dbd33

The radio.

dbd33

The incessant bleating that Canadians are somehow different from Americans.

Oink

You don't get distinct seasons.

The price of booze.

The4BellsLondon

Indeed!!

dboy

i tend to agree, but the area around gastown, west georgia/pender has some great examples of Edwardian architecture and west coast flatiron designs. Sadly some buildings have fallen into poor repair.

The4BellsLondon

But very few and far between! They do need to make more effort with Heritage Planning !

Greenhill

The roads. The slowness to fix potholes and repaint lines on the roads. The time it takes them to construct new roads. All the totally unnecessary stop signs on the roads. Oh, and don't get me started on old people being allowed to drive on the roads.

nooka

I suspect it is totally dependent on where you live, given the huge differences in geography and outlook across Canada. For me in BC the major downside is that going home or having visitors is very difficult because it's so expensive.

General things, mobiles are very expensive, and quite archaically you have to pay to receive calls. Depending on where you live your shopping choice may be reduced (but we did go from London/New York to a small town, which may have more to do with it). I think there are probably quite a lot of things that are more expensive - I know that we feel eating out is costly, but that might be more because of moving from New York. Many towns are also really quite ugly - lots of "box" houses and stores, which I found a little upsetting when on recce - beautiful countryside and then really unattractive settlements. However after a while you stop noticing - I'm sure next time I'm in England I will be saying how lovely the old villages look!

Oh and the other thing I personally find weird is that no one seems to talk about politics at all (my boss says this is because Canadian politics is just so boring). TV sucks too unless you are in to popular American series (I like the more BBC Two type offerings).

nooka

Catseyes

val50

fewer days holiday - you might think it wont make a difference but it does

fledermaus

• lack of employment rights for part time staff
• poor empoyment rights generally
• little annual vacation time
• seniority
• very old union practices - closed shops
• having to pay for prescription drugs, OP physio, fibre glass casts, etc
• poor health and safety regs to protect employees
• an 'we've always done it this way' attitude
• superficiality
• lack of discussion of politics/philisophy/literature/music/arts
• filthy shops and restaurants
• odd ideas on what accessibility for people with disabilities is
• rotten fruit and veg for sale, so having to pick through everything before you buy it.
• architecture
• mediocrity and proud of it
• expensive cut flowers even in the summer

will that do?

dboy

yes they do and there have been some tragic losses over the years (Birks and the original hotel Vancouver to name but two). Vancouver though grew very differently than older cities. Land was cheap and plentiful, menial workers could afford detached houses in what is now the west end - vancouver went straight to a suburban model. Fewer apartments were built as was typical in older cities. Density was not an issue in the 1880's. By the sixties, city hall had relocated from hastings and main, the street car had been closed down (start of the problems that still linger in the area today), and the west end had become a slum, many houses had become tenements with no indoor plumbing and deplorable living conditions. Vancouver was not a wealthy place. A radical plan evolved to demolish the west end and build the highrises you see today. tragic but inevitable.

Tanja87

Good stuff! More please

dbd33

Cancon.

dboy

so otherwise, pretty good then?