Last night, Vancouver Is Awesome shared the latest creation from our talented editorial cartoonist, Geoff Coates.
Meant to convey the disparity in Vancouver between easy summer living and long, wet winters, the comic was shared a whopping 664 times on Facebook. In addition, 265 people commented on the piece, offering a range of opinions about surviving and/or thriving in the city's climate.
While a number of readers agreed with the cartoon's sentiment, others felt that the climate is decidedly better than some locals care to admit. For one, Vancouver receives very little snowfall in a year, and the climate is mild. And although many residents argue that the city's 'wet cold' has a way of "going right through you," others say it is preferable to the chilling temperatures felt across the rest of the country.
Geoff Coates for Vancouver Is AwesomeHave a look at some of the comments from our readers:
"After 10 years of living in Vancouver (moved from Edmonton) the best thing to do is invest in good waterproof shoes, a nice water proof jacket and maybe some rain pants. I’d take the rain and random sunny days over -35 C and having to plug my car in or sliding through intersections, etc. It’s also a good plan to have a warm getaway in the winter months. Like L.A. Or Phoenix."
-Sheldon Coxford
"This exactly is me! Decided to move back to Edmonton because I couldn’t handle the rain in the winter."
-Maxwell Macleod
"I moved here from South Africa in February. We arrived in Vancouver when it started to snow. At the time of our move, SA was in it's 7th year of drought and honestly my husband and I don't feel it rains nearly as much in Vancouver as everyone makes out. Everyone warned us against the rain and darkness, but as of yet, we aren't experiencing what the warning was about - that said - yet to experience next week."
-Leanne Erasmus
"Yeah, I spent almost my entire childhood in Vancouver, and nope, don’t miss the rain. Southern Ontario is a gross damp cold in the winter and disgustingly muggy in the summer, but I’ll still take it over the 5 months of rain."
-Anthony Lee Matthews
"It isn't very often in greater Vancouver that the weather prevents you from doing something. Yup it's wet, yup it can be grey..but this city is also lush, green and fresh. You can go.outside 365 days a year. Most parts of Canada you are stuck inside at least part of the year. I LOVE it here. Born and raised a true "wet coast" girl!"
-Racquel Foran
"We live in a Rain Forest. Guess what, it rains a lot in a rain forest. That is why we are surrounded by a lush green environment. Having too much rain is not really a bad thing. Having not enough rain is catastrophic. As well you don't have to shovel it or scrape it off your windshield."
-Jim O'Connor
"I lived in Vancouver for 13 years and omg I loved that soggy, cozy City and the rain did not stopped me from doing anything . Also the rain comes straight 90% of the times so one actually doesn’t get wet , i owned 10 pairs of gum boots all different colours and loved them . Nice big cozy coats and boom you are set ! Love rain we need water in this world."
-Perla Bucknell
"I moved to Vancouver in ‘98. I had a week of sun, then it rained from, I kid you not, Nov 1 to July 1 ‘99 and I was nearly done in - I remember wearing a turtle neck on Canada Day and shaking my head in disbelief. You had to call transit to check the bus schedule back then and they would give me directions for trips. They would say go North, toward the mountains. I’d laugh and tell them they lied, there were no mountains, just a grey cloud cover."
-Jennifer Crayford Hsieh
"When I first moved here from Manitoba it rained 30 out of 31 days in January and I wondered if I’d made a huge mistake. Then I remembered what -35c and 4ft of snow was like and realized this was still better...tho I do still miss the sun..."
-Meghan Smith
"Best place in the whole of Canada, Born here grew up here , winters are hard to take but at least you can go for a walk or bike riding once in a while."
-Maria Guerra Donovan
"I always sleep better listening to the rain! After a long stretch in summer without rain, I ejoy that first rainy night. Speaking of which, it's about the perfect amount of downpour at the moment to head off to bed!"
-Brenda Christiansen
"Or, 82 days of freezing to death in almost any other cool city in this country!! Hahaha I’ll take rain any day!! -40 windchill here today."
-Cheryl Drebit
"I am from Houston TX and Vancouver complains about the weather yet no hurricane season, no flash flooding, no pop up tornados, no thunderstorms, and very little humidity. I melt in the Houston humidity. I dreaded hurricane season when we had to watch the Gulf. Everytime a cold front blew in so did a storm. The Vancouver weather isnt as bad as it's made out to be. So it rains..so what? Have a cup of coffee and sit at Starbucks or Indigo/Chapters.
Have you seen your landscape? Do you not enjoy your lush green on the mountains and forest that some take for granted. When it rains in Houston we are upset that we cant even make it into work or people drive into it and get their cars stuck..some have drowned thinking they can overtake the flooded water
..due to high floods (and gators/posionous snakes/snapping turtles and who knows what lives in that nasty water)
The only lies I see about Vancouver are the people. I thought all Canadians were friendly like the stereotype I heard about and all I seem to be looking at more and more is they are passive aggressive.You have wonderful transportation and there are things to always do here. Stop looking at this city as boring. It's not. Its expensive I get that but almost every touristy city is. L.A., NY, LONDON, etc
About the weather...yes it's wet but what do you expect out of a rainforest?"
-Shayne Cohen
"I have yet to see a decent warm summer here... I've lived here 3 years. Still spend my summer in sweat pants and coats cuz it's cold."
-Vanessa Lai
