Travis Smith: my resume, bio and photos back to the main blog page
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We’re moving to Vancouver, Canada, in about a month. Here are all of the reasons why.

o Clean air and beautiful light
o Vancouver has the most festivals annually of any city in North America
o Vancouver has had about 17 murders so far this year.  Los Angeles had about 24 murders last year BY MINORS.  Los Angeles County had about 19 murders LAST WEEKEND.
o The Canadian dollar is cheaper and more colorful
o It’s on the ocean, near the mountains, on a river. It’s heaven for people who like prepositions and wilderness, like me.
o We hated the censored version of Trailer Park Boys
o Weather.  Not necessarily good weather, but there’s lots of it.
o Some of Travis’ closest high school friends live here
o Candied salmon—it’s delicious!
o Because we want to
o Living in Vancouver’s downtown, we can sell one car and walk a lot more. (That’s the theory at least)
o The cost of healthcare per month for a couple in B.C.: $76 U.S., with no co-pays or deductibles
o British Columbians listen to country music less than any other province except for Quebec. And they listen to French pop less than Quebec.
o Progressive social policies
o People are nice
o No, really, they’re very nice
o We’re beating the rush to be there for the 2010 Olympics
o In the U.S., 70.3% of all American workers put in more than 40 hours a week. The average that B.C. residents work per week? 31.1 hours. (Sorry the stats don’t directly compare, I couldn’t find an exact match, but one source says Americans average 46 hours per week.)
o Stanley Park abuts Vancouver’s downtown, and it’s spectacularly large and verdant
o No Taco Bell

To be fair, we’ve also listed reasons we shouldn’t move there:
o No Taco Bell
o None of our close L.A. friends (but they’ll come visit!)
o Sun, sun, sun
o So many things to do, restaurants to try
o Our house is swell
o No TiVo
o No Netflix
o No Comedy Central
o No Pink’s hot dog stand, The Hat, Cha Cha Cha’s, Le Petit Bistro, Philippe’s or Bupa di Becco
o We’ll need to get a whole new cell phone plan
o It gets cold there. And wet.  Wet and cold.
o Will Hop Studios continue to do well? Dunno!

Please, add your own suggestions using the comment tool!

Overheard

“Oh boy! Another great opportunity for personal growth!”

...who said it?

“I’m not bitter about what happened to me as a child, and my mother was instrumental in keeping me from being so. ... She taught me to be grateful for my life regardless of what that entailed, and that’s directly related to the image of Christ on the cross and the example of sacrifice that he gave us. What she taught me is that the deliverance God offers you from pain is not no pain—it’s that the pain is actually a gift. What’s the option? God doesn’t really give you another choice.”

...who said it?

After over a decade of user testing, it is clear that the way we search the web is similar to the way we would search our home for valuables as it was burning to the ground. Frantically.

...who said it?

“We must shift the focus of companies back to the customer and away from shareholder value ... The shift necessitates a fundamental change in our prevailing theory of the firm… The current theory holds that the singular goal of the corporation should be shareholder value maximization. Instead, companies should place customers at the center of the firm and focus on delighting them, while earning an acceptable return for shareholders.”

...who said it?

“We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.”

...who said it?

Comments

 

 

 

 

 

Argggh! Arrrggghhh! ARRGGHH! Are you really MOVING? Say it ain't so!



I'm speechless.

Spike

 

Posted by Spike
  at 4:18 pm on Aug. 28, 2004

 

 

 

No TiVo in Canada? Are they savages?

 

Posted by byrneout
  at 12:55 am on Aug. 29, 2004

 

 

 

It's so, I'm afraid.



And yes, they are the noblest of savages: true, North, strong and free.

 

Posted by Travis Smith
  at 1:26 am on Aug. 29, 2004

 

 

 

Canada! You socialist wannabes!

 

Posted by
  at 8:05 am on Aug. 30, 2004

 

 

 

Dude... you still have me stuck at "No TiVo!"

 

Posted by Mike
  at 6:01 pm on Sep. 2, 2004

 

 

 

You know the real reason for moving is that you'll be able to run out and get Canada's own Ketchup Flavored Potato chips any time of the day or night. Best of luck!



ps. Is there really no Tivo in Canada? That just sucks.

 

Posted by Rob
  at 8:21 pm on Sep. 3, 2004

 

 

 

Wow. You folks are all pretty hung up on the No TiVo thing. For me, I think it's going to be the rain and cold that will take the most adjusting.

 

Posted by Travis Smith
  at 1:30 pm on Sep. 4, 2004

 

 

 

Just had a brainwave, Travis ? why don't you go to Vancouver and leave Susie here with us? On the other hand, Vancouver sounds really nice ? perhaps I'll go with Susie and you can stay here! : )

 

Posted by Jerome
  at 1:47 pm on Sep. 10, 2004

 

 

 

We've got a Tivoesque service (http://tinyurl.com/6szjd) and several Netflixesque knock-offs. I get Comedy Central on my cable package from this fibre-based startup (http://www.novus-tele.com/content/main.html) in Yaletown.

 

Posted by Darren
  at 8:28 am on Sep. 15, 2004

 

 

 

Well, that all sounds quite comforting, and yet I worry a little bit about something "Tivoesque." That's like saying that something is Faberge-esque.

 

Posted by Travis
  at 11:48 am on Sep. 15, 2004

 

 

 

what the fuck is tivo?

 

Posted by damien
  at 2:22 pm on Oct. 22, 2004

 

 

 

Oh dear.



TiVo is like the butter for TV's bread.



It's like the wheels for TV's bicycle.



Basically, it's a VCR with a) a hard-drive instead of a tape, and b) a great interface that's really easy to use, and c) two weeks of detailed, searchable listings of what's on. So you can get it to tape all your favorite shows, then watch them whenever you want, and can skip commercials and pause it and come back to it and you never have to watch "live" tv again.

 

Posted by Travis Smith
  at 2:37 pm on Oct. 22, 2004

 

 

 

first of all there is tivo in canada, it's only called a different name and please, if someone wants to move to vancouver i think that's the smartest decision they can ever make. specially if they are moving from states.

 

Posted by
  at 7:15 pm on Dec. 5, 2004

 

 

 

Hey Travis,

My wife and I are seriously thinking of re-locating to Vancouver (we live in Toronto)

I know it's quite a bit different than moving from L.A. but how do you like it so far?

 

Posted by Adam
  at 11:51 am on Feb. 23, 2005

 

 

 

Well, the weather has been great, the people, great, the food, great, the real estate, expensive. Overall, we love the city. Spectacular.



However, the lack of TiVo is a real problem.

 

Posted by Travis
  at 8:25 am on Feb. 24, 2005

 

 

 

don't forget another good reason: amerika has lost its soul.

 

Posted by dogma
  at 11:07 pm on May. 4, 2005

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