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I am not Canadian, and have unfortunately never been there either, although I would love to go.
Anyway, Vancouverites are always complaining about Surrey. Every time I hear someone from Canada explain the riots they say Surrey. What exactly is so bad about it? Is it full of crime, a rich snobby area, full of racist, etc?
It's weird that way. Vancouver had the (two) Stanley Cup riots, has the poorest neighborhood in the Downtown Eastside, and yet Surrey has the bad rap. Maybe because Surrey borders the United States? lol.
Anyhoo, my Canadian friends say Surrey Central is being revitalized from a slum area to Surrey's defacto downtown and cultural area. Maybe the impressions of Surrey are being overturned now?
Vancouverities are notorious for having a huge superiority complex. It exists on a national level (Toronto and Calgary being recipients of this attitude), and exists at a regional level - usually directed Surrey.
Surrey is what it is, a city with over 400,000 people. Any city of it's size is going to have it's share of good and bad. The north side (Whalley, Guildford, Newton and Bridgeview) has typically had a fair number of social problems (poverty, violence, squatting, homelessness, staggering car theft etc.). Although the city is working to revitalize these areas, they still have some work to do. The problems in these areas pail in comparison to the social problems that exist in Vancouver's DT Eastside - however Surrey's problems are often spread out a much larger area - so it's more noticeable than in Vancouver.
It also stems from the fact that many in the City of Vancouver value an urban lifestyle - in a city that is often viewed as a model of city planning and urban design across the world. Surrey is a prototypical suburb in North America - strip malls, detached houses and very car centric layout.
Also Vancouver in many ways feels threatened by the regional economic shift that is starting to favour the suburbs - and many of these initiatives are being spearheaded by Surrey. While Vancouver and it's political leaders are obsessed with ideas like raising homeless chickens - Surrey under Mayor Dianne Watts leadership has tackled real issues that matter to people, including crime, transportation, community services etc. This appeals to business and residents, and it's population growth numbers are proof of this. Surrey is projected to surpass Vancouver in population within the next 10 - 20 years.
In reality, many areas of Surrey are fine places to live and raise a family. If I were to ever move back to Vancouver, South Surrey/White Rock area would be at the very top of my list of places to be - far ahead of any area in Vancouver proper and I know many people who feel the same way. Cloverdale, Fraser Heights etc are all great areas as well. Generally, the further east or south you are in the city, the better you are.
Living in the GTA - I see the same relationship between Toronto and Mississauga. If Surrey uses Mississauga as a model on how to become a thriving "second city" within a region, it will have earned respect - regardless of what a handful of elitist in Vancouver proper think.
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[quote=Liberated in TO;22049084]Vancouverities are notorious for having a huge superiority complex. It exists on a national level (Toronto and Calgary being recipients of this attitude), and exists at a regional level - usually directed Surrey.
Surrey is what it is, a city with over 400,000 people. Any city of it's size is going to have it's share of good and bad. The north side (Whalley, Guildford, Newton and Bridgeview) has typically had a fair number of social problems (poverty, violence, squatting, homelessness, staggering car theft etc.). Although the city is working to revitalize these areas, they still have some work to do. The problems in these areas pail in comparison to the social problems that exist in Vancouver's DT Eastside - however Surrey's problems are often spread out a much larger area - so it's more noticeable than in Vancouver.
It also stems from the fact that many in the City of Vancouver value an urban lifestyle - in a city that is often viewed as a model of city planning and urban design across the world. Surrey is a prototypical suburb in North America - strip malls, detached houses and very car centric layout.
Also Vancouver in many ways feels threatened by the regional economic shift that is starting to favour the suburbs - and many of these initiatives are being spearheaded by Surrey. While Vancouver and it's political leaders are obsessed with ideas like raising homeless chickens - Surrey under Mayor Dianne Watts leadership has tackled real issues that matter to people, including crime, transportation, community services etc. This appeals to business and residents, and it's population growth numbers are proof of this. Surrey is projected to surpass Vancouver in population within the next 10 - 20 years.
Vancouverities are notorious for having a huge superiority complex. It exists on a national level (Toronto and Calgary being recipients of this attitude), and exists at a regional level - usually directed Surrey.
Surrey is what it is, a city with over 400,000 people. Any city of it's size is going to have it's share of good and bad. The north side (Whalley, Guildford, Newton and Bridgeview) has typically had a fair number of social problems (poverty, violence, squatting, homelessness, staggering car theft etc.). Although the city is working to revitalize these areas, they still have some work to do. The problems in these areas pail in comparison to the social problems that exist in Vancouver's DT Eastside - however Surrey's problems are often spread out a much larger area - so it's more noticeable than in Vancouver.
It also stems from the fact that many in the City of Vancouver value an urban lifestyle - in a city that is often viewed as a model of city planning and urban design across the world. Surrey is a prototypical suburb in North America - strip malls, detached houses and very car centric layout.
Also Vancouver in many ways feels threatened by the regional economic shift that is starting to favour the suburbs - and many of these initiatives are being spearheaded by Surrey. While Vancouver and it's political leaders are obsessed with ideas like raising homeless chickens - Surrey under Mayor Dianne Watts leadership has tackled real issues that matter to people, including crime, transportation, community services etc. This appeals to business and residents, and it's population growth numbers are proof of this. Surrey is projected to surpass Vancouver in population within the next 10 - 20 years.
In reality, many areas of Surrey are fine places to live and raise a family. If I were to ever move back to Vancouver, South Surrey/White Rock area would be at the very top of my list of places to be - far ahead of any area in Vancouver proper and I know many people who feel the same way. Cloverdale, Fraser Heights etc are all great areas as well. Generally, the further east or south you are in the city, the better you are.
Living in the GTA - I see the same relationship between Toronto and Mississauga. If Surrey uses Mississauga as a model on how to become a thriving "second city" within a region, it will have earned respect - regardless of what a handful of elitist in Vancouver proper think.
Makes sense. I have heard people from Toronto and Calgary state they feel Vancouver looks down on them, especially Toronto. I have also seen, on the internet, people from Vancouver put down those places. I doubt the sentiment is widespread in Vancouver and is probably just a few snobs, but I cant really comment.
Austin TX is often perceived the same way, in regards to Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas.
If/when I visit Canada my first choices would be Vancouver/BC or Quebec/Montreal. Some of those smaller providences near New England also look really nice.
Surrey's been the butt of jokes in Vancouver for decades in the same way that New Jersey has been to NYC. People in Vancouver have been joking about Surrey for so long that it has become the cultural norm - they do it without thinking about it. The majority of those who still joke about Surrey, I'd be certain, haven't even ventured there. There's more to Surrey than white trash, but unfortunately that's where the stigma originally comes from - poverty, overgrown lawns and unkempt gardens, teenage pregnancies, pick-up trucks, etc.
Hmmm, besides a better view and less snow, what does Vancouver have on Toronto?
I dont know. Toronto is the biggest city in Canada, and im sure it is great. However, it doesnt stand out, say like NYC, to me. It seems like Chicago in Canada. Toronto could be a great city, but nothing I know about really makes it seem interesting.
Vancouver on the other hand is by the ocean, surrounded by mountains and forest. Very urban and dense. It just seems like an awesome place and a city I would enjoy. Im sure I would have blast in Toronto to, and would love to go someday, but it just doesnt have as much appeal to me as Vancouver. Perhaps Vancouver is better at hyping itself?
The reason I want to go to Quebec/Montreal is the unique French-Canadian culture. They seem like truly unique places, are some of the oldest cities in North America outside of Mexico, and have unique European architecture.
I see what you're saying cry_havoc, and I find British Columbia's culture to have lot's of interesting aspects, well worth a visit. It's a great city and so is Montreal, they're good choices. To be honest, I've never found Toronto to be a very good city to visit as a tourist. It's alright but Montreal and Vancouver are more fun to go to for a visit, I get the feeling Toronto's the sort of city you need to get to know and be a local in to really enjoy what it has to offer. Having gone there as a tourist I didn't find it to be on the level of other cities of it's size and standing, like Melbourne, Miami, Boston etc... I'm not saying it's bad, just kind of unexceptional.
Right on the money with Surrey being Vancouver's New Jersey. That's not to say Surrey or NJ are bad, just that they've gotten the inferior suburb rep from their adjacent cities.
On a smaller scale, I used to live in Esquimalt, a suburb of Victoria that had a hilariously negative reputation, especially from people in other suburbs, due to a long-gone past as seedy ship-building area. If anything, though, I benefited - I got to live in a clean, scenic neighborhood and live in one of the few affordable ocean-view apartments left in Victoria for four years.
Find a city, find a neighborhood or area that gets trashed, whether reasonably or not.
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