SUPER NATURAL BRITISH COLUMBIA

Now that I’ve run the Sun Run I’m officially a Vancouverite.  And although I still don’t like Poutine, and I can’t say “eh” without smirking a little, I’d like to share the 5 things that I love about Canada. 

1.  Kindness – Canadians are genuinely nice people.  When I’m driving, they always let me into their lane.  People smile and chat with each other everywhere and anywhere.  Except for at the  border, Canadians everywhere have been so friendly and open with me.  I don’t think it’s just me, they are nice to everyone.  Canada has never been a melting pot – they are comfortable letting each cultural group retain what makes them unique.  Sure, that causes occasional misunderstandings, but it makes living in Vancouver a true international experience. 

2.    Cheese – You’ve probably already seen on Facebook that I complain regularly about the price of dairy products in Canada. I’m not going to go into my rant about Canadian cheese, because I have noticed, when I buy and eat cheese here in Canada, it tastes better than American cheese.   I tried to find out what the difference between America and Canadian dairy was…and this is what Google gave me:   

Well then.  In any case, I’ve decided to please my wallet and my taste buds by eating lower quantities of cheese, but higher quality. 

  

 3.  Crime – Since we've moved here, Canadians love to tell us how safe they are here.  The kids at Deer Lake School think the US is full of  gun-wielding crazies in malls and public schools     everywhere.  I’m not thrilled with the violent crime that seems to permeate the American subconscious and I know different groups of Americans have very different views on whether the ability to own firearms = more crime. But I just saw in the paper that Vancouver just had its 4^th murder of 2014 (pop - 600,000 people).  (YES – that’s FOURTH,  I didn’t miss any digits.)  By my American standards, that seems crazy low for a densely populated international city.  When I looked at the stats for the whole province of British Columbia (pop 4.4 million), there were just 71 murders (1.5 per 100,000). The state of Maryland, population 5.8 had 372 homicides (6.4 per 100,000) in 2012.   Maybe it’s the wide-open spaces, maybe it’s the cold weather, maybe just maybe it’s because guns are hard to get around here. … but when you look at the numbers, we’re quite safe here.

            All stats taken from the following websites: 

                     http://www.goccp.maryland.gov/msac/crime-statistics.php

                     http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/legal12a-eng.htm

 

4.  Active and Healthy Lifestyle –After all those statistics, I don’t want to look at any

more numbers.  So I’m going to stick to a purely subjective view of the how healthy and 

active Vancouverites are.  Since we’ve been here, we’ve tried to be like the natives and 

enjoyed running,hiking, and skiing.  There are bike paths everywhere, and kayaking and 

stand up paddle boarding are popular even in the English Bay and False Creek, with 

views of the skyscrapers in the City.   Although I love visiting the harbors of Baltimore 

and Washington D.C., I wouldn’t dare dip even a finger in any of those waters, for fear of

catching some horrible disease from the pollution. Some of my best childhood memories

at the harbor also included a dead fish floating nearby. Good times.   

There are also scores of vegan restaurants and health food is sold everywhere.  You can

probably find flax seed at 7-11; it’s so popular.  This is going to be a surprise to my 

Maryland friends, but  I’m finally giving into a healthy lifestyle by blending my own 

spinach smoothies and vegan cashew "cheese". 

  

4. The Scenery – This is my view while dropping my kids off at school every morning.  It’s pretty spectacular.  The East coast of the US has its own special beauty, but the Pacific Northwest is quite gorgeous when it’s not raining.  While the sun shines, we enjoy snow-capped mountains, hiking in the forest and unspoiled beaches a short drive away. Sabbath afternoons at the park now include mountain and ocean views that this green east coaster can’t stop exclaiming over. 

                                               Super Natural British Columbia.  

5+.     Yes – I’m basically adding a number 6.  There are so many wonderful things 

about B.C.that I can’t stop with just 5.   The first thing I noticed when visiting camp

meeting here 2 years ago, was that it has a family feeling. Because the population here

is so small, and the people are super polite, everyone knows each other.  It’s a feeling of 

community within a metropolitan city. When I ran the Sun Run this whole community 

surrounded me with smoothies and hot sauce (a Sun Run staple, in my opinion), swag 

bags, a shared commute on the Sky train, and general hilarity that made exercise super

fun!

Although I still consider myself an American, I'm going to try to be a little bit Canadian, and not complain so much on Facebook and my blog about ex-pat living up north. Life in Canada is not soo bad, now that I'm living like a Vancouverite!