Kits Pool Not Open Yet

3 Responses to " Kits Pool Not Open Yet "

1. Paul Le Comte says:

   July 12, 2007 at 9:59 pm

   Hey Rob,

   that’s a very different looking Kits pool to the one that I was in this morning with my wife and boys.

   We’re visiting Vancouver from New Zealand and have twice previously lived on W5th between Yew and Vine and couldn’t wait to get back to the pool, even more so with this weather.

   I can’t believe the change in the area in the 5 years that we have been away. What happened to the Vine restaurant, and why wasn’t that impressive wine shop there last time we were in town?

   I’ve been following your posts on the condo developments and the advertising campaigns for what really are shoe boxes. Still they are bigger than the shoe boxes they were building in Auckland NZ, and at least the majority of the new buildings have some architectural merit. Being a designer I appreciate how images can sell, but some of the imagery being implied of these campaigns are amusing – I feel a Flickr page coming on of the graphic design of these posters and advertising campaigns.

   Not having a chance to look around much yet (only a couple of days in town) I came across the waterfall building (?) at Granville today, I don’t know what others had to say, but I liked that one. I’ll post on the ones that I like to see what the local reaction has been, has there been local reaction to these developments, apart from what I’m reading in the paper about housing affordability.

   Having stayed the previous two times at W5th and this time on W7th at Willow, there is a marked difference in the look and feel of the two areas, which I never appreciated before. But would it be a fair comment to say W4th Kits has now a Yuppie vibe? Lunch at Capers was still nice, and Duthie books could still take too much of my Kiwi dollars (thank goodness the exchange rate is good for Kiwis abroad now), but is there any such coffee as a Flat White here in Canada (the most popular coffee in NZ)?

   Cheers and nice to be back in town.

2. Rob says:

   July 12, 2007 at 10:27 pm

   Hey Paul,

   Thanks for the great comment.

   The Vineyard is long gone but its replacement, Browns Social House, is excellent. Check it out if you get a chance.

   If you’re interested in reading a pretty funny commmentary of condo project marketing, be sure to check out http://www.condohype.wordpress.com – he does agreat job of ridiculing the Vancouver condo market.

   If it’s been five years since your last visit, then you’ll definitely notice some yuppification… and a lot more baby-related stores. Kits folks are choosing to have their babies in the area rather than move out to the burbs. Smart move in my opinion.

   Coffee in Vancouver? I take it you’re not a Starbucks fan??

   Enjoy your stay and keep on reading!

   Rob.

3. Paul Le Comte says:

   July 14, 2007 at 11:54 am

   Rob,

   yeah very nice to be back in town, and as for kids, we’re back with two boys under 4 who are struggling to come to terms with condo living. Back home we have a large house on half an acre of land, and their running and playing disturbs nobody (except the odd sheep – yes the stereotypes are true we have sheep in the field behind us).

   A flat white is about half way between a Latte and Cappuccino in a small coffee cup. For a town that prides itself on sustainability its a little strange to see so many throw away coffee paper cups in the rubbish. But don’t get m wrong, I love this town. I checked out the condo hype blog, very funny. However apart from the fact that the marketing is laughable and they are small small shoeboxes, what’s the beef with condos. The attraction of Vancouver for people from NZ is the inner city urban living. In our biggest city the are trying to mimc LA, with everyone living in the burbs and driving one to a car on increasing worming roads. While here a new skytrain route and the upcoming subway, what a way to go.

   Here’s our old apartment
   http://baleburnontour.wordpress.com/2007/07/13/old-times/

   Cheers, this is a regular read, even before we came back. Nice to be here in summer too, although we don’t leave till xmas, so plenty of time to experience the drizzel again.