Although Drake had about 6 concerts in California, we managed to plan trips/events on every single date 🤦🏽‍♀️ Our anniversary was approaching and we thought hmmm, let’s travel to a concert closer to our anniversary date. Boom, that’s how Vancouver was chosen. After seeing that the flight was only 2 hours and some change from Los Angeles, we booked our tickets immediately 🏾 All glory goes to God.

To be completely honesty, I knew Vancouver was in Canada, but wasn’t educated at all about Canada and it’s history. I thought this trip would not only be a great getaway, but also perfect for learning opportunities. Here are a few facts we learned about Vancouver.

Voted Best Place To Live In North America Although Vancouver is a bit pricey, it was voted one of the best places to live in North America. Here are some pros and cons of the best city to live in below.

It’s Safe

When you hear people speak about the friendly Canadians, believe it! While booking our Airbnb I was concerned that many reviewers stated that this particular home was in a “sketchy neighborhood” yet, we still booked it 🤦🏽‍♀️ I thought okay, we just won’t get out late etc. Y’all, if this is Vancouver’s “hood” America really needs to get their shit together. These were some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met. Yes, there was homeless tents sat up right across the street, but they were just minding their business. Not once did I feel unsafe. A lot of people stared at us, but overall our experience was great.

It Rains Often

Some residents even complained that it rains everyday. Ugh, well that’s annoying I thought, until I actually got to experience rain in Vancouver. In America when it rains, it seems to ruin all of our plans, well mine anyway. I’m not coming anymore because it’s raining, they cancelled the event because it’s raining, I don’t want to go because it’s raining etc. Well the people of Vancouver don’t let rain stop a damn thing. I mean they were out walking their dogs, riding bikes, working out, and selling shit all in the rain. Rain is very natural for them and the city still thrives no matter how hard it’s coming down.

No Uber

The downside to Vancouver in my opinion. I guess if you live there you’ll have a car so you wouldn’t worry to much about transportation, but for travelers it sucks. We had to order cabs that sometimes took over 20 minutes to get there. Uber 2 min arrival most definitely spoiled us.

Super Chill

Vancouver has a completely different vibe from anywhere I’ve ever visited in the U.S. Everything and everybody was super chill. The city was extremely quiet and relaxing. You could find beaches that didn’t have a human on them, coffee shops with folks meditating, very private lake trails, and intimate restaurants for dinner.

Very Artistic

Beautiful is an understatement. From the housing structure to the roads, everything is so beautiful in Vancouver. No matter which direction you’re looking in, you’ll get a glimpse of either water or the mountains.

Best Weather In Canada

Despite the rain, Vancouver has a very mild climate and compared to the rest of Canada it rarely ever gets snow. Not only is it surrounded by beaches, but also mountains. So you can literally go to the beach for lunch and skiing for dinner. I thought that was amazing.

Great Food

Vancouver is known for there Sushi and seafood in general. Did you know that the California Roll originated in Vancouver? The food was very affordable, fresh, and authentic. You’ll win at any restaurant for sure. My husband and I were not disappointed. It’s also very hard to find fast food in Vancouver which I appreciated. I love the whole health kick that this city brings to their population.

Not A lot Of Black People

Most days I felt like Beyoncé. I mean everyone stared at us. I know that my husband and I are very unique individuals and we often get stared at a lot no matter where we go, but Vancouver was on another level. It was almost like they’ve never seen anything like us before. Some people asked if we were celebrities and of course I said Yes! However, I felt very uncomfortable at times. These looks brought much curiosity, so we decided to look up the race population in Vancouver and found out that African Americans only make up 1.2% of the entire population. Ohhhhh that’s explains it. The African Americans that we did see were ALWAYS with European people, rather it was couples or friends. I loved that most people we talked with were very accepting and didn’t see color. Of course you had some frown their faces up at us, but MOST were very accepting.

Overall I would definitely visit Vancouver again and would recommend this beautiful city to anyone who wants a relaxing getaway.