Van City – How two UBC students circumvent Vancouver's high rental costs
Van City – How two UBC students circumvent Vancouver's high rental costs
The Canadian housing crisis affects people of all ages, and in this video, two young international students from Italy show us their innovative and cost effective housing solution that allows them to study Forestry at UBC in Vancouver, B.C., – a city known for its high rents.
CREDITS:
Joel Lee-Dodek – friend & musician
Jonah Lee-McNamee – Director & Editor
Derek Kwan – Producer
Shiun Okada – Director of Photography
Alessio Brandolese – student & van camper
Paolo Ferronato – student & van camper
The cost of education is terrible and the government needs to help more than they do, however, street camping is getting bad, really really really bad.
It’s a problem when big corporations buy houses for higher prices and then the rent goes up cause they want to strip us of the little money we have left.
Talk about candy-coating a bad situation. For these 2 fellows this is an adventure. For most people it is just one step away from living on the street.
It would be nice if our government would do something but they love the deep pockets that they are in…
Canada is the second biggest country in the world with small population. It is sad to see people living in vehicles or being homeless in Canada.
Cool keep encouraging peoole to live in crappy Rvs instead of trying to make rent in vancover affordable what a joke.
Bravi ragazzi, se vi servisse una mano fatemi sapere vivo a Vancouver.
If I was the original owner I would be pissed to see skis and other items in the bathtub lol. Hopefully it’s a non issue.
Moral of the story. International students paying $20k a semester forced to live in a camper for $2000 a month because it’s cheaper than a one bedroom apartment.
They don’t have sufficient space to store all their stuff so it goes in the bathtub and they’re forced to use shower facilities at UBC or Spanish Banks when the outdoor showers are open.
I’ve been a student at UBC for 7 years and I see their Van parked all the time! Anyone know what these guys study ?
Renting a parking space for RV costs money in Vancouver
I lived in a van for 2 years, this brought back some great memories! Cheers dudes!
Scabs
The world needs people like you who live differently. Too much conformity and imitation makes life unbearable.
Selling a 26′ 2001 motorhome if anyone looking 😛
Glad these guys are having fun and enjoying life but let’s not forget Canadian real estate prices has completely detached from average income.
I suppose it would be worth it to own a home if you knew the value would keep going up to where you could make a profit but you don`t. 2008 Financial Crisis burned so many. Problem is people have turned homes into property speculation. If you can only afford rent then it would be better to buy a van. That rent money would instead be going into paying off the van that you would own. The property market in those cities are warped like the space and time around a blackhole so don`t get sucked in. Unless the government builds and sells you a apartment that is the proper price the apartment should be and not the current market rate then don`t do it. I suppose If yourself, a girlfriend and then another couple pooled your signatures on a mortgage then you could buy and share a house. Also it might be better to be mobile with climate change. Those people on the west coast of the USA in those expensive houses have no water now, they are in a drought and soon they will ration water in those cities. With a van you can move around to where there is plenty of water and job opportunities. California will be like Las Vegas a desert but even then Las Vegas gets its water from a dam that is drying up permanently this time, no more snow packs.
"We found the seller.. he didnt want to sell it, we didnt want to buy it." lol
this is better than most films can’t believe it’s free
I hate all these “van life” cool kid posers from rich families.
It is exactly as both Paolo and Alessandro say. It is from the challenges and even hardships that comes fulfillment and even adventure.. Yes there is the question of choice, but there is also something to be learned from 2 young men that faced their own problem and solved it in their own way.
In the beginning where is the location of your favorite spots?
2000 bucks a year!? And repairs? You 2 got burned
Cool guys
I guess Canada housing is horrible and it looks like people are accepting it. 😬 why?
The danger of promoting a lifestyle like this is it becomes popular. When it becomes popular, governments step in and regulate or sanction it. I’ll hopefully be starting carlife soon as I genuinely don’t believe in paying for rent and bills to end up owning nothing in the end. Why not use the asset you already have and treat it like a home/house. Or buy a van and call it a house. The issue society has with it is that our ideology and worldview is that only poor people live in their car and that poverty is shameful, taboo and a sign of poor character (you can’t manage your money or you’ve made bad decisions). This is the cultural fallacy of the financially minded neoliberal western world.
Anything can be a home. A car, an SUV, a van, a truck. Truck drivers who don’t distance trips live out of their truck. When we go camping, we live out of a backpack and the forest or campsite becomes our home. There is no reason to be ashamed or embarrased by living in a vehicle. This can be a great life if done right
Hey if any one is watching this that lives in one of these caravans; can you please stop dumping your trash on the road and in the bushes?
two people live in there!
Rock on!
Honestly what do ppl expect? To live in one of the most desirable places for close to minimum wage salary? Ppl have it hard in other parts that are less desirable and still work hard to live. Become useful and contribute more thn just being a body. Provide a service that isn’t designed for students to make some pocket change like a cashier at McDonald’s. The economy is booming and takes one phone call to get a contruction job which pays north of $25/hour.
I don’t know if its just because they’re Italian but they make van life look fun and charming. great job guys! the idea that you need to live inside 4 walls is outdated. I love the resourcefulness, while also disagreeing with the out-of-this-stratosphere housing costs. everyone should be able to come here, study, live, work, etc and afford housing. if you can’t, these two illustrate a perfect acceptable alternative.
Great little story. I’m gonna live in an RV soon.
You know Trudeau and the leftists cant have this for too long. Too much freedom is a threat to leftist ideals. He’ll have the RCMP roll these boys up soon.
I hope people see the dystopia normalizing people living in vehicles rather than addressing housing crisis…
People come from all around the world to have an opportunity to live in poverty and be permenantly homeless in Canada.
I read there are some colleges and universities that allocate overnight parking for van dwelling students.
Rent is neo-liberal slavery. Paid for by crony politicians, bank bailouts, and dirty money from dubious, overseas dictatorships.
Many of the virtue signalling hypocrites who love to announce their BLM, Trans, and Climate allegiances, at every opportunity, are usually cynical manipulators projecting their guilt and greed onto others, while neck deep in property speculation, and tax payer funded, central bank printed money. They just want to extract every penny they can, out of others, with state assistance, through globalists like Trudeau. Sickening people.That’s you, boasting at dinner parties how you flipped a condo for 100% profit, but then can’t figure out why your kids can’t afford to even rent a home, impossible to buy.
Vancouver and area is ridiculous cost-wise. Love it there, but it’s a millionaire’s playground. Sadly.
They have a great van set up!
"The owner didn’t want to sell it and we didn’t want to buy it, se we gave him $2,000 for one year.." Brilliant solution.
Grandi i nostri veneti <3
That pasta looked fire af
Kudos to these two young men for circumventing the insane rent prices of Vancouver.
As a non-Canadian, I am curious why so many people choose to live in Vancouver when the cost of living is so obviously ridiculous. Logically one would think people would rationally move away from a city that exploits people for their rental income so harshly. Yet oddly, people are still choosing to live in Vancouver. Why is that?
Great video. Glad you found your home on wheels. What a nice way to experience your college days. You will never forget this time of your life. Happy camping
1000 a month for rent in bc are u joking its more like 3000 a month , some one who earns 3000 a month to pay 3000 in rent is suicidal and im the avg canadien its bad in canada really bad
The memories these guys will have will be priceless
Good on you 😄 Sad that it’s $$ 🏴☠️ above all else! Nice way to find a solution 😁 Was going to make a VANcouver joke but seemed cheesy 😁
That’s so cool, cheers!
The fact that young people have to resort to this is sad, glad they are taking it very sportive and are making memories. But as a developed nation we shouldn’t have got to a stage where young people have to look at such alternatives.
Love seeing the landfills of garbage and human waste that oddly seem to have a direct correlation to where the vans are parked .
Very cool 😎