Vancouver or Kuala Lumpur

[keyboardjam]

I have a choice of a week next summer of one of these places.

Any advice?

Vancouver is definitely worth visiting. I don't want my last post to put people off. Yes, it has a serious homelessness issue, but other than that (and not minimizing the seriousness of that, at all) it is a fantastic destination.

@BookShark we spent 4 days in Vancouver this summer and ran out of time to do the things we planned. We did Whalewatching, Whistler along sea ti sky highway, Granville Island, fireworks comp they have every year, Stanley Park, Gastown, Coal Harbour. Didn't make it to China town or any of the beaches. Would have loved to catch a passenger ferry to Van Island but didn't know about till after.
My teens weren't really affected by the homelessness/drug taking -thought it was similar to our big cities like London/Manchester- although they are used to seeing it sadly. We did find it dirtier than expected and expensive though and smelled weed a lot

I also found Vancouver a bit boring and didn't feel it had the buzz of cities like NY. Friends really enjoyed living there though that was a while ago and it sounds as if things have changed.

So KL for me.

KL is a great 'middle' place for Asia. All the culture, food, sights, etc, but not as polluted and busy as say, Bangkok or HK.

Vancouver is a nice casual holiday. I would recommend this place over virtually every other (with perhaps the exception of New York or London) if you're into filming locations. It's insane how many things have been filmed there.

Flash, Smallville, Vampire Diaries, X-men, House, Psych, Lucifer, Monk, Arrow, Deadpool, Stargate...

I'm a huge film/series buff so I loved it thers

Vancouver is gorgeous in summer (it's the dry season). Do be aware that the past few years it's been getting hotter there in summer and as a PP mentioned there can be a risk of smoke from forest fires later in summer. You can also go over to Vancouver Island or up into the mountains or to the Sunshine Coast. Best time of year to go in my opinion.

It's never claimed to have the "buzz" of big cities like NYC. It's a tiny city in comparison with ~700k population vs ~8 million! Its primary appeal is its unbelievably scenic location between the mountains and the coast and the (mostly) extremely friendly, welcoming people. It's a laid back, scenic destination.

If you wanted to experience Canada's city that's closest to the vibe of NYC (but still nothing like it) you need to head to Toronto, but to be honest, who chooses Canada as their destination because they're looking for a big city buzz...? LOL!

Malacca is also a great place to go to as a combo with KL.

It was back in 2019 I went, we went to Canada for our Honeymoon and spent 3 weeks driving around to different places. We started in Vancouver, went to Vancouver Island and did the sea to sky highway, all the way up to Jasper, down to Banff and across to Calgary.

I don't remember seeing much homelessness or drugs when we went. Probably did encounter some, but nothing so bad that I remember about.

We stayed in Downtown Vancouver so maybe why we didn't see much as I know there are other areas which are a bit rough.

I don't think size matters with "buzz".

I've been to smaller cities than Vancoucer, that I feel had more buzz.

Vancouver to me just felt boring and kind of culture less. The same streets everywhere.

When I was in Vancouver, I met a man from Montreal. He had moved to Van for his girlfriend.

He told me that he felt sad there because Vancouver had "no culture".

Thats how I felt. It was just bland and cultureless

Now I'm wondering if I'm just so hardened to it as a Londoner that I did see it but it didn't really register (not a nice thought but seems unlikely that I actually didn't pass anyone homeless based on all the subsequent replies). Actually what I remember thinking is how much safer I felt in Vancouver than in London - e.g. I felt ok walking with my phone out to navigate. Anyway, I won't derail the thread further. But I did love Vancouver OP, and Vancouver Island even more!

I don't think size matters with "buzz". I've been to smaller cities than Vancouver, that I feel had more buzz. Vancouver to me just felt boring and kind of culture less. The same streets everywhere.

Ditto. I've been to smaller cities in Europe (and frankly the U.K.) that also had the buzz and amazing culture. Canada has stunning scenery and I'm sure is a great place to live but I was underwhelmed by Vancouver as a city.

I lived in Chicago on a gap year and wouldn't return there as I didn't think it was a great city to explore either. I've been to NY six times and would happily go back again.

The OP was looking for a city-based break so my answer was based on that.