So I received a job offer last week that would entail a move to sunny (ha!) Vancouver. I don't generally make any life decisions without first searching the SP forums, but in all the location pissing contests on ethics spray and slander there wasn't a thread comparing Santa Cruz to Vancouver. So here I am in the completely unbiased California forum.

What should I do? I have recently gotten hooked on rock and ice climbing. I enjoy alpine climbing. I also ski. To a lesser extent, I mountain bike. Importantly I don't surf.

Here are what I see as the pros/cons of Vancouver as they relate to outdoor activities:

Pros:
Closer access to rock/ice/alpine climbing and skiing
Could ski after work
Patchouli smell less prominent, fewer bongo drums

Cons:
Rain
Fantastic mountain biking/trail running no longer outside my back door
Rain
Love the Sierra
Rain

In summary there seems to be a tradeoff between proximity and weather. Where would I be able to access climbing and the mountains more? Other thoughts?

Not sure if I am allowed to post in the California forum but I thought someone should point out that there is world class mountain biking and trail running around Vancouver.

The rock, mountain climbing and skiing opportunities are endless on the coast and the interior ranges and the rockies are not that far away.

The rain/sunshine ratio can be a bit off but happy lights, vitamin D and holidays to sunny locations can balance things out.

Good luck on your decision.

Which Vancouver?

Depends how much you are affected by light. I grew up in a climate like that and lived in it for 25 years. I'm never going back to it!!

Which Vancouver?

I'm pretty sure he means Vancouver BC, which would be a sweet place to live, on the oter hand, if you mean Vancouver WA, hell no. there isn't shit to do within 2+ hours.n except kayaking, then there's stuff to do.

fwiw,
I found Vancouver to be congested.
it is a great city though.
ymmv

Vancouver, BC?

justing wrote:Pros:
Closer access to rock/ice/alpine climbing and skiing
Could ski after work
Patchouli smell less prominent, fewer bongo drums

Cons:
Rain
Fantastic mountain biking/trail running no longer outside my back door
Rain
Love the Sierra
Rain

I lived for many years in the San Juan Islands between Seattle and Vancouver.

Vancouver, BC is my favorite city in the whole world. That place is just amazing, it's like an island surrounded by a beautiful bay and ringed with mountains. Doesn't get much better. Vancouver has a wonderful night life, great art galleries, and great shopping. There are some great museums such as the University of BC Museum of Anthropology.

As far as outdoor recreation is concerned, you're in heaven. You've got Grouse Mountain for some night skiing after work, and just north is one the largest ski mountains in North America, Whistler-Blackcomb. I think Blackcomb has some especially good skiing because you get above the treeline and onto the small glacier on top. It's got some great alpine terrain.

As far as climbing is concerned, you are a stone's throw away from the North Cascades not to mention the Canadian side of the Cascades.

The list goes on. The Vancouver archipeligo is heaven for sea kayaking. Travel the western shore of Vancouver Island by kayak, or hike the famous West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island, rated as one of the top 10 best hikes in the world.


Photo from here: http://www.sentai.com/mudhounds/index.htm

The rain isn't so bad. You've got a lot to show for the rain, namely the rainforests. It's so beautiful.

Caving is really good in the Vancouver area, too.

Lastly - but most importantly - Vancouver has some of the best scuba diving in North America. If you move up there, you must get into scuba diving. Do not pass up that opportunity. There is even a scuba park right there in downtown Vancouver.

Should you move to Van? What are you waiting for?

Coolest city I've been to visit, haven't lived there though. I'd give it about a year to get used to the rain though.

Wow everybody is telling me to go for it. I posted in the California forum specifically to get some people telling me to stay in CA! I do in fact mean Vancouver, BC. I wasn't even aware there was a Vancouver, WA.

So let's talk about the rain. Do you just deal with it and go out hiking anyway? How often will I be able to climb? In the winter, is it pretty feasible to drive to the icefields parkway/canmore area for ice climbing?

Thanks for the feedback folks!

the rain isn't that bad, But I've grown up here in the NW. when it's raining go kayaking or scuba diving, and when it stops go climbing. the cragging season is pretty long, if you make it to eastern WA it starts around march-april and goes until early november. my last bit of cragging I got in this year was nov. 5th at Index, which has some pretty frickin nice granite crack climbing.
bottom line, the rain isn't that bad, you'll get use to it, and you may even learn to love it...

Heck, just the chance to move to Canada with a sure-thing job would be enough for me.

Here are some other things to ponder:

1. Vancouver is a very expensive city to live in, I hear. Real estate prices are worse than in CA.
2. Because you're that much farther north, the summer daylight hours will be much longer than in Santa Cruz. Conversely, the winter NIGHTS will be much longer, too.
3. Once you catch sight of the Canadian Rockies, you'll be out of Vancouver and into Calgary. In the meantime, enjoy places like Red Mountain in RossVegas.
4. The winter Olympics are going to invade the area the last couple weeks of February. I'd wait till after then to make the trek north.
5. I lived in Central CA, including Monterey, for a lot of years. You won't be missing anything if you move, especially that damned coastal fog. At least when it rains in Vancouver, it's real rain!
6. In a word - GO!!!!!!!

The McClane Alpine Select book would be a major factor in my decision. And then the Waddington Range is so close, the Bugs, the Rockies. I think it's the best city in North America for setting out on wilderness mountain adventures.

I lived in Seattle 8 years...and even when it was sunny in Seattle it was cloudy in Vancouver. So my unscientific assessment is to expect a notch more rain/clouds than Seattle.

Congrats Justin ! I seem to remember you mentioning this on a sunny November day at the Pinnacles Vancouver is one of the coolest NW cities I've visited.

There are a few SP'ers you may want to look up when you get settled up there: Peak Freak, Joe White, and MountaingirlBC come to mind.

Do not forget your climbing buddies during Squamish season

rhyang wrote:Congrats Justin ! I seem to remember you mentioning this on a sunny November day at the Pinnacles Vancouver is one of the coolest NW cities I've visited.

There are a few SP'ers you may want to look up when you get settled up there: Peak Freak, Joe White, and MountaingirlBC come to mind.

Do not forget your climbing buddies during Squamish season

Thanks Rob! What a beautiful November day of climbing that was. And almost unfair to bring up. If I move, you have to promise not to rub my face in that, and I won't mention when it only takes me two hours to get to the local ice crag.

A quick Santa Cruz anecdote. Last night I was at a New Years Eve party, and we were sitting out enjoying the beautiful evening. Right on cue some keith moon wannabe at the party whips out a bongo drum and pollutes the air for a bit. Anyhow, about that time, someone in a neighboring yard sets off what must have been a stick of dynamite, based on the concussion and the fact that my ears are still ringing. Apparently propelled by the explosion, a dismembered and charred Barbie leg comes sailing over the fence line end over end. Ritual barbie killings...only in Santa Cruz. I can't decide if I would miss that kind of crap or not.