Top Ten Things We Didn’t Know About Vancouver, BC Before We Lived Here

3 years ago today, we boarded a plane to New York on the start of our new adventure in Australia. Since then, this blog has haphazardly bumped along, but there have been a few success stories. The post Top 10 Things We Didn’t Know About Sydney Before We Lived There was one of the more popular that was written, so in honour of that and our 3 year travelversary this one is all about the last six months in Vancouver, BC.

1) Heinz Maple Beans – #enoughsaid

2) Everything you can buy at the supermarket is also branded in French – waking up to “Flocons de Mais” is way better than “Cornflakes”!

3) Public transport is very reasonably priced here – a monthly pass for zone 1 (most of downtown Vancouver) costs just CA$98 (approx £58). Despite being well priced, it will cost $5 to leave “Sea Island” – where Vancouver Airport (YVR) is located.

4) Underground (and overground) trains are driverless here which is pretty cool, but also means that they stop unexpectedly much more frequently than trains with drivers!

5) Cannabis is legal here (as of October 2018) and you can go to government approved shops to order the strength and type that you want.

6) Vancouver, BC is commonly known as “Hollywood North” and lots of major TV shows and movies are filmed here. Most “Netflix Originals” (including Umbrella Academy, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina & Riverdale) were filmed in Vancouver and the surrounds as it’s much cheaper and looks a lot like New York City. Also lots of major Hollywood celebrities are very proud to be from here – Ryan Reynolds, Seth Rogen and Michael J. Fox to name just a few.

7) Food is insanely good here – approximately 50% of the people who live in the City of Vancouver and its surrounds aren’t actually from here, meaning that the city is a melting pot of cultures and the incredible food is just one benefit of this.

8) Liquor tax is a real painful thing here – we had already visited North America and were fully expecting adding the cost of tax (PST [Provincial Sales Tax] & GST [Goods and Services Tax]) on to every item we bought, but we were fully unprepared for liquor tax which makes a “cheap drink” not so cheap.

9) Happy Hour never lasts for an hour – fortunately for us, happy hour is generally 3-6pm and 9pm-closing in most places!

10) Uber IS NOT a thing here – we actually unfortunately found this out the hard way when we visited last year. Despite extensive conversations and changes in legislation, you STILL can’t get an Uber (or any ridesharing service) in Vancouver, BC.

Despite all of the pros and cons listed above, we couldn’t be happier than we are right now. We really do believe that #WestIsBest and the amazing experiences we’ve had over the last six and a half months really do outweigh any negative experiences we’ve had since we moved here.

‘t actually from here (us obviously included). This leads to a wonderful melting pot of cultures