An old friend rang me for a catch up and began telling me of her new life in Vancouver. ‘I heard it’s one of the most desirable cities in the world to live in?’ I ventured rather jealously.
‘It is’ she replied somewhat witheringly, ‘and I can’t exactly understand it. People want to move here and buy a very small dog then jog along the waterfront with it. – It pushes the price of everything sky high.’
This seemed an odd thing to say. Admittedly I paraphrase her slightly and when she said it, it made more sense I promise. But basically it seems this place regularly fights its way into lists of the most liveable cities on the planet – number four according to Mercer, the people who measure quality of living for business exec types - yet its regular residents – the 'non dog joggers' if we may christen them such- can’t fully understand why.
Thirsty for more information (and thinking particularly of my own time in West London) I headed for their local paper, The Vancouver Sun, to get a flavour. Which is where I have to admit I became hopelessly distracted by the masthead feature: “10 Espresso Shots: Porn in a cup?” Wow. Was this why everyone wanted to move to Vancouver? I scanned the page but alas the story was syndicated from New York City instead. So I dragged myself back to the news pages in a continuing effort to determine the world-beating draw of this particular locale.
“D’oh. Vancouver man stabs himself while allegedly robbing Duffins Donuts” … Again, there’s a legally safe headline I just couldn’t bear to ignore. Click click. (You too can read about this mishap here should you wish) but for me, ten more minutes of Thursday night gone and still no closer as to the lure of the ‘City of Glass.’
Finally I turned to the art and lifestyle sections where at last things started to make more sense. … It’s Craft Season apparently:
“I have to say, I’m so stressed right now,” says Nicole Tirona, the designer and maker of It’s Your Life jewelry and bags. “I’m doing so much sewing that I can’t think about anything else.”
I read on and find out about the Vancouver Craft Mafia (this is a real (and non violent) outfit) and things really start to fall into place. A cursory glance through Wikipedia and a look at some google images confirmed that a vibrant tradition of arts and culture as well as some fantastic scenery (and no doubt a bit of fresh air) helps to push this place higher on the liveable lists. – It’s now also firmly part of my own stack of places to visit.
But to reclaim the point – the point lost in the first paragraph of this blog – these lists might make fascinating reading and are probably very well calculated, but you have to wonder whether they become skewed to prioritise the tastes and fancies of a cities’ wealthiest residents. For those resigned to social housing in places like Zurich or struggling with minimum wage in London the resulting price of a pint, coffee, meal or house becomes an overwhelming negative rather than a positive. And many don’t have the opportunity to move elsewhere. When it comes to ranking cities, do the ‘non dog joggers’ really get a fair crack of the whip?
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