Vancouver

Mild, rainy and green, with mountains and ocean inside the city limits and outdoor life built into the week. It's the most physically beautiful place on this map and the hardest to afford, and both facts shape every decision people make here. Transit is good, the city is small enough to cross, and the long-established Asian communities make arriving from abroad easier than most places.

International tuition is real but sits below American private rates, and the honest problem is housing: rent takes an outsized share of any student budget here and is the most common reason students end up commuting from far out. Work during study is permitted and worth planning for, and the post-graduation permit is what turns the cost into an investment rather than an expense.Described in shape rather than figures on purpose: rents and salaries move every year and we cannot keep numbers true, but what is expensive and what quietly eats income stays true for far longer.

English throughout, with French useful for federal jobs and largely irrelevant on this coast. Language test scores are counted formally in the immigration points system, so a strong result is worth real money later. Treat it as part of the plan rather than an afterthought.