The issue surrounding affordability in 麻豆传媒映画is nothing new. No matter what your opinion or your income, the one thing most everyone can agree on is that 麻豆传媒映画is an expensive place to live.
That fact was driven home again recently, when Bob Kronbauer, founder and editor of popular website 麻豆传媒映画, which shares office space and owners with the 麻豆传媒映画Courier, moved out of the city he has passionately repped for more than a decade. Bob, his wife Kate and son Arlo have joined an exodus of young families feeling Vancouver鈥檚 financial pinch. They have relocated to a much smaller, more affordable town. Kronbauer now makes the commute into the city four days a week.
鈥淚 came to the conclusion that I wouldn't be able to own a house in 麻豆传媒映画a听couple years ago, and I have already mourned that fact,鈥� Kronbauertold me last week. 鈥淲e could have bought a condo, but I grew up in Vernon, in a house, I wanted my son to have the same freedoms and joys that come along with that. I'm buying him a drum kit for his birthday this weekend. We're planting a tree that we'll watch grow over the years that we live here.鈥�
Back in his early 20s, after a short stay in Vancouver, Kronbauer moved to Southern California. He immersed himself in the skateboard industry, landing a gig working for Spike Jonze鈥檚 company Girl Skateboards. He returned to 麻豆传媒映画in the early 2000s, and thought that, compared to L.A., 麻豆传媒映画felt like Shangri La. He couldn鈥檛 figure out what all the complaining was about.
鈥淚 was like, 鈥楾his is the best!鈥� and everyone else was like, 鈥楾his is No Fun City!鈥欌�� in 2017.
Around the same time Kronobauer returned from the states, 麻豆传媒映画was also considering whether it should put in a bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics.There was so much public discourse at the time that then mayor Larry Campbell held a citywide plebiscite that saw a record number of citizens turn up at the polls. Somewhat surprisingly, the 鈥測es鈥� side won by nearly two-thirds, and the rest is gold medal memories.
A few years after that vote, Kronbauer decided to do something else for the city, founding the then-ultra-positive 麻豆传媒映画 website on Valentine鈥檚 Day 2008. Over the last 10 years, it has grown into an empire of sorts, spinning off into books, podcasts, a T-shirt line, award-nominated TV shows and a massive reach on social media.
How is it that a person who has arguably done so much to boost the morale of this city can鈥檛 live here?
鈥淚 don't feel like the city owes me anything for 鈥榩assionately repping鈥� it for all those years while I was a renter,鈥� Kronbauer told me. 鈥淚 made good money off of that 鈥榬epping,鈥� and I continue to do so. We made the decision as a family. The kid had a veto, but he wanted to move. I feel extra good about us all having a say in it, and it not being about yanking the kid out of his school and away from his friends so we could own a home.鈥�
It could be argued that Vancouver鈥檚 affordability crisis has been a great thing for small towns. With the influx of young families comes new businesses such as breweries, restaurants and tourism ventures. As such, many smaller towns in B.C. are experiencing renaissance-like upswings in economy, culture and livelihood.
And despite what you may hear about Vancouver, it鈥檚 apparently still awesome. Newcomers continue to flood in, searching for places to rent and own, as they have done since this city was incorporated. Why? 麻豆传媒映画has always been viewed by those looking in as a great place to live 鈥� expensive, 鈥渘o fun鈥� or otherwise.
As for Kronbauer, the man who promotes the awesomeness of 麻豆传媒映画for a living, he seemingly has no regrets on leaving it, or spending his first Christmas in a decade outside of the city limits.
鈥淚'm so happy to have moved out of the city,鈥� he exclaimed. 鈥淣o mixed emotions about it. I'd be driving out to the sticks on the weekends to fish and camp, so I basically just flipped that schedule upside down. Now I drive into town during the week and live in the sticks on the weekend. My son also gets to see his grandma every day as opposed to every month. And my house feels like a palace!鈥�
Kronbauer and I haven鈥檛 always agreed on some of the issues facing this city, but we can agree on this: home is where the heart is.
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