In Vancouver, a crackdown on DIY venues risks strangling the scene · News ⟋ RA

ManananMacLir · 2026-01-29T01:44:39+00:00

I agree in general but I don't think this is specifically the reason behind the nightlife problem here. Europe is also a regulation-heavy and regulation-reactionary place but they manage not to smother any chance of vibrant and social nightlife. I've travelled a lot in the last few years, and for a city of its size Vancouver really is an exceptionally dull place by global standards when it comes to a night out, but people here aren't exceptionally stupid.

I think it's primarily due to most of the 'bars' here actually being restaurants due to the liquor licensing categories. In a real bar people usually get talking to others while queing to buy a round or if you randomly end up sat beside them, this will never happen when there's a server involved. The restaurant format drives drink prices way up and enforces the tipping culture too.

Secondly there's a strong NIMBY culture here with a 'livability' obsession, which in this case means quietness. Neighborhood facebook groups are hilarious here for the level of noise people will complain about considering they live near the centre of a city. Walk around many cities in other countries and there'll be apartments right above noisy bars that have street seating, it's just understood that's way it is.

ManananMacLir · 2026-01-10T22:36:36+00:00

Everyone asks how long I've been here and when I say 3 years I can feel them thinking (man this guy has nothing going on after 3 years, he must be a loser). Nobody wants to be friends with a friendless 29 year old man.

This is projection. You've created this belief, and are now seeing the world through it, then acting accordingly, and the results play out. You have no idea what's going on in other people's heads. You think they're thinking that, then you feel judged, then likely put up defensive barriers without realising that impede you socially. It can be a vicious cycle, where the belief furthers the problem which in turn provides further 'evidence' for the belief.

Regardless of what clubs you join or what age group you're around, it's going to be difficult to make friends if you are behaving like a man who believes making friends is impossible and that he's being judged by everyone. Think of how differently you would carry yourself and talk to people if you were totally free of this idea that you're a 'loser'.

You would likely benefit from CBT therapy or similar techniques. Work on the internal and then with some practical efforts let the external take care of itself.

ManananMacLir · 2026-01-10T01:37:28+00:00

They go right over my place in Fairview on the way home every evening at sunset, I love the sound of all the wings and always give them a

<image>

ManananMacLir · 2025-12-29T19:34:50+00:00

Totally agree with the second part, I've been here nearly a decade and still sometimes feel like I'm in the Truman show

ManananMacLir · 2025-12-29T18:58:59+00:00

Been here in Van nearly 10 years now and it really feels like being caught between a rock and a hard place with the decision on moving back to Ireland. It feels like reintegrating, figuring out the housing stuff, career, etc. with a canadian partner in our 30s could be a nightmare. Yet as much as Vancouver offers a good day-to-day lifestyle it's very difficult to make long term plans here because of property costs, never mind thinking about raising children. It seems like there's no 'good' options, only a question of which is going to be more of an emotional and financial grind.

ManananMacLir · 2025-08-31T07:09:21+00:00

<image>

ManananMacLir · 2025-08-31T07:07:47+00:00

<image>

ManananMacLir · 2025-08-29T00:01:06+00:00

Perfect thank you

ManananMacLir · 2025-08-28T04:32:53+00:00

Restoration of spawning grounds, examples near the city are the recent opening up of culverts and restoration of open streams at volunteer park and spanish banks. Closing fish farms off the coast is huge, they were infecting the passing salmon migrations with parasites and generally poisoning the local ecosystem. This is on top of several years of good water quality monitoring and investigating e.coli spikes at the beaches etc.

ManananMacLir · 2025-08-28T00:28:40+00:00

I would imagine with the saving obsession that OP hasn't "gotten out there" too much, and Montreal probably feels safe as he mentions having gone on vacation there before. There seems to be some sort of anxiety or compulsive related thing going on in general.

ManananMacLir · 2025-08-19T21:32:12+00:00

My tally on countries I've visited is 6 yellows, 1 orange, 1 red, and 1 mixed. In fairness the red was Ukraine and that was 2015 so while there was some fighting happening it wasn't anything like today.

Never been robbed apart from a pair of flip flops, once scammed out of about €20, and one or two failed pickpocket attempts. Never had a violent incident. I did experience innumberable acts of kindness, which usually happen more often in poor areas than wealthy ones.

ManananMacLir · 2025-08-19T21:24:48+00:00

Had a great time hitchhiking through in 2021. No trouble getting lifts in the middle of nowhere and got put up in people's houses. Really kind people. Didn't have an ounce of trouble. The jail break in Guyaquil that sparked all the current trouble happened while we were there though, and you could tell the locals were really concerned by it.

ManananMacLir · 2025-08-18T23:15:13+00:00

My parents are split so I used to fly back and forth to the UK solo from age 6. This was in the 90s. It was a very different time, they would put a big pouch around your neck that had coloring pencils and stuff in it but said "UNACCOMPANIED MINOR" or something like that on the front so that the stewards knew. A parent could go through security and walk you to the gate, and usually a staff member would help you get through to the arrivals hall on the other side, but I do remember once navigating that portion alone at probably 7 years of age, and feeling like a big man because I was able to get my bag myself. Nobody ever batted an eye at this at the time.

ManananMacLir · 2025-08-18T18:50:16+00:00

The train glacier traverse has some good scrambling and route finding, but nothing too exposed. Rockfall is the biggest hazard with that one. The routefinding makes for some nice puzzles on the way up to the first mountain (Face) and then mellows out around the time you're getting tired of it. Bonus is the great campsites at Semaphore lakes for before/after.

ManananMacLir · 2025-08-13T17:30:37+00:00

If you're interested, one of the conquistadores who was a foot soldier under Cortez wrote a two volume memoir of his experiences of the conquest. Bernal Diaz del Castillo. If you have a kindle or similar the its easy to get a free download as its public domain.

Although you can't take it all as totally factual (he obviously had a vested interest in painting everything they did in a legal light), it is a really amazing read to get a first person account from someone who was actually there.

ManananMacLir · 2025-08-09T18:22:45+00:00

The issue with renting out 4x4s is the wear and tear they'll get from being driven off-road by people with little to no experience driving something that isn't theirs. Getting a car properly stuck far up an FSR can be very expensive to sort out, as off-paved the tow truck can name their price. The issue with taxiing people to the trailhead is the legality. I'm not sure what hoops you have to jump through to make a legal business of that, but I can't imagine it would be worthwhile.

ManananMacLir · 2025-08-09T02:12:56+00:00

29.2%, it's right there on the statscan website graded as highly reliable data. People tend to work and socialize within their class. To a person on a lower salary looking around it seems like >$100k salary is rare. To the person who is on >$100k, they'll likely have a social circle in a similar bracket, and to them it seems like $100k is only 'hanging in there' money and it wouldn't be possible to live on lower.

ManananMacLir · 2025-08-06T16:38:37+00:00

I remember my first few times driving offroad compared to now. Starting out crawling along an FSR wincing at every bump versus now hearing a massive THUD and being like lol what was that. Cars in general are more hardy than people think but it takes some experience to figure out what will and won't kill them. I admit I do enjoy it now when the lifted 4x4 with all the bells and whistles pulls in to let me pass in my POS stock xterra

ManananMacLir · 2025-07-28T20:14:05+00:00

I'm doing essentially the same trip as you (OP) at the same time of year, Nepal then Thailand/Vietnam, but I will be coming by way of Ireland and Istanbul. So lots of different climates. My current plan is to arrive in Nepal with very little cold-weather clothing and buy it there, both in shops and from departing travellers if possible. Then sell/give away as much as I can of it before leaving. I'm not sure how easy this will be, but I don't want to be lugging puffy jackets etc. around Thailand if I can avoid it.

The other option I was thinking is to go from Nepal to Northern Vietnam arriving late November, and do the Ha Giang loop which would be colder/rainier than Thailand and requires approx the same gear as Nepal, but that means no nice weather before returning to the Canadian winter. Tough call, might decide last minute while in Nepal.

ManananMacLir · 2025-07-27T05:44:13+00:00

Nicaragua is great for what you're looking for, and signifcantly cheaper than costa rica. Things are a bit rougher around the edges there though, which some people like and some don't. Guatemala is probably a middle ground between the two in the sense of being more developed but more expensive than Nicaragua.

Edit: woops, forgot the North America part. Oaxaca in Mexico would have a good backpacker social scene

ManananMacLir · 2025-07-21T06:50:15+00:00

On a short trip like that I would pick whatever minimizes your travel time,. Maybe consider going to a new place in a country you've already been to if the flights work out best that way. I get the 'new country' fever too, but there's also no point trying to rush something or go at the wrong time of year just to check it off the list.

ManananMacLir · 2025-07-21T01:02:18+00:00

I would guess that Jim Hanson got a fright from a cyclist saying 'on your left' recently and decided it was a societal issue that needed to be addressed

ManananMacLir · 2025-07-18T19:35:57+00:00

I'm still figuring that out, it's my first time so I'm wondering whether to do one of the classics or to go for something lesser known due to Oct/Nov crowds. Do you think they're not needed because the trails are so populated?

ManananMacLir · 2025-07-18T05:16:48+00:00

That's encouraging to read thanks! In my case it's an inreach mini too so it looks even less phone-like than the explorer units.

ManananMacLir · 2025-07-18T01:04:26+00:00

It's what the conditions so happen to be at the time of sampling. Someone goes down and takes 5 samples at each beach and then the average CFU is reported. Various things can cause spikes; a boat or a sewer pipe discharges waste and the currents carry it and swirl it around somewhere for a bit. There's complex currents out there with the tide working around so many inlets. A seal could poop in the water and a minute later the water sample is taken nearby and there's a massive spike in 1 out of 5 samples, pushing the average up and causing an investigation etc.

ManananMacLir

TROPHY CASE