I'm back...

Had a nice break. Excellent submissions on the Vancouver competition. My favorites:

frank:

Vancouver-where you can hike in the morning, Sail in the afternoon,. ski in the evening, or pay a mortgage instead.

Vancouver- Rich, retired, running-from-the-law?- best place you could live

Rob@lifesmartebooks.co.uk

Vancouver- A great place to VISIT

Anonymous

Vancouver, the best place to stay broke and some:=)

.....................................

Just got back from Hawaii and had a few beers one night with a couple of real, native Hawaiians. Not much love for the tourists or the the 'Mainland... (no not Chinese)..but Americans'! - which include us. "They are either staying at expensive ecologically damaging resorts, or buying the waterfront and waterview condos for the two weeks they come and then rent it out as an investment."

The same properties a native Hawaiian could never dream of buying. Land that may have been expropriated, or bought for a song years ago. "Worse these new land owners are not here to fight the rapacious developers. They are not here to fight the illegal blocking of beach access by resorts and waterfront owners. They just come to play on the manicured, sprayed golf courses and fly back."

I certainly got an ear-full, and it was interesting to find a place where WE are the big buyers, much to the chagrin of some of the locals. In fact the local paper had just run a piece saying Canadians were buying the most investment property, after Mainland US citizens, and as much as all the rest combined (Japan, China, Aussy, Europeans etc)

Heck it is happening everywhere. The Hong Kong residents are complaining about the Mainland Chinese buying everything, even demonstrating about it. Until the bubbles collapse, then people long for the old days.

I will try and remember this fact when I get on my soap-box about the inflow of outside money pricing us out. We are doing it too!

If you are interested in the issue. Hawaii. Land. Independence. will bring you a lot of info on Google like this.

Going to be out of town for a week...

Thought of an amusing exercise you can indulge in, while I am away.

We knew that advertising executives spend a great deal of brian power coming up with the perfect catch line to sell something. Now that something can be a city or State/province.

Ontario- Yours to discover!
BC- Canada Starts here!

Vancouver- the best place on Earth! or the Best Place to Live!

Ok so now it is yours turn. What pithy statement can you come up with. Nothing with profanities, or sexual, racial or other slurs please. Let your imagination run wild. It doesn't have to be RE related- your call.

Here are a couple to get you going.

Vancouver- Where HAM comes to get washed.

Vancouver- Where two-by-fours cost more than gold.

Ok they were pretty lame, lets see what you guys can come up.

Congratulations!

We made it!

Thank you HAM and Mr Flaherty and Carney....and thank you Greenspan and Bernanke for causing the financial mess which led to ZIRP....and where would be without our local cheerleading media and politicians and of course our Eastern retirees, oh and how could I forget the banks, without you and the CMHC-in-your-pocket we would never have been able to achieve the heights that we have achieved...

And the Grammy... OSCAR.... stuffed lemon coloured llama...  RE award  GOES TO US

We are now officially the priciest city in North America and it isn't because of the price of our bread.