In Praise of Vancouver

Vancouver, British Columbia - how do I love thee? Let me count the ways......

* for your magnificent natural setting. With the ocean meeting up with the Coast Mountains, it's an unbeatable foundation for a world class city. When I used to live in North Carolina, I had to choose between going to the beach or going to the mountains. Here, I can lay out at the beach while viewing the majestic mountains.

* for your wonderful diversity. Today while walking home from brunch, I passed many groups of people who weren't speaking English. Vancouver embraces every group imaginable and weaves them into her fabric. The world is here in Vancouver. If you don't dig diversity, you won't like our fair city.

* for your vibrant downtown core. David and I have never lived in a downtown setting before moving here. Now you couldn't pay us to leave downtown. Everything we need is within blocks of our place. Within about 2 sq blocks of our home there's a coffee shop, grocery store, liquor store, wine bar, dry cleaners, medical clinic, sushi bar, bank, office supply store, and drug department store. We are blocks from the seawall. 4 blocks from my church. We walk everywhere. It's magical!

* for your wonderful weather. This is perhaps Vancouver's best kept secret. We tell everyone it rains here all the time. Pssst -it's not true (90% of Vancouver's yearly rainfall occurs during the winter only) Once I moved here, I found out that we tell everyone it rains all year long just to keep more Torontonians from moving here. Mild, wet winters. Beautiful, colourful springs. Warm, sunny, long summer days. Crisp, comfortable autumns. The flowers start blooming in late Feb-early March. Since it rarely snows here, Vancouver is green year-round. You can sit outside on cafe patios in the middle of January and have a coffee. It's truly an outdoor city.

* for your holistic lifestyle. Since moving to Vancouver, I have lost weight, gained muscle, increased my energy levels, and lowered my bodyfat percentage. At the age of 45, I am in the best shape of my life. Why? Physical fitness is par for the course here. Everybody's doing it. It's in the air. You "catch" it from others around you. Instead of meeting after work for a drinking frenzy, you meet on the slopes to ski. Instead of driving to a party, you walk or bike there. Almost without exception, every one of my friends from the USA who comes to visit me says "WOW - everyone is so fit here".

I could go on and on. Needless to say, David and I love it here. Many times we pinch ourselves to make sure we're not dreaming. I cannot imagine living anywhere else. Peace and light.