I'm not a fan of big cities, but that sure looks like a beautiful place to live.

I vacationed in Whistler a couple winters back and really enjoyed my short stay in Vancouver. The drive from the city to the mountain is one of the most beautiful drives I've ever done.

Alaska down to Seattle is as beautiful as it gets

Totally agree. I've driven up during the winter and that's the only place I've seen bald eagles in trees just to the side of the road.

I went up last Aug 2009 and the village was definitely built up for the Olympics.

The Coquihalla Hiway from Vancouver to Kelowna is just as nice a drive, imo...miles of wide, winding hiway through the mountains with very few cars in sight either direction. Porsche Heaven!

In Southern BC, my folks have had the occasional eaqle land in one of the trees in their back yard...pretty mean looking bird up close.

Yep beautiful country around there alright, but its a pricey place to live.

I've lived in Penticton (Okanogan south of Kelowna) and visited Vancouver several times.

Yaking on the Queen Charlottes is on my list of things to do before I die.

Better than "yakking" on the Axiom Forums, Fred?

Yeah, but only by a little bit.

I was in Whistler 2 years ago for a National United Way Conference as the resort was kind enough to sponsor the entire event. I loved it there. If I only had known about it when I was young, I'm sure my first job would have been out there and I'd probably still be a waiter by day, skier by evening and professional partier by night.

We took extra time and made a vacation out of it and spent the last two days wandering Vancouver. It is a very nice city. It was rainy as it often is, but warm. It has it's boring sections and it's 'down and out' sections just like every other city but you are never far from the water, it's fun to take little ferries instead of taxis and although I'm sure they do this in tons of places but, was the first time I ever personally saw huge hardwood trees growing on the tops of buildings.

Been here my whole life, 28 years... It's a pretty darn good place to be (politics aside). I was just up at Whistler on Saturday watching the two man bobsled (crazy crashes galore!!) and the drive up to Whistler, as many times as I have done it, is just incredible.

The last week or so is quite warm, but it has been sunny which makes the city look just amazing. All that is missing is some more white on the mountains.

EDIT: It is VERY expensive to live here, agreed with that comment. The city is pinned in by mountains, ocean and the border, so there is only limited space. A fifty year old house on about a 3000 sq foot lot will run you around 750k in the city.

We just have to live with rain 6 month out of the year. but yes it is very beautiful here.

That's a great deal in the San Francisco Bay Area...

http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=1226971

Potatohead. That reminds me of a friend who's parents owned a place in Deep Cove. He was an electrician. They bought the place in the 50's before the rest of Canada figured out what a beautiful place it is. It's probably worth a moderate sized fortune now.

You and Potatohead are very lucky guys. That place is gorgeous!

Definately... Deep Cove is one of the most expensive parts of the city.

Just to put things in perspective a little as to the price of living around here...

I bought my last house in 2001, and sold it last year - after having done some projects of varying size/cost - for more than twice what I paid for it. While that sounds nice in and of itself, I was buying in the same market, so that limits the advantage somewhat.

Still, while there are plenty of great places to visit, I wouldn't trade living here for anywhere else.

^ My parents bought their place back in '78, brand new, for 85k. It's in the burbs (North Delta). Now, at 32 years old, it's on the market for 510k. I bought a condo in May of 2005 that was still a hole in the ground in Langley and by the time I moved in in May 2006 it had apprectiated 30%.

Craziness around here for sure, but it's cool if you're downsizing.

OK, OK, let's not get out of hand here. It's pretty and all, but it's still cold.

Vancouver, cold???? Surely you jest.

Watching those cross country skiiers laboring in the 52 degree weather?? They didn't look cold?

This winter has been the warmest in 100 years, it has not really gone below freezing really at all and daytime highs are in the 50 - 55 range. It snowed one day but was gone the next. Normally it'll get below freezing at night and stay in the low 40's during the day for at least a couple months of the year anyway. Rule of thumb here is that if it's raining, it's warm, and if it's sunny, it's colder.

I actually cut my lawn last weekend. Where I live (Tsawwassen) the afternoon temperatures were close to 60 degrees. Not bad for February however if this keeps up my gardening program this year will be a long drawn out affair

Well not to worry fellas ... we're having one of the coldest winters I can ever remember down here in south Florida, and just finally whenever the the temperature looked like it was reaching the normal mid to high 70s(F) for the past couple of days it's supposed to be down into the low to mid 30s again tonight with freeze warnings. Unreal.

I'd thought about moving south and learning a new language if this keeps up but maybe moving north might be a better option for the warmer temperatures I need to live ... Vancouver looks interesting and beautiful.

I did a job for an old lady in Langley, it was on an acreage, around 200th St and 30th ave. Big corner acreage they bought the place 25 years ago then, it would be like 30 years now. Well anyways she was offered 6 million for ther place and she told me she wasnt selling because he was an east indian.

I haven't been there in too many years, but I have visited Vancouver several times. I always thought it was glorious and magical. The parks and museums are some of the finest I've seen, and the cultural diversity is just wonderful. I can't think of any other "new" cities that offer a richer experience.

I keep threatening to drag my family up there, but none of us have current passports at the moment.

Tom y'all can't be too terribly far from Vancouver, right? Actually your geographical area is another I've always wanted to visit, had the opportunity to work in Seattle several years ago and didn't do it, wish now that I would have.

Tacoma is only a couple hours south, not including a border wait.

I don't think you need a passport to drive across Tom, just one of those fancy new Drivers Licences. To fly though you need the passport.

Same kind of terrain in WA and BC, Rick. Vancouver is just so much more international and cosmopolitan than even Seattle. But yeah, the Pacific Northwest/Provinces are lovely. You should come visit. There's more big stuff on the edge of the salt water up here

My wife is like Mel Gibson in Conspiracy Theory, so even an enhanced license just pisses her off.

Oh I forgot to say they only paid 100k