I just spent a few days in Vancouver for the holidays and I was lucky to be welcomed by sunshine and a bright blue sky when I arrived.
But I didn’t let that fool me. I was well aware that Vancouver did not see any sunshine for about two entire months this season. And I could definitely feel that simply by watching people’s reaction to the sunlight.
I could see people stopping in the middle of sidewalks just so that they could close their eyes for a few seconds, bathe in that soothing sunlight and finally get some relief.
I also experienced a day when it rained cats and dogs and the umbrella I had purchased (for almost $20!) didn’t help at all because the rain was coming sideways. I was later told by a cab driver that real Vancouverites don’t buy umbrellas because it’s so easy to lose them (which is exactly what happened to my umbrella that night).
And as luck would have it, I also experienced a day of heavy snow. It was New Year’s Eve and everybody was trying to get places while the roads were quickly becoming undrivable, the sidewalks were slippery, accidents were being reported all across the city, some buses stopped running and cab companies were overwhelmed with calls.
When we see reports of snow in Vancouver we simply think that people are overreacting because they are not used to snow. But when I was there with three bags and trying to walk 15 blocks on those slippery sidewalks, I experienced firsthand how chaotic Vancouver can get.
Most people in Vancouver don’t have winter tires, and while the city is quick to clean up the downtown area, the rest of the city struggles with snow.
Since cab companies were overwhelmed with phone calls, I stood on the street for about half an hour unsuccessfully trying to get a cab. When I finally did get one, I agreed to share it with a stranger. As we were walking into the cab, a woman came out of nowhere and started hitting my newfound friend with a walking stick. She was yelling that she had been there first.
And of course, it took at least 25 minutes for the cab driver to take us to our final destination, which was only 15 blocks away.
It was also interesting to watch people using umbrellas while it snowed and see them dressed up as if it was -40 C (for the first time since I moved to Canada I didn’t feel like the most embarrassing person on the street).
Before I went to Vancouver I complained about the two weeks of near -30 C in northern B.C., but then I realized that it had been sunny in Burns Lake the whole time. So is it better to have a cold winter with sunny days or weeks on end of rain?
I think for now I’ll stick with the sunshine.