Don't write Vancouver off quite yet. There's Vancouver and then there's Vancouver. Vancouver proper can be expensive or not so expensive, and then there are the numerous very closely-located suburbs which are less expensive and situated well enough that you can take advantage of everything the Vancouver area has to offer. Heck, in many cases the things Vancouver is known to offer are not in Vancouver itself but rather in those very suburbs.
This area certainly isn't the least expensive in which to live, but it isn't the most either. I can only speak for myself but I find that the view that it is too expensive has been largely blown out of proportion, especially given the benefits the area provides.
For someone bootstrapping it does depend largely on your budget and support system, so if you have any ballpark budget numbers it would be relatively easy to give you an idea of what the Vancouver area would be like on that budget.