Strathcona

Strathcona is one of Vancouver's oldest and most charming neighbourhoods, extending East-West from Main Street to Clark Drive, and North-South from Hastings to Great Northern Way. Its proximity to Chinatown has historically meant that Strathcona has a large population on Chinese-speaking residents and a large number of services and stores oriented to Chinese Canadians.

Benefits to living in Strathcona are many – the area has plenty of parks, and lovely, unique, turn-of-the-century character homes which are something of a rarity ina city as young as  Vancouver. Strathcona has historically been populated by lower-income, new-to-Canada families, but since the beginning of the 21st century, there has been an influx of wealth into the neighbourhood, with first-time home buyers scooping up low-cost detached houses and sinking large sums of money into renovations. Still, the area remains largely working-class, populated by factory workers and low-income artists.

As the area changes, there will likely be more amenities, but as of now, grocery shopping can be a bit difficult for those without a car. Also, property crime and drug problems from the nearby Downtown Eastside can often interfere with domestic life in Strathcona. There will likely be initiatives to deal with this problem as the 2010 Olympics approach.

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