Q: I can't believe the weather's been like this the past 10 days. Can someone tell me why it's 14C in Vancouver in June? It's supposed to be above 20, and sunny! And Canadians hate to admit Canada's cold... Does anyone else find Vancouver a depressing city?
A: As a traveller to Canada, from Australia, I have a different point of view and don't suffer from the rivalry that obviously exists between Canadians and Americans, so I'm neutral. With that in mind, I agree Vancouver is a cold city by general world standards, in my opinion Canada is a cold country in general, especially if you're used to Californian weather (I have visited). On the other hand, for Canadians who have grown up in this environment, its not out of the ordinary, so the word 'hot' means something different to them. This is just a case of communication differences - 'hot' means a different thing to a Californian than it does to a Canadian, and 'nice weather' also means something completely different (generally just that its not snowing or pouring with rain). So Canadians don't necessary hate admitting Canada is cold, its just they are using a different scale to someone from California, like yourself. It is all relative. So bearing that in mind, I do find Vancouver could be depressing to someone used to fine, cloudless weather, but for those who live in Canada, they probably don't pay as much attention to the weather because its not different to what they're used to. Personally, I prefer Californian weather, but have enjoyed touring around Vancouver (and living in Whistler) because I have lots of friends in the area and therefore lots to do.