Kat Sutton lived in East Van as a kid, but her family moved to the suburbs for a while. She then tried living in the UK and Downtown Vancouver’s West End, but she felt the pull to return home to East Van in 2011 and hasn’t left since. These are Kat’s thoughts and opinions on how the neighbourhood has changed, her favourite spots to eat and drink and what it’s like to raise her own family here.

I’m a fourth-generation East Vancouverite raising my two rambunctious kids and mischievous puppy in East Van’s Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood.

I grew up in East Van in the 1980s until my family moved to the ‘burbs when I was 12. As an adult, I’ve lived in the UK and in Vancouver’s West End, but made my way back to East Van in 2011 when I was very pregnant with my first son and, while I’ve moved several times since then, it’s always been in this neighbourhood.

It’s hard to overstate how much the neighbourhood has changed since I lived in East Van as a kid. It’s much more gentrified now, with a lot more people and housing density, but despite all the changes, it still has the essence of the quirky, creative, and community-oriented neighbourhood I’ve loved since I was little.

I live in a half duplex I bought in 2023.

Bring your playfulness and community spirit, but leave your NIMBYism on the West Side where it belongs.

Housing affordability is a huge issue here, just like everywhere else in the city. Many of the best things about the neighbourhood stem from the artists, creatives and young people who live here, so everyone stands to lose when those folks are priced out of the market.

Its quirkiness, live-and-let-live openness and no-BS edge.

The many impromptu summer concerts that take place during the summer in parks, on street corners, and even in alleyways. I don’t mean “official” events or busking, just delightful guerilla-gigs that instantly brighten your day and make you grateful to live here.

The Eastside Culture Crawl is a fantastic annual event where hundreds of local artists open their studios and sell their work. Be sure to visit my favourite artist, NikNaz Kahnamoui, at her studio the Mergatroid Building when you go.

The Parade of Lost Souls is a grassroots festival of the undead that takes place each year on the closest Saturday to Halloween. It’s such a joyful, weird, and exuberant event that puts East Van’s creativity and playfulness on full display.

And, of course, Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Theatre Replacement's hilarious and irreverent East Van Panto at the York Theatre.

I love raising my kids here and taking them to the same neighbourhood haunts my mom took me to as a kid, like bowling at Grandview Lanes or swimming at Britannia Pool – neither of which appear to have changed so much as a lightbulb since the 1980s. East Van is hugely diverse in every sense of the word, which I think has helped my kids learn to respect and appreciate differences; it’s also a community with strong progressive values, and I hope living here will help them grow into the kind of people who stand up for others and what they know is right. It’s also a genuinely fun neighbourhood, and I really hope being part of this community teaches my kids the value of joy, whimsy and irreverence as sustaining forces in an often heartbreaking world.

I’m a devotee of Survivor Fitness, which is, hands-down, East Van’s best workout. Daniela, our hilarious drill-sergeant of a fitness instructor, will get you in the best shape of your life whether you like it or not!

For as long as I can remember, East Van has been the best place in Vancouver to get coffee. Where else in the city would a Starbucks go under and be replaced by an independent gin bar? Blind Rabbit, I’m looking at you! My go-tos are Bump N Grind, Mah’s Milk Bar, and good old JJ Bean, which admittedly has locations far outside of East Van but we’ll forgive them for that.

There are countless brewery tap rooms where you can get a world-class craft beer: Parallel 49 and Strangefellows are two of my favourites. The food is equally fantastic – we’ve got Michelin-starred places like Published, Barbara and Kissa Tanto, but you’re far more likely to find me at Kin Kao, La Mezcaleria, Bao Bei, or Juke Fried Chicken.

A small-but-visible segment of the population probably matches the oat-milk-drinking hipster stereotypes that make us seem like characters out of an episode of Portlandia.

In true East Van style, I’m a caretaker of the 11-unit fairy condo located in the tree outside my house. It’s quite the luxury high rise with a spacious deck, multi-unit underground gnome den and even electric lighting. You can follow its adventures on Instagram: @TimberTowers.

I work from home as Director of Communications for a provincial health charity so my commute is idyllic in that it involves me shuffling three feet from my coffee maker to my desk.

Quirky. Engaged. Open.