Digital Nomad’s Guide to Vancouver
Every time I visit Vancouver, I find myself wondering, “why don’t I live here? Should I live here?”
The city is super cool, eco-friendly, vegan-friendly, bike-friendly. The people are beautiful. You’ve got the ocean, mountains, and a million amazing hiking trails within reasonable driving distance. And admittedly, I don’t even know it that well. But here are some cool places I found while travelling there.
(Want to know what Vancouver sounds like? Here’s a playlist of local indie acts.)
Coffee Shops
Bean Around the World (Hastings)
175 W Hastings St, Vancouver, BC V6B 1G8
There are a bunch of these shops around Vancouver, but the one on Hastings has a nice art display (though presumably it changes over time) and is in a great location (though Hastings gets pretty dicey further East).
(Photo: Marc Z. Goldgrub)
Cafe Lokal
2610 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6K 1P8
Charming, laptop-friendly cafe in the Kitsilano neighbourhood. Once upon a time, this area was Vancouver’s Haight-Ashbury equivalent. These days though, it’s relatively normcore.
(Photo: Marc Z. Goldgrub)
Moja Coffee (Commercial Drive)
1102 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC V5L 3X2
I’m going to admit I didn’t actually get to try the coffee here. I just passed by it while walking along Commercial Drive (the closest thing to Haight-Ashbury in current day Vancouver) and it looked like a perfect spot for digital nomads.
(Photo: Moja Coffee)
Restaurants
MeeT (Gastown)
Inner Courtyard, 12 Water St, Vancouver, BC V6B 4K7
Excellent vegan restaurant in the heart of Vancouver’s vibrant Gastown neighbourhood (though there are other locations around the city).
(Photo: MeeT in Gastown)
Eternal Abundance
1025 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC V5L 3X1
If you are looking for ‘vegan hippie Vancouver’, it doesn’t get much more ‘vegan hippie Vancouver’ than Eternal Abundance Organic Market & Eatery.
(Photo: Marc Z. Goldgrub)
Good Dogs Plant Foods
1331 Robson St, Vancouver, BC V6E 1C6
This colourful, friendly vegan hot dog spot completely reimagines the possibilities of what a vegan hot dog can be. The menu features various creative options. I tried the spicy “Thot Dog”. It was phenomenal.
(Photo: Marc Z. Goldgrub)
Parks and Recreation
Stanley Park
Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC V6G 1Z4
This enormous park is basically the park in Vancouver.
(Photo: Lonely Boy/Pexels)
Conscious Lab
422 Richards St #200, Vancouver, BC V6B 2Z4
I hit this beautiful wellness studio up for a sound bath + movement + cold plunge event one night, and pretty much had a peak experience.
(Photo: Conscious Lab)
Drugs and Alcohol
Alcohol: Legal drinking age in British Columbia is 19.
Cannabis: Recreational cannabis is legal. It can be purchased from licensed dispensaries by adults aged 19+, though there are also some unlicensed dispensaries in the city. Public smoking is generally permitted, and you can expect to smell a good bit of cannabis while walking around. Vancouver has long been famously 420-friendly, well before cannabis was legalized for recreational use in 2018.
Psychedelics: Vancouver’s psychedelic situation is very interesting and a little complicated. The sale of psychedelics is illegal, but there are numerous aboveground stores that sell psilocybin, and some even sell LSD, DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, kratom, and peyote. Vancouver police have openly said they’re not really concerned about psychedelics, probably because all resources are required to deal with the city’s catastrophic hard drug addition problem. MDMA is not openly sold, but personal possession of up to 2.5 grams is decriminalized (but only for private, not public use - see more about this here).