Identikit?

Thread Tools
 
Old Sep 13th 2007, 3:01 pm
  #16  
BE Forum Addict
 
daft batty's Avatar
 
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,234
daft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Identikit?

Originally Posted by hot wasabi peas
Very true... in all the BE meet-ups I've attended they've all been in local restaurants or pubs, street corners, people's homes... or in C-train stations - where I met you!
nobody wants to meet me is it cos i argues all the time??
daft batty is offline  
Old Sep 13th 2007, 3:15 pm
  #17  
BE Forum Addict
 
Calgal's Avatar
 
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: The Republic of Bacon
Posts: 3,192
Calgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Identikit?

Originally Posted by batty-x-ray
nobody wants to meet me is it cos i argues all the time??
No - it cos yer way out in Ontario yer silly bat
Calgal is offline  
Old Sep 13th 2007, 9:24 pm
  #18  
G77
BE Forum Addict
Thread Starter
 
G77's Avatar
 
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Windsor, ON
Posts: 3,374
G77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Identikit?

Originally Posted by hot wasabi peas
Much of the malls in Canada are like high streets in the UK - waterstones/chapters, next/le chateau, with a lot of the same sameness... Lush, Starbucks, Aveda...

If it bothers you, just find something better to do with your time and money. It's really just that simple.
Oh believe me, I would much rather do something else.... however, the wife thinks it is an Olympic sport and is practising for the gold medal!

FWIW chain restaurants like dbd mentions don't bother me, in fact, I quite like them in a perverse way - at least you know the food is generally consistent between different branches of the same chain....
G77 is offline  
Old Sep 13th 2007, 10:51 pm
  #19  
Assimilated Pauper
 
dbd33's Avatar
 
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Ontario
Posts: 40,023
dbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Identikit?

Originally Posted by G77
Oh believe me, I would much rather do something else.... however, the wife thinks it is an Olympic sport and is practising for the gold medal!

FWIW chain restaurants like dbd mentions don't bother me, in fact, I quite like them in a perverse way - at least you know the food is generally consistent between different branches of the same chain....

consistent, yes.
dbd33 is offline  
Old Sep 13th 2007, 11:20 pm
  #20  
Assimilated Pauper
 
dbd33's Avatar
 
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Ontario
Posts: 40,023
dbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Identikit?

Originally Posted by Steve_P
Once again you make a sweeping generalisation and state it as fact. People don't always suggest Boston Pizza, Outback Steakhouse, East Side Marios.

One of the reasons that Boston Pizza or the Outback Steakhouse were suggested for the upcoming meet in Calgary was that kids might be attending.

The get together that I attended in April in Calgary was at a pub (if one is allowed to call them that) in a trendy area of Calgary called Kensington. Others in Nanaimo also met in a pub.

You yourself have been known to suggest a pub for one or two of your meets with others. Do you not count as people.
Come off it, East Side Marios was the site of a meet in one those BC towns starting with K (maybe they all start with K). iirc a chain was also proposed for a meet in Halifax (too lazy to look that up). I suggest that this is because most places in Canada only have chain "eateries" and not pubs. I expect Calgary has a pub but, in general, the food eaten in restaurants in small town Canada is planned by a division of Philip Morris Inc. It's all fine if you like it but it does mean that whether you live in a subdivision near Vancouver, a subdivision near Calgary or a subdivision near Toronto your life is pretty much the same (and, by and large, the same as in subdivisions near Dallas, Denver, Orlando and so on).

Beyond the "eating experience" many Canadian towns have an "outlet" mall selling cheaper versions of name brand goods specifically for outlet malls, the local bargain in suburban Calgary is the same local bargain as in the godforesaken corners of the GTA. I haven't been in a mall for a decade or so but I understand that they all have an Old Navy, they all have a Gap, they have La Senza. The flash ones have H&M, the less flash ones a department store like the Bay. The really rough ones have Zellers or WalMart. It doesn't matter whether you shop in Halifax or Calgary as the goods on offer are the same.

Other than the malls, each group of subdivisions has an area of big box stores; Home Depot, the Brick, Future Shop, probably a Montanas. I suppose it could be fun to go there, if you shop, but it's the same thing other people are doing coast to coast, posters even come home on the same day with the same camera.

Maybe living in a Talking Heads song isn't a bad way of life but it's not in any sense individual. North America barely even has regional accents or expressions anymore, it's not like the UK where you have to learn about whippets and owt before going past Watford.

Quebec though, Quebec's different, they have PFK.
dbd33 is offline  
Old Sep 13th 2007, 11:23 pm
  #21  
Assimilated Pauper
 
dbd33's Avatar
 
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Ontario
Posts: 40,023
dbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Identikit?

Originally Posted by G77
I guess the size of the malls does give scope for a larger range of shops
Nope. The big malls just have several of the same stores, if you get bored with the West Gap Store you can try the East Gap Store.
dbd33 is offline  
Old Sep 13th 2007, 11:57 pm
  #22  
BE Forum Addict
 
daft batty's Avatar
 
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,234
daft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond reputedaft batty has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Identikit?

Originally Posted by Calgal
No - it cos yer way out in Ontario yer silly bat
feels better now. Did I tell you I was poorly?
daft batty is offline  
Old Sep 14th 2007, 1:07 am
  #23  
G77
BE Forum Addict
Thread Starter
 
G77's Avatar
 
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Windsor, ON
Posts: 3,374
G77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond reputeG77 has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Identikit?

Originally Posted by dbd33
Nope. The big malls just have several of the same stores, if you get bored with the West Gap Store you can try the East Gap Store.
Serious That's bad! I may have to take a 10 year mall sabbatical like yourself!
G77 is offline  
Old Sep 14th 2007, 1:41 am
  #24  
Now on Vancouver Island
 
Judy in Calgary's Avatar
 
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
Posts: 6,935
Judy in Calgary has a reputation beyond reputeJudy in Calgary has a reputation beyond reputeJudy in Calgary has a reputation beyond reputeJudy in Calgary has a reputation beyond reputeJudy in Calgary has a reputation beyond reputeJudy in Calgary has a reputation beyond reputeJudy in Calgary has a reputation beyond reputeJudy in Calgary has a reputation beyond reputeJudy in Calgary has a reputation beyond reputeJudy in Calgary has a reputation beyond reputeJudy in Calgary has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Identikit?

Originally Posted by G77
Oh believe me, I would much rather do something else.... however, the wife thinks it is an Olympic sport and is practising for the gold medal!
Sorry, it is beyond the scope of an expat forum to provide the kind of help you need.
Judy in Calgary is offline  
Old Sep 14th 2007, 1:51 am
  #25  
Thinking the unthinkable.
 
Madmac's Avatar
 
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Guelph, Ontario
Posts: 2,136
Madmac has a reputation beyond reputeMadmac has a reputation beyond reputeMadmac has a reputation beyond reputeMadmac has a reputation beyond reputeMadmac has a reputation beyond reputeMadmac has a reputation beyond reputeMadmac has a reputation beyond reputeMadmac has a reputation beyond reputeMadmac has a reputation beyond reputeMadmac has a reputation beyond reputeMadmac has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Identikit?

Originally Posted by G77
Read on another forum and I tend to agree that Britain is becoming "identikit". I.e. go to any town/city/shopping centre anywhere in the country and you'll find the exact same list of shops....

Now shopping doesn't excite me much at all anyway, but the wife feels it's her duty to drag me along - what makes it worse is that you could go anywhere in Britain pretty much and find the same old shops selling the same old things.... Gets very dreary when you find yourself in the same shops time after time (for me anyway).

Please tell me there's more variety in Canada? I think it was dbd who said there's two malls in the GTA that are a mirror of each other? I hope that's an exception rather than a rule....
Memorise the following two words: 'Big Box'

That's all you need to know about Canadian shopping architecture.
Madmac is offline  
Old Sep 14th 2007, 2:06 am
  #26  
BE Forum Addict
 
Tuppence's Avatar
 
Joined: May 2006
Location: GTeh?
Posts: 1,379
Tuppence has a reputation beyond reputeTuppence has a reputation beyond reputeTuppence has a reputation beyond reputeTuppence has a reputation beyond reputeTuppence has a reputation beyond reputeTuppence has a reputation beyond reputeTuppence has a reputation beyond reputeTuppence has a reputation beyond reputeTuppence has a reputation beyond reputeTuppence has a reputation beyond reputeTuppence has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Identikit?

Originally Posted by dbd33
Canada is much more Identikit than the US, nevermind the UK. Check out threads on where to meet in Halifax, where to meet in Calgary, where to meet in some other nowhere. People always suggest Boston Pizza, Outback Steakhouse, East Side Marios. I understand that this may be a reflection of Brits in Canada rather than Canadians but there's no concession to the idea of regional cuisine (if there is any in Canada) or regional beer (if there is any in Canada) whereas, in the US, an effort is made to differentiate between regions (Abita vs Fat Tire vs Sam Adams) and in the UK no effort need be made.
You can't have actually read that thread! Nobody mentioned any of those places.

Originally Posted by Steve_P
Once again you make a sweeping generalisation and state it as fact. People don't always suggest Boston Pizza, Outback Steakhouse, East Side Marios.

One of the reasons that Boston Pizza or the Outback Steakhouse were suggested for the upcoming meet in Calgary was that kids might be attending.

The get together that I attended in April in Calgary was at a pub (if one is allowed to call them that) in a trendy area of Calgary called Kensington. Others in Nanaimo also met in a pub.

You yourself have been known to suggest a pub for one or two of your meets with others. Do you not count as people.
Exactly Steve.

Us Haligonians (and wannabe Nova Scotians) are actually meeting in a place called Historic Properties, which looks like this:
http://www.historicproperties.ca/

Which is about as different as the regular identikit places (we definitely have them) as you will probably find around here
Tuppence is offline  
Old Sep 14th 2007, 2:08 am
  #27  
Assimilated Pauper
 
dbd33's Avatar
 
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Ontario
Posts: 40,023
dbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Identikit?

Originally Posted by Tuppence;5311257Historic Properties, which looks like this:
[url
http://www.historicproperties.ca/[/url]
I went to a wine tasting there. It's a knock off of Fanueil Market (or however you spell it). Cute.
dbd33 is offline  
Old Sep 14th 2007, 2:10 am
  #28  
BE Forum Addict
 
Calgal's Avatar
 
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: The Republic of Bacon
Posts: 3,192
Calgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Identikit?

Originally Posted by dbd33
I haven't been in a mall for a decade or so but I understand that they all have an Old Navy, they all have a Gap, they have La Senza. The flash ones have H&M, the less flash ones a department store like the Bay. The really rough ones have Zellers or WalMart. It doesn't matter whether you shop in Halifax or Calgary as the goods on offer are the same.
so my local Mall is averagely flash and rough. It has ALL the stores highlighted above.

(H&M "flash"? You're havin a larf ent ya?)
Calgal is offline  
Old Sep 14th 2007, 2:17 am
  #29  
BE Forum Addict
 
Calgal's Avatar
 
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: The Republic of Bacon
Posts: 3,192
Calgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond reputeCalgal has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Identikit?

Originally Posted by batty-x-ray
feels better now. Did I tell you I was poorly?
No, my dear - what's up? Even if it's personal, you can tell us, as you're with about 50,000 of your closest friends at any given moment
Calgal is offline  
Old Sep 14th 2007, 2:19 am
  #30  
Assimilated Pauper
 
dbd33's Avatar
 
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Ontario
Posts: 40,023
dbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond reputedbd33 has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: Identikit?

Originally Posted by Calgal
(H&M "flash"? You're havin a larf ent ya?)
Flash for Toronto. I know it's not considered flash in Essex, perhaps not in Calgary either.

I wonder if this mall/big box/chain food culture works because Canadians tend not to go anywhere. Maybe the people in Mississauga or Vaughan or whatever the hinterland of Calgary might be called think The Keg is the only The Keg.
dbd33 is offline  


Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service - Your Privacy Choices -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.