Quality of Life in Vancouver, Canada

Purchasing Power Index 81.34   Moderate
Safety Index 59.15   Moderate
Health Care Index 72.93   High
Climate Index 91.15   Very High
Cost of Living Index 74.70   High
Property Price to Income Ratio 13.03   High
Traffic Commute Time Index 37.34   Moderate
Pollution Index 26.32   Low
ƒ Quality of Life Index: 164.95   Very High

Minimum contributors for an underlying section: 155

Maximum contributors for an underlying section: 566

Last update: June 2023

Sign Up for Our Newsletter:
Your Email Address:
Leave a comment:

Your name: Sign In

Your email address (optional):

Your comment (no HTML):

7 Comments so far
brian korbelik on Jun 02, 2022:
What I'm trying to find on this site is the price difference of Living in Menifee, Ca compared to Vancouver Canada. Apparently this cannot be done on this site unless I know the exact price of every grocery item in Menifee. No one know that. I would have thought that data such as that would already be in your database. Perhaps I'll try Riverside, Ca. Perhaps someone has already provided that data, or San Diego, CA. I'm disappointed that you don't even use a Southern California average, unless a person lives in Beverly Hills, it's all pretty much the same.
Milos on Jan 01, 2021:
I am not sure how Vancouver has 91.15 climate index. That needs to change, it is raining almost 1/2 a year. There is no way climate index can be that high. The only good thing is temperature is rarely below 0C and in most cases you don't even need a winter jacket.
Saeid on Dec 19, 2020:
Hi, I wondered about this part of the text :
Property price to income ratio

Is it really correct?
I'm so confused on that !!!
Can you explain me more ?
Because we are going to move to Vancouver.
Max schmelling on Oct 06, 2020:
Please sirs I need to move away from here. Can you please send me some $$ so I can move to Vancouver B.C.
Esther on Nov 16, 2019:
Hello

Am moving to Vancouver probably this year in December or January 2020.

An agent has arrange for a job of food packer in Bonduelle.

But I would like to know is Bonduelle is a nice place to work.

Please reply me as a lady and alone am coming there.

I need to do a last payment so before doing it I would like to have a clear view of it.

Thank you
Anonymous on Oct 29, 2019:
I immigrated to Vancouver as a young adult 20+ years ago and I'm gonna share some of the pros and cons of living here from my perspective. At the end of the day, if you're thinking about making a permanent move here, it might be a good idea to come and visit for a few months and see if you enjoy the city and the vibe.

Some of the Pros:
1. Lots of greenery and outdoor activities (especially compared to the rest of Canada).
2. Very safe. Unlike some other cities I have been to, you don't have to constantly worry about getting robbed, someone snatching your cell phone or purse, or being pick pocketed. But you should always use common sense when in a new place. Also as with any city on this planet, some areas within the city are safer than the others. Ask the locals or search online (the website Hoodmaps is a good resource).
3. Pedestrians actually have the right of way and while there are always aggressive drivers everywhere, cars will generally stop for you (even if you are jaywalking). But jaywalking is illegal so please don't do it!
4. Very tolerant of different races and cultures. Racism is frowned upon here (though you will always find people who are racist no matter where you go in this world). Something that I love about here is that, in a job interview, asking questions about your race, nationality, age, marital status, etc is illegal. This is also a good city for someone from the LGBT community.
5. One of the best climates in Canada (the keyword here is "Canada". While Vancouver has a milder climate than Canadian cities in the East, we get over 168 days of rain and only about 1,900 hours of sunshine in a year on average! Compare that with Los Angeles’ 3,200 hours of sunshine. lol).
6. Very good and reliable transit system.
7. Very low air pollution.
8. Some of the highest salaries for tech jobs in Canada (though high salary doesn't necessarily translate into purchasing power. More on that in the 'cons section below').
9. People minding their own business. It is a very individualistic culture after all.
10. Weed is legal if you are into that sort of stuff.
11. Very close to Seattle as well as the state of California if you need/like to travel to the US for work or fun.
12. Low income inequality compared to other major cities (Gini coefficient from 2010: 0.405, compared with some other major cities for instance New York (0.516), Hong Kong (0.533), and Los Angeles (0.538). The closer to 1 the Gini coefficient, the higher the income inequality. That being said, I do realize this is from 2010 and I think it is safe to assume that when the new numbers are published, they will be higher.
13. Very clean city. Good garbage disposal programs, good recycling, and drinkable tap water.
14. Free or low cost health care. While this is more of a Canada thing rather than a Vancouver thing, it is something that many countries including our neighbors south of the border would dream about.

Some of the Cons:
1. The two common complaints you will probably hear from Vancouverites are housing prices, and the homelessness situation. I agree with both cases. No, we are not the most expensive city to live in, and no we don’t have the highest amount of homeless population among other cities. But over the past decade or so, we have witnessed a sharp increase in both. You will see a homeless person or two in just about every street corner in Vancouver downtown (coincidentally the most touristy place in Vancouver) as well as the Downtown Eastside (DTES). If you are visiting the famous Gastown Steam Clock, you only need to walk a few blocks east before you see the sheer amount of homeless people on the street. As a local, I avoid that area even in broad daylight. Unfortunately petty crime is also common in these areas specially cars being broken into.
2. The housing prices as well as vacancy rates have become a major issue in this city. Vacancy rates hover around 1% and from 2017 to 2018 alone, average rent was increased by more than 6%. The low vacancy rate is further exacerbated by the astronomical property prices and young people being unable to purchase their first home and having to rent instead. As I said, the tech salaries in Vancouver are among the highest in Canada, and Amazon having an office here helps with that quite a bit, but most professionals (including recent university graduates) leave Vancouver for Seattle or other US cities where they can enjoy a much higher purchasing power.
3. People are nice but very cold and distant. Now I realize this is completely subjective and depends on your background, but coming from a country where people hug and kiss each other on the cheek even when have just met, this was the biggest culture shock for me. First time I attended a class here, I was completely shocked when students were just entering the class and taking their seats without talking to each other. So different from my country where students say hi to each other and shake each other’s hands or embrace. But it is what it is. Different culture here and you’ll eventually get used to it. Hope this helped. Take everything said with a grain of salt and do you own research.
Anonymous on Oct 28, 2019:
very good bike path and very beautiful park, good place for healthy living

Bus ticket price depends on zone, if you cross three zone, it is costing to travel by bus during weekday.

house and rent is expensive, landlord is very discriminative in gender and employment status. Most of them only rent place to student and female or employed professionals. If you are non student male and don't have a stable job. you are likely to have difficulty to rent a place to live there even if you have enough money in pocket.

A tent city zone such as in Oppenheimer park lived by poor people should be legalized and be security guarded. By this way, both rich people and poor people could enjoy beautiful Vancouver. unfortunately, it is not now