With snow-capped mountains to the north, green hills to the east, pristine beaches to the west and all the services and employment opportunities afforded by a small city, Vancouver has become a stronghold of Irish immigrants in recent years.
Reachable in summer with direct flights under nine hours, it has become an attractive North American alternative to the Emerald Isle epicentre that is Australia.
Drawn by its outdoorsy lifestyle and proximity to the United States, I applied for a visa and a year later touched down in Vancouver.
And I was not disappointed. The natural landscape leads to jam-packed summers that can feel like a three-month marathon brimming with camping trips, sunrise swims and mountain hikes.
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After the brief reprieve of autumn, the winter season is equally overloaded. The dash to the northern mountains begins once the laptop closes, so that by dinner time you could be hurtling down the ski slopes towards a vista of twinkling city lights.
Branded as “Beautiful British Columbia”, it is impossible not to agree with the clever tagline, even during the humdrum activities of daily life.
Majestic mountain panoramas are visible on the workday commute, lunchtimes can be spent lazily watching the seaplanes come and go from Vancouver harbour, while there is a choice of beaches for evening strolls with friends.
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But there is a trade-off. The richness of Vancouver’s natural gifts can, at first, appear to detract from the city’s social scene. This isn’t surprising, with each season heralding fresh outdoor pursuits, Vancouverites are more likely to spend their weekends socialising around a campfire or on a ski slope instead of a high-stool. However, the ever-increasing Irish diaspora and commensurate demand for a decent Guinness has led to authentic Irish pubs springing up across the city.
In addition to pubs, the vibrant Irish community has created a dynamic life that almost mirrors the cultural way of life at home. While the number of GAA clubs in the city has almost reached double digits, there are also Irish running clubs and even ciorcal comhrá's for the Gaeilgeoirs. Irish acts such as Joanne McNally and the 2 Johnnies are continuously attracted to the city by the size of the eager Irish audience.
The residential suburb of Kitsilano in Vancouver has become so overrun by Irish it is affectionately called County Kits. The demographics of this suburb were never more clear than during a public street festival in the height of the summer. After one of the music acts finished, a spontaneous and raucous rendition of the Fields of Athenry followed by Olé Olé Olé rang out among the crowd to the bewilderment of locals.
Vancouver doesn’t, however, tick every box for new arrivals because even some of the more negative aspects seem to imitate those at home. The double-edged sword of the beaches, mountains and extensive parks means the space for accommodation is limited. Rents can rival Dublin and generally it’s a case of who you know to get a decent option.
The extent of homelessness can also be truly alarming. Certain streets in the city centre are now almost exclusively the domain of tented accommodation and rough sleepers.
Vancouver also has an extremely high cost of living. Even own-brand groceries can be pricey, with the costs of basics like dairy, bread and meat eye-watering at times.
With the nickname Raincouver, the weather can also match that of home, particularly in late spring. So there were times, like the day of the street festival or when complaining about the price of rent while looking out at the rainy vista, that you would almost forget that you were on a different continent to home.
But then there were other times when you couldn’t but feel every single mile between Vancouver and Ireland.
Every food and beverage purchase required significant mental arithmetic to try to calculate the final price once the taxes, charges and inevitable tip were included. Vancouverites also tend to more rigidly respect the rules with acts like skipping a queue, even inadvertently, quickly instigating the wrath of the typically polite locals.
This experience is certainly not the experience of every Irish immigrant who touches down in Vancouver.
While I fell into the cliche of Irish abroad, others have more successfully embraced Canadian culture. Religiously filing into Rogers Arena during ice hockey season to follow the Vancouver Canucks, enjoying Canadian cuisine like a poutine (combination of chips, gravy and cheese curds) or even adopting Canadianisms such as adding “for sure” after every sentence.
But if the cliche is what you are after, Vancouver really is a great Irish imitator.
- Aoife O’Dwyer moved to Vancouver, Canada in February, 2023, where she lived for a year and a half, working for a financial company. She is from Tipperary and has recently moved back to Ireland and is now looking for a job.
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