Winnipeg - Sad day, I am officially leaving downtown

[jimsabo21]

After living downtown for 11 years, we bought a house on the river ...

While I am looking forward to enjoying the best nature has to offer, I will definately miss living downtown. I was only 19 years old when I bought my first condo for only 60K at Riverwalk (15 Kennedy St.) ... I went from there to 520 Portage for the last 3 years ... and now I am leaving.

You know, the more I think about it, the more I realize that it will be a constant struggle to keep people in downtown Winnipeg. Unlike other city's with natural barriers (Mountains, Oceans, Lakes, etc ..), Winnipeg has absolutely nothing to keep it from sprawling.

Manhatten is a giant island. Vancouver is stuck between Mountains, the Pacific ocean and the US Border. San Francisco is almost entirely surrounded by water. There is no place left to build, thus creating density.

I think, in general, people crave space and privacy. That is why the wealthy of London England have country estates. That is why the richest of Manhatten have a summer home in the Hamptons. In Vancouver, the rich live in the mountains north of the Lyons Gate Bridge.

What is creating lack of density in Winnipeg is that all these things that are reserved for the "rich" in other cities are attainable to the common worker.

I just bought a nice house, on the river, huge backyard, 10 mins from downtown for less than a downtown condo. We are sometimes artificially trying to create what other city's have, instead of embracing our own strengths.

Given the choice, a family in SF would much prefer a 1500 sq ft house with a backyard than a 3 floor 700 sq ft condo. The problem is that a 1500 sq ft house in SF will cost you over a million dollars.

We have things backwards in Winnipeg. We build expensive downtown condo's, and expect people to leave their large homes and yards to pay MORE MONEY for the privilege of living downtown. This additonal cost is usualy masked as "lifestyle".

I'll be completely honest. I loved living downtown. But you know what? Nothing compares to going to my friends place for a backyard BBQ. I have chosen to have that too.