real estate Vancouver.

[raeofsunshine]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/vancouver-homes-market-goes-cold/article1661751/?cmpid=rss1

so those of you who thought of moving out here it will be getting more affordable in the coming months/years.

[Thorin]

It's still kinda twice as expensive as most other cities in Canada, isn't it?  (not including Toronto)

[raeofsunshine]

if youre talking Vancouver proper. the burbs in some places are even on par with edmonton. like surrey or maple ridge.

[Mr. Analog]

I think I'd miss the sun too much...

[Lazybones]

I think I'd miss the sun too much...

There are trade offs, it is funny overlying a scaled map of Edmonton area over Vancouver. The Edmonton is so spread out.

Some pros and cons:

Pro:
- almost always warm by Edmonton standards
- utilities are cheaper and you use less since it is not so cold
- mountains
- real ski hills close by

Cons:
- HST
- car insurance
- damp (can make it feel colder than it is)
- lack of sunshine in the winter
- housing costs, propert transfer tax, deposits on purchaces.

[Darren Dirt]

it is funny overlying a scaled map of Edmonton area over Vancouver. The Edmonton is so spread out.

WOW, you're right -- same zoom, below ... quite a difference and space utilized. Guess we're kinda spoiled.



http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Vancouver,+British+Columbia&sll=53.543572,-113.751068&sspn=0.633238,1.440582&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia&ll=49.258395,-123.106613&spn=0.347756,0.720291&t=h&z=11


http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=edmonton&hl=en&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Edmonton,+Division+No.+11,+Alberta&ll=53.552139,-113.48671&spn=0.316554,0.720291&t=h&z=11


HECK, even Calgary is way more "squished" than Edmonton imo:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Calgary,+Alberta&sll=53.552139,-113.48671&sspn=0.316554,0.720291&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Calgary,+Division+No.+6,+Alberta&ll=51.052618,-114.060059&spn=0.334945,0.720291&t=h&z=11

[Thorin]

Darren, open all three of those links and flip between them.  You'll notice that the map scale shown at the bottom left of the map is not quite the same between the three views - the length of the map scale moves as you flip between one and the next.  The Edmonton scale is the longest, meaning the total map is less kilometers across, meaning the Edmonton map you're looking at is zoomed in closer than the Vancouver and Calgary maps.

[Mr. Analog]

Edmonton is all about the urban sprawl... something I'd like to see go away. Seriously they want to decommission the Muni to build housing when there's tons of land that could be redeveloped. Makes me sick.

[Lazybones]

Even with the Zoom corrected you can see the sprawl.... Roughly St. Albert is where North Van is and Sherwood Park is where surrey / Port Coquitlam is.

The density however makes driving a pain, however the Skytrain covers the Airport, Downtown, and all the way out to Surrey... The West Coast Express goes Right from downtown all the way out to mission... Commuting via transit is rather pleasant actually.

[Darren Dirt]

Darren, open all three of those links and flip between them.  You'll notice that the map scale shown at the bottom left of the map is not quite the same between the three views - the length of the map scale moves as you flip between one and the next.  The Edmonton scale is the longest, meaning the total map is less kilometers across, meaning the Edmonton map you're looking at is zoomed in closer than the Vancouver and Calgary maps.

wow, that's sure weird -- all 3 are at the same "notch" on the scale (i.e. where a few levels deeper is the street view man icon) and the "5km" is the number but the width is not exactly the same. Strange... Still happens if you zoom out to "10km". Might be due to the latitude/longitude i.e. curvature of the earth at the location of the center of the map?

I always thought you could just say "zoom level 11" and compare apples to apples... instead it's like comparing apples to pears to pomegranates :p

[Thorin]

Sprawl - why densify if you can spread out?  Detached houses are easier to sell at higher prices, as a lot of people aspire to owning a detached home.

Muni redevelopment - this would actually be considered "in-fill" development, as it's not pushing the borders out at all.  Same as when they redeveloped the old Griesbach base.

Vancouver's density - a big part of it is the geography; water to the west, mountains to the north and east, and a border to the south.  Where Edmonton and surrounding communities have lots of flat land they can annex, Vancouver and it's suburbs don't, do they?  I'm also surprised there isn't a Greater Vancouver Area the way there is a Greater Toronto Area.

Zoom - yeah, Darren, it's got to do with the latitude and the type of map projection used.  I'm pretty sure Google uses the Mercator projection, even though we've been told by cartographers that we shouldn't.