Emigration is never easy although my family should be familiar with it by now. We started in Hungary, moved to Austria in the early 1900’s by choice , and then my father fled to Northern Ireland as a refugee in 1938. He arrived in Belfast penniless, unable to speak English and with no connections but very relieved to be alive. Prior to his departure, the Austrian government had confiscated his home, and business and then murdered his parents and extended family.
My emigration to Vancouver was somewhat easier. I spoke the language, knew lots of people from home and a United Kingdom medical degree opened many doors. In 1974 Vancouver had a sleepy small town atmosphere and was totally dominated by its magnificent geography.
The Pacific Ocean beaches and huge green grassy parks were everywhere with Stanley Park occupying an area equal to that of the entire downtown core. The snow capped mountains stood tall behind every view, protecting the city like a giant blanket and insulating us from the harsh Canadian winters. Few cities in the world could offer spring skiing in the morning followed by sailing in the afternoons. Many of the houses appeared to be poorly built and not surprisingly, they were all made out of wood from the local forests but had not yet stood the test of time since Vancouver was then only some seventy years old. The entire population was only 25,000 in 1910.
That sleepy small town atmosphere disappeared abruptly after the World Expo of 1986. A giant tidal wave of people flooded into the city with massive residential and commercial construction, rising property values and all the associated big city problems of traffic congestion, crime and drugs. On the positive side, we benefited from a plethora of great restaurants, theaters and a very cosmopolitan population. However, the fabulous views of ocean and mountains which could be appreciated from almost anywhere in 1974 Vancouver have largely disappeared.
Unfortunately , tall buildings and dense construction have eliminated many of the city vistas. With the Pacific ocean to the west, mountains to the north and the United States to the south, Vancouver had nowhere else to go but up. Now we all hold our collective breath again after the winter Olympics. The great migration of peoples to this city has not abated and is unlikely to do so. The transitions that I have witnessed over the past twenty years have been enormous but will probably pale in comparison to what is yet to come.
