It seems to me lately that we’re all living in a little bubble. In Vancouver. A Vancouver bubble.

When is the economy really going to hit us?

People have been talking about the bad economy, but how much has it really affected us? Yes — it’s true, real estate prices are dropping. But not that much. Yet. Yes, some video game studios have closed down, and across the city there have been a number of layoffs in different industries and office closures. And yup, people have been going to Starbucks a lot less.

But what I’ve really noticed is how Vancouver seems relatively unaffected. Part of why I’m noticing this is because of my recent move.

There’s one major thing I noticed while looking for apartments: People can’t sell their overpriced condos anymore, so they are renting them out. But they are renting them out for ridiculous sums of money… that no one wants to pay. $2700 for a 2 bedroom that is 800 square feet is too much. WAY too much. $2200 for a 1 bedroom that is 600 square feet (a.k.a a shoe box) is way too much. Do landlords really think they are going to be able to rent out their apartments for that much?

I also noticed that many apartments had been vacant for months. Hmm, could have something to do with the rental prices.

Another mind blowing observation… stores are barely going on sale. How can they stay in business? Most furniture stores I have been to have been completely devoid of customers. And their prices? Still as high as last year, if not higher. Most stores I have been to these days don’t seem to be offering any significant sales. Why?

People still seem to be shopping at Gucci and Prada. They’re still buying nice cars. They’re still going out for expensive dinners. People are still taking extravagant vacations. Has this decreased? Or is it still the same?

Whenever I ask anyone if they are worried for their job, they say no. Everyone’s business is going well. And everyone’s finances are just fine. Apparently.

Are they lying? Are they in denial? Or are most people in Vancouver doing just fine?

My gut tells me that the recession is going to hit Vancouver hard. And while no one wants it to happen, or while people think it won’t happen… it will. I think it is better to be prepared than to be proud.

Here are my rinky-dinky tips in this economy

1. If you are a store owner or a business owner, discount your prices. People don’t want sales, they want deep price cuts. Better to make less profit than no profit at all, right? And let people know about it. Don’t be ashamed.

2. Bring your lunches to work rather than eating out. I can post a nice chicken noodle soup recipe if anyone is interested. Soup is a great way to bring a healthy lunch to work.

3. Check your car. Take anything out of it that can weigh it down or waste gas. And check your tire pressure. You’d be surprised how many people drive on flat tires and waste dollars worth of gas every day. And drive less if you can!

4. If you must drink, drink at home vs. drinking out. It’s so so much cheaper.

5. Avoid buying new clothes or shoes/accessories. You probably don’t need them at this exact moment in time. Personally I haven’t bought a single piece of clothing since November, and before that sometime in June.

6. Hold underground dinner parties instead of big parties at a fancy restaurant. My friend Jess clued me into this one. There are a number of caterers and chefs holding “underground” dinner parties. Basically how it works is you get in contact with a chef who does this, and they prepare a set meal for you and your dinner party at a local rented space. You can bring your own booze! This is a great inexpensive way to have a nice meal with your friends out. I’m planning on doing one soon so I’ll let you know how it goes.

7. Start budgeting. If you don’t already have one, it’s probably a good idea to start a budget. There are so many great online resources to get you started.

8. Stop eating out, start eating in. It takes only 10-30 minutes to make a really good quick dinner. Why not? Consider cooking with less meat. It’s really expensive and it has a larger environmental footprint.

9. Haggle on prices. I do this all the time. There’s almost nothing you can’t get cheaper in the retail world. Cars, clothes, food, everything. I always ask for a discount. Perhaps a separate blog post on this later.

10. Travel locally. If you need to go on vacation, why not go somewhere near home! British Columbia is one of the most beautiful places in the world. From Tofino to Galliano, to Hornby, to Kelowna, and so much more… you’d be surprised how much neat stuff there is close to home! And consider opting for slightly further away destinations such as Apex or Sun Peaks instead of Whistler. It’s cheaper and often the skiing/snowboarding is even better!

11. Switch to a credit card with a lower interest rate. You’d be surprised how much competition there is out there for credit cards.

12. Buy off Craigslist. I’ve bought just about everything through Craigslist and I can’t be happier. 50-90% what you would pay in stores. Sure, it may be used but you can often find like-new finds. And don’t forget to haggle. Whether it is apartment rentals, clothes, furniture, or electronics… Craigslist is always a good idea!

13. Drink free coffee at work instead of paying for name-brand coffee at Starbucks or Timmy’s.

14. Share/trade things with your friends. Games, movies, books, TV shows, clothes, booze etc etc… you’d be surprised how much stuff you can get for free just by doing this. And it’s a nice way to re-connect too.

15. And most importantly.. if you’re an employee, work hard at your job. Let your employer know through your work ethic that you are grateful for your job and you want to excel at your job. Make yourself a good investment.

Thoughts?

Well I’ve been waiting a long time to talk about the big news… so here I go!

On Sunday I received a full-time job offer from the company in Gastown I’ve been interviewing with… and I accepted it. I’ve turned down some really good opportunities in Kelowna and LA to work there… but I know I made the right decision. I start on Monday although my technical start date is March 3rd (so much moving craziness to sort out that I don’t want to interfere with my job). I am so excited. I am happy to have not settled on any level. I’ve worked and traveled with some of the people there before and they are all great. Smart, fun, professional people. I will be a Product Marketing Manager there. I can’t wait to make a big difference.

The other big news… is that I will no longer be living in an old apartment building! That’s right… Allan and I signed a lease on Wednesday for a new 2 bedroom in South Granville/Fairview. It’s only a couple blocks away from where we were living before, and steps from our friends. It’s also close to Granville Island and the Capers Organic Whole Foods Market we go to. We really wanted to stay in the area… it’s so central and close to downtown without having to live in the coldness, crowdedness, and big box apathetic feel that I don’t like about downtown living.

Old Place, Bedroom (Half packed up)

Old Place, Living Room

Old Place, Kitchen

We managed to check off every single piece of criteria we had for an apartment:

- In the South Granville/Fairview area. Close to downtown but not downtown. Check.
- Ground level. (Try dealing with a 9′6″ surfboard in an elevator) Check.
- Brand new. Check.
- Large patio. Check.
- Nicely appointed kitchen with new appliances, especially a dishwasher. Check.
- Big enough bedroom for a king size bed. Check.
- Spacious living room. Check.
- Carpeted. Check.
- 2 bedroom. (2nd bedroom will be the sports room) Check.
- 2 bathrooms. Check.
- En-suite laundry. Check.
- Walk-in closet. Check. (Not as nice as Lindsay’s though!)
- Included parking and storage locker. Check.
- Gets afternoon sun instead of morning sun.
- Quiet neighbourhood NOT on a busy street with good neighbours. Check.

Best of all… we are moving on Saturday! Yes, it is really soon and so we are spending all day today packing. Craziness. I prefer a swift transition though than dragging it out and waiting. Plus I want to get this all settled and sorted out before I start my new job.

I’ll try and get some better pictures of the new place. These were snapped quickly right after we signed the lease.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how we can decorate it and what sort of furnishings we can use to complete it. I’m thinking it’s going to be west coast style (of course) with themes of our activities and passions. Allan has been living in his apartment for over 3 years and I’ve been living here for about a year and a half. It’s pretty much like a storage locker, there’s so much stuff accumulated over the years. I’m hoping this move will give us a chance to have “our” place together, rather than either mine or his. I’m hoping the interior design will reflect that eventually.

New Place, Kitchen

New Place, Living Room & Patio

New Place, Master Bathroom

New Place, Walk-in Closet

I’ll be posting pictures over time to show how the place evolves. It’s going to be pretty bare bones as we both get adjusted to it and furnish it over time.

So that’s the big news! I’m so excited about moving forward into the next stage of my life. It feels like nothing but sunshine in my life right now

Okay… back to packing!

I’ve finally had a chance to post this up after many weeks… I hope you enjoy my little recap of my adventures trying to find surf in Japan. I only had time to do a day trip in Japan, so this isn’t a good guide for week long adventures in Japan… but if you happen to be out there and want to make a quick trip out to the ocean for some waves, then read on!

I’ve posted this picture before. This is Shonan, near Kamakura. The waves roll into this bay and clean up quite a bit. The downside is, it is super crowded and the waves are usually smaller here compared to the exposed side on the ocean. I do recommend you check it out if you have time though!

The first step is to plan out your route. Most people will be coming from Tokyo. Your goal is to get to the Kazusa-Ichinomiya station. In my case, I was coming from the Hamamatsu-cho station near the Tokyo Bay hotel (where I was staying for work). Your best bet is to go up to the information counter and purchase your one-way ticket to the Kazusa-Ichinomiya station. You will have to likely transfer at Tokyo station, and then catch the rapid train out to Ichinomiya. I paid around 2,000 yen ($25 or so) for the entirety of my one-way ticket out there (and the same coming back).

Once on the train, you’ll keep going east out of Tokyo, passing many cities, skyscrapers, housing developments, parks, and even cemeteries.

Eventually you’ll be further and further out of the city and you’ll see more rural landscapes, such as fields and forests and more traditional-looking houses.

You’ll pass through the Chiba prefecture and you’ll want to get off at the end of the line, which is the Kazusa-Ichinomiya station. If you want, you can connect here to the Torami station which is a bit closer to the surf schools. Unfortunately, I didn’t get off there but I probably should have.

Once you’re out of the station, orient yourself and make sure you’re travelling East towards the Ocean. There’s a long road that goes straight to the water. In my case, as soon as I got out of the station I turned left, crossed railroad tracks, and past a few businesses. You’ll also pass a Surf English language school on your right. If you hit this, you know you’re going the right direction.

I found myself on a beautiful palm-tree lined road with fields on either side. So serene.

I stooped down to take a photo of this little wooden structure… it caught my eye in the tall grass.

After about 30 minutes of walking, I re-assessed my sitation and decided it was best if I hitch-hiked. I knew it was going to be about an hour more of walking according to the GPS on my Blackberry, and I didn’t want to waste any time in my day since I had to catch my flight home the next day and didn’t want to get back too late. I stuck my hitch-hiking thumb out for about 15 minutes before a very cute older Japanese woman picked me up in her beaten-up white farm truck. She gestured at me in both a friendly and impatient way and so I ran over to her and got in the truck. In Japan, people drive sitting on the right side of the car, so sitting on the left sure felt weird! We weren’t able to communicate very well since I spoke no Japanese and she spoke no English. All I knew how to say was Hello, Goodbye, Please, and Thank You, and “Ocean”, “Surfboard”, and “Wetsuit”. That wasn’t enough.

She drove me all the way to the ocean (Bless her heart!) and I understood that she was saying that there were 3 main surf spots in town. She showed me spot number one.

And then spot number two.

And then I was finally able to communicate to her that I didn’t have a wetsuit or a surfboard and I needed to rent one. So she dropped me off at some of the surf stores in town. I walked along the road going into every store, but no one really spoke English and I was able to discern that they didn’t do any rentals and didn’t know anyone that did.

I kept walking and finally came upon the Surf Garden complex. Up the stairs to the left (very hidden) is a gym… (yes, a fitness centre), and surfboard rentals. LOL! What a strange combination.

I had a strange conversation with the man running the shop since he also didn’t speak English, and was able to eventually rent a wetsuit and board for the day for 6,000 yen, about $70. Expensive, like everything else in Japan. But still worth it!

He called a girl downstairs to come help him, and she spoke more English. She was a complete angel, and made sure I had the right size wetsuit and was even able to find me a board I liked… a 7′8″ expoxy board in nice condition. They even lent me some flip flops.

I was stoked.

Then they led me across the street and pointed at the forest and told me to go through it. I asked them twice to make sure I was hearing them right, but they assured me there was ocean and surfing through there. Check out my video.

It was a leap of faith but I ran through the forest and over some bluffs and sure enough, I saw waves. And even a couple surfers, but not crowded at all.

So I grabbed my board, ran out, left my flip flops right on the beach like all the other guys there (no one steals ANYTHING in Japan, apparently… one guy even left his cellphone there)… and started surfing.

It was a little mushy, it wasn’t a huge day, or as epic as they say it is normally there, but it was a great vibe and I had a blast surfing in Japan.

After a few hours I came back to the shop and they even had a little indoors shower for me. Awesome!

I hung out with my new girl friend and we talked about Japan, about Canada, and about surfing. What a different life. So strange to see someone just like me, living the same dream as me but on the other side of the world.

We went down to the bar to have a drink, and only after I had ordered it did I realize that I had spent every single yen I had on the train and the rentals. I had nothing to my name, and they didn’t accept cards anywhere there. So my new friend talked to the manager and he was nice enough to comp my drink and even offer me food if I wanted. I took lots of pictures together with my new friends.

She even offered to give me a lift back to the station… and no matter how many times I declined, she insisted. So I got a ride all the way back to the station in town. What a sweetie. I can never thank her enough. I gave her my card and told her to call me when she visits Canada one day.

Back on the train, the sun is setting and I’m driving by all sorts of sights I didn’t notice on the way there. The tankers, the ships, the ports… even Disneyland!

We went right by a giant Ferris Wheel too.

Finally back in the city I’m craving some food, so I stop by the very busy Shibuya station to get some ice cream from the Stone Cold Creamery. I wait in line, listen to them sing old 50s tunes while sculpting and mixing toppings and ice cream on a ice cold stone slap. A delicious way to end the day.

Surfing in Japan. I’ll never forget it!

Here’s a map for reference: