Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Is Vancouver a toxic city?

I know all too well the perils of posting a half-baked idea on the web for everyone to see. However, this is a question I have had in my mind for quite a while. Recently some people I care for (and some people I am starting to care about) have indicated that this city (beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia) is poison for them. The context being, that we are able to find wonderful friends but that finding steady, true, meaningful love in this city is not easy and that they'd be better off in other cities.

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I am lucky enough that I have built a strong network of close friends and a large enough network of buddies/acquaintances in the city. My close friends always have my back and are always there when I need them. I am very fortunate in this regard. I have also fallen in love while living here (however ephemeral that relationship might have been). On the other hand, this is the city where I had my heart broken for the first (and so far only) time. I don't really know if I will be able to find a mate here. Vancouver seems sometimes so... clique-ish.

So, having posed the context, my larger question is - is this phenomenon occurring to more people? Do you feel that Vancouver is not giving you what you need? Is it the city? Is it the folks living in the city? Or what is it? I am very curious to know, particularly because it's not the first time someone has told me that they don't feel at home here (and I am talking, some people who are born and raised in Vancouver!)

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