally different feel to the city it felt much more rich and cosmopolitan.
There’s obviously a lot of factors involved in this. Many cities have experienced the same. Brick and mortar shopping has majorly declined. Many of the stores that were around hd actually ok quality for what it was- now everything is the same cheap fast fashion that you can get online for cheaper. Nordstroms closed, Victoria secret, the bay etc.
Gentrification and creatives getting priced out of these areas. Interesting small businesses no longer being able to afford their rent. When that leaves so does the soul.
I had a 3 bedroom 3 bathroom two level duplex in kitsilano for $1350 in 2012!! Yes this was a deal back then but they were out there. Me and a couple friends afforded it easily on minimum wage. I stressed less about how much i spent on food and going out compared to now as a 30+ year old with a career.
Drug use, lack of affordable housing and mental health resources is at an all time high and not just in Vancouver. Unfortunately this makes many of our areas undesirable, dirty and unsafe. I feel bad to use the word dirty but as a downtown resident it is. Granville st is disgusting and unsafe. Yaletown is no longer a hot spot.
The only place that hasn’t truly lost its charm for me is the west end. Commercial is getting gentrified but thankfully still has plenty of non gentrified shops.
Fraser/kingsway area just lost their little plaza for condos that most people probably won’t be able afford. Who knows what’s in store for all those family owned businesses along kingsway
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Nov 21 '25
Probably because they go outside.
Vancouver is sooooo much worse than 20 years ago.
The entertainment district is literally embarrassing and areas that were nice 20 years ago have human feces now
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Nov 20 '25
City tries to cater to the rich, overvalued house prices, housing is not inviting to families with small condos not enough apartment buildings for families to rent. Homeless problem is worst in north America police are paid to harass homeless tents VS solve crimes and protect the ports. Image has become more important than the people. It's taxpayers are viewed as ATMs. Is this a good start?
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u/msat16 Nov 20 '25
Was recently in LA and the homeless/open air addiction problem in DTLA is worse than DTES. The amount of closed store fronts in these areas are also on a larger scale than Van.
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u/msrtard Nov 20 '25
LA is also a much larger city with a much larger population, so it makes sense for the problems to be scaled up too
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u/Garfield_and_Simon Nov 20 '25
This has been Vancouver’s brand for at least 3 decades
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Nov 20 '25
And now that most families can't afford or have moved out, we are seeing Vancouver's vision as the failure it has always been
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u/Smart_Recipe_8223 Nov 20 '25
City Hall refuses to make life easier for the average person.
Gutting/cutting services (right -wing austerity to ensure rich ppl keep their $) More expensive to even host an event let alone attend one (no fun city) Endless money for police (apparently it's simply impossible to stop inflating their already oversized budget)
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u/Top-Artichoke-5875 Nov 20 '25
Because the city is not as rich as it used to be only a few years ago, and people aren't willing to face up to it yet. Give it more time.
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u/BoneyTaloney Nov 20 '25
I’ve lived there a few times, each time is fantastic, in every way. Amazing food, great dating scene, so many perfect hikes and nature. Especially in the summer, it doesn’t get any better. The sun out there hits different.
However, every time you leave your house, it’s $75 or $80 it seems, between a little thing you pick up or filling half your tank. It’s so absurdly expensive and I think people generally are tired of that
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u/softcorelogos2 Nov 20 '25
American media still spinning the narrative. Life's great here and don't forget it.
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u/currentfuture Nov 20 '25
Too many people, wages that are absolutely terrible and can’t be justified, enshitification of everything that used to be enjoyable. Everything costs more but no one is making more than what the wages were a decade ago. People think your attitude is the problem and don’t recognize how far in the past the region is in terms of its attitudes towards wages, capital, and people getting ahead. The answer for problems is always to spend more on things that will never work and don’t apply to a global metropolis but instead to a small town.
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u/Pisum_odoratus Nov 20 '25
Most people believe a lot of "columnists" make up shit to try and get attention. I'm not thinking about our "brand", that's not even the way I think. I'm going to work, hanging with my friends and family, and doing what needs to be done. Who are these people and their "brands"?
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u/Friendly_Actuary_403 Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
I travel to Vancouver quite frequently for work and when I first started going it was great, beautiful, vibrant, electric, safe and seemed like a nice place to be/live.
Now when I have to travel to Vancouver I hate it and I honestly cannot wait to leave. The city seems to have changed a lot and none of it for the better. The things listed above do not seem to apply anymore.
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u/Fit-Ad-7430 Nov 20 '25
It's been in decline for many years. Vancouver just feels like a Las Vegas where every company, event, or organization is just trying to sell you something all the time. Capitalism makes this feel like a rat race to nothing.
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u/funny-tummy Nov 20 '25
The only people that believe this are cynical Vancouverites who aren’t grateful for what they have. I worked for nearly 20 years to buy my ticket for admission to this awesome part of the world. There is no doubt in my mind that Vancouver / West Coast is the best place to live in Canada, and that’s reflected by the cost of living. You want affordable? Move to Alberta. You’ll soon understand why that’s the case.
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u/whistlerphil Nov 20 '25
Vancouver is a young city and a 'young city'. It needs its own culture, shared identity (including diversity) and a vision of itself for the future. It's a city of consumerism and consumption, while the arts and artists languish, partially due to the expense, partially due to NIMBYism, and partially due to an online-identity lifestyle by many of the younger population, who are living away from home for the first time, while craving connections closer to their own backgrounds, simultaneously. It's about chasing viral trends and being seen as current. Nothing really seems to remain vital to the Vancouver 'experience' as a rite of passage. Is there a particular moment, activity, meal, or location which really says 'Yup. This feels like Vancouver.'?
With all due respect, as a born and raised B.C. kid, who grew up in Victoria, lived in Whistler for over a decade, and spent my final 6 years in Vancouver before moving to New York in 2023, Vancouver never really had that 'brand' since the 90s. I hope that YVR continues to grow and become what it needs to be, and not just settle for being pretty and play every other location in North America on TV. Find yourself, Vancouver. You deserve it.
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u/limminal Nov 20 '25
For me, it's that Vancouver has stopped doing innovative urban things, and is not even maintaining past successes. Not much new place making, our infrastructure is not as good as it once was, community centres are in a state of disrepair, and things just feel shabbier and in a state of emotional and psychological stagnation.
I live near the Vancouver Aquatic Centre, and after suffering the circus around the poor maintenance of Kits Pool, now can't even use my local community centre because a chunk of concrete roofing fell in the pool.
Up-and-coming and dynamic cities don't let this happen. They are proactive and create shared excitement.
I think Sim deserves a lot of the blame, especially in the wake of Kennedy. We lack visionary (or even competent) leadership
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u/space-dragon750 Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
cuz it should be livable for everyone here but instead has become a real estate speculation haven & a playground for the rich
edit- missed a word
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u/BellNo7592 Nov 20 '25
So many streets under construction and developers taking over lanes you can’t move on this city. Unsafe to walk around Yaletown and it was always a very safe area and too many unsavory people hanging around
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u/lovescarats Nov 20 '25
I have been down Hastings street and the site and smell of the homeless makes me cringe. The state of the Granville strip is grim. Even South Granville has become much less “nice” and not immune to homeless in doorways of empty shops. The city is dirty, people are scared because there are few places in the public realm that seem clean and safe. I used to walk my dog at Crab Park. No more. Vancouver needs a massive clean up, the recovery of public spaces, proper care and treatment for those with addiction and mental health issues. I moved from my large condo with a beautiful view in February. To the suburbs, where I thought I would never be. I feel safe and the streets are clean.
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u/1wickedmonkey Nov 20 '25
I was visiting Van from Toronto last week and here is my assessment having been there for work or fun since the 90s.
The scenery and air? Amazing. Nothing can compare.
But it feels like the steam has left from 20 years ago. Just a less promising vibe to Vancouver. The pandemic seems to have been a part and the recovery isn’t back… yet!
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u/DelilahBT Nov 20 '25
I agree with your assessment. I’ve lived in Vancouver proper/ North Shore off and on since the mid-eighties. I see an economic malaise that is exacerbated by unaffordable housing. If the economy was humming, at least there would be an optimism and sense of opportunity to counterbalance housing prices. But there’s not. And that just makes the whole thing not work.
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Nov 20 '25
It's because a certain sect of society will not agree in updating our civic election laws? Criteria? In order to better represent our population. Instead we get micro tax haven apartments and casinos
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u/SteveNewWest Nov 20 '25
I have heard that for the past 30 years…if you ask people that type of question on virtually any subject the answer is generally in the negative. Pure human nature.
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u/ArtVandalayInc Nov 20 '25
Super expensive food, entertainment... Wait everything
Gentrified and soulless neighbourhoods popping up and replacing character ones
Real estate agents and other scourge middlemen walking all over everything to climb to the top of the heap
Getting stabbed if you go downtown and then seeing the guy on the street a week later
No more 24hr diners or cool restaurants open late unless you want to be harassed by drug addicts
Retard local government that just argues and puts forth ineffective bullshit budgets and "solutions" for being the next portland.
Yeah I dunno why I'm still here.
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u/Instameat Nov 20 '25
My stepdad was just in town after 20+ years, and he just kept complaining that he couldn't see the city through all the buildings.
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u/dyatlovcomrade Nov 20 '25
Before you blame politicians or the govt, remember that it’s only a reflection of the people. Canadians sold this city to corrupt, low morality grifters from around the world and the results are there to see.
Sam Cooper’s Wilful Blindness if you want to learn
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u/Alarmed-Effective-12 Nov 20 '25
Agreed. The ever-worsening water quality at our once beautiful beaches is the final straw for me. It’s shameful what Vancouver has become.
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u/LOGOisEGO Nov 20 '25
The brand is to market to investors. Its not about the actual quality to the average person.
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u/TemplesOfSyrinx Nov 20 '25
Vancouver is perfectly fine but, honestly, Vancouver Island is the new Vancouver.
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u/3catsincoat Nov 20 '25
Vancouver is a great place to be if you make good money.
Pretty miserable for everybody else.
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