Saturday, April 24, 2010

Best city to live in?

I am definitely not talking of Philadelphia, in the suburbs of which we currently reside. I am presently attending a national conference in Vancouver, Canada, a place I have heard a lot about, but am getting a chance to experience first-hand only now. In fact, other than the United States, this is my first entry onto foreign soil. I have not even started the tourism around here, but I already seem to like the vibes I am getting. Neat and clean, friendly people, great downtown and restaurants. I do not hear much about crime yet, but I am sure it cannot beat Philadelphia and Camden, amidst which we are nested currently! In fact, Vancouver and neighboring Calgary are among the best cities to live in according to several sources I have read. Forbes in 2008 ranked it number 4 (with a quality of life index of 107.4) behind Vienna, Zurich and Geneva, and it is the only North-American city in the top ten.
So far, I was impressed with free luggage trolleys in the airport (unlike $5 ones at Newark), $70 rental for 4-days on our mid-size car (unlike $70 for one day in Detroit, America's car city) and from medical standpoint, far less visible obesity than many places I have been to. I haven't picked up on the nuances of the Canadian accent yet, but the personalty of the city and its people have impressed me much. More later!