A word to the wise, if you’re ever thinking about visiting Vancouver, British Columbia then please do so as soon as possible. As far as I am concerned, it's the best city on the west coast of North America.
Even if it’s only for twelve hours you should go.
Just drive, take a cab, or walk to anywhere on Robson Street and you’re smack in the middle of one hip town that doesn’t seem to want to close. The city is very safe and the American dollar has a lot of spending power up there. Deals abound.
Traveling to Canada requires very little identification, making it easy to decide that you should go to Vancouver on a whim — maybe for dinner and a show.
At the border a kind man will politely ask where you are going, how long you will be in the country, and why. To this my answer was Vancouver, one night, and our eighth anniversary.
Ok then and off we go. No request for identification, vehicle registration, or to pop the trunk for inspection. Just okay from the nice man and before I know it we’re heading to Vancouver at a steady 100 KPH.
Simple enough, thank you NAFTA, thank you stable Canadian economy (unlike our neighbor to the south), thank you years of kinship formed around hockey, beer, maple syrup, and salmon, et cetera. We're all friends in the north, no questions asked, just come on in and have some fun!
Like I sad, if you’re thinking about visiting Vancouver, just go — any chance you can get.
That said, even though our friends to the north don't ask for identification doesn't mean you won’t need it on the return trip home. Despite what you may have heard before, claiming United States citizenship (which is what every American does when re-entering the country) requires proof of citizenship in the form of a passport or birth certificate.
Handing the border patrolman a driver’s license only gets a sigh and a grumpy chuckle, followed by a long list of questions pertaining to your birth, occupation, residence, mothers, aunts, uncles, the Civil War, and finally constitutional trivia.
This is followed by a short, but very stern lecture, about the legality of entering the country and all the laws passed by Congress that regulate such action.
Then maybe, if you use the puppy dog eyes and promise not to do it again, he'll let you in.
So much for living in, and trying to re-enter, a free country.
Join the fray by reading through and commenting at the end.
OK, "Citizen," What Northern state first called for the enlistment of Black troops in the Civil War?
Sounds like child's play compared to coming to visit the US.
When coming to the US as a tourist from Europe, I got this form to fill out -- the "visa waiver" -- which means that I can come visit if I check all the right boxes and thereby waive my right to in any way shape or form extend my stay in the country, or take employment, etc.
Since I had no plans of staying for longer than two weeks, and since I checked the "I'm not a terrorist" checkbox on the form, I was allowed to enter.
Beerzie, I once knew a woman who owned a Buick. Uh, what's your point? By the way your answer is Rhode Island.
I tell you I am one more stolen election in Florida from moving to Vancouver BC and never coming back. I am around Seattle and can be in Canada in a matter of hours.
I would go one step further and say that Vancouver is the best city in the world. Not that I have been to all the cities in the world, but Vancouver is just about perfect as far as I am concerned. Nowhere else I can think of has mountains, forests, sea, nude beaches, excellent sushi, fantastic mountain biking, really cheap record stores, a huge urban park, miles of rollerblading tracks, plentiful top-quality organic bud, a relaxed attitute to said bud and William Gibson. Okay, so it rains a lot. But I like rain.
Greg, you back? Enjoying the Gold Line from Pasadena into Union Station for meetings off the Red Line at Wilshire and Vermont. Getting into the middle of Los Angeles at rush hour without driving is an amazing thing. If your vackay is over gimme a buzz.
Woops wrong thread. You get the idea.
Stay away from Vancouver, people. We have enough Vancouverites already. Seriously, the city is getting way to crowded, and hence expensive.
Thank you.
Matt, you can't win an Olympic bid and keep people away too.
As a Canadian who just married an American, I've made plenty a border-crossing going either way. It's always a more pleasant experience coming home, and my wife's American passport doesn't make that any less so.
Vancouver is San Francisco, only in Canada, and clean. It's nice here.
I may be a Canadian Vancouverite, but my family is firmly rooted in the US. I cross that border many times a year. I think both borders do whatever secretive things they do to ensure the security of the nations.
I think the US border must have a mandate seem more aggressive. They always ask the same questions as Canadian border guards, but they throw them at you like you're going to be surprised, slip-up, and confess to a crime. On a trip to Spokane, WA the best was being asked if we "had any fruits, vegetables, liquor, grenades, or rocket launchers?" - "Yes -I mean No. Nice one officer..." As-if. The Canadian guards are always nicer about it. "You haven't been across long enough to bring back that duty-free.... don't let me catch you doing it again. Have a nice night."
North America is a wonderful place, but Vancouver is truly a wonderful place to be. Come visit us soon! :-)