leith

Good topics:
1. Government mess-ups/corruption (always lots of those at all levels). Take the moral high ground and share your outrage but don't get too over the top or you might upset your dog and start it peeing/pooping/humping your neighbour's leg.
2. The weather, either where you are to complain about the snow/rain/cold/heat, or to feel sorry for folks in other parts of Canada who aren't having it as good as you are. Floods, tornadoes, hail storms, heat waves, blizzards - all great fodder for conversation, especially if they're somewhere far, far away. Even the odd earthquake has possibilities.
3. Taxes - municipal, provincial, or federal - always too high, and who's wasting all your tax money on task forces to investigate the effects of forest fires on dead trees and why Revenue Canada takes so long to send out your refund.
4. The high price of anything such as imported cheese and other items that might actually taste of something but especially gas as this is of paramount importance to all Canadians. You could take a whole morning swopping information on who's charging .9 cents a litre less and whether it's worth getting Superbucks or a cash back on your credit card.
5. The latest bargains you've noticed locally, whether the stuff is total rubbish or actually something useful. Canadian Tire and WalMart are prime targets but Target isn't as it's giving up in Canada.
6. Who's being paid too much to do a lousy job, e.g., the local council, police, the justice system, Stephen Harper, and the guy who fixed your washing machine and left all your wet knickers on the floor.
All else failing, you can always get into an indepth discussion about what's happening on Coronation Street. Is Peter Barlow really going to be found guilty or will the plods finally figure out the real villain? Why don't they call in Jack Frost or those old geezers in New Tricks? Fascinating stuff! Not exactly small talk, though - could take several hours to get through all the possibilities.

dbd33

Oh bugger!

Shirtback

Bins. The darn bins. Closely followed by who parks where, then gossip.

I like my neighbours, but the bin/parking moans are getting very boring :-(



S

ExKiwilass

New topic as of today: whose house is being renovated on the cheap for "Love it or List it" telly show.

Neighbour offered to show me around the reno'd house, even though it's not hers. Haha.

ps. my neighourhood is excitinger than all of yours.

hey, alan, any intel on the murder?

orly

Perhaps a cap with a confederate flag on it might work better. Then again Alan might live somewhere where such items are looked upon favourably.

Pulaski

The neighbourhood where I live is built on 1 acre lots, and extends about 1mile end to end, with no pavements either in the neighbourhood or beyond, so few people walk and the chances of me seeing a neighbour when at least one of us isn't in a car is slim to none. Conversations with the neighbour I speak to most often usually gravitate to local, state, and federal politics and the hopelessness of the tax-debt dependent economy.

Shard

Probably best to stick to the bear shit.

MillieF

The nicest thing about moving to Canada has been my neighbours. They are great. We can do sex, drugs and weather conditions anytime. I'm in a cul de sac and they have taken my son as part of their families and celebrate his little triumphs and are a total joy...I have been so lucky with where we live.

Small talk in general though is difficult here, people are very conservative and will never say anything that might offend or offer an opinion, even on the weather! They seem to feel it's anti Canadian to say it's a rubbish climate. Sometimes it feels a bit Stepford and vacuous. Thank God for the dog, he always makes for a good, if vapid, conversation piece!

Alan2005

Nobody here knows who he is. I went by the place it happened on the way to the tip with my rubbish and the filth were still busy doing their investigations or whatever. It will probably turn out that he pissed off some drug gang people somehow.

caretaker

I always thought Tracy Barlow was hot, even a bit after she was a killer. Dangerous psychotic not a problem #butshesmytype .

rwin

I'm not very good at small talk so I just find someone who likes to talk a lot about everything. Then I don't have to say anything.

magnumpi

We all drink beers on our front decks, in garages and on rear decks, talk some crap, mainly footy, bikes, cars, kids and more bikes n cars.

ExKiwilass

yeah, prolly. the shootings we get are generally drug-related.

Atlantic Xpat

In the spirit of helpfulness to a fellow poster, I engaged with the neighbour that I wave too but seldom talk to on the left hand side tonight. Our topics were:

• 'Kin ell it's hot
• 'but don't forget what a bad winter we had/how soon it'll be before we're snowclearing again.
• Kitec plumbing, home insurance, replacement, class action suits, bloody home inspectors, if only I'dve known etc.
• Municpal politics & planning. Poor state of the roads. We'll show them buggers in CBS who complain about us driving throught their town etc etc.
• Local schools - they are really pretty good. (His son has just graduated high school, my eldest starts K in Sept.)
• Wells. When we "fracked" our well it screwed his up briefly. It's been ok since although he ran it dry watering the grass the other day.

All rather inconsequential. But a free flowing and pleasant enough 15 mins.