Search for Metro Vancouver's best neighbourhood: Fraser River and Northern quarterfinals
In the search for Metro Vancouver's best neighbourhood, it might hurt to be perceived as a wealthy neighbourhood if you're in the City of Vancouver, with Shaughnessy, Dunbar, Yaletown and other well-off neighbourhoods going down early.
But in the rest of Metro Vancouver, it's often been the wealthiest enclaves — where commercial activity is limited and the pace of change slow — that have advanced in the voting.
"The last development [here] was probably 35 years ago. We are predominantly single-family homes," said Lions Bay Mayor Ron McLaughlin, whose community of approximately 1,300 people is located north of West Vancouver.
Lions Bay defeated three Coquitlam neighbourhoods to get to this stage.
The average total income of a Lions Bay household was $158,816 in 2016, far from the wealthiest neighbourhood remaining in this side of the bracket.
McLaughlin describes the community in a way that evokes a suburban Anytown, U.S.A., feel.
"It's a big part of community spirit, where everyone knows each other. When someone buys a home, we welcome their kids to the school, even though they haven't moved here yet. And that's the beginning of our culture."
Whether that's the style of neighbourhood people in Metro Vancouver believe is ideal or not will be examined this week, as we'll take our 32 remaining neighbourhoods down to just eight in a series of one-on-one votes.
Aug. 5 sees voting in the quarterfinals for both the Fraser River and Northern quadrants, as we go from eight to four neighbourhoods in both sections. On Aug. 7, we'll have the semifinals in each bracket.
Those votes will determine who the finalists are in each bracket next week.
Today, though, is still full of plenty of tough decisions. Polls are open until midnight.
New West and Richmond finals
Burnaby semifinals
Northern region quarterfinals
