North Shore residents often pride themselves on having one of the best imaginable places to live – but, as they say, pride comes before a fall.
That fall took North Vancouver to 64th place and West Vancouver to 87th in Canada, in the latest annual ‘best Canadian cities to live’ rankings by financial magazine MoneySense.
Oakville, Ontario was considered the top spot in the country to set up home, scoring high for a strong economy, great amenities and low crime. The top three were all Ontario cities, with Ottawa in second place and Russell in third. (We're sure it's a coincidence that MoneySense is based on Ontario.)
Still, both North Shore cities did better than Vancouver, which came in 88th place.
North and West Vancouver didn’t even fare particularly well when the results are isolated by B.C. cities only, coming in fifth and sixth place.
The top B.C. city to live was Fort St. John, followed by Whistler, Squamish and Delta. However, even Fort St. John was only 15th, with no B.C. cities making it into the national top 10.
MoneySense’s rankings offer a cool interactive feature, in which you can create your own livability rankings depending on what matters most to you.
For example, Vancouver shoots up to the nation’s #1 spot if you prioritize a strong economy/wealth and great amenities, and de-prioritize housing affordability and low crime. No surprises there, then.
You can also delve deeper into a range of other rankings, from the best city for weather, to best for retirees, for young families, new Canadians and so on. Check them out here.
