Why Vancouver Is One of the Best Cities to Live In

Hi, I’m Fleur, Marketing Manager at StaffTraveler. A few years ago, I had the incredible opportunity to live in Vancouver for almost a year. This city quickly stole my heart, and one unforgettable weekend proved to me that I had made the right choice. Let me take you on a journey through that weekend that confirmed Vancouver as the best place to live in Canada.

It was my roommate’s birthday, and since we both love hiking and adventure, we decided to get out of the city for the weekend. Living in downtown Vancouver makes it easy to take spontaneous trips, so we rented a car and planned to explore some new places. Little did we know, we had accidentally booked our rental car in Abbotsford, about 80 km away from Vancouver! Oops. Luckily, we had enough time, so we hopped on a train to Abbotsford, picked up the car, and drove back to the city within an hour. It actually turned out to be a fun little detour!

The next morning, we woke up early, excited for the day ahead. My roommate had gotten some recommendations from a friend, and one of the must-visit places on the list was Joffre Lakes Provincial Park. Since it’s about a three-hour drive from Vancouver, we figured renting a car was the perfect excuse to go a little further than usual.

We left our apartment at 7:45 AM and took the famous Sea to Sky Highway. Honestly, this was one of the most scenic drives you will ever see. The great thing about having a car is that you can stop wherever you want, and that’s exactly what we did! Our first stop was Whistler, a charming ski village about 1.5 hours from Vancouver. We grabbed a delicious latte at a local coffee shop and walked around for a bit, enjoying the lively atmosphere. Even though we didn’t go skiing, it was nice to take in the winter vibes before continuing our road trip. After we finished our latte in Whistler, we hit the road again, driving deeper into the mountains toward Joffre Lakes Provincial Park.

Joffre Lakes is a provincial park about 35 km east of Pemberton in British Columbia. It’s famous for its three stunning glacier-fed lakes, which are usually a vibrant blue color in the summertime. However, since we visited in winter, the lakes were still frozen and covered in snow, but it was still beautiful! We hiked for around 2.5 hours, stopping countless times to take photos. The snow-covered trees, mountains, and frozen lakes created a magical winter wonderland. Halfway through our hike, we sat down to enjoy our homemade lunch, taking in the peaceful surroundings before heading back down the trail. Of course, we weren’t ready to go straight home just yet. There’s so much to see along this route, so we made a few more stops on the way back.

First, we pulled over at Lillooet Lake, a beautiful blue lake surrounded by mountains. The contrast between the snowy peaks and the deep blue water was stunning. After that, we drove to Nairn Falls, a gorgeous waterfall with a short, scenic hiking trail. The path followed alongside the river, leading to a nice viewpoint of the waterfall.

What surprised me the most was how quickly the landscape changed. Just an hour earlier, we were hiking in the snow, and now we were walking on a dry, sunny trail with no snow at all. One thing I love about this part of Canada is the diversity of landscapes in such a short distance. After our final stop at Nairn Falls, we jumped back in the car and made it back to Vancouver just before dinnertime.

In just one day, it felt like we had been on a full vacation—starting with breakfast at home, grabbing coffee in a ski town, having lunch on top of a snowy mountain, enjoying snacks by a river near a waterfall, and finally, coming home for dinner.

There is so much different scenery, and it’s all so close to Vancouver. In one day, we saw the city, a ski village, mountains, blue lakes, rivers, waterfalls, and forests. That is what I love about Vancouver: it’s so diverse. There is so much to do in the area and something for everyone! You can even do it in one day like we did!