Welcome to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Your Vancouver (Vancouver West End, Vancouver Downtown, Vancouver East)
area contact is Jim and Joyce Williams (REMAX ridgemeadows realty.) Please refer to the "Vancouver West End, Vancouver Downtown, Vancouver East" section to the right for
the phone number and email address to contact Jim or Joyce directly about the REMAX MLS real estate homes for sale including residential houses,
apartments, condos, duplexes, acreages and farms not listed for sale here.
Vancouver summary
Vancouver is a coastal city and major seaport, located on the mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is named after Captain George
Vancouver, a British explorer.
The population of the city of Vancouver is 587,891, while the population of the metropolitan region, known as the Greater Vancouver Regional District
(GVRD) or Metro Vancouver, is 2,180,737 (2006 estimate). This makes it the largest metropolitan area in western Canada and the third largest in the
country. Vancouver is ethnically diverse, with 52% of city residents and 43% of Metro residents having a first language other than English. The
population of the city is growing rapidly, and the Metro population is projected to reach 2.6 million by 2020. Population density is highest for a
major city on the continent after New York City, San Francisco, and Mexico City, and on track to being second by 2021.
Vancouver is located between the Strait of Georgia and the Coast Mountains. Its economy has traditionally relied on British Columbia's resource sectors:
forestry, mining, fishing and agriculture. It was first settled in the 1860s as a result of immigration caused by the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, particularly
from the United States, although many immigrants did not remain after the rush. The city developed rapidly from a small lumber mill town into a metropolitan
centre following the arrival of the transcontinental railway in 1887. The Port of Vancouver became internationally significant after the completion of the
Panama Canal, which reduced freight rates in the 1920s and made it viable to ship export-bound prairie grain west through Vancouver. It has since become the
busiest seaport in Canada, and exports more cargo than any other port in North America.
The economy of Vancouver has diversified over time, however. Vancouver has a growing tourism industry, for example, and has become the third-largest film
production centre in North America, after Los Angeles and New York City, earning it the nickname Hollywood North. Vancouver has had an expansion in high-tech
industries, most notably video game development.
Vancouver is consistently ranked one of the three most livable cities in the world. According to a 2007 report by Mercer Human Resource Consulting for example,
Vancouver tied with Vienna as having the third highest quality of living in the world, after Zürich and Geneva. In 2007, Vancouver was ranked the second most
expensive in Canada after Toronto, and, in 2006, the 56th most expensive city in which to live among 143 major cities in the world; in the same survey, Zurich
and Geneva were ranked as the ninth and seventh most expensive, respectively.
With its location on the Pacific Rim and at the western terminus of Canada's transcontinental highway and rail routes, Vancouver is one of the nation's largest
industrial centres.
The Port of Vancouver, Canada's largest and most diversified, does more than C$43 billion in trade with over 90 countries annually. Port activities generate $4
billion in gross domestic product and $8.9 billion in economic output. Vancouver is also the headquarters of forest product and mining companies. In recent
years, Vancouver has become an increasingly important centre for software development, biotechnology and a vibrant film industry.
The city's scenic location makes it a major tourist destination. Visitors come for the city's gardens, Stanley Park, Queen Elizabeth Park, and the mountains,
ocean, forest and parklands surrounding the city. The numerous beaches, parks, waterfronts, and mountain backdrop, combined with its cultural and multi-ethnic
character, all contribute to its unique appeal and style for tourists. Over a million people annually pass through Vancouver en route to a cruise ship vacation,
usually to Alaska.
A major and ongoing downtown condominium construction boom began in the late 1990s, financed in large part by a huge flow of capital from Hong Kong immigrants
prior to the 1997 hand-over to China. High-rise residential developments from this period now dominate the Yaletown and Coal Harbour districts of the downtown
peninsula, and also cluster around some of the SkyTrain stations on the east side of the city.
The city has been selected to co-host the 2010 Winter Olympics, which is influencing economic development. Another significant international event, the 1986
World Exposition, was held in Vancouver. It was the last World's Fair held in North America and was considered a success, receiving 20,111,578 visits. Several
Vancouver landmarks date from that period, including the SkyTrain public transit system, the Plaza of Nations, and Canada Place.
Text & photo credits
The text contained in 'Vancouver Summary' above is courtesy of Wikipedia.com.
The article ('Vancouver Summary') is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License
(See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.)
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Vancouver, British Columbia".
The Vancouver header image on this page is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Reference:
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