I left Vancouver – and I feel fine

Have you heard it’s expensive to live in Vancouver? It is, and the exodus is on. Last year, Eric Karjaluoto wrote about his love affair with the city over two-and-half decades… and why he’s considering leaving.

“A lot has changed in the 13 years since I moved away from Prince George. At that time, you needed to be in close proximity to your clients, to be available for in-person meetings. I hardly ever meet with clients any longer. In fact, most of our work is remote, and none of our clients care where we are. Our opportunities come from what we’ve done, and what we can do, not due to the city we work in.”
“I know this next comment will get me in trouble, but that doesn’t make it any less accurate: Vancouver isn’t really a creative city, anyway. It’s a picturesque city made up of glass shoeboxes—but a creative hotbed? I’m not so sure.”

Fast forward four months and he’s posted a series of interviews with people who have already left the city and how they’re doing.
Right now, a lot of discussion is on how to make the desirable Vancouver more affordable. I suspect a more successful tact for the province would be on making the affordable cities more desirable. So it’s interesting to hear from people who have decided to leave about what they like- and dislike- about life outside of the Lower Mainland.