Contradictions

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

ever heard of the "seattle chill" or the dark side of "minnesota nice?" it's funny that so many canadians claim british ancestry, just like southern americans.

not that many german-canadians...

Not sure where you're going with this, and I've never heard of those Seattle or Minnesota things, but I'm not sure you can draw any useful conclusions comparing the English and the Germans in this regard. There's no denying the cozy friendliness of an English pub, but on the other hand, the Germans invented the word gemütlichkeit, and they have that large festival at the end of September that puts most parties to shame.

They're also consistently better at football, though that's neither here nor there...

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by lio45

I think it's easily reconciled by the following explanation: the porch invites to socialization with people who are already within a circle of acquaintances/neighbors.

The stereotype is "cold to strangers", not "cold to everyone".



(Reading the thread, kwoldtimer kinda said the same thing already.)

That's probably it. Though I see strangers striking up conversations with people on porches or working in front of their houses, and I do it all the time (you can always depend on the kindness of strangers), it depends on how close the porch is to the sidewalk, re. urbanism 101. I'm not walking half a mile up someone's driveway to their front porch, as that would be too awkward.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by rousseau

That's probably it. Though I see strangers striking up conversations with people on porches or working in front of their houses, and I do it all the time (you can always depend on the kindness of strangers), it depends on how close the porch is to the sidewalk, re. urbanism 101. I'm not walking half a mile up someone's driveway to their front porch, as that would be too awkward.

I'm notorious for starting up light conversations with people on the street, in supermarket lines, etc. I can't say the reaction is ever unfriendly, although it does take some people a bit by surprise. I've learned, however, never to try to speak with young folks sitting in coffee shops with their noses buried in flickering screens - the confused reaction/evil look/cold response is really not worth it.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I'm notorious for starting up light conversations with people on the street, in supermarket lines, etc. I can't say the reaction is ever unfriendly, although it does take some people a bit by surprise. I've learned, however, never to try to speak with young folks sitting in coffee shops with their noses buried in flickering screens - the confused reaction/evil look/cold response is really not worth it.

I do the very same. All the time. And I've never met any resistance. If you're not threatening, begging, looking for friends or hitting on people you can talk to anyone you want, with a few exceptions. Almost everyone is amenable to some brief human contact in the form of the exchange of a few cheery words.

Having a home office means I'm stuck here most of the day, so when I leave the house I'm in the mood to talk. I normally have four to five light and airy conversations per day with shopkeepers in town that I've gotten to know or people I've never met before. Sometimes they last twenty seconds in the shopping line. On certain occasions, with more familiar acquaintances, they last twenty minutes if time permits or if business is slow.

The exceptions: women under the age of 40, and the hipper, non-ethnic precincts of Toronto. For obvious reasons.

[Centropolis]

ive never met a cold canadian.

[Bcasey25raptor]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

ive never met a cold canadian.

Try Vancouver, we have the same thing as the Seattle chill, we call it the Vancouver freeze.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I've learned, however, never to try to speak with young folks sitting in coffee shops with their noses buried in flickering screens - the confused reaction/evil look/cold response is really not worth it.

Depends...
I've actually approached that stereotypical person twice, with great results both times. In both cases I was away from home and my laptop was dead and I really needed to check some things on the Internet. Starbucks both cases. Once in northern VA and the other time in Palo Alto. I am pretty sure I'd have had equivalent luck in Ontario; the screen-staring-young-coffee-shop-person type/persona transcends the US/Can border.

The big distinction I suppose is that I didn't want to just chat, I was begging them for a service. I imagine that they could easily put themselves in my shoes, and that made them want to say yes. And although it wasn't the initial point, some conversation ensued in one case. I guess that if you really, really want to approach someone with their nose buried in a screen, your best bet is to pretend you have a bad need for a few minutes of use of their electronic device. They'll say yes, and that will be an ice-breaker. While you're doing your business with your nose in their screen and theirs away from it, they'll be much more receptive to casual smalltalk.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by rousseau

That's probably it. Though I see strangers striking up conversations with people on porches or working in front of their houses...

But it's kind of a self-selecting sample of passerbys: if you're passing on foot next to a porch with both time to spare and interest to engage in conversation, you're probably a neighbor or at least part of the broader community.

The combination of the facts that you're 1) in the neighborhood + 2) on foot + 3) not in a hurry + 4) intent on engaging in a conversation already nearly guarantees that you're not a complete stranger to the community, even if they don't know you personally or even recall ever having seen you before.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

interesting.

i am not sure if this is the sort of thing you are thinking about, but the inner areas of montreal are draped in the sort of wrought-iron, spiral staircases and cantilevered balconies that suggest an urban climate similar to that of new orleans or havana.

the city, however, is a northern outpost whose streets are lashed with snow and ice for months on end. its vernacular architecture is in many respects impractical and counterintuitive. regarding the spiral staircases, nothing could really be worse.

but there it is. and these structures do, in some vague way, represent a certain genius loci; somehow, and in defiance of its climate, montreal really is a frilly-balcony, wrought-iron-staircases, sweltering, and overwrought city. but these are internal qualities, a caribbean of the soul.

it's a weird thing.

That is an absolutely awesome description of the psyche of Montreal.

[VANRIDERFAN]

I have noticed in the newer subdivisions of Regina that people will have their garage doors open and are sitting inside out of the hot sun entertaining friends and neighbours. This action is especially popular during Roughrider away games.
One of my neighbours garage is fixed up nicer than his living room. It was a shrine his 69 Chevy Camero. And the garage is so clean you could eat off the floor. With the big screen TV and beer fridge it is a great place to watch Rider games.

[Nashe]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

I have noticed in the newer subdivisions of Regina that people will have their garage doors open and are sitting inside out of the hot sun entertaining friends and neighbours.

Here in SE NB, people do that a lot too, though they often have huge, framed screen panels that they put up over the garage door opening to keep the bugs out. In the garage, they sit in their 3-person rocker-swings and just watch the world go by.

Some of the contradictions I notice in my own "culture"...

Maritimers are stereotypically considered friendly, sometimes overly so (see traffic thread), and that is largely true. However, some of us (the amount surprises me somewhat) have a bit of a chip on our shoulders about how we feel we are viewed by middle/west Canadians.

If someone from NB says: "I wish we had an Ikea here in Moncton..." that's one thing. But if someone from Ontario says: "I wish we had an Ikea here in Moncton..." some will bristle, thinking they are being mildly insulted. If my wife, from S-ON says, "There's nothing to do here!" I have to realize that in comparison to Toronto, that truly is the case, relatively speaking. I know the context she's considering. If someone else overhears, they might think otherwise. Even I find that sometimes we can be a bit sensitive and over-defensive about our "contentedness". The contradiction is that that can easily come across as "unfriendly", which is the opposite of the stereotype.

I'm not sure but I think some folks in pockets of the Maritimes are less likely to travel and get a wider perspective than most other areas... might be due to the higher age average. Lots of people go to Mexico/Cuba/Dominican/Florida, but not much else.

[kool maudit]

for what are probably colonialism-related reasons, being a hick is the worst possible thing in canada. canadians from large cities preen about their relative sophistication (and worry about measuring up to more renowned centers), while canadians from smaller ones are very eager to demonstrate that they are not rubes, trumpeting this or that array of economic or attitudinal survey-results to show that they, too, are cosmopolitan and worldly and all that.

the reason this is funny is because we are all, at the end of the day, canadians.



this does not generally have the same connotation as, say, 'parisian' or whatever.

(although i am sure there are any number of interesting recent reports that show parisians to be the real rubes while us plucky young canucks have advanced to the very heights of avant-garde sophistication while miraculously losing none of our down-to-earth accessibility.)

[esquire]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

I have noticed in the newer subdivisions of Regina that people will have their garage doors open and are sitting inside out of the hot sun entertaining friends and neighbours. This action is especially popular during Roughrider away games.
One of my neighbours garage is fixed up nicer than his living room. It was a shrine his 69 Chevy Camero. And the garage is so clean you could eat off the floor. With the big screen TV and beer fridge it is a great place to watch Rider games.

Growing up in my suburban Winnipeg neighbourhood, it seemed like only middle-aged Filipino guys drinking Budweiser or middle-aged Punjabi guys drinking Crown Royal did this. Sounds like the white folks are catching on

...but seriously, this sounds like an interesting trend. Attached garages as the new front porches?

[The_Architect]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

ive never met a cold canadian.

I'm a cold Canadian right now. Bad choice wearing my less-warm jacket.

[TownGuy]

Originally Posted by esquire

Growing up in my suburban Winnipeg neighbourhood, it seemed like only middle-aged Filipino guys drinking Budweiser or middle-aged Punjabi guys drinking Crown Royal did this. Sounds like the white folks are catching on

...but seriously, this sounds like an interesting trend. Attached garages as the new front porches?

I see people doing this around here also. I suppose from a practical standpoint they work, spacious, more enclosed for inclement weather, easy access to electricity and room for a beer fridge. When you're done you can close it all up.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by TownGuy

I see people doing this around here also. I suppose from a practical standpoint they work, spacious, more enclosed for inclement weather, easy access to electricity and room for a beer fridge. When you're done you can close it all up.

I'm surprised to hear of garages being used this way. Here, at least in the new suburbs, they all seem to be used as storerooms for all the crap that can't be fit into the house.

[TownGuy]

^ Yeah see that a lot also. Some weirdos even park their cars in them!

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by TownGuy

^ Yeah see that a lot also. Some weirdos even park their cars in them!

I always park the cars in the garage. Mine is insulated but not heated and even if it is -30 outside, I can hop into the car and the seat isn't frozen and there is no ice to scrape or snow to brush off. I have no compassion for people complaining about starting their car in the cold while they have a perfectly functional garage that is full of useless crap that they never use anyway.

[Stryker]

The one that gets me is this idea that we hug the border. To be closer to america.


The reality is in the east we populate basically where there are rivers and lakes.

While in the west we tend to live anywhere with a growing season.

Even more ironically the places on the us side of the border are really not that relevant to anyone anywhere(north dakota, wyoming, idaho, etc. )

[TownGuy]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

I always park the cars in the garage. Mine is insulated but not heated and even if it is -30 outside, I can hop into the car and the seat isn't frozen and there is no ice to scrape or snow to brush off. I have no compassion for people complaining about starting their car in the cold while they have a perfectly functional garage that is full of useless crap that they never use anyway.

Haha yeah I agree. I'm weirdo myself who parks the car in the garage. Doesn't quite get that cold here but I sure love not having to scrape my windshield or brush snow off the car. Conversely, in the summer it's nice not having to get in a smoldering hot oven of a car that's been baking in the sun for hours.