calladium Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aselfmadewinter Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Anyone? I'm probably heading out that way, provided that the funding offer that I'm still waiting for is pretty good. There's a whole bunch of others on the Classics section of the forum who have been admitted there as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calladium Posted March 5, 2011 Author Share Posted March 5, 2011 I don't know much of anything about Vancouver, but I'm going to visit in a few weeks... I'm attending a master's program there (anthro). Any insight into the city would be great! I know its fairly expensive, but does anyone know what neighborhoods I should check out? Whats the campus like? Any tidbit to help me envision my future, haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennbotts Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Hi calladium - I've been considering UBC too, and found really helpful. Some suggestions on neighborhoods, rent, and discussion about the transit system, etc. I hope you enjoy your visit! I've been to Vancouver once and had a great visit.. UBC's campus is huge and has its own forested park, with the ocean and the mountains as backdrop it's easily the prettiest campus I've ever seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weepsie Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 I'm applying from little old Ireland. I've always wanted to live in Vancouver for some reason at some stage in my life, I'm somewhat obliged to do a degree next year and it's somehow cheaper for tuition for me to go there than it is here. Rent and living expenses more than balance it out, in fact they make it seem ludicrous that I'd consider going but the Campus looks amazing, my experience of Canada and its folk has always been nothing short of pleasant. There's is also a fairly young population of Irish over there now seeing as how this country is a bit short on most things at present. Mostly, the challenge of being taken out of my comfort zone for an intense programme of study. It may require a sizeable bankloan however. I've already done some checks on rent and housing just in case I'm accepted and decide to take it. I'll know in the next 2 weeks I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squaresquared Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 (edited) I don't know much of anything about Vancouver, but I'm going to visit in a few weeks... I'm attending a master's program there (anthro). Any insight into the city would be great! I know its fairly expensive, but does anyone know what neighborhoods I should check out? Whats the campus like? Any tidbit to help me envision my future, haha! With the new Canada Line that was built for the winter olympics, in addition to all the buses that head towards UBC, there are many neighbourhoods that you can choose to live in that would keep you accessible to the campus and everything else. Downtown Vancouver is very compact and it differs from many US cities in that we don't rely heavily on freeways to get to destinations. I find in many cities in the USA, everything is very spread out. Traffic downtown is pretty horrible during rush hour, I was stuck in it for 2 hours last Friday! Tons of people live in the neighbourhoods right around campus (West 4th which is basically West Point Grey, Kerrisdale, Kitsilano, Dunbar area). You could also check out Richmond, which is part of the Lower Mainland and in close proximity. From Richmond on the direct bus to UBC it takes about 50 minutes, 20 minutes if you drive, and if you want to head to downtown Vancity from Richmond using the skytrain it takes 20 minutes. You may find cheaper rent out that way. Richmond is actually where the airport is located. To get into Vancouver, you can take the Canada Line, which will take you past multiple stops on the way to downtown. The neighbourhoods around UBC are for the very wealthy, but you may find housing with roommates that is quite affordable. The areas around campus have a lot of boutique type stores (down West 4th/Broadway) and are less big box. There are tons of places to eat with all different cuisines. Vancouver is actually quite well known for our fusion food. Very multicultural city. Plenty of clubs/bars/concerts/sports. You can take a bus to the mountains for skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing etc. (Grouse/Whistler/Seymour/Cypress) or go hiking on trails through forests. You can try out the Grouse Grind which is a tough hike that tons of people do. You can go kayaking, sailing, running, cycling on the seawall, check out Stanley Park, take the Sea Bus across to the North Shore (North Vancouver, West Vancouver), walk across the suspension bridges in Capilano or Lynn Valley, go whale watching. Really, there is a TON of stuff that you can do and everything is either right in the city, or super close to it. You can even hop on the ferry over to Vancouver Island (Victoria) where you can check out parliament buildings and other neat stuff. Tofino is on Van. Island where lots of people go for surfing! (wow, I should work in tourism ) Campus is pretty large. It is surrounded by a park which is basically all forest with trails. There is a golf course and also beaches. Wreck beach is probably one of the most mentioned beaches because it is a nude beach! Of course we are right by the ocean and you can see the mountains from certain areas on campus. Very pretty in the winter on a clear day when the mountains are covered in snow! In certain areas of Vancouver, you get almost a 360 degree view of mountains. The buildings on campus seem to be either stuck in the 70's or modern. We only have a few stone buildings left, which is slightly unfortunate in my opinion. Science buildings are way nicer and have better everything compared to the Arts. The CHAN centre is on campus which hosts performing arts events. They always have orchestral performances going on throughout the year and special talks. There are several pubs/bars on campus and restaurants. There are several museums and gardens too. You pay for a bus pass each semester of school, I think it is about 98 bucks (mixed in with your other fees), and that is extremely handy to have because you can go anywhere on the bus using it, through multiple 'zones'. Bus fare is not cheap for the average rider, so this saves students a lot of money! It rains a lot in Vancouver which I am sure you have heard. It is definitely true, but on the plus side we usually don't get much snow. Summers are nice with a span of hot days (30-ish degrees). Most places don't have air conditioning, so the hot summer heat can feel extremely warm in apartments because we mainly rely on fans. People who have moved here have told me they found it hard to make friends here compared to their home cities. We like our personal bubbles in Vancouver ha! People are always (well, usually) willing to help out if you have any questions. Wow, this has turned into a novel! If anyone has more questions I'd be happy to help. I've also been posting on that other Vancouver board that was linked by another user. Edited March 6, 2011 by squaresquared Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calladium Posted March 7, 2011 Author Share Posted March 7, 2011 Oh wow! Thanks for all the info, I have heard few bad things about Vancouver (mainly that its expensive and that it rains a lot in the winter) but everything else sounds amazing! I may have more concrete questions during the summer when I have to find an apartment and get ready to move, but for now that was a fabulous introduction! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metasyntactic Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Oh wow! Thanks for all the info, I have heard few bad things about Vancouver (mainly that its expensive and that it rains a lot in the winter) but everything else sounds amazing! I may have more concrete questions during the summer when I have to find an apartment and get ready to move, but for now that was a fabulous introduction! Vancouver is expensive, but if you're used to Boston prices (I'm guessing from your location info) it's not that bad. You'll get used to the rain. Just have some coffee from Blue Chip and it'll be alright. Speaking of Boston, I made the opposite move you're thinking of doing: went from Vancouver to Boston. Definitely miss the beautiful views of both the ocean and mountains from UBC campus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calladium Posted March 7, 2011 Author Share Posted March 7, 2011 Speaking of Boston, I made the opposite move you're thinking of doing: went from Vancouver to Boston. Definitely miss the beautiful views of both the ocean and mountains from UBC campus. Aw, well Boston has its charms, but more so in the fall and spring than in March. I sort of figure Vancouver couldn't be worse than here... But I also will be on my own dime in Vancouver, as an undergrad in Boston I had a lot more help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squaresquared Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Oh wow! Thanks for all the info, I have heard few bad things about Vancouver (mainly that its expensive and that it rains a lot in the winter) but everything else sounds amazing! I may have more concrete questions during the summer when I have to find an apartment and get ready to move, but for now that was a fabulous introduction! glad I could help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weepsie Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Aw, well Boston has its charms, but more so in the fall and spring than in March. I sort of figure Vancouver couldn't be worse than here... But I also will be on my own dime in Vancouver, as an undergrad in Boston I had a lot more help. I'm going on my own dime too should I go. I'm hearing people say that id need 18-20000 dollars after fees to get by. This seems a ludicrous amount to me. I'll be looking for affordable rent off campus probably, preferably with a group of other students in the same boat. I can be thrifty when I need to be and realise that food etc doesnt neccesarily have to be expenseive if you shop around a bit. though ill probably look for some sort of part time work, as much to gain more professional experience for the degree as anything else, as to support myself even more. Though I may of course not even get in and all this is moot and i'll stay in Ireland where the rain is worse I'd wager because of the greyness it brings!! calladium 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weepsie Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Anyone heard anything from here yet? I was hoping to hear last week or early this week. If there's no funding I'm staying in ye olde Ireland for the year to do something here unfortunately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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