When I was originally looking for somewhere to live in Vancouver back in May, someone gave me the advice not to live on Main Street, because it was “a ghetto”, but after finding a great deal on a sublet for 4 months, I threw caution to the wind and ignored the well intended advice. Just as well I did, because I’ve been more than happy in my temporary home. The rents super cheap, I have a fully furnished room, its in a nice, clean, safe neighbourhood complete with community gardens on the street corners, and regular buses going by just a blocks walk away - I am one block off Main Street, and everything I need is under 2 minutes walk away. I am living in the suburb of Mt. Pleasant on a stretch known as lower SoMa or ‘South Main’ to the uninitiated, and its then further divided into a section known as Antique Row, where there is a cluster of little clothing boutiques, galleries, organic vendors, comic stores and trinket type shops. There is several coffee shops, countless restaurants and an amazing bagel shop, with famous cinnamon swirl buns. In my local Asian veggie store/superette, I have all that I need; everything from my staples of mushrooms and pasta to Milo (chocolate milk mix from down under), Spekulatius (German Christmas Cinnamon, Almond & Ginger Butter Cookies) and dried Spätzle (German noodle).
A few clicks away (Canadian slang for kilometres) is Little India, an area full of great curries and sari shops. In the other direction at the opposite end of Main Street, is Chinatown. Still thriving, even with the migration of most Chinese Immigrants to the nearby city of Richmond. There are claims you can buy buckets of live frogs, but I’m yet to see any. I’ve seen dried sea slugs, and all sorts of odd things from the bottom of the ocean floor, but they look more like something you’d leave at the bottom of a toilet than actually put in your mouth, still someone must be buying them.
Similar to other cities, Greater Vancouver has a large population of Immigrants, particularly Chinese and East Indians (they say East Indians to differentiate from Native Indians - me being as special as I am, asked “how on earth can you tell they came from the East of India??” But then again I’ve never had to refer to indigenous people as Indians before, Indians come from India - so there!). The Native Indians are known throughout Canada as 'First Nations' and aren't exactly well treated, but that’s a whole other issue I'll touch on one of these days.
It seems everyone’s from somewhere else here, and I'm yet to actually meet someone born and bred right here in Vancouver. There is still a lot of prejudice towards the Asian immigrants, and to a degree I can sympathize with their situation, I too moved to a foreign country with every intent of learning the language and integrating into the culture (ie. Germany) but when your only support network in your new country speaks your native language and you can’t easily communicate with the locals, you will most likely turn to what is familiar and easier. And its not like the Canadians have got wide open welcoming arms helping them integrate and teach them how to be Canadian. There’s no think, act, dress, eat like a Canadian classes.
At the end of Chinatown, where Main and Hastings streets meet is where Main street gets its bad reputation from. Its not a secret but Vancouver has the largest problem with homelessness, than the rest of the entire continent of North America. So Downtown Eastside is not somewhere you really want to frequent. Of course curiosity and my fascination with the downfall of society has gotten the best of me several times, and I have been down to the infamous stretch of western humanity in its lowest forms and wandered through the strung out addicts, prostitutes, drug dealers and the homeless. I’m sure my Grandmother would be horrified to discover I willingly put myself in that situation and not just once, but you know what (and perhaps I was just lucky) not one person ever bothered me, harassed me for money or gave me any grief. The experience left me extremely depressed and confused, how did the situation get so bad? Am I supposed to give that guy my loose change to buy food, or is it just going to go on crack? Can I live with myself when I constantly ignore these lost souls who desperately need help? The homeless people are everywhere, and they’re pretty hard to avoid; down alley ways, on the sidewalk, in closed shop doorways, under bridges and at bus stops. Vancouver has a milder climate so they all flock to the city and have more chance of surviving the harsh winters. The funding for many mental care facilities was cut back, so people who were in obvious need of psychiatric help were tossed out on to the street, and have no where to go or the ability to properly look after themselves. Recycling centres are hives of activities where people can get money for cans, cigarette butts and pieces of metal. I did hear a rumour the Olympics organisers are planning to ship a lot of them over to Vancouver Island before 2010 in a bid to tidy the city up, but we shall just have to wait and see.
Vancouver itself is a beautiful city, but its actually quite small. The greater Vancouver area has been split up into several cities and things can get a little confusing for example there is a West Vancouver, a Westend and a Westside. Downtown Vancouver is pretty compact and easy to get around, well serviced by public transport, with buses, ferries, seabuses and the skytrain running regularly. I don’t think Vancouver will ever be known for its pumping nightlife or great shopping, but its bursting at the seams with great funky restaurants, galleries and boutiques, its pretty and close to all the outdoor activities you can dream of. There’s beaches, parks, ski fields, forests, islands and mountains to explore within minutes of the city. Its pretty difficult not to get swept up in the energy of it all. Vancouverites are a pretty active, healthy, green conscious lot and I don't mind sticking around to explore some more of this impressive city.
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