Best for
Commercial Drive — The Drive — is a 20-block stretch running north-south through the Grandview–Woodland neighbourhood in East Vancouver. It was Vancouver's Little Italy from the 1950s to the 1980s and still has the espresso bars and delis to prove it, but today it's more accurately the city's Latin American, Ethiopian, and long-term-bohemian corridor. It's where cafés still let you sit with one coffee for three hours and nobody asks you to leave.
The stretch between 1st and 14th has more independent restaurants per block than anywhere else in the city, and almost none of them are chains. Havana Restaurant has been an anchor for decades. The Drive is also home to some of the best vintage shops, indie bookstores (Pulpfiction, People's Co-op), and record stores left in Vancouver.
Living here is still relatively affordable by Vancouver standards — one-bedrooms in older character buildings run $1,800–2,300, and the neighbourhood is well-served by the 20 bus and the Commercial–Broadway SkyTrain station (the busiest station in the entire network). Commercial Drive is the best fit for newcomers who want character, affordability, and a strong sense of community, and who don't mind a slightly scruffy edge.
Services in Vancouver
Local price ranges for services — we don't yet break these down to the neighbourhood level, but prices in Vancouver are consistent across most inner areas.