With Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto all ranked in the top 10 of the Global Liveability Index 2023, we speak to residents in each city to find out what makes life so sweet.
Calgary is the only one with a decent cost of living. You can get a single detached for 400k. You can buy an apartment starting at 120k. Not unreasonable
Oh yeah, Vancouver really gives northern Siberia a run for its money during the winter. Human beings just aren’t built to survive one or two days of snow every couple years. Best you stay far away and live somewhere pleasant, like rural Texas.
In my experience, time these "cities bad I'd never live in them!" types, the ones who brag about living in the countryside, usually live a 15 minute + traffic highway commute from a small city that they entirely rely on to function day to day. They just live in suburbs or "exurbs" that would not function without the nearby town's urban residents.
It's frustrating how many people cannot comprehend that there is a whole spectrum of urban life from the major skyrise metropolises of the world to a small town's main street, all of which are cities and all of which benefit from policies that create mixed-use, walkable, human-centric neighborhoods.
I always find it painfully eye-roll-inducing when anyone claims they live the rural life while surrounded by metropolitan infrastructure like municipal water/sewer, highways, fire protection, parks/rec/landscaping service, and all that kind of stuff.
Tru dat. Met a lot of people in my life who claimed to live in a "rural area" but in reality they lived in a suburb that was surrounded by real rural areas. A 20 minute drive just to do groceries doesn't make some place inherently rural, it just means that there's bad city planning.
As I said elsewhere, snow has little to do with how uncomfortable a place is.
The combo of humidity and temp tells a much greater story.
But yea, keep on insulting someone you know nothing about, sunshine. I'd bet a years salary I've lived and worked in a far greater variety of places than you've ever seen. I can also read charts of weather, and understand what it means in human terms.
I live about 30 mins from vancouver in the US, and winter in this region really isn't that bad. I could see it for the other cities, but in this region we have years where it doesn't even snow at all. The last "bad winter" we had was about 2 years ago, and before that maybe 5 years ago?
Snowfall isn't an indicator of much. Cold is, and for how long. And how long/short the days are. And daily swings, daily max/min, humidity, etc.
I've lived in places with warmer temps and higher humidity and more wind, and those winters are bitter as hell (Mid Atlantic). And I've lived in places with lower lows but very low humidity, and that's much milder.
Anything east of the Mississippi and north of about Tenessee/KY has bitter winters, farther north even worse. Winter in places like NH can be particularly butter because of the combo.
Okay but they just said "winter is a bitch" which is more of a subjective unquantifiable statement. My personal best assumption for that is about snow, but I don't think any form of climate is a better measure for what is and is not "a bitch"
Damn, I just remembered I literally have not been north of Tennessee. And I've seen snow only a handful of times.
It's always funny to see other urbanists focus so heavily on how winters make cycling hard when winter is basically the only time I'm not drowning in the hot, humid air of the US south.
Because they don't consider how much it costs to live there. /thread
Calgary is the only one with a decent cost of living. You can get a single detached for 400k. You can buy an apartment starting at 120k. Not unreasonable
Yeah but the only downside is you have to live in Alberta, though.
(I am kidding… Calgary is a nice city, but the current ruling party are extreme Canadian magas so also not kidding.)
I wouldn't live in any of them. 1. They're cities. 2. Winter(especially there) is a bitch
Whoever wrote this has never lived in that kind of winter. I have. Eff that. Makes those places a zero, from the start
Oh yeah, Vancouver really gives northern Siberia a run for its money during the winter. Human beings just aren’t built to survive one or two days of snow every couple years. Best you stay far away and live somewhere pleasant, like rural Texas.
You want to bet he also lives in a city, too?
In my experience, time these "cities bad I'd never live in them!" types, the ones who brag about living in the countryside, usually live a 15 minute + traffic highway commute from a small city that they entirely rely on to function day to day. They just live in suburbs or "exurbs" that would not function without the nearby town's urban residents.
It's frustrating how many people cannot comprehend that there is a whole spectrum of urban life from the major skyrise metropolises of the world to a small town's main street, all of which are cities and all of which benefit from policies that create mixed-use, walkable, human-centric neighborhoods.
I always find it painfully eye-roll-inducing when anyone claims they live the rural life while surrounded by metropolitan infrastructure like municipal water/sewer, highways, fire protection, parks/rec/landscaping service, and all that kind of stuff.
Tru dat. Met a lot of people in my life who claimed to live in a "rural area" but in reality they lived in a suburb that was surrounded by real rural areas. A 20 minute drive just to do groceries doesn't make some place inherently rural, it just means that there's bad city planning.
Increasingly they live on what they can buy at a dollar store next to the freeway. That's not any better though.
Lol
However, 45 days in a row of rain can do a number on your state of mind, though. (I used to live in Vancouver.)
As I said elsewhere, snow has little to do with how uncomfortable a place is.
The combo of humidity and temp tells a much greater story.
But yea, keep on insulting someone you know nothing about, sunshine. I'd bet a years salary I've lived and worked in a far greater variety of places than you've ever seen. I can also read charts of weather, and understand what it means in human terms.
Also, fuck Texas. It's hot as balls.
Maybe a list of most livable cities isn't for you then.
Good point! 🤣
Winter is really mild in Vancouver and for the past 15 years it hasn't been that bad in Toronto either.
Good luck affording housing here though.
I live about 30 mins from vancouver in the US, and winter in this region really isn't that bad. I could see it for the other cities, but in this region we have years where it doesn't even snow at all. The last "bad winter" we had was about 2 years ago, and before that maybe 5 years ago?
Snowfall isn't an indicator of much. Cold is, and for how long. And how long/short the days are. And daily swings, daily max/min, humidity, etc.
I've lived in places with warmer temps and higher humidity and more wind, and those winters are bitter as hell (Mid Atlantic). And I've lived in places with lower lows but very low humidity, and that's much milder.
Anything east of the Mississippi and north of about Tenessee/KY has bitter winters, farther north even worse. Winter in places like NH can be particularly butter because of the combo.
Okay but they just said "winter is a bitch" which is more of a subjective unquantifiable statement. My personal best assumption for that is about snow, but I don't think any form of climate is a better measure for what is and is not "a bitch"
Those are fairly mild winters dude, have you ever lived north of Tennessee?
"I have" read much before getting all worked up?
Damn, I just remembered I literally have not been north of Tennessee. And I've seen snow only a handful of times.
It's always funny to see other urbanists focus so heavily on how winters make cycling hard when winter is basically the only time I'm not drowning in the hot, humid air of the US south.
Lol.
A friend who moved from Alaska to Florida said he likes that "you don't have to shovel heat" hahaha
I have. Far north of there. Fuck Canadian winters.
I would love to live in toronto but I live in chicago now.