Stanley Park is 1,000 acres of temperate rainforest at the city's core - larger than Central Park, old-growth in places, encircled by a seawall that's become Vancouver's signature recreational space. The park was nearly logged multiple times; each time, preservationists prevailed. The result is wilderness within walking distance of downtown, complete with raccoons, coyotes, and the bald eagles that nest in the Douglas firs. The seawall draws runners, cyclists, and walkers around the park's perimeter; the interior trails offer forest quiet minutes from skyscrapers. Stanley Park is why Vancouverites tolerate the rain - the green requires the gray.

Vancouver's film industry generates $3 billion annually, making the city North America's third-largest production center after Los Angeles and New York. The appeal is practical: Canadian tax incentives, favorable exchange rates, diverse locations, and proximity to Hollywood make Vancouver financially attractive. The city has doubled for everywhere from Seattle to San Francisco to New York to countless fictional places. 'The X-Files,' 'Supernatural,' 'Deadpool' - productions that needed somewhere cinematic found it in Vancouver. The industry employs 70,000 and has shaped the city's culture, bringing California money and Hollywood sensibilities to a city that's neither.

Vancouver receives roughly 160 rainy days per year - less total precipitation than many cities, but spread across endless gray months. The rain falls primarily from October through March, creating winters that aren't cold but are persistently wet. The local culture has adapted: Gore-Tex is formal wear, umbrellas are for tourists (real Vancouverites just accept the wet), and the vitamin D deficiency is communal. The compensation comes in summer, when the mountains emerge from clouds, the beaches fill, and residents recall why they tolerate the gloom. The rain makes the green; the green makes Vancouver.

Vancouver's housing crisis is years in the making. Foreign investment, particularly from China, poured billions into real estate as a safe haven; empty houses became storage for wealth rather than shelter for people. Speculators flipped properties; prices doubled and doubled again; a generation was priced out of homeownership. The government eventually imposed foreign buyer taxes and empty home taxes; the money found other cities. The damage remains: average incomes can't support average house prices by any reasonable measure. Vancouver is testing whether a city can remain livable when housing isn't livable.

Vancouver is served by Vancouver International Airport (YVR), conveniently located on Sea Island. Stanley Park should be experienced by seawall walk or cycle; rentals are available near the park entrance. Granville Island offers a public market, galleries, and restaurants. Gastown, the original settlement, preserves Victorian architecture and the steam-powered clock. The Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain are North Shore attractions. Whistler, the ski resort, is 90 minutes north via the Sea-to-Sky Highway. The cuisine reflects the Pacific Rim: exceptional sushi, Chinese food from multiple regions, and fusion everything. The experience rewards appreciation for natural setting - mountains, ocean, and forest framing a city that struggles to afford its own beauty.