Day 286: Home
I miss Vancouver SO MUCH! Vancouver truly feels like home to me, and when the time comes in my life to settle down (not anytime soon, my continent-hopping tour schedule is far too demanding) it is there in Vancouver where I want to put down roots and begin a career and family.
Now when I say I miss Vancouver, I mean in the sense that I loved living there and do wish I was there sometimes, but not in a painful or homesick way. Just in the sense that I know I had it damn good there and feel happy and at peace knowing that I'll be back there one day. I'm happy here in Korea and want to stay. The World Tour still feels right, this is where I belong for now.
But anyways, here's a random list of some of the things I miss most back in Vancouver, in random order:
- the year-round greenery, the lush vegetation, the huge gigantic trees in Stanley Park, the flowers that begin blooming in February, the tree-lined streets as far as the eye can see
- the fact that in winter temperatures rarely drop below freezing. And I actually like the rain. I could just put on a warm sweater and light coat, pull out an umbrella, grab a coffee and be on my way up the street in total comfort. No windchill, no snow-shovelling, no feeling like your face is gonna break and fall off in icy chunks
- riding the SkyTrain and seeing glimpses of the city as you fly by
- the view of the North Shore Mountains from Canada Place, especially when they're snow-capped in winter
- the variety of style and colours in architecture - Vancouver truly is a post-modernist's heaven
- spending an entire afternoon listening to CD's in Virgin Records
- standing in Robson Square at Christmas time and being surrounded by all the beautiful holiday lights, and seeing all the Christmas trees on top of the downtown skyscrapers
- the smell and sound of the ocean while walking on the beach along English Bay
- the view of Vancouver's skyline from Jericho Beach - the city actually looks like Manhattan from that vantage-point
- shopping for expensive but delicious and top-notch quality food at Granville Island
- seeing the familiar and reassuring curve of the the Lions Gate Bridge's lights at night
- the Ceremony of Lights fireworks competitions - both the breathtaking visual ecstacy of the fireworks and the thrill and enormity of the crowds that come out to watch them
- the energy and festivity of the Gay Pride Parade
- having access to many bars that serve damn good martinis
- drunken visits to the Davie Street Denny's at like 3am for a good wholesome greasy snack
- living in the West End, where everything I needed (and 90% of my friends) were within a 10-minute walking distance of my home
- seeing all the different races and cultures and hearing the variety of languages on the street - Vancouver is so cosmopolitan!
- jogging on the seawall and along Lost Lagoon in early morning mist
- the variety of restaurants and food from all over the world - especially Denman Street!
- being able to walk down the street and running into someone I know every four minutes
- looking up while standing at the entrance to Burrard Station and being surrounded by the beauty of the spring cherry blossoms - as pink and bright as can be - with the downtown highrises looming high above
- suntanning on the beach in the summertime (again only minutes from my apartment) and enjoying all the eye candy
- pistachio, nutella, and After Eight-flavoured gelato (from Mondo Gelato)
- soy chai lattes and mocha chillers from Delany's
- the Sweet Sixteen cupcake from Cupcakes
- the chicken shwarma or veggie plate from The Falafel King
- White Lies 80's Night (Thursdays) at Shine nightclub
- Discotronic 70's Night (Tuesdays) at The Commodore nightclub
- being so close to parks and mountains and islands and trails for hiking and camping
- cabin parties at Graham's family's cabin up at Emory Creek
- weekends in Whistler
- weekends in Seattle
- all that fresh air! living right next to the ocean you get a constant stream of clean fresh breathable air! heaven!
- having acess to a clothes dryer, and being Burberry-free
- and just the fact that I lived in a city that, almost every single year, was voted as The World's Most Livable City! (and it really truly is!)
Vancouverites, you are so spoiled and don't even know it! Lucky bastards! Save a space for me cause I'll be back there in a couple of years, to rule as King again! Hehe! ;-)
posted by S2H at 3:55 p.m.
4 Comments:
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5:59 p.m.
What I miss of Vancouver (and what I don't miss at the same time)...
I miss: the mountains on a clear day, the fact that everything is at walking distance, Scotty, Steph, Valou, getting to choose my schedule, my morning latte, the cute butcher on Denman street, the cute barrista at Delany's (oops already mentioned him), Celebrities (even though I haven't been since it re-opened, just the memory of what it was), Caffe Artigiano, Granville Island, Robson street, my appartment on W11th Avenue (cuz it had a dishwasher), living with Sophie, the cherry blossom trees in the spring and finally the lack of snow.
I don't miss: Richmond, the actual flying out of YVR, the rain, Starbucks every 100m, Odissey, the lack of culinary culture and the pricey note that comes when you go for what they have, the lack of artistic culture (compared to Montreal's very lively one), the non-multiculturalism (compared to Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal), the fact that artists rarely put Vancouver on their tour list, the getthoisation of the city, the fact that friendship groups are usually very clicky (very hard to make new friends in Vancouver), the fact that it is impossible to find a guy that really wants to commit in relationship without the 'extra-marrital' perks, the fact that it's tough to seduce someone there without seeming like you only want to sleep with them (I learned a VERY different approach in Montreal's Gay School lol), the price of rent, the price of houses and condos, the cost of living, the lack of certain ingredients I need for cooking and finally the rain (I know I said it before but it's worth saying once again!).
6:03 p.m.
benoit: it's funny that you cite 'lack of diversity' in Vancouver as something you don't miss... people here in Seattle cite the diversity of Vancouver as a reason they like the place ;-)
Canadians have cheap rents, btw. ;-)
11:49 p.m.
Hey penguino. Compared to Seattle, I agree that Vancouver is very diverse... But compared to Montreal, Toronto, New York and most major cities in Europe, Vancouver is not. Most restaurants serve exactly the same thing with just a slight difference from one to the other. Vancouver's communities are mostly from Asian or European descent while cities like Toronto and Montreal have everything from Asian to African to South American and European.
For rent, for sure I don't compare to anything south of the border or even in Europe. But compared to what my friends pay east of Ottawa (e.g. 650CAD for a 2BR downtown Montreal, 600 for a 2BR in Halifax vs. 1000 in Toronto and 1200 in Vancouver), it is quite expensive. And the real estate too : for a 3BR house my sister paid 200K in Montreal's suburb, you can get a 2BR for about 150K in Montreal DT... Vancouver more like 400K for the suburb house and 225-250K for the condo. that's what I mean. I'm not saying Vancouver is a bad city, au contraire... just that I don't miss certain things that are now available for me back home in Montréal.
3:08 a.m.
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