Vancouver As An Alternative To Living In The USA If Donald Trump Wins

Vancouver makes a lovely alternative to American living if you can’t live with a Donald Trump presidency. According to CBC, “the divisive U.S. presidential race has led many Americans to announce that they intend to move to Canada if controversial Republican nominee Donald Trump wins the election.”

However, the cost of living in this high-class Canadian city can offset the advantages and so the expenses aspect of your self-exile to Vancouver must be dealt with first. This will give you enough information to go ahead and make the jump if you can afford it.

First of all, the price of rental or real estate in Vancouver is the highest in Canada. Also, when compared to prices in key cities of the world, such as Hong Kong or New York City, the said prices are just about equal. What makes living in Vancouver so pricey?

Vancouver moves to tax owners of empty houses https://t.co/Uljzjk1UhJ pic.twitter.com/W6gcLscCRd

— CBC News (@CBCNews) July 11, 2016

Well, Vancouver was the original target destination of affluent Hong Kong residents when Britain relinquished control of the city back to China on July 1, 1997. However, the much-anticipated mass exodus of Hong Kong millionaires did not happen, as many of these rich people opted instead to take a chance with the Chinese government, says Vancouver Sun.

Maybe Americans could finally make a mass exodus happen if the presumptive Republican nominee took the U.S. presidential oath. Consider it planning for the worst case scenario, and one with a timeline at that. That will be November 8, USA presidential election day.

Vancouver sits on an earthquake fault, says Daily Mail. However, there has not been any seismic advisories that the tremors are ready to blow in Vancouver’s way. However, “the big one” still hangs like the sword of Damocles on many Vancouver residents’ minds, because you never know, right?

Yet another Vancouver reality is the rain. Because of its proximity to large bodies of water like the English and Georgian Bays and of course, the great Pacific Ocean, there’s often an great amount of moisture in the air. Plus, there are mountains around Vancouver, too, which adds to the overall precipitation scenario.

Accordingly, if you are not used to the rains that are often accompanied by grey skies, I would advise you to stay away from Vancouver altogether before it steals your sunny disposition, only to replace it with chronic depression. But if you can stomach the rain and the absence of the sun for prolonged periods during winter time, go ahead and pack your bags, by all means.

Now here, in a nutshell, is what you are trading in exchange for the lack of sun and the umbrella-destroying rains in Vancouver:

• There’s almost no winter in Vancouver, if there is, it’s usually light, which is a real game-changer as far as the typical Canadian weather goes
• You have access to many Mediterranean-style beaches like Crescent, Kitsilano, English Bay, Wreck, Jericho, Spanish Banks, etc.
• You also get Stanley Park, a 405-hectare conservation park with some of the oldest trees in the world and topped by a mountain that a trip to the park naturally scales
• Vancouver is synonymous with city living at its best and that’s why everything is so expensive here—nightlife, townhouses, condos, recreation, sports, wildlife, nature, and of course, all kinds of restaurants you can imagine
• You get four Vancouvers for the price of one: West, North, Vancouver proper, and of course, Metro Vancouver which is Vancouver plus the suburbs

All of Vancouver's new residential office buildings emission-free by 2030 https://t.co/DpeyD72Adt via @VancouverSun pic.twitter.com/RA5HGwuWJw

— Climate Council (@climatecouncil) July 11, 2016

Unlike most cities in Canada, Vancouver residents have to pay for medical insurance. Yes, Vancouverites don’t believe in universal health care unlike most of Canada, so don’t expect any semblance of ObamaCare in these parts unless you plan on getting disappointed.

You get a health card, but it comes with a monthly fee. The workaround is, many companies in Vancouver actually pay for the health benefits of their employees.

So there you have it, the pros and cons of living in a famous city on the Canadian West Coast. Here’s hoping that the information and experience that I have presented will help you make an informed decision regarding moving to Vancouver, Canada if Donald Trump gets elected as the 45th president of the USA.

[Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images]