One fantastic highlight of Vancouver is the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. I spend most of a day there every single time I’m anywhere near the place, and repeatedly advise others to do the same.

Similarly, if you can find a print—to say nothing of an original—by Carol Evans, buy it. For a quarter century her watercolours have been the premier depiction of the BC coast, the Gulf Islands, and Haida culture. I have several on my walls and count myself quite fortunate.

It has changed a bit, but it used to be said that BC was so British that it brought tea to you eyes.

APB, maybe Victoria, and to a lesser extent, parts of Vancouver, but certainly not true of the province as a whole.  I grew up in BC and, if I had to make a comparison, it would be with California.

Having the image of being a beautiful place to live comes at a price.  As of a few months ago, the average house price for all of BC - a province the size of Texas and New Mexico combined - was over $600K.  This is due to the influence of the greater Vancouver area.  I feel it in a small community on Vancouver Island (about five hours travel from Vancouver), where I own a home that my wife and I will retire to in a few years.  The average house price is around $350K due to retirees moving in from Vancouver after having made a killing in the Vancouver market.  The local economy doesn’t support much more than minimum wage, and commuting to Vancouver or Victoria isn’t an option, which puts buying a home well beyond the reach of many young families.  Rent is pretty steep too.  But, it is a beautiful area (much nicer than Vancouver in my opinion).  Hopefully our house survives the next earthquake.

Vancouver is indeed beautiful.  No. 4’s comments are particularly interesting to me, having considered Vancouver Island for retirement.