Vancuver for summer 2007

lyrascarlett

Hi,

Me and some of my friends are spending this summer living and working in vancouver. We are currently searching for accomodation and finding it really really difficult. I would appreciate tips from people who have done this before, like how did u get accomodation, where did u stay, rates etc.

Thanx a million!!

Rabies

http://www.kijiji.ca

Don't know anything about rates and best places to stay, but that site should help a bit.

Ballyman

Beautiful city. Shame about the weather.

Sundy

lyrascarlett wrote:

Hi,

Me and some of my friends are spending this summer living and working in vancouver. We are currently searching for accomodation and finding it really really difficult. I would appreciate tips from people who have done this before, like how did u get accomodation, where did u stay, rates etc.

Thanx a million!!

http://vancouver.craigslist.org/ is your place to look for accomodation and possible jobs too. Dont mind ballyman the weather is great there in the summer. Be sure to spend a sunday or two down on Kits beach. I was in Vancouver last summer and loved it so im headin back for a few weeks this summer too.

Kid Nothing

yeah same as Sundy, was there last summer. Great place, craigslist is the easiest to find somewhere to live on. We only found our place 2 weeks before we left so don't worry if you don't have anything yet just keep trying. Also may i suggest that if you have the cash and free time travel to Vancouver Island and the Rockies (Whistler too!) cause they're all amazing.

lost_for_words

Hi, I'm in Vancouver at the moment and the weather is fantastic. Try and look for accomodation around Kits and if you're lucky around West 4th. It is slightly cheaper than downtown or in paticular the west end. If you check out that link to craigslist look under the sublet section there are some in there that are out near UBC that should be good for the somewhere, if you can get something closer though it would be easier for downtown access.

Definitely try to get out to Vancouver Island it's amazing there, look into the moose travel network too, really reasonable prices for getting around to all the great places.

Charlie

Hey there, like others who just posted, I was also in Vancouver last summer and it t'was smashing. As others have said, criagslist is your best sorce and if you check it once a day, you're nearly guaranteed to find something. Don't forget to look in the sublet/temporary section, as that's where many of the summer rentals will be placed.

I haven't seen anyone mention it yet but seriously DONT WANDER EAST when you are downtown, or even worse, get accommodation in that vicinity. The further east you go the rougher it gets until eventually you are at Hastings and Main, considered one of the poorest and worse intersections in North America. The place is littered with crackheads, crackwhores, and dirty needles. Don't let this put you off Vancouver though as it is a specific part of town that you can avoid and apart from it, everything else is so beautiful.

You will find that you will get hassled a lot by bums for change when you are downtown but they are pretty friendly so even if you say no they will still smile and say thanks.

Myself and my friends managed to get a house on UBC and I would seriously recommend trying to get accommodation in the surrounding Point Grey/ Kitsilano area or UBC itself . The area is lovely and there are so many shops and places to eat. Also, its a handy location, just beside a number of beaches and only 30 mins on the bus to downtown. Also, you will find that the transport system is very reliable. The UBC area is probably the best area for students during the summer.

Aswel as the other areas that were recommended I would also suggest a few weekends spent travelling and camping in the Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton region. Lovely little towns especially Squamish and Pemberton, you wont see anything like them this side of the atlantic, plus the views are amazing.

lyrascarlett

Thanks so much for all your advice! craiglist was a great help.We might have a house lined up in New Westminster. I dont know if any of u were there? it's not actually in Vancouver but only 25 mins on skytrain to downtown, so we were thinkin it would be ok!We had been trying to get accomodation around the UBC area but no luck so we may just have to settle.

Im definitely going to go see all the places you recommended, i've heard lots of great things about vancouver island so we'll definitely be going there!and we will definitely try to get out to see the rockies too, we cant go to canada and not see them!!any other day trip recommendations?

For anyone that was working in Vancouver, out of interest, what sort of jobs did u end up doing?

Thanx again!

dogmatix

Been to vancouver a few times myself - the weather is very like our own dublin but you are much more likely to get long spells of hot weather in the summer then here.

Lots of posters have recommended various trips but I did not notice any of the obvious ones - a trip to the mts on the north shore. all you need to is get the seabus across the harbour and a frequent bus from the adjacent bus station on the north shore and you can spend the day in places like Capiliano and Lynn Valley. the views from there are amazing and u don't need a car. And of course Stanley park is a wonderful place the feel of an ancient forest in a city - u could easily spend a few days there as well. God, I wish I was back there now.

small

I would say new westminster might be a bit far out for you guys, nothing much to do out there. Try to keep in in the down town area. Anything past 40th street would be too far away I would say. Accomocation www.amsrentsline.com

lost_for_words

I agree with Small, New West is too far out and would be a hassle to live in. If you can't get downtown try out in Kits there should be a lot of sublets for the summer you can try the sublet section in craigslist. If you are staying in a hostel for the first while I'd reccommend the HI downtown, it's just off Davie St which is a great place to be and close to the beach and the west end scene.

The Northshore is one of the nicest areas of the city too. You can go to Capilano (avoid the suspension bridge it's expensive, not worth it and you can go to Lynn Valley for free). The dam at Capilano is cool though and the scenery is amazing, there's loads of trails you can do as well. Lynn Valley is lovely too and easy to get to on public transit. Don't miss Grouse mountain the $30 gondola ride up might seem expensive but totally worth it. On a clear day you can see the entire city and the coastline out to the islands and I'm told if you take the Eagle Scream chair lift in the summer you get great views of the lower mainland. I've been up there twice and will definitely go up again this summer.

I'm here for the rest of the year so if you need any help or anything just send a pm when you're coming over.

Charlie

lost_for_words wrote:

Don't miss Grouse mountain the $30 gondola ride up might seem expensive but totally worth it. On a clear day you can see the entire city and the coastline out to the islands and I'm told if you take the Eagle Scream chair lift in the summer you get great views of the lower mainland. I've been up there twice and will definitely go up again this summer.

Ya lazy soft sod. Your suppose to climb Grouse and get the chairlift down Seriously though, if you are young and don't have health problems I would seriously recommend climbing Grouse on a nice summers day. It is challenging but,the feeling you get when you reach the top is amazing.

lost_for_words

charlie mchugh wrote:

Ya lazy soft sod. Your suppose to climb Grouse and get the chairlift down Seriously though, if you are young and don't have health problems I would seriously recommend climbing Grouse on a nice summers day. It is challenging but,the feeling you get when you reach the top is amazing.

Lol I know I'm useless, one day I'll do the Grouse Grind, I hear somebody did it recently in 26 mins which is pretty amazing, I feel sick just looking at the incline going up in the chairlift!

del_boy85

charlie mchugh wrote:

I haven't seen anyone mention it yet but seriously DONT WANDER EAST when you are downtown, or even worse, get accommodation in that vicinity. The further east you go the rougher it gets until eventually you are at Hastings and Main, considered one of the poorest and worse intersections in North America. The place is littered with crackheads, crackwhores, and dirty needles. Don't let this put you off Vancouver though as it is a specific part of town that you can avoid and apart from it, everything else is so beautiful.

I'm just back from a holiday to Vancouver and your words certainly struck a chord!! We wandered down Carrell Street by mistake and I found it quite shocking (and I'm not easily shocked!). Needless to say we made a hasty retreat. Apart from that I'd echo other peoples' comments. Vancouver is a strinkingly beautiful city and if you're into nature and outdoor pursuits you'll be in heaven. And as for Stanley Park and English Bay... I want to go back!!

lyrascarlett

Oh dear we have already confirmed and placed our deposit on d place in new westminster, thought dat since it was only a short journey away it would be grand since at home we are half an hour away by bus from dub city centre n its ok!we wer tryin all around kits n everywhere but no luck!r we really in a bad place now?hmmm i think we r going 2 try n not b lazy n we will climb dat mountain!!!!!!

thanx again everyone!!!

Charlie

del_boy85 wrote:

I'm just back from a holiday to Vancouver and your words certainly struck a chord!! We wandered down Carrell Street by mistake and I found it quite shocking (and I'm not easily shocked!). Needless to say we made a hasty retreat. Apart from that I'd echo other peoples' comments. Vancouver is a strinkingly beautiful city and if you're into nature and outdoor pursuits you'll be in heaven. And as for Stanley Park and English Bay... I want to go back!!

That's what it is though, pure shock. I had to work in that vicinity for a few days and came to realise it wasn't that dangerous (although you'd have to watch what you were standing on) it was just the sheer depression of the area, and the fact that you knew you stood out like a sore thumb. I mean you have rough areas in Dublin, but the Downtown Eastside is unimaginable, shocking to think an area in a city as prosperous as Vancouver could turn out that way.

To the poster heading to New Westminster, when I was in Vancouver for the summer we never once headed out in that direction nor did any of the Irish students we met. I'm not saying that it would be a crappy area, but form the work I did ( which involved a lot of travelling around) areas like Burnaby, Richmond etc. had nothing in them and New Westminster could well be like this. Public transport in the city is fantastic so you would probably be able to get to the downtown area in about 30-40 mins. but I just think you could be selling yourself short on the summer away experience as I don't think there will be many things to do, or students to meet and mingle with, in New Westminster.

If you can pull out of your housing arrangement, I think you should, as something in UBC/Point Grey/Kitsilano will turn up. But that's just me.

lyrascarlett

Well, I followed your advice and tried searching again for accomodation near UBC. And luckily enough i have already got an offer to rent 3 rooms out of a 7 bedroom house 10 mins walk from UBC. It seems good, and its cheaper than the other place too. We're a bit wary of sharing with strangers tho, did anyone else do this?It's really good to hear advice from people who've had first hand experience living in the city, so thanks for that.It's makin things so much easier for us!

Charlie

Well, alot of people in the Frat houses in UBC would be shraing for the summer and the people we knew doing that still had a savage time. I guess just make sure you're not sharing with a bunch of old foogies. If its young people you're sorted. Seriously though, as long as you're in that area, then that would be the important thing form my pov, its such a nice place.

You said ten minutes form UBC, what is the exact name of the area, Point Grey?

Charlie

Well the UBC campus itself is big enough, but the residential area where there would be pvt. housing would be relatively small. However, I doubt thats where they live. They probably mean one of the nearby areas , but you know yourself, landlords and estate agents love biggin up their property as being in a certain trendy area when in fact its miles away.

The only other concern I would have is the fact that you'd be lodging with them. How many of you's are heading over? Are you male or female? Are you's quiet enough, or would you generally make a bit of noise before and after a night out? I think you can see where I am going. If your lodging wit someone, alot of your freedoms will be restricted and i'd imagine that they would be strict on noise and mess.

Get them to give you an address and i'll put it into google maps and let you know if its in a good spot and what would be close to it.

lyrascarlett

Hi! I'm not sure how I managed to post that reply above yours, but anyway they got a better offer from other students so went with them instead. Your were probably right anyway though, we wouldn't have had much freedom. So I'm back hunting again!this is hard work

Charlie

Ha, that is quite odd alright, looks like im conducting my own one man conversation with myself.

I know, it can be tough (and am doing it second year in a row!) especially as many will be looking whilst concentrating on exams, but stick in there and you'll get something Seriously don't settle. Hold out for somewhere that will help you have a savage summer.

lyrascarlett

Hi again,

It's been a while since I've posted but I've just been searching and searching for accomodation and just when we thought we had somewhere guaranteed we got an e-mail saying 'sorry but we have rented it to someone else' :mad: :mad: :mad: That's happened 3 times to us in 2 weeks! I'm sure you can imagine my frustration.

Anyway,we finally have somewhere, and the deal is almost done. We would be renting 4 rooms in a house that is rented out to UBC students throughout the year. All the pictures of the house seem good. I just want to ask your opinions on the area. Its near fraser street and 41st and I think the area is called Riley Park. I looked it up on the net and it seems okay, it's quite central, but I would prefer your advice as someone who has first hand experience of the city. We are 20 minutes from downtown and 30 mins from UBC and near bus,tube and skytrain. I'm really hoping you aren't going to tell me it's a bad area because this really does seem to be our last and only option (but be honest, its best we know the truth now). And apologies for my dramatics:)

Thanks!

Alkers

Having the same sort of problems ourselves.

Charlie

From having a look on Google maps it seems o.k, certainly isn't anywhere near the ghetto of Vancouver.

However, I never really spent time in that general area, I think I might of passed through it for certain work jobs. From what I can remember its mainly residential but when I say that, I mean residential like Tallaght. I'm not saying its unsafe or anything, just that its a mass sprawl of housing, probably a more blue collar neighbourhood. I'd say it would be grand in terms of safety and a central location fro getting around, but I wouldn't imagine there will be many recreational spots nearby or a general student vibe to the place.

How much is the rent, because thats always a good indicator.

lyrascarlett

Thanks so much for checking it up for me. The rent is $2165 a month for 5 of us, so thats about $430 each which I thought was quite reasonable. As long as it's not a bad area, then I'm happy enough with it I think. I know it's not as good as being near UBC/kits/point grey, but we really weren't having any luck finding anywhere there and with us leaving in 3 weeks we needed to get something sorted! And they're all only a short bus ride away I suppose. At least it's better than being all the way out in New Westminster!

Again thanks for everything!:) Out of interest, how easy did you find it to get a job?Did you have one sorted before you went?

Charlie

No problem, sure that's what Boards is all about.

That rent seems reasonable, but enough to let you know that your not being put up in a shanty town. We paid 2500 for a 5 bed in UBC so your rent would seem in line with that.

In relation to jobs, I didn't organise one before we went because USIT tell you not to, one of there many incompentancies, so my advice would be to try and look before you go. I am taking it you are female? If so, then, without being accused of being a shovonist, I would suggest that you try and look for a waitressing job or work in one of the reatilers (american eagle, gap etc.) Waitressing should land you good money(tipping is big), and if you put in one or two days solid looking as soon as you get there then you shouldn't have a problem. A lot of Irish don't go over though so you don't want to sit around, as the supply of jobs is not endless.

By the way, check out my sig at the bottom, it's not in fact 'porn on youtube', but my Bebo profile. There are a good few albums of photos there on Vancouver (although some photos are just mindless drunkeness rather than city/scenic photos) If you're interested in camping up in the Rockies there is an album of photos where we did that.

Alkers

Wouldn't happen to have any contact information for that 5 bed in UBC would you?

Charlie

Sorry mayte, that line of inquiry has been tapped up off of me countless times by now and I think a friend of friend has managed to secure renting it.

keep looking though, you'll get something eventually.

BuffyBot

Moved to Youth/Student travel.