Vancouver's an unfriendly place.............What do you think?
- Thread starter tokugawa
- Start date
I agree with BJ, it really depends where you are, if you are running the sidewalk in Whalley I am sure you'd get a very different reaction...
but i digress, What is with all these out of towners coming here to smear our good name!
Greatest City on Earth .. AMEN!
I kind of have to agree with this guy. It took me quite a long time to make friends here, and now that I think of it, the vast majority of my friends aren't even originally from Vancouver. I even lived in a small town for a while before moving here, which you'd assume would be very hard to make friends cause everyone's known each other their whole lives, but although it wasn't instant it was a lot quicker than Vancouver. And for smart asses lol it's not cause I'm some socially inept hermit, in my hometown city I never had any trouble making friends when I went to a new school, job, or anything.
The "Best City on Earth" is hilarious, totally bullshit, and probably why Vancouver has the reputation of being standoff-ish lol. If you grow up thinking your city is the best place on Earth no doubt you're gonna have your nose held pretty high. Not to knock Vancouver, I really do love it here, but let's be serious, it is NOT the best city on Earth lol. There's a hell of a lot of places on Earth, and although Vancouver is awesome in a lot of ways, there's always going to be somewhere better (which is also totally subjective).
So like I said, Vancouver's a great place, I love it. But if I were to go to every city on Earth I know I'd find a couple that I'd like better, that's just reality. Humility is a great characteristic, if more Vancouverites learned that, maybe the Best City on Earth title would be more fitting.
The "Best City on Earth" is hilarious, totally bullshit, and probably why Vancouver has the reputation of being standoff-ish lol. If you grow up thinking your city is the best place on Earth no doubt you're gonna have your nose held pretty high. Not to knock Vancouver, I really do love it here, but let's be serious, it is NOT the best city on Earth lol. There's a hell of a lot of places on Earth, and although Vancouver is awesome in a lot of ways, there's always going to be somewhere better (which is also totally subjective).
So like I said, Vancouver's a great place, I love it. But if I were to go to every city on Earth I know I'd find a couple that I'd like better, that's just reality. Humility is a great characteristic, if more Vancouverites learned that, maybe the Best City on Earth title would be more fitting.
I think it is true to a certain extent. My first job was in Ottawa and much of the high tech community was from elsewhere - very friendly. When i moved back to Vancouver everyone had their own little cliques, much less socializing with the people from work. Most of the women here look right through you or purposely look away without so much as the slightest acknowledgement... perhaps a bit of over generalization but... my wife is from Eastern Europe and her take on things is: where she's from you know who's your friend and who's your enemy, it's obvious. Here, we'll smile like we're your friend but we're thinking "fuck you"....
Thanks guys for bringing things down to earth so to speak. Even though I am a local, I have to admit that Vancouver can be a challenge when it comes to social interaction. I really notice it in my condo where some people rarely say 'hello' to one another. For example, I have never said spoken to my neighbors nor have they spoken to me even when we see each other in the hall way. Yet I'll talk to someone just down the hallway. The only people that really say 'hello' to one another are the non-Asians. So I am not sure if this is a cultural issue here.
Then again whenever, I am in bar in Vancouver I seldom feel inclined to talk to someone yet when I am in Victoria or Seattle or Toronto, I have no problem wanting to interact with people. I really think this is a Vancouver thing where people just want to keep to themselves.
Have to agree with Violet on the humility part. I honestly love Vancouver and I love living here but there are better places in the world and sometimes the locals need to acknowledge that.
Unfortunately, I also have to agree with the guy.
I too love Vancouver, it happens to be my favorite of the Canadian cities, but definitely not because of the friendliness of the general population.
At school I have 11 roommates, there are only 3 of us who ever get together and talk or do stuff, the rest just sit in their rooms alone. 5 of them won’t even respond if you say “hello” or ask them a question. They are all Asian, Chinese actually; perhaps it’s a cultural thing like tokugawa says.
Everyone here seems to form their little circles and outside of that would rather just be left alone.
I disagree with the guys point about people walking around the seawall being unfriendly. I find that when you are out and about, hiking, biking, or at the gym people here tend to be quite friendly. It’s when you’re not doing these things that the general public seems to want nothing to do with you.
Try taking your kids to a restaurant downtown, or in kits.
-I’ve had people ask to switch tables because we were seated next to them, regardless of the fact that my kids had not made a sound and are generally extremely well behaved.
-One woman, who spent the entire time we were at the restaurant talking as loudly as humanly possible into her cellphone, got up and walked over to us while my kids were deciding what they wanted to order, and told me “It was not her choice for us to have children and she doesn’t appreciate them disturbing her conversation.” Heaven forbid she missed her friends comment about the guy she saw in her yoga classes.
-In yet another incident I got stuck at the embassy downtown, was late for lunch, and missed my sons nap. Naturally the kids were cranky and I decided to phone a local place and order something that we could pick up and eat in the car so we never disturbed anyone inside the restaurant. Of course city bylaws state I can’t just leave them in their car seats while I run in and grab the food. So I tell them that we are just going in for a moment to pick up their lunch, and that there will be toys, happiness, and mythical creatures will rain from the sky upon our return. So, they happily follow me in, we pay, and then my son drops his toy car and it breaks in half. The absolute end of the world for a hungry exhausted two year old. I toss the toy bits into a bag of food, grab it and the kid, and head out. Of course, some douchebag stands in our way at the door and proclaims that “If I don’t shut that kid up he will give him something to cry about” (Thank You Vancouver proper, for denying every single permit application for a drive through restaurant submitted in the past 10 years)
- My daughter picked one of the flower buds off of a hedge while she was walking home from her friends place. (An entire 7 houses away) The lady phoned the police and they showed up at our door an hour later.
- Want to see friendly Vancouverites, suggest to the patron of the dog park adjacent to the kids playground to leash their dog if they can’t stop it from repeatedly jumping on, and scaring the crap out of, all the kids on the playground.
I could go on and on, but this is getting to be longer than I expected.
I'm just trying to say that I've never had any incidents like this happen to me outside of Vancouver.
I still love it here though, and when I had no kids and was partying all the time, it was the greatest city around. :thumb:
Now… I’m just glad I experienced my childhood elsewhere. That sounds harsher than it should, I mean I’m still here, and would rather be here than anywhere else. I just feel sorry my kids and the attitudes they have to put up with compared to what my childhood experiences were.
I too love Vancouver, it happens to be my favorite of the Canadian cities, but definitely not because of the friendliness of the general population.
At school I have 11 roommates, there are only 3 of us who ever get together and talk or do stuff, the rest just sit in their rooms alone. 5 of them won’t even respond if you say “hello” or ask them a question. They are all Asian, Chinese actually; perhaps it’s a cultural thing like tokugawa says.
Everyone here seems to form their little circles and outside of that would rather just be left alone.
I disagree with the guys point about people walking around the seawall being unfriendly. I find that when you are out and about, hiking, biking, or at the gym people here tend to be quite friendly. It’s when you’re not doing these things that the general public seems to want nothing to do with you.
Try taking your kids to a restaurant downtown, or in kits.
-I’ve had people ask to switch tables because we were seated next to them, regardless of the fact that my kids had not made a sound and are generally extremely well behaved.
-One woman, who spent the entire time we were at the restaurant talking as loudly as humanly possible into her cellphone, got up and walked over to us while my kids were deciding what they wanted to order, and told me “It was not her choice for us to have children and she doesn’t appreciate them disturbing her conversation.” Heaven forbid she missed her friends comment about the guy she saw in her yoga classes.
-In yet another incident I got stuck at the embassy downtown, was late for lunch, and missed my sons nap. Naturally the kids were cranky and I decided to phone a local place and order something that we could pick up and eat in the car so we never disturbed anyone inside the restaurant. Of course city bylaws state I can’t just leave them in their car seats while I run in and grab the food. So I tell them that we are just going in for a moment to pick up their lunch, and that there will be toys, happiness, and mythical creatures will rain from the sky upon our return. So, they happily follow me in, we pay, and then my son drops his toy car and it breaks in half. The absolute end of the world for a hungry exhausted two year old. I toss the toy bits into a bag of food, grab it and the kid, and head out. Of course, some douchebag stands in our way at the door and proclaims that “If I don’t shut that kid up he will give him something to cry about” (Thank You Vancouver proper, for denying every single permit application for a drive through restaurant submitted in the past 10 years)
- My daughter picked one of the flower buds off of a hedge while she was walking home from her friends place. (An entire 7 houses away) The lady phoned the police and they showed up at our door an hour later.
- Want to see friendly Vancouverites, suggest to the patron of the dog park adjacent to the kids playground to leash their dog if they can’t stop it from repeatedly jumping on, and scaring the crap out of, all the kids on the playground.
I could go on and on, but this is getting to be longer than I expected.
I'm just trying to say that I've never had any incidents like this happen to me outside of Vancouver.
I still love it here though, and when I had no kids and was partying all the time, it was the greatest city around. :thumb:
Now… I’m just glad I experienced my childhood elsewhere. That sounds harsher than it should, I mean I’m still here, and would rather be here than anywhere else. I just feel sorry my kids and the attitudes they have to put up with compared to what my childhood experiences were.
Maybe he should look in the mirror to see why people in West Van aren't overtly friendly to him.Interesting article today in the Vancouver Sun about Vancouver's unfriendliness.
I mean, does he even look like a jogger? It looks like the only exercise he gets is running to 7 Eleven for a hot dog and a pack of smokes.
Wow, just look at that ugly creepy mug, can you say pedophile? Please check the below link for reference.
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=spot_the_pedo
Wow, that's a new low, threatening a 2 year old. I know you can't legally KO this guy, but when you walked past him, you should have accidentally spilled some kind of liquid on him. Preferably something hot.
Really? When people are that broken I tend to distance myself from them as quickly as possible.
I just don't get this...people ALWAYS say Hi back to me, when I'm walking or running...sunshine or pouring rain...guess I'm kinda weird...Agreed...always shocks me how many people don't say hello to others when they walk or run by. Even a friendly smile goes a long way ... But to each their own....I blame it on the weather
Generally I find too many people are hiding behind there cell phone or crackberry.. Texting or talking on it is becoming the social `norm`out on the street. This elimenates face to face comunication...
just my .05!
van `92
just my .05!
van `92
I'd say most opinions are cheated, based on what is PC for whatever the crowd may be at the moment...................as to Vancouver being unfriendly, can't say as that has been a problem for me. Most people I greet, greet me back..........though there does seem to be a large number of folk with digital problems as I get a lot of one finger waves...........
Well, let's not forget that most Vancouver residents are transplants from somewhere else...so where would this 'humility about Vancouver' come from? As a transplant myself, I can say, unequivocally, that Vancouver is the best place on Earth and, given the choice, I wouldn't live anywhere else.
While I might like to own a few places around the world (Puerto Vallarta, Puerto Rico, Europe, Vegas, LA...to name a few), in my ideal world, those would be places I visited and hung out for brief periods of time, while Vancouver would be where I come home to...
Do I need to visit 50 other cities to say this? No, because I like Vancouver so much, I have no interest in the comparisons! Visit - sure. Live - never!
PS The place I left to come to Vancouver (which was half my life ago), I never again thought of as home! Once I discovered Vancouver, it was game-over! And I know I'm not alone in this sentiment!
OK so I made my crass and sarcastic comments at the beginning of this thread, but after reading what others have to say I have to agree with Alex, I am a transplant to Vancouver as well, I grew up in a small town in the Interior, only 80 people in my graduating class, we all knew each other and weren't neccesarily nice to one and other. I spent two years living on the tropics, and have been to about 30 other cites all over the world, while some of them were beautiful, other were affordable, and still others very hosptable, I would always come home ( Vancouver ) and be extremely happy to be here.
I wil never live anywhere else, we are blessed and it really is in my eyes the best city in the world!, and if you pass me on the seawall and smile and say hi, chances are I'll smile and say hi back, but if Alex passes me on the seawall and smiles and says hi, I'll smile back, say hi, and check her out as she moves away....
