Lets talk englishness at Vancouver???

[samjin]

Okay, i decided to create that topic for dudes going (or already living) in Vancouver.

Lets talk about the city in English.

Whatever the subject, the opinion, the sexuality?? hahahaha. Advices? tips? Warnings?

Am supposed to go live there around mid spring of 2012.

I tried Montreal in 2008-2009 but i didnt like the place... neither the looooooong winter.

Considering I got the permanent canadian visa (jan 09') and i do want to live in some place else than France, I choose Vancouver:
Warmer (than Montreal)... ok, rainier ! but still, warmer. Plus, landscapes just charmed my ass off .... (thanx to tvshows of the 90's like TwinPeaks of D Lynch...)..

So, any experiences are welcome...

Am wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide open

[Katy]

Considering I got the permanent canadian visa (jan 09') and i do want to live in some place else than France, I choose Vancouver:
Warmer (than Montreal)... ok, rainier ! but still, warmer. Plus, landscapes just charmed my ass off .... (thanx to tvshows of the 90's like TwinPeaks of D Lynch...)..

So, any experiences are welcome...

Am wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide open

If you like nature and don't mind a bit of rain in the winter (and sometimes late in the spring and early in the fall let's face it), Vancouver's great. Hope you like Asian food though... Snow is mostly where it belongs: on the mountains not in the city!
Vancouverites are very laid back (soooooo relaxing after living in France!) but are not the warmest people on Earth. Personnally, I don't mind but some people (and not only from France) have a hard time getting used to it. And it's very different from Montreal so maybe you'll like it here. What was it you disliked about Montreal besides the winter?

If you like Twin Peaks, don't miss a trip to Snoqualmie, WA while you are in Vancouver, it's only like 4 hours drive away. My husband, a huge fan of the show and movie and D. Lynch, was there the last couple of days for the first time and he loved it (not only because of the show but because the scenery is gorgeous).

[samjin]

Hey Katy !
Where are you from?
How long have u been living in Vancouver?
Are you even a (native) Canadian...??! French?

About Nature, I do love it. I was raised in a small town surrounded by forests, woods, lowlands and other green stuffs with fruits and vegetables! My fondest memory is the summer time when cherries and strawberries get well matured and I went with my cousin to pick them up and eat half of our bounty on the way home...

Now am living in Paris in that tiny studio apartment (which I love, by the way!) with, through the window, the sight of buildings, concrete, crowded streets and annoying city noises... I do love my city and my country but after almost 30 years... Let's say I want to experience something really different.

Asian food? Let's say that I get influenced since childhood by Japanese, Vietnamese, Laotian and Thai culture. Including food, of course. Today, my favorite food is Asian. Wayyyyyy before my parent's origins (Algerian) gastronomy or my birth country (France)... I still think am going to miss French pastries! They are the best in the whole world!

I do enjoy snow like all kids do (yes, there is still a child inside of this handsome guy I happen to be).
Also, I do appreciate a bit of winter, chillness and coldness. The Christmas season too. But, definitely not as much as there is in Montreal.
It has been one of the major points which convinced me to go back to Paris. We can also count my disastrous relationship with my ex…. Anyways!

Besides the winter, I guess what displeased me the most in Montreal was the lack of Nature. There are some parks, rivers, lakes (ponds…). There is the harbor, the amusement park, some kind of a hill... few animals. Hum lets see.... that is pretty much about it.
If you wanted to meet some true nature stuffs, you needed to rent a car (or buy a bus ticket) and drive for at least 1 hour... I get disappointed about that. Really was! Especially because I don’t like driving.

What seduces me about Vancouver is the proximity of the beach and the mountains. Plus, USA is just below (50km to the closest city which I found out is Blaine in Washington State).
Plus, first language is English (even if I am aware that there is a lot of Asian and so... a lot of Asian dialects spoken down there. Aren’t they majority in the city?!).
I have always dreamed of living in a complete US English environment.
Again, a backslash from TV shows and movies…a fantasy!!

About relationships between people, Montreal’s disturbed me. At first sight and first contact, people are welcoming. You can almost ask anything from them (respectable and practical demands of course). They will try to help you or to find someone/someway to help you.
When you come from Paris like I do (this is the best example of an unwelcoming city in the world), you are used to deal with your own shit. No matter how desperate you are, you are not asking something in the street to a stranger. We simply don’t do that. They will not (most of them) react properly… Their first reaction would be to step back like you are asking for money or else and then saying “what?!” with that eyebrow raised in the “unwelcoming” way I was talking about…
But this is not a generality. Let’s say 70% of Parisian are like that. Am not! And this is why I don’t feel right at my place here.
Only in Montreal, this is just superficial. Like some polish attitude! Because when it comes to become intimate and deep with people, there is way less warmth about them… sorry but I felt that!
Again, not a generality. Just an observation after one year spent there.

I like being laid back time to time. Am not that over ambitious guy. I don’t want to wear myself at work. I do enjoy walking by a charming place or an especially fragrant forest. I like driving a bicycle, going to the gym. i would like to discover hiking, climbing, rafting and all those sports you can do at Vancouver. Cannot remember the last time I sat on sands watching at a sunset! I would love to be able to do that after a hard day of work or with my love one… and not only during a holiday trip to Hawaii or else! I would like it to be something hand-reachable.

Paris is uptight, fast, stressful, anxious, and unwelcoming. Believe me, there is not that much “romanticism” there when you live inside. That fantasy is mostly for tourists and books. And maybe provincial people too. Still, we manage to find it sometime a beautiful city. It happens! Especially during summer time. I cannot denigrate my city all the way down. There are some benefits of living in Paris… I have to admit!! hahaha

I would diiiiiiiiiiiie to go visit Snoqualmie. Can you believe that since am 7yo (the very first diffusion of the show on channel 5 in France), I have that wish to have once the chance to taste that cherry pie from that roadside dinner in the show?? It was like “Muuum, when I will be a grown up, I will fly all the way the way to Canada and have a slice of that pie”.
Hahahaha… foolishness, am telling you! But look! Today, this is where am heading to! With a lot of frights though!

[Katy]

I'm just a little Frenchie, in Vancouver since June 2009 with my hubby, getting to know the city a little more every day. Originally from the west coast of France, I've been living in Paris (in the suburbs which is not exactly the same) for 8 years so I understand what you say. I love Paris as a tourist but living there can be very tiring and stressful, that's what I try to explain to all the Canadians who think I was crazy to leave Paris to come to Vancouver...
If you like nature, you should look for a place to live in North Vancouver, by the forest and the mountain but close to Downtown by transit. Kitsilano is great too, very residential and near the beach but further from the mountain.
There are a few places and hikes where you can go by bus or ferry but you'd better get used to driving and buy a car after a while (unless you find friends who have one and share your interests/have the same schedule) because it's North America and if you want to go out of the city, it's easier to have a car (or rent one but it can expensive in summer).

Basically, the way people behave seem to be the same in Montreal and in Vancouver, except maybe that French people "from France" are not seen as "maudits Français".

As for the Roadside Diner in Snoqualmie, the food was so bad that my hubby didn't even want to try the cherry pie at the end of his meal... Here's a picture from his trip:

[samjin]

Was it really that bad? I mean, at the Twede's? Bouuuuhouuuuuuuuu !! I want try that cherry pie ! Am sure that, even if it is actually disgusting I would like it... just for the fantasy ^^

Clearly, Paris is stressful. Totally stressful. But you can always manage to find some quiet places... but mostly it gets on your nerves as soon as you step in a subway... Especially at morning around rush hours ! People are turning into those crazy hurry miseducated demons ! Not even letting you step out of the train just to be "sure" they have a sit... This is ridiculous considering the only way you have to get a sit during rush hours is to get on the train from the terminus... otherwise you end standing up... anyways !
As you can see, there is that "hurriness" that annoys me here. Plus, everything is about spending money. And a lot for anything. From your apartment's rent to a simple coffee...

About the car, I will need a license hahaha. Am also planning on passing it there because I tried here in Paris... It cost me so much and I didn't even get it. But yeah for sure, I will need a car. I can turn into some wolfman, having that urge need to be alone and run away to lowlands and mountains and forests hahaha ^^

For the place I would dream to live in, It will definitely be close to the beach. This is one of the reasons i chose Van' : Nature ! Am not going to live in suburbs. Of course, I may not have (at first) the possibility to have my first place next to the beach (or mountains.. or forests) but at the end (and this is not going to take me that much) I will be 5 minutes (top !) to the beach.

Where have you been living in Paris's suburbs? I was born in the Val d'Oise (Pontoise), then grew at Jouy le Moutier (95), then spent my teenage-years and part of my past teenage-years in Cergy (95). Am curious

[lapoire]

Am sure that, even if it is actually disgusting I would like it... just for the fantasy ^^

Well, even if my english are not really fluent, I'm pretty sure that a "I" can be useful before the "am". Correct me if I'm wrong

[samjin]

You are right Mathieu. It could use a "I". Sometimes, I tend to contract my sentences. Especially with the subjects hahaha
By the way, " even if my english are not really fluent". You certainly meant "even if my english is not exactly fluent".
^^

[lapoire]

By the way, " even if my english are not really fluent". You certainly meant "even if my english is not exactly fluent".

Absolutely!

[samjin]

how do u feel in montreal? how long have u been there? which part of the city do u live in? why Montreal?

[lapoire]

Il semblerait qu'écrire ici présente un danger de devoir répondre à des questions en anglais . Je ne savais pas dans quoi je m'embarquais!

Je réponds en français car mon anglais écrit est particulièrement abominable, surtout en décalage horaire (j'ai de la misère à écrire en français ce matin, tu vois le genre...)

Je suis Québécois et j'ai grandis à Montréal. Je trouve que c'est une ville exceptionnelle, mais pas facile à approcher. Pour mon mode de vie, c'est une ville particulièrement appropriée : vie culturelle, spectacles, cafés, bars....

Une ville comme Vancouver, je ne m'y sentirais pas bien du tout sur le long terme, même si je la trouve incroyablement belle. J'aime l'hiver à Montréal, j'ai besoin de toute cette neige merveilleuse et de ce froid et je déteste la pluie . Je n'aime pas la vie nocturne de Vancouver non plus...

J'ai grandis sur le Plateau Mont-Royal, sinon j'ai habité surtout dans le quartier Rosemont-Petite-Patrie.

Et pourquoi Montréal? Bien à la base, j'avais trop voix au chapitre . Mais après avoir visité le Québec à fond et une bonne partie du Canada, j'y reste encore et toujours attaché. À Toulouse, je retrouve une partie de ce que j'aime à Montréal...

Désolé encore pour ma réponse en français, j'essaierai de répondre en anglais la prochaine fois

Sinon je vais être obligé de me modérer moi-même pour HS !!!

[samjin]

Hahaha !!
It is alright I guess !!