why home is better
 

Edit: i am happy to be home in montreal. The rest was whiskey.

Wow.

the brown shoes thing is puzzling.

Plateau Mont Royal
Mile End
St Henri
Point St Charles
Verdun
Centre Sud
HOMA
Petite Patrie
Villeray

that's it?

Ha. Drunk SSP. Retarded.

Haha, I suspected as much. I've done it too.

I thought this would be a far more thoughtful statement about why home, generally, seems better. Since I'm rather disappointed with what I got instead, I'll try to steer this in a more interesting direction than Montreal rocks, Ottawa sucks.

No city is going to be right for every person. As nice as Montreal is, I wouldn't ever want to live there, nor Toronto. Ottawa is a fantastic city for young families and people who enjoy the outdoors and physical activity. It's not as great if you are in you are young and seeking a great nightlife, especially if you are coming from Toronto or Montreal. I don't know other cities as well, but my general impression is that they would be pretty much the same. There is going to be a niche there that suits some people perfectly and other types of people are simply not going to be as happy there.

After three years in the city, I don't care much for Ottawa either. I haven't bought a house here because I plan to move in the next year or two.

7 years later (in London, Ont), and I still miss Montreal terribly. Same deal when I lived in BC for 5 years during the 90s.

Not so bad where I am now, considering life period (kids, wife, house, job and all that jazz). Plus, the great beaches of Lake Huron are just a stone's throw away (OK, 45 minute drive).

Confusing as all hell, but I'll pretend that the spirit of the thread is in force.

To me, home is better because it's what I CHOSE. Not just the place I was born, not the place my parents and grandparents chose for me and essentially a random accident of birth. I chose to live here after evaluating most other options. It's better because it's exactly what I want.

The key to happiness. Right there.

Ottawa is a great city, but I understand how you feel there. In my case 6 months in Ottawa was enough to realize I didn't want to live there.

damn....what did he say....i love reading the poetic musings of kool maudit....


my home isnt better...i just pretend it is better than it is so i dont get depressed.

I'm an easterner in a westerner's body.

sorry for the edit, it's just that i woke up and realized i had expressed myself retardedly, both here and maybe a bit at the bar before that. to sum up, though, it took being out of montreal for a while to really appreciate how effortlessly metropolitan this city is. it's a city of a like two million (i know metro is 4,000,000, but i dont care about the 450) that you can really use like it's a big capital: cabs everywhere, cafe, bar and restaurant options in every neighbourhood at all hours, good intrinsic fashion and comportment... it's not perfect, but it's a CITY. having spent some time in some of canada's smaller centres (ottawa and halifax) lately, i just realized what an enormous gap there is, not really in terms of infrastructure or offerings, but more in the expectations of their inhabitants, what sort of lives people lead, and what they expect their city to provide for them.

yeah, i said my piece in a stupid way. i tried to clear up what i meant above. it's just that ottawans, while they might like going out in the market or whatever, do not really see their city as an end in and of itself. it's a launchpad for outdoor activities, an infrastructural solution to festivals and parties, and sometimes a place to go perform a specific activity (dinner at beckta or something).

for montrealers, the city is an end in and of itself. torontonians are becoming like this too. here, the city is the spectacle, the city is the activity. just the city itself. as such, people live more publicly (and don't go out in merrill hiking sneakers ever. seriously. i haven't seen one pair yet. oh, ottawa.)

This is going to show my advanced age and complete lack of fashion sense, I realize, but... I'm not sure I understand the issue with wearing some of the most comfortable, durable shoes ever designed. Maybe it's because I spend so much time hiking that I just consider these "sneakers".

Is this just fashionista talk, or am I missing something? Are these shoes made from the hides of holocaust victims and it's a great offense to some people?

The issue is more about wearing sneakers with, say, a sundress, or dress pants, when "out of the town".

Sneakers are for playing sports - not for going out dancing on Saturday night. Hiking sneakers are for hiking - not for going to your nephew's first communion.

The funny thing is most people you see wearing "sporty" clothes (sneakers, grey flannel track pants, etc.) look like they probably haven't partaken in anything even remotely sporty in the part quarter-century.

Skinny jeans (or pants) and pointy shoes.

I dunno, somebody must think this looks cool.

I have Salomon shoes that I rock out on my 40ish minute walk to work, and casually when I am out and about...gasp! Although I should mention I am married and a father, so I am certainly not out to impress anyone...

I am married and a father as well. I am hardly a "fashion statement" type of guy, but I do confess that after doing a workout of any kind I do change into more urban clothes and footwear if there is even the slightest possibility of making a stop along the way home.

What's funny is that I rarely go out dressed in a way that I would describe as "bummy", but the other day I had no time and no choice, and when I dropped into my local shawarma place to pick something up on the way home from the gym, strangers were actually looking at me differently - it was really weird. I mentioned this to my wife when I got home, how people really do look at you differently depending on how you are dressed. And how we probably don't realize how people are looking at us when we are dressed in our "normal" way (whatever that is) because that's the "normal" reaction for us, and it's only when we dress differently that it jumps out at us.

This is true even in Gatineau, which is not exactly Paris or even Montreal for that matter...

i agree that nobody should wear hiking shoes if they are not hiking....trying to impress or not, that's hick.