Vancouver Weather
Vancouver – the most beautiful city on Earth? The most desirable city to live in? The answers are YES, but… you must love rain. Where I’m from in the prairies, it occasionally rains for an hour or two off and on through the spring, summer and fall. Say, from 5 to 7 pm. You can get away without rain gear just by waiting it out. It often just rains for a few minutes while a storm blows past. That’s NOT Vancouver.
When I moved to Vancouver 10 years ago I was not prepared. I’d prepared myself to live in “The most beautiful city on Earth” and the city that has repeatedly made the top 5 in the most desirable cities on Earth to live. What I found was not rain from 5 to 7 pm but rather, rain from September to April! Constant rain too. The best though are the lifers that shrug it off and say, “We’ll at least its not snow, and 20 below, like on the prairies!” Well, having lived in both places, let me tell you that I’ve never been colder than when I lived in Vancouver. With the temperature barely above freezing, the wind blowing and everything within 100 miles is soaking wet - my bones were cold! And how do you warm up when everything is damp? On the prairies, one prepares for the winter and the cold weather by dressing appropriately. When the snow falls, we just brush it off and continue. You can’t brush off rain. Sure, you can dress appropriately in rain gear, but ‘appropriately’ would mean waterproof coat, pants, hat, gloves and rubber boots! If your gear keeps the rain off, you’ll still be soaked by your own sweat!
So how is Vancouver so beautiful then? When it’s at its best, it’s spectacular. When the North Shore mountains are freshly covered in snow, the sky is blue and the sun is shining, it takes your breath away and makes you forget about the 8 months of grey and rain that you just endured. So in summary, Vancouver may be the most beautiful city on Earth and a very desirable city to live in, but be warned, it’s not like that very day of the year. I can’t wait to hear what the world thinks of Vancouver during its two weeks in the spotlight in 2010.
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Rachel on 28 May 2008 at 4:58 am #
Vancouver is at the top of my list for relocation in the next few years. But I’m also from the prairie (in Minnesota) and know exactly what you mean about dry cold vs. wet cold. It’s one of my main concerns about moving there. I pretty much know for sure I’m not going to like it, but truly honestly, how long does the cold rain period last? (Under 10 degrees and raining in other words.) Not really a whole 8 months, is it?
Rhett on 11 Jun 2008 at 8:11 pm #
Well this year, in June, it seems like spring still hasn’t arrived. Maybe 8 months is an exageration, but not by much. I’d still recommend Vancouver as a fantastic place to live, but don’t believe all the web-footer west coasters that tell you it ain’t cold and wet for 3 out of 4 seasons.
hotels travel on 16 Sep 2009 at 6:05 pm #
I’m from Vancouver but now living in the prairies. I’ll return to Vancouver someday but one thing I’ve grown to love out here is the cottage life. And the winter sports, but there’s no real downhill skiing!