If you like Seattle, this is the place for you.  Only be for warned, if you do not like rain, or prefer a place with clearly marked seasons, you are not going to like Vancouver.  We have two seasons, rain and summer.  When the sun shines, though, Vancouver is one of the world’s most picturesque cities and it is literally possible, as the tourist pamphlets say, to go wind surfing and skiing in the same day in winter.  Actually, this is overstating it a bit; the skiing on the local mountains can be dodgy. Spend the extra money and go to Whistler.

Now, Vancouver is nicknamed Vansterdam for reason.  We like our BC bud, we are open about this and we are contemptuous of US drug czars who spin wild tales of reefer madness.  Let me put this into perspective for you down south.  Tommy Chong lives – lived – here and we would appreciate it if the US released him from prison for selling bongs over the internet from a well known store in downtown Vancouver.

Vancouverites live longer, smoke less, drink less, exercise more and are less obese than anyone else in Canada.  We like it that way. 

We do not believe in making a distinction between people who were born here and people that moved here.  No one was born here it seems; Vancouver is just a meeting place.  Vancouver makes the UN look homogenous by comparison.  (If I remember correctly, 55% of Vancouverites were born elsewhere. Add to that literally ten thousands of ESL students.) 

There is no such thing as Canadian food.  The closest thing is standard American fair, but you guys beat us to the punch.  Not to worry, the food selection reflects the ethnic makeup of the city.  There is little bit of everything.

Gay people in BC can marry.  Marriage here is doomed I tell you.  To make matters worse, Vancouver has a large gay community.  Such being the case, you can rest easy.  No one from “Jesus land” will be bothering you.  

    & nbsp;