abner

Such as? I'm sure either is less exciting than Syria at the moment, but not necessarily in the sense that you meant...

I've lived in a couple of the "anywhere else on earth" places beyond the UK and Canada, and have visited about 25 others, some for extended work-related reasons. That's probably about par for the course for many on this forum, given the nature of the forum.

And I'm challenging you a bit, but I'm also genuinely curious:

Are you comparing with excitement in...
...some cultural sense?
...some political sense?
...some sense of economic opportunity?
...some ability to pursue individual goals?
...some ability to raise a family in some particular way?

Whatever criteria you're using, which countries rank high within them?

(I do note in sympathy with your post that Ottawa was once voted the most boring capital city on earth, by a collection of European diplomats.)

Shard

Is this a wind-up ?

abner

Apart from the opening sentence about Syria, actually no.

What would allow for any country (as a whole) to be described as "exciting", in any remotely objective way?

MillieF complained of Canada as "very boring and not at all exciting if you have lived anywhere else on earth". Which is a broad statement, and fundamentally a subjective one. And one suggesting wider experience of the world on MillieF's part.

So I asked a few followup questions. And I'm genuinely curious about what reply MillieF might have.

MillieF

I might have been better to write "my life in Canada is stultifying boring". I would think life in Syria, the West Bank, Libya plus many countries touched be the Arab Spring to be beyond dreadful and certainly not something I would trivialize. There are hosts of other hellholes that come to mind, but the fact that they are in the mire doesn't make Canada a more interesting place from my point of view.

It's more a lack of a sense of anything 'thriving' that I miss, there doesn't seem to be much of a counter culture in 'normal' society, everyone 'appears' to agree with everyone else and the only voices of dissention are muttered ones. It's homogenized, and that might be good for lots of people, but dosen't really float my boat.

MikeUK

Don't forget "Deadmonton" either

Former Lancastrian

Or Winterpeg.

caretaker

Every cloud has a silver lining... I remember seeing a sign outside White River, Ont proclaiming it to be the coldest town in Canada (don't bother correcting me, I don't care).. but that's also where Don McKinnon found the Hemlo Gold Mine (I knew his nephew, also don't bother correcting me, still don't care). Any fool can find gold, but to find it right beside the highway takes talent.

Siouxie

Or perhaps you're just mixing with the wrong people - or mixing in circles of people that don't have different points of views and strong opinions

Shard

There certainly seemed to be some strong political debate during all the recent protests. Canada even has its own contingent of anti-mask folk. If you draft in the indigenous debates, there is enough controversy under the calm Canadian surface.

MillieF

This is I fear, quite possibly true, but we are a very small, and somewhat 'fixed' society, so I think I may have found my level...heigh ho, tant pis, for me !

caretaker

I wonder where you would go in swinging Fredricton to tap into that counterculture and thriving arts scene? When we get bands from the far east they always seem to be based in St John's or Halifax.

Siouxie

Fredericton Venues - Music Runs Through It

caretaker

So it doesn't exist then. Between the dead links and places that are closed and every steakhouse and pub in town and even the farmer's market they've got everything but laundromats on the list, and it's still a short one. Millie will have to start her own counter-culture revolution in Fredricton; Burning Man East!

Tangram

..... floating in an isolation tank.

Shard

Hot or cold water ?