Can Vancouver life get any better with Games?

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RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY: The hill to be used for the freestyle skiing competition at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games is shrouded in rain and mist.

GETTING READY: The Olympic rings sit on a barge in the Burrard Inlet in Vancouver, British Columbia.

SIGN OF THE TIMES: A worker puts up Olympic signs in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

SIGN OF THE TIMES: Workers put up Olympic banners in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia.

AUSSIE INPUT: Members of the First Nation community and hotel staff, including a restaurant chef (right), carry a traditional aboriginal canoe in the lobby of the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia. The canoe will be part of the Aboriginal village set up in the hotel to showcase native culture during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

SECURITY BOOM: Large water booms are pulled into place around Olympic venues on the waterfront in Vancouver, British Columbia. The booms are to create a security perimeter for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

HOSTS' FLAG BEARER: Speedskater Clara Hughes holds a Canadian flag outside the Olympic Oval in Richmond, British Columbia. Hughes was chosen as the flag bearer during the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

GAMES SYMBOL: People are framed in Olympic rings etched on a window in the downtown square at the Athletes' Village in Whistler, British Columbia. The village will house about 900 athletes competing in alpine and nordic events during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

GAMES SYMBOL: An Inuit stone landmark called an inukshuk stands at the entrance to the Olympic ski jumping venue in Whistler, British Columbia. The inukshuk is a symbol of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

ON ICE: People stand inside the Olympic Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. The site will be the venue for curling during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

EYE IN THE SKY: A balloon holding security monitoring equipment sits over the Athletes' Village in Whistler, British Columbia. About 900 athletes taking part in the alpine and nordic events during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be housed in the village.

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THE BEGINNING: Greek actress Maria Nafpliotou, playing the role of high priestess, lights a torch during a handover ceremony at Panathenian stadium in Athens.

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Cities that take on the gargantuan task of hosting Olympic Games contend that the costly investment leads to a better quality of life for its denizens for years to come.

But the 2010 Winter Games host Vancouver is already ranked as one of the most livable cities in the world, leading some to wonder if the Olympics can add anything to this Canadian city on the so-called 'Left Coast'.

"The bar is set so high now that it will be interesting to see if they do," said Randy Albertson, 55, as he gathered with friends in downtown Vancouver at the countdown board for the Games that open on Friday.

'Vangroovy' or 'Lotusland' - as the city of 2.1 million is known in Canada - is by most accounts clean, friendly, safe, multicultural and a gastronomic paradise.

Surrounded by water and snowy mountains, it is the epitome of the healthy outdoors, allowing for golf in the morning and skiing in the afternoon.

With just one highway that skirts downtown, the city also boasts public transport that allows many Vancouverites to go car-free. Even Mayor Gregor Robertson travels by bike, despite one of the city's downsides -- frequent rain.

Vancouver was ranked as the world's most livable city in 2009 by The Economist and was fourth in Mercer's "Quality of Living" survey of 215 cities for the same year.

The mayor said Vancouver is so advanced on issues like anti-smoking laws that it willingly compromised on those issues to accommodate the Olympics.

"We don't need to pontificate on how far down the path we are," Robertson said. "I think it is important we show how we are behaving as a city, and model that, but not be heavy-handed about it."

LITTLE BOOST FOR POOR

The Games have a mostly privately funded budget of C$1.7 billion, although a provincial auditor's report from 2006 put the Games' cost to taxpayers at C$2.5 billion.

Even if they support the Olympic spirit, some Vancouverites have mixed feelings about how the money is spent and whether it will improve life for the disadvantaged, like the thousands of homeless just a stone's throw from Olympic venues.

"It was a fantastic opportunity to create low-cost housing here and we blew it entirely and that's really disappointing," said librarian Miriam Moses, 55, noting that the Olympic Village will be high-end housing when the athletes leave.

Yet Moses and others have high praise for the new, sleek Canada Line train linking the airport and downtown, and improvements in the Sea to Sky highway up to the Whistler ski resort, venue for Olympic skiing events.

One of the best windfalls of the Olympics for the already blessed Vancouverites may be the party, the chance to celebrate during two weeks and show off a world-class city to visitors.

"I was feeling blase about it until I got downtown today," Albertson said on Sunday. "And there were the international athletes with their coats and regalia, and I caught a little bit of excitement. I am actually a little bit surprised."

- Reuters