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Know who really cares? Not Emirates or airlines. Talk to Disneyworld. Talk to real estate agents who are seeing middle east buyers heading to Vancouver and London rather than New York. Emirates delivers the people but the real loss is to those doing business with those people once they land.

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Is Vancouver really in the class of london and new York? (I've lived my whole life in a Vancouver suburb, and I'm curious how the world views us)

It depends. The city isn't great for locals, but the overseas investor sees different things. They look for stability and ease of entry. A good airport, reasonable immigration and stable house prices. Even the local efforts to stabilize prices through the new taxes are seen as safe in that they reduce the chance of a bubble burst. If you are looking for a place to park money in real estate, Vancouver is on the short list. If you are a local looking for work or wanting to start a business, that is a totally different story.

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