Many people may see our city as tiring, boring and unfortunately, DEAD in terms of activity. We point out the factors to make you see the city in another view. Step back and reflect upon our city and appreciate how great Vancouver truly is.

“I have had an epiphany. I have realized, as I sat here pondering what to write, that, contrary to popular belief, I have known all along that VANCOUVER IS ALIVE.

Over my childhood, teen life, and now adulthood, I have been told repeatedly that Vancouver is nothing compared to Singapore, New York, Taiwan or even Toronto. “Even the hair cuts are better in Hong Kong”, says one uncle of mine. My friends, family, family friends and even strangers all tell me that Vancouver is a city with no life. Why is this the case?

The problem we have is that people seem to compare Vancouver’s growing metropolitan night life to the dense hubs of London, Tokyo and New York City. Also, people represent a wide variety of ethnic groups and they tend to look towards their own culture. Canada is a diverse nation, with British Columbia and Vancouver as one of the most diverse places in our country. It’s no wonder that companies and organizations cannot possibly have the capacity and the demand to cater to vast lifestyles of over 200 ethnic groups for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If we take a simple gander at our cities, we can see that they are teeming with life. Aside from popular destinations such as Stanley Park and central business districts, there are many little areas within the lower mainland that cater to their respective audiences. We have hundreds of coffee shops for coffee lovers of all ages that want a chill place other than something from the fast-drink industry. A huge Olympic oval is open for us to skate on which is an opportunity the rest of the world is dying to have. For those wanting a more invigorating experience, we have Wreck Beach at one of Canada’s and the world’s top universities, the University of British Columbia. What’s more, in the early hours of the morning, you can find tai chi going on daily at your local mall.  Are you a Hypebeast? Livestock, Headquarters, El Kartel, Good Foot, Stussy…it’s all there! What about after hours? You can find pubs, nightclubs, lounges, friend’s house, arcades, net cafes, karaoke places and more lie at the heart of our cities. Now, maybe we can put some much needed extra funding into improving the public transit system, but to get in on the action in the city is within your fingertips. This is just a TINY list of things that you can do within our city, both during AND after hours.

Vancouver IS Alive. See?”

Photography by: Jarvis Ho

NOTE: This is an editorial and is the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of justalilhype!. If you disagree with or like it, send in your comments or YOUR topic to info@justalilhype.com