This is a copy of a thread I started in "another" of these websites, in order to see how we, as Canadians, would react if requested to say something positive about our own cities in Canada. I have to say so far I am very pleased with the positive replies it has received in the other website! People are proving that they do have some positive ideas about our own Canadian cities!:cheers2: :
Here is an idea that has been knocking around in my head for awhile. After a year on these "types" of forums, I've learned that we, as Canadians, are very good at sticking together during international City vs City dogfights, but miserable failures at finding the slightest thing positive about other Canadian cities during typical domestic squabbles. I would ask the mods to please not automatically lock this as a City vs City thread.. it is just the opposite and I can't remember anyone doing it before. I would like to see our POSITIVE thoughts about each OTHER'S city (there are no shortage of threads where we give our positive opinions on the strengths of our OWN city), a kind of City + City. Here is your assignment, should you choose to accept it. I will list some representative Canadian cities (and please, no whining that I missed out Moose Jaw or Trois-Rivières; it is just a rough selection). Take each city and admit (as honestly as humanly possible) all the things about that city that you truly ADMIRE and would like to have at your fingertips in your own city. I think everyone, if forced to, would admit that all Canadian cities have their strengths and beauties, but often we do not acknowledge those cities to our fellow Canadians. A few rules, please... just as your mother hopefully told you, if you can't think of something nice to say, DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL. In other words, DON'T bad mouth another city, either directly or obliquely. If you TRULY can't think of a nice thing to say about another Canadian city, then maybe you are a newb and don't know anything about our wonderful country and move onto another thread. And rule #2, don't include either your own city, or the one that is your "spiritual" home (ie the one you constantly tell everyone you would rather move back to but can't for some obscure reason). Rule number 3, and this is the MOST IMPORTANT ONE......please try hardest for the city you have the most pre-conceived ideas about. Prove you can change your mind about a city by the things you have learned here on SSP. Please remember this is NOT a negative City vs City thread.. only positive comments are allowed otherwise please move on to any number of other haggling threads. Rule number 4, be honest. Don't fib.. Here are the cities, arbitrarily chosen:
1)Victoria
2)Vancouver
3)Edmonton
4)Calgary
5)Winnipeg
6)Toronto
7) Ottawa
8)Montreal
9)Halifax
I'll start
1) I love the quaintness of Victoria.. the peace and the rather Olde Worlde calm. It may be "more English than England" but it has its own unique charm that you will find no where else in Canada. Plus, it has the best climate of all cities listed. You have not lived til you have had Fish n' Chips in Victoria. Who else has a replica of Anne Hathaway's cottage? As for gardening, if you can't grow it in Victoria, then you can't grow it anywhere in Canada.
2) I love the ocean, and envy having beaches like English Bay just a short bike ride away, as much as I love our lake beaches. I love the fact it rarely snows in Vancouver, and would adore buying live shrimp at Granville market for my dinner about three nights per week out of 7 (and hitting up that dodgy character that sells the world's best home made red Thai curry sauce). I would love to drag Vij's restaurant to Toronto. I would love to plant a windmill palm tree in my back yard and have it live an entire 365 days. Vancouverites were the first to import the modern idea of flavoured "martini's" to Canada, via Delilah's and should be proud of that fact.
They also grow a lot of strange things that are fun.
3) Coming from Winnipeg originally, I appreciate the old trees in Edmonton, and the older, "lived in" neighbourhoods. There is a strong feeling of "community" in Edmonton, like the 'Peg, that you do not find in big cities. House parties and pot-lucks are more popular than in bigger cities. Plus I love the kind of topography downtown in Edmonton. Also you can get decent perogies without looking like an idiot.
4) I admire the determination and single-mindedness of Calgarians. They are onto a good thing, and want more of it. They are not going to be satisfied with the status quo and want more respect from the more established parts of Canada. They seem to balance work with play well, and are focused on the future. If there is a city that has the right to say "Let the good times Roll", it is Calgary. Is there a city in the world (aside from Dubai) that has more impressive "before and after" skylines from 1980 to today? I think not.
5) I come from Winnipeg so will pass
6)I live in Toronto so will pass
7) I love the charming architecture of Ottawa, and the beautiful Rideau Canal. I would love to visit the National Gallery more often, and take more tours through our Parliament Buildings. Anyone who has not taken the tour has really missed out on learning about our history. Also, to see Ottawa in full bloom with tulips in the Spring is a sight to behold.
8) There are many things I admire about Montreal, and some I downright envy. I'd happily kill innocent bystanders to have an Old Montreal here in my town. To wander down Rue St. Jacques on a weekly basis would fill me with happiness. Of the cities listed, Montreal has IMHO the most fascinating history and best Colonial architecture. I like the later closing hours for bars (although oppose any closing hours what-so-ever) and enjoy hiking up Mount Royal for photo-ops on a beautiful day. Don't get me started about smoked meat and heavenly bagels. Also, who else has Ginette Reno? (playing in my background just now).
9) Lobster. If I lived in Halifax I would gorge myself continuously on lobster and other seafood. Plus I love the very cohesive sense of history that the city has maintained.... history means everything to Halifax and they guard it well. There are a few superb Georgian buildings in Halifax that are national treasures.
Ok, that's it. Sea to Shining Sea. Try your best! and if everyone keeps it clean, maybe this thread will stand a chance!!
Here is an idea that has been knocking around in my head for awhile. After a year on these "types" of forums, I've learned that we, as Canadians, are very good at sticking together during international City vs City dogfights, but miserable failures at finding the slightest thing positive about other Canadian cities during typical domestic squabbles. I would ask the mods to please not automatically lock this as a City vs City thread.. it is just the opposite and I can't remember anyone doing it before. I would like to see our POSITIVE thoughts about each OTHER'S city (there are no shortage of threads where we give our positive opinions on the strengths of our OWN city), a kind of City + City. Here is your assignment, should you choose to accept it. I will list some representative Canadian cities (and please, no whining that I missed out Moose Jaw or Trois-Rivières; it is just a rough selection). Take each city and admit (as honestly as humanly possible) all the things about that city that you truly ADMIRE and would like to have at your fingertips in your own city. I think everyone, if forced to, would admit that all Canadian cities have their strengths and beauties, but often we do not acknowledge those cities to our fellow Canadians. A few rules, please... just as your mother hopefully told you, if you can't think of something nice to say, DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL. In other words, DON'T bad mouth another city, either directly or obliquely. If you TRULY can't think of a nice thing to say about another Canadian city, then maybe you are a newb and don't know anything about our wonderful country and move onto another thread. And rule #2, don't include either your own city, or the one that is your "spiritual" home (ie the one you constantly tell everyone you would rather move back to but can't for some obscure reason). Rule number 3, and this is the MOST IMPORTANT ONE......please try hardest for the city you have the most pre-conceived ideas about. Prove you can change your mind about a city by the things you have learned here on SSP. Please remember this is NOT a negative City vs City thread.. only positive comments are allowed otherwise please move on to any number of other haggling threads. Rule number 4, be honest. Don't fib.. Here are the cities, arbitrarily chosen:
1)Victoria
2)Vancouver
3)Edmonton
4)Calgary
5)Winnipeg
6)Toronto
7) Ottawa
8)Montreal
9)Halifax
I'll start
1) I love the quaintness of Victoria.. the peace and the rather Olde Worlde calm. It may be "more English than England" but it has its own unique charm that you will find no where else in Canada. Plus, it has the best climate of all cities listed. You have not lived til you have had Fish n' Chips in Victoria. Who else has a replica of Anne Hathaway's cottage? As for gardening, if you can't grow it in Victoria, then you can't grow it anywhere in Canada.
2) I love the ocean, and envy having beaches like English Bay just a short bike ride away, as much as I love our lake beaches. I love the fact it rarely snows in Vancouver, and would adore buying live shrimp at Granville market for my dinner about three nights per week out of 7 (and hitting up that dodgy character that sells the world's best home made red Thai curry sauce). I would love to drag Vij's restaurant to Toronto. I would love to plant a windmill palm tree in my back yard and have it live an entire 365 days. Vancouverites were the first to import the modern idea of flavoured "martini's" to Canada, via Delilah's and should be proud of that fact.
They also grow a lot of strange things that are fun.
3) Coming from Winnipeg originally, I appreciate the old trees in Edmonton, and the older, "lived in" neighbourhoods. There is a strong feeling of "community" in Edmonton, like the 'Peg, that you do not find in big cities. House parties and pot-lucks are more popular than in bigger cities. Plus I love the kind of topography downtown in Edmonton. Also you can get decent perogies without looking like an idiot.
4) I admire the determination and single-mindedness of Calgarians. They are onto a good thing, and want more of it. They are not going to be satisfied with the status quo and want more respect from the more established parts of Canada. They seem to balance work with play well, and are focused on the future. If there is a city that has the right to say "Let the good times Roll", it is Calgary. Is there a city in the world (aside from Dubai) that has more impressive "before and after" skylines from 1980 to today? I think not.
5) I come from Winnipeg so will pass
6)I live in Toronto so will pass
7) I love the charming architecture of Ottawa, and the beautiful Rideau Canal. I would love to visit the National Gallery more often, and take more tours through our Parliament Buildings. Anyone who has not taken the tour has really missed out on learning about our history. Also, to see Ottawa in full bloom with tulips in the Spring is a sight to behold.
8) There are many things I admire about Montreal, and some I downright envy. I'd happily kill innocent bystanders to have an Old Montreal here in my town. To wander down Rue St. Jacques on a weekly basis would fill me with happiness. Of the cities listed, Montreal has IMHO the most fascinating history and best Colonial architecture. I like the later closing hours for bars (although oppose any closing hours what-so-ever) and enjoy hiking up Mount Royal for photo-ops on a beautiful day. Don't get me started about smoked meat and heavenly bagels. Also, who else has Ginette Reno? (playing in my background just now).
9) Lobster. If I lived in Halifax I would gorge myself continuously on lobster and other seafood. Plus I love the very cohesive sense of history that the city has maintained.... history means everything to Halifax and they guard it well. There are a few superb Georgian buildings in Halifax that are national treasures.
Ok, that's it. Sea to Shining Sea. Try your best! and if everyone keeps it clean, maybe this thread will stand a chance!!