Vancouver is a small town with a cityscape, as it were. It is not uncommon for people on the bus or at some event to recognize friends or acquaintances, and panhandlers and homeless people are on corners or in front of popular stores.
They are easy going though, which is a sharp contrast with Chicago where they are aggressive.
They’ll be standing on corners, shaking their cups, asking for money. Some will follow you, cup shaking. And some will corner you coming out of a store or other establishment. I got cornered coming out of a Subway shop.
She caught me coming out, and cornered me between the wall and the door with her son at her side. She spun a tale of getting into a fight with her husband on the street, someone called the cops and he got arrested. Naturally he had her purse, keys and bus pass. She wasn’t about to let me pass without handing over something. I had to duck back into the Subway, make small talk and hurry out when she turned her back.
In Vancouver, they hold up cardboard signs, usually to the effect of being stranded or homeless. Others walk around collecting cans and bottles. There was one guy, with a shopping cart, that made the rounds at a softball field. Our Gatorade bottles were full when he first arrived, and empty at the end of the game when he came back. We gave him our empty bottles and he went on his way with a “thank you.”