Vancouver?

[MiniN]

I've travelled alot of Canada but never spent much time in Vancouver (i only passed through).

what is it like as a city? is it similar to the vastness of Toronto?

what is it like as a place to live? any ideas?

[Clanad]

I've been fortunate enough to have been there many times. (I live in the U.S.)
Firstly, it's a very international city. Lots of immigrants, but they all get along very well. It's a large city with a population of around 600,000. As mentioned, very diverse with a large contingetn of Asian peoples. It's well known for its progressiveness.

Being as large as it is, it's quite compact, due to its settting. It's surrounded by water and mountains. The Port of Vancouver is a major business area.

It's generally divided into Vancouver proper and across Lion's Gate Bridge is North Vancouver (known locally as North Van). The cities of Burnaby and Coquitlam are nearby and they are each over 100,000 poulation.
Shopping is premier and Robson Street is very interesting to walk. completely safe, it consists of many various shops of immigrants from around the world. The food available includes almost any Asian or European country and newspaper stands represent equal foreign origins.

One downer... rain. They get a tremendous amount of rain, but the temperatures ar emoderate... year round.

The cultural opportunities are probably the equal of any city in the world... I highly recommend a visit... be prepared for the weather, which everyone complains about that lives there...

[MiniN]

thanks Clanad, that was very helpful.