For many of my European friends, Vancouver is the most beautiful city in the world. For them it is a dream destination, and they cannot stop praising its stunning setting between the ocean and the mountains. Those who have already been here, want to come again, and those who haven’t, are making plans to visit one day.
Vancouver has changed a lot since I emigrated from Switzerland to Canada more than twenty years ago. Real estate prices have gone through the roof, and Vancouver has become one of the most expensive cities. Some companies are reluctant to have their headquarters here because their employees wouldn’t be able to afford an apartment or a house. Other things are still free: The young urbanites still play volleyball on Vancouver’s beaches like thirty years ago, English Bay is teeming with people who are walking along the shore, couples and families are sitting on blankets under trees, having picnics, with a view of the ocean where cargo ships are waiting to offload their containers.
The legendary Sylvia Hotel is still there, the laughing bronze men of the sculpture A-maze-ing Laughter, the driftwood logs on the sand, the sign that alcohol is not permitted on the beach (very strange for Europeans). I used to live close by before I moved to the Sunshine Coast, a 40-minute ferry ride away. My former community centre is still on Denman Street where I took drawing classes and tried skating, the doors of the walk-in clinic are still open, but the dessert place Death by Chocolate has disappeared, while the building where I once looked at a rental apartment looks unchanged.
I also remember the day when I watched the Polar Bear Swim on January 1 in English Bay for the first time. Everything was so unfamiliar and exciting to me, the new immigrant from Switzerland. A stroll through Vancouver streets brings back many memories.
Granville Island remains a great place to shop for fresh fruit, exotic food and art work. But the bakery Terra Bread doesn’t offer my beloved apple focaccia anymore and the store with beautiful East Indian fabrics and dresses has disappeared. How comforting that I can still sit on the water of False Creek, listen to live music and drink great coffee. I am clinging to what hasn’t changed because it makes me feel warm inside.
And then of course, there are the great people I know in Vancouver. It is always nice to see them again and I feel relieved that they haven’t moved away, like so many people who left in search of lower costs of living. My friends feel the changes in Vancouver but they are the stable elements and carry on. With them, the good old times come alive again for me and I am thankful for this city that welcomed me with open arms many years ago and welcomes me every time I travel to its gates.
