Best Place to trade in the world - Quality of Life

"Public transportation is poor, but if you're a successful trader, you should be able to afford a car"

Poor compare to ??. I used to live in Vancouver, came to Phoenix. Didn't owned a car when I was in Phoenix, can't go anywhere because there is no Skytrain or buses on weekend.



Quote from dnaj65000:

I live in Vancouver and here's what I objectively think in relation to trading.

- 2 major high speed providers (Cable and DSL)
- Tons (and I mean tons) of computer shops here to get all the latest and greatest computer technology
- Pacific Time Zone GMT -0800. That's 3hrs before NY time
- 6 big banks (Canada wide and have international connections) with lots of smaller credit unions around
- No one in the public knows about trading. You will be a lone wolf in a way. If you say "stocks" people will assume "mutual funds" and no one knows about "futures, commodities, or FX")

In relation to lifestyle and geography:
- Climate is from -10 degrees C to about +35 in the summer. Those are the extremes. Most of the year it's between +5 and +20
- Lots of sunshine in the summer, lots of rain and clouds in the other 3 seasons
- Cost of living is pretty high. Rent for a 1 bedroom is from $600 to $850CAD/month. Survey done about 6 mos ago said that you need to be making $28,000 pre-tax per year to be living by yourself in Vancouver.
- Food is cheap compared to the rest of the country and compared to the USA
- Public transportation is poor, but if you're a successful trader, you should be able to afford a car
- Health care is good once you're off the waiting list.
- Education system is good
- Air and Water was excellent, but is declining
- Lots of restaurants. Almost get any kind of food imaginable. Aside from North American food, other popular cuisines include (in order of popularity): Japanese, Greek, Chinese, Italian, Vietnamese, Thai
- Very few fat people (it's true!) because of the West Coast active lifestyle of hiking, golf, tennis, cycling, running, rollerblading, badminton, martial arts, yoga, swimming, basketball, volleyball. Almost everyone here plays sports (lots of fit <30 women here)

-And Vancouver/Whistler was chosen to host the 2010 Winter Olympics so I guess it must be good enough to be a world class city.

Cheers,
DNAJ65000
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Quote from raszorz:

The wealthiest people probably demand a high quality of living and in the US most of them live on the west coast...
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Ever hear of a place called Connecticut?


--MIKE
 
Quote from dnaj65000:

I live in Vancouver and here's what I objectively think in relation to trading.

- 2 major high speed providers (Cable and DSL)
- Tons (and I mean tons) of computer shops here to get all the latest and greatest computer technology
- Pacific Time Zone GMT -0800. That's 3hrs before NY time
- 6 big banks (Canada wide and have international connections) with lots of smaller credit unions around
- No one in the public knows about trading. You will be a lone wolf in a way. If you say "stocks" people will assume "mutual funds" and no one knows about "futures, commodities, or FX")

In relation to lifestyle and geography:
- Climate is from -10 degrees C to about +35 in the summer. Those are the extremes. Most of the year it's between +5 and +20
- Lots of sunshine in the summer, lots of rain and clouds in the other 3 seasons
- Cost of living is pretty high. Rent for a 1 bedroom is from $600 to $850CAD/month. Survey done about 6 mos ago said that you need to be making $28,000 pre-tax per year to be living by yourself in Vancouver.
- Food is cheap compared to the rest of the country and compared to the USA
- Public transportation is poor, but if you're a successful trader, you should be able to afford a car
- Health care is good once you're off the waiting list.
- Education system is good
- Air and Water was excellent, but is declining
- Lots of restaurants. Almost get any kind of food imaginable. Aside from North American food, other popular cuisines include (in order of popularity): Japanese, Greek, Chinese, Italian, Vietnamese, Thai
- Very few fat people (it's true!) because of the West Coast active lifestyle of hiking, golf, tennis, cycling, running, rollerblading, badminton, martial arts, yoga, swimming, basketball, volleyball. Almost everyone here plays sports (lots of fit <30 women here)

-And Vancouver/Whistler was chosen to host the 2010 Winter Olympics so I guess it must be good enough to be a world class city.

Cheers,
DNAJ65000
More...

Hi DNAJ

Allow me to disagree on cost of living.
I know Canadian survey says Vancouver is the most expensive city to live in compared to Canadian standard.
But if you try to compare those figures to American and European standard you'll agree with me it's not expensive at all.

My apartment on Beach Ave was about $950 a month , nice building with Swimming pool, Sauna and a little gym, great view of Burrard Bridge and Grandville Island, 30 secs from the beach
Believe me, if you can find something similar in Europe, it would cost at least 1300-1500 euros.

Phone bill is supercheap, 20-25 $ a month , no time fees? A dream in Europe
When I received hydro bills, I thought there was a mistake.
Not to mention heating and Condo expenses are included in your rent, in Italy you pay the same amount of money for your rent (with a lower quality) plus you pay heating and Condo expenses ( about 1500-2000 euros a year for a two bedroom apt).
In Italy I spend for my car insurance (Honda Prelude) 1500 euros a year plus a yearly tax of 250 euros.
Gasoline here is 1.1 euros a liter
As you said food is quite cheap and I must say fruit and vegetables are 1st quality.
Really expensive compared to Italy are Liquors, wine and cigarettes, but government Imho do the right thing taxing this stuff.
Forget about Shaw cable and 39 $ a month for Internet connection here.
Let's say forget about cable, only adsl.
Technology is much cheaper than in Europe.
I bought my Sony Vaio Laptop for $2500, in Europe it was about $3200 calculating the change.
Cars cost at least 1/4 less than here and I could go on for hours.

The only problem, from my point of view, is the policy of the city about night life and fun ( they call Vancouver "No Fun City" for some reason) , and those illegal venues are the logic consequence.
But for families I understand it's better this way.

What about Real Estate in Whistler, I was looking to invest in a little apartment , because of the Olympic Games.
What do people think over there ? Is it a good Idea?
Thanks
 
Quote from ramora:

Great thread...

Does anyone have any experience trading from Costa Rica or Panama?

Thank you,

ramora
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Thanks to everyone for being so genrous with good information. Truly wonderful!

Ramora, I second your question - any thoughts on Costa Rica & Panama, I 'll also add to that list Cuba!?
 
Quote from Cdntrader:



Bern, Switzerland
Ottawa, Canada
Florence, Italy
Aix-En-Provence, France
St. Thomas US Virgin Islands
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Yes, Bern is wonderful. We used to throw the bottom-10% traders in the bear pit.
 
Quote from mark1:


Ibiza (Balearic) is my current choice.
300 days of sun a year, you can choose to be in the best clubbing scene of the world, crowded long beaches with chiringuitos (bar on the beach) futuring the best djs from around the world and lots of people dancing all day long ,or hidden coves with amazing snorkeling areas and isolated villas in the middle of a wonderful environment .
The winter is mild and la isla becomes a nice place to relax and recover from summer craziness.
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Overrated and overrun shithole ruined by drunk Cockney idiots...
 
Quote from ramora:

Great thread...

Does anyone have any experience trading from Costa Rica or Panama?

Thank you,

ramora
More...

Gosh! Am I monopolizing (hope this word exists in english :D ) this thread ?
Ok, now you know I LIKE TRAVELLING! :cool:

Let's see ..ahem Costarica... it happens my cousin lives there in Quepos and runs a little resort.

Ok first of all , ADSL is only available in San Jose' , and believe me, you won't live in Costarica to be in San Jose'.
Dial up is available anywhere, but power outage is a classic .

And when power is ok , pray the crocodile won't eat the cables ( lol really happened to my cousin)

Forget about the local women, they are so tied to the family, you can't even meet them without the supervision of a relative or you can meet them with the whole family at the church :D.

The country is a far west, and Los Ticos (costarica's people) are not very supportive with Yankees ( we had to wait 2 months to have a new engine for a boat, and we know it was available). And you'd better don't argue with them.

Go there for a couple of weeks and enjoy the privilege of being a tourist, if you like caribbean area go to the Est coast, but be prepared for a lot of humidity and mosquitos.

The other cost is completely different, much more temperate.

I've never been In Panama city, but my cousin told me it's very dangerous , overcrowded and polluted.

Another tip, when you travel in these kind of countries, never ever show people you have lots of money with you, not even with girls.
A couple of friends of mine were in Los Roques (Venezuela), a wonderful group of islands.
One night they went to a Club with a local waiter they met there.
Drunk and stupid they showed a couple of girls some money , to impress them.
A bit later out of the club, two guys with masks on their face and guns in their hands tried to steal their money, the waiter very drunk started to argue with them.
They didn't think twice and shoot him down.
Fortunately they ran away and my friends were safe.
The police told them to leave the island immediately, their life was in danger, cause the criminals were still free.
Go figure what a vacation.
The fiesta of stupidity.
 
Quote from PoundTheRock:



Overrated and overrun shithole ruined by drunk Cockney idiots...
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You've been in San Antonio, don't you?
Well , the white isle is much more than that, but the average tourist don't take the time to discover it.

Next time avoid San Antonio and especially the West End , rent a car and take a tour for the whole island , you won't regret it
 
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