Vancouver - my new favorite!

Its been 5 years since my last visit. Had to say its very different. Winter Olympics was clearly a big catalyst. New rail-line (Canada Line) going from airport to downtown. Just like Toronto, there's a mushrooming of high-end condos along the coast (which seem to have all been taken?!). And Vancouver has just the perfect backdrop for it. The snow capped mountain and Pacific Ocean is one of the most beautiful of its kind - the coastline beats Sydney, SF, handsdown. (maybe Cape Town stand a chance; and of course I am favorably biased towards HK).

Stanley Park with its huge Fir trees is breaktaking, English Bay and White Rock make for the most scenic beaches, Granville Island is charming as ever, and Winter Olympics momentums and new fancy condos, offices, and hotels are dotting the city.

Except, apparently, things are more expensive now (from gas to food to parking!) with inflation, and government jacking up taxes after overrunning on its Olympics prep budget. Houses are becoming unaffordable for the young. So, I guess, the typical problem of a growing city. But, is this the beginning or end of a boom for Vancouver?

PS - felt like missed opportunity, I had wanted to buy a waterfront condo in Vancouver for a while, but money/income never seem to catch up fast enough to free up enough money to do that!!! Heard of flats going from 500k CAN during down-deposit period, then became 1m CAN on completion! Also prices of many places have risen 2-3x. Insane!