Vancouver

In November of 2015, I returned home from 3 months of backpacking in New Zealand finding myself still craving more travel experiences. I desperately needed a job, as I had just spent all of my savings on the other side of the world. The west coast had always interested me, I had spent some time in British Columbia doing a work for stay before I headed to New Zealand and desperately wanted to go back, but this time was looking for a different experience. So I decided to pack up my bags again, after only 2 weeks of being back in Ontario. I booked a greyhound ticket, as flights were way out of my budget and hoped of a bus across Canada for 4 days. Some may think i'm crazy for spending that much time on a bus, but it was a great way to see the country, i'd done it before so I had some experience, and its also a good way to meet new people. So after 4 days across country, I arrived in Vancouver, a city I'd never been to before. I walked from the bus depot with my traveler backpack and a small carry bag to my hostel. This hostel honestly changed my life. forever. The Cambie, the cheapest bar in all of Vancouver, filled with travellers from all over the world. I feel asleep every night to the sound of either top 40 or mental playing from the jute box below my dorm room floor. Although, it wasn't a 5 star hotel by any means, I somehow ended up meeting and becoming friends with approx. 20 random travellers from all over the world. We all bonded, and were all on the same journey. Just arrived in a new city, trying to find a job, trying to meet new people and trying to figure our lives out. It couldn't have been a more perfect match. After staying at this hostel for a month, I ended up moving into a 6 bedroom house with 6 of my fellow hostel mates. While another 7 of them moved into another house, 40 blocks away. Some of the other friends we made, parted ways and went on to their next destination, while the rest of us stayed in those living situations for 6 months. These people because my friends for life and I couldn't have been more blessed. After 6 months passed, both houses leases were up and only about 10 of us were planning on staying in Vancouver. So 7 of us moved into a house together, while the other 3 rented rooms individually while still frequently visiting. We moved to a great location, with bars and restaurants and live music foot steps from our front door and I enjoyed one of the best summers of my life thus far. It was filled with camping trips, camp fires, day hikes, live music in the backyard and lots of laughs with my favourite people. Although, Vancouver will always hold a special place in my heart, I still had the travel bug and was eager to go somewhere new. I knew in order to pursue my dreams I needed to go home and really focus on me and take time to earn the money to do so. I was working a season job of painting houses for the summer, and I knew I would be out of work soon, so as soon as my contract was up I planned some last minute travels around the west coast and booked my flight home. Below are some of my favourite photos of my 11 months living in Vancouver.