One of the best ways of finding solace is by escaping reality for a brief moment of time and indulge oneself in the world of gaming and movies. As Benjamin Franklin famously stated, “Games lubricate the body and the mind”. I have always been one of those gaming kids of the block and quite anti-social by nature. I preferred staying by myself, with a handful of people around me. As I grew older and modern gaming techniques introduced, I shifted to forming my own “society” in the gaming family—chat groups. Soon after completing my GCSE, I decided to turn my passion into my goal. I have always believed in learning to differentiate between a job and a career.
Having blessed with the ability to convey my thoughts into drawings and animations, I thereby chose to study concept arts. After considerable research and gaining as much information from aspiring concept artists amongst my friends, I came to the decision that there could not be a better city to pursue my further studies than the beautiful city of Vancouver. In recent times, it has been attracting students and working professionals in the technology industry, which includes software and gaming development sectors. It provides a very high standard and quality of education and lifestyle and is booming in the study of Arts and modern technology. Also famously known as the Manhattan with mountains, I could apprehend that Vancouver had the perfect blend of all the facilities and conveniences of a major city, and the tranquility and calmness of a country side. It had the best of both worlds.
I vividly remember the first day I stepped into this city. It embraced me with its beautiful autumn colours, with the mountains in the distant peaking out above the horizon. Coming from an over-crowded and smog-affected city line, such a welcome was much appreciated and embedded in my memories forever. Moreover, the people of this city were very amicable and welcoming. Having stayed here for the last four years, I have always come across some great, warm personalities. A walk around Stanley Park on a lonesome day, or with a group of friends, is always the perfect treat to revive the soul and get the energy levels soaring with high spirits!
The best part of living in this beautiful coastal city, and get others envious, is its geographical location, which makes it one of the most famous spots for whale watching during the summer time. Orcas are seen to make their way in the summer waters during this time of the year and this gets every Vancouver-er excited.
Being an international city, the city never made me feel that I am away from home. Owing to its wide range of diversity and international culture, Vancouver became my home away from home. Be it food, or it’s culture, it had the perfect blend of both worlds. I thoroughly enjoyed my living experience in Vancouver, especially after getting the opportunity to stay away from my family for the first time. Things initially seemed difficult and compelling, but with the organized nature of the administration of various public departments and university staffs, everything fell into place.
The streets of Vancouver are lit with the touch of art and music. Gaming technology is the modern form of art and studying this area with the backdrop of ancient art and culture is a great opportunity to learn modern art with a hint of medieval history of the said.
This bustling port city also has some of the best foods to boast about. I have never been a foodie, until I came here and discovered foods of different culture and taste.
I worked part-time as a sales assistant in a local supermarket, and my experience has been truly worth remembering! Meeting new people every other minute during my working hours, made me realise the broad and open-minded perspective of the people of Vancouver. It also shed light on the diversity of the city’s population. I barely met people who were rude or behaved in a demeaning manner, and this made me fall in love with the city and its people even more, accepting them as my own bunch! People here are kind, thoughtful and show respect to each other. The best part about living in Vancouver was its relaxed and laid-back feel. Starting from its weather to overall ambience, everything seems in-place. People continue to do their works and are equally responsible for national and international job responsibilities from all sector, minus the hustle, bustle and busy lifestyle of big cities like New York and London. Every aspect is moving at its own pace and with perfection. Because of this lack of discipline and harshness, it becomes easy for students coming from more traditional and conservative culture to express themselves and move around rather freely than they could possibly do in their own respectful country, and amidst their people.
I also appreciated the acceptability of rather all communities and races of people, especially the visible acceptability of the LGBT community. It was a matter of mutual respect and honoring the power of democracy and free living in any state.
Another pretty notable advantage of living in this city is the excellent climate conditions. I don’t come from a country where winter is at its peak. The weather is tropical almost more than half of the year. Moreover, I have always abhorred the chilly winter. Considering myself blessed from this perspective, Vancouver very rarely reaches zero degrees in the winter, unlike other countries in the West. The summers here too are also very much warmer than other cities.
Because of its geographical location, and being surrounded by mountainous range as well as narrow riversides and lakes, many kinds of sports are common here on a beautiful summer day. Hiking, kayaking and even skiing are some of the favourite sports most people residing here opt for.
One of the struggles almost every international students or worker has faced living in a foreign country is to be subject to racism at least once during their stay. Such an experience can be very daunting and demoralizing. However, I consider myself very lucky to never have faced any such mishap during my entire stay in the past four years. And this has largely to do with the large range of diversity and multicultural aspect of the city. The city also has a very low crime rate and I have felt the safety of living here. There were times I used to return home late from work and had to wait for the bus or cover long distances by foot. Had it been any other major cities of the world, including my very own, I would have perhaps freaked out and risk myself a high percentage of being a victim to muggers in the night streets.
I truly admire living in this city and believe that no other city would have perhaps provided me with the comfort and welcoming nature here as an international student. The Downtown has a whole lot to offer and I have had some of the best memories there. However, the own drawback I have faced living here, which, again is not very unusual for living in a big city, is the high price rentals and overall living expenses. This is covered by the good payment if one can find a well-paid highly skilled job.
Having lived here since the last four years, Vancouver still does not fail to surprise me with its awe-inspiring and beautiful natural beauty and historic culture and arts. Ranked as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, this city has a lot to offer to people of every age group, race, and cultural background. Overall, living in Vancouver has been a thrilling experience and much has to do with the way the city had accepted me like I accepted it. It has the best of every bit of nature, including beautiful view of the mountains from any part of the city, the harbor side, beaches and forests. Love comes from both sides and my love for Vancouver has pretty much been similar. It loved me, and I loved it back. The city gave me memories I would cherish a lifetime.
