I will be doing a new type of journal-type phototour of the city of Guelph, the quirky and liberal hippy city in Southern Ontario that has European cafes, sophistication, beautiful streetwalls and streetscapes, and leafy expansive neighbourhoods with plenty of mixed zoning. I will be living in Guelph a little bit in the summer, and then permanently from September/October onwards, and I cannot wait.

I hope everyone will enjoy my phototours when they start coming, because they will really show Guelph's uniqueness... it is such a 'different place', often likened to Cabbagetown, and it is my second-favourite city in Ontario.

-SP!RE

West End
http://files.photojerk.com/andrewharv/g1.jpg
The shame of Guelph, one could say, this is the main suburban part of Guelph. It has a different atmosphere from the old city, but its residents aren't exactly open to 'big box' developments... thank God.


Downtown
http://files.photojerk.com/andrewharv/g2.jpg
Downtown Guelph is so unheard of, yet it is full of New York-style cafe-bookshops, sidewalk cafes, and has both a large performing arts centre and a sports entertainment centre, hidden away behind intact 19th and 20th century streetwalls and unique infill projects. Leafy neighbourhoods, people everywhere, and mixed-use planning also make this a model downtown for cities that are much larger.


Yuppie
http://files.photojerk.com/andrewharv/g3.jpg
Guelph residents are very liberal and progressive. Although it's a shame for me that less people in my new community go to church, I will have no problem making friends... trendsetters move here from Toronto, and the businesses here are funky enough to be in a city of that size. So are some of the loft apartments.


Hippie
http://files.photojerk.com/andrewharv/g4.jpg
Local election time in Guelph means Green Party signs adorning lawn after lawn after lawn. This is a city that thinks ahead in great ways, and there are many colourful areas with residents that are unique and eccentric. As well, waste is put into dry and wet categories. Not to generalize, but Guelph really is a quirky place.

I'm looking forward to it!

I saw another picture thread for Guelph elsewhere. Very clean city.

Guelph is a real gem and kinda nice thats its not very well known or it would be gentrified.
Thank goodness it doesn't have a big christian church movement. It would be intolerant. It is the pluralism and liberalism that help make it unique. Very conservative christian centres tend to be rather bland as they are not accepting of the beleifs and lifestyles that make a city bohemian and care-free.

Hopefully Guelph will retain its quirky character as it becomes more and more of a commuter city full of sprawling new subdivisions and suburban-minded people.

They should make a greenbelt around hte city, to keep it "isolated" from the suburbs. It could be a piece of paradise in a suburban backwards hell :)

Guelph is a real gem and kinda nice thats its not very well known or it would be gentrified.
Thank goodness it doesn't have a big christian church movement. It would be intolerant. It is the pluralism and liberalism that help make it unique. Very conservative christian centres tend to be rather bland as they are not accepting of the beleifs and lifestyles that make a city bohemian and care-free.

Although I understand what you mean, I can't completely agree. I am Christian, and I love funky, unique, bohemian places. As well, I am quite a yuppy or hippy myself many would say. In South Africa many of the neighbourhoods and cities are almost completely Christian and they are colourful, funky- way more so than what we would call 'funky' or unique in Toronto.

Christian and conservative are not the same btw- in fact, many young Christians are FAR from being conservative- and damn proud of it :)

Thanks for your responses, though, everyone!

-SP!RE

A poem to tie you over...
--------------------------------------------------------------

"Guelph" by me

Small cottages with seemingly overgrown gardens
Ratty power lines dangling above
From wooden street posts littered with bylaw signs

Bright colours all around
To the contemporary regency of Oxford Street
And the stylish cafes of downtown

Beautiful stone and vines growing up the side
Yuppies, Hippies, Liberals
Narrow laneways running behind a jumble of homes

Density and urbanity
Strollers, dog-walkers, humble talkers
Large trees growing above in layers

Corner stores with bikes chained up nearby
Friendly neighbours painting old windows and shutters
Residents chat about their gardens

Large homes beside small cottages
Large garden in place of a lawn
Fences and wrought iron

Small porches
Homes built right up at the sidewalk
People sitting out on their small deck for tea

Music and arts galore
A night on the town
A night out, at the theatre

Homeless, the seemingly insane
Murder, conspiracy, and backstabbing
Gossip over a hot chocolate

New York? Toronto? Vancouver?
Who needs them?
We have our own little urban abode: Guelph.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

its just a rough draft, but, 'hey'...

^^^Right on!

It reminds me so much of being in a Toronto neighbourhood or something... honestly, why does Guelph get so underrated? Just because it isn't a huge city (1 million or more) doesn't mean it isn't very urban... Guelph is so urban... its my little 'big city'. ;)

Then again... I am glad its a hidden secret, I guess.

..maybe I could call it the Cabbagetown Phototour and that way more people would be interested and would read it. Maybe some wouldn't even be able to tell the difference ;) J/K its not THAT similar... though in SOME places it sorta is...