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A Stranger

Posted by crunchy | March 28, 2008 .

Funnily enough a thought about me and this city had been floating in my head the other day.  Then I read THIS post over at The Cheeseblog (wish her bonvoyage on her mat leaving forever and soon to arrive babe) and it confirmed what I had been surmising.

I am a stranger in my city.

I started working right out of high school.  Most of that work found me downtown…so I have commuted via bus and or skytrain for pretty much my entire adult life.

I always loved downtown.   I loved the energy and the architecture and meeting friends for drinks and so on.   I loved the bustle.

Dh and I always spent nice days down at Vanier Park or West Broadway or wandering up and down 4th Ave.

We lived just off Main and 15th for a short time.  We loved that.  Being in the heart of a lively neighbourhood filled with ALL sorts of characters.

In all of that the main occupation was people watching.  I whiled away my life in transit wondering what was going on with the various people in their self-contained no eye contact worlds.

There was always stories.  Something ALWAYS happened.

Then I got pregnant and lost my job.

Then we moved to South East Vancouver.  We are right on the border of Burnaby.

Our universe shifted slightly.  Became more insular.

Shopping is done by car.  At the local stores.

We spend time at Metrotown.

Days are spent at local parks or the confines of the cul-de-sac.

Our world has wandered over into Burnaby and New Westminster and even (gasp) Richmond.

We see movies at Metropolis.  Not downtown.

If we eat out with kids it is close by.  Without….perhaps Kits.

We hardly ever go downtown now.

And while the vibe is sort of still there…it sure has changed.

I used to love Granville..in all its tawdry sleaziness.   Even as a young geek teen….I enjoyed hanging at Granville Books and Golden Age collectibles.

I don’t think I would let my 14 year old down there now.

It hasn’t got the ruggedness….not with all the cookie cutter stores…but there is a meanness down there  that wasn’t around before.

The City of Glass doesn’t seem to shine as bright as it should….Yaletown (where I do go quiet often to see my chiropractor) seems to just try too hard.  It feels cold and empty.  The streets don’t bustle.  Not during the day anyway.

The views of the mountains are more obscured now.   The feeling of a hidden paradise down at English Bay doesn’t feel the same anymore.

Not to me anyway.

I don’t even live in the burbs and I feel that the city is a stranger to me.

Either I or Vancouver have changed too much maybe.


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  1. Cin April 4, 2008 12:07 pm

    Catching up on my reading today, and came across your post. Sadly, I think you’re right - things have changed (and yes, Yaletown is still new enough to try too hard).

    There are days when my fair city isn’t. It has an ebb and flow. Moods. Sometimes the city’s unkindness is obvious; sometimes it’s the kind acts and generous smiles that stand out.

    Funny thing though - I’ve lived downtown for 8 years, and I find the neighbourhoods outside of downtown strange and unfriendly now. They’ve become strangers to me…