A Better Quality of Life

Before I went off to university, I never gave Vancouver much thought other than associate the word “home” with the name. It was normal for my friends to discuss upcoming ski/snowboard trips to Whistler, Grouse, Sun Peaks, etc., and it was normal for us to share camping stories from Cultus, the Okanagan, and “the Island”. We skipped classes and drove down to the beach as early as Spring Break (note: not March Break) and ate ice cream along the boardwalk. During the summers we took buses and the Skytrain to Kits Beach, Jericho Beach, or Second Beach and hung out with the “cool people” in downtown Vancouver. Most of all, I looked around daily and saw mountains in the near distance.

My first summer back from London, I drove the same familiar route down to White Rock with my sister and mom in tow. The whole way down, I couldn’t help but exclaim every few minutes, “but look how green!” or “the mountains!”…I finally looked around and began to appreciate just how beautiful Vancouver really is. Right then and there (since it was summer), I forgave it for raining and staying a permanent shade of gray for weeks at a time during the winter.

These days, my favourite things about Vancouver when I visit are:

Gus: the furry, soft, dopey, loving dog that loved me the most when we first adopted him.

The mountains: from a distance or from atop, they complete the city that I have come to adore.

The colours: on a sunny day, Vancouver is one of the most colourful cities. It’s not a loud lushness like Hawai’i, but rather a quiet harmony of colours that are very “Canadian” – likeable, a little shy/conservative, beautiful in its own way.

Every time I bring up Vancouver in discussions with colleagues or friends in Toronto, there are always wistful sighs all around. I truly believe that the essence that is “Vancouver” contributes to a better quality of life – how can it not when you look around and fall a little more in love with the city you live in everyday?

I always hold up Vancouver as a sort of golden standard for the quality of life and the type of city I would like to live in. Everything I miss about it, I look for in my next city. I don’t know what it is, but I feel like I’m not ready to return yet – so I will look for bits and pieces that remind me of this place I love. Toronto is only a stop in my journeys, and it is nothing like home. I hope to have many more stops in the future, and continue to dream that each and every one of them will be more and more like Vancouver, until one day when I finally get to stop there, or even turn it into a final destination.