Assessment of Vancouver

Positives:

• Compact, walk-able and pedestrian-friendly
• Not much traffic
• On the water
• Good restaurants
• Genuinely nice people
• Very clean city

Drawbacks:

• Weather. Milder than I expected, but it can be very chilly and damp. Therefore incredibly challenging for me.
• Not enough racial diversity. I think I’ve seen fewer than 10 black people in my 3 weeks here, and most were at our TV casting calls.
• Safety. In NY, you’re either in a good neighborhood or you’re not. Here, the scene changes block by block, and the streets are completely deserted in the evenings. Stumbling upon packs of hookers and homeless guys a couple of times taught me to not be alone or on foot at night, something that's never been a question for me in NYC.