Woo! First post in the new blogsie. So, hi everyone! Welcome to my blog about life in Winnipeg as an "outsider" to the city. What I mean by this is that most people I meet from Winnipeg or people who have lived in the city are "lifers". They're born there, they go to school there, they raise their family there and then they die there. It's that kind of city. So what about somebody who is just moving there? That's what this blog is about! Life, events, food, fun in Winnipeg! Hopefully it'll be an entertaining read for those of you who have never been, who are from there, and those who currently call Winnipeg home.
As a good start to this blog, I think it's pertinent to address a few questions folks may have about my move, or questions that friends have already asked me that I have trouble answering in totality or without cracking a joke.
#1 Why are you leaving Montreal?
This is an interesting question. When I first moved here in August 2011, I was star-struck by the city. Being from a small town in British Columbia (I grew up in Kelowna), I had never really lived in a city before. I loved being here - I felt it was cultural and cosmopolitan compared to back home. Everyone on the street seemed like they lived for themselves; they were snotty and stylish. I always thought that was who I wanted to be. So I tried to become that. I also loved the left-leaning politics of Quebec; cheaper tuition, government owned industry and drinking in the parks.
I think my hatred of Quebec came on really slowly. When I first came here, I didn't really speak much French. I had taken two years of it in university, but that doesn't really prepare you for "life" in French. I knew this. I ended up taking conversational French courses in Montreal, but they didn't do me a lot of good in terms of using the language. More often than not, I would simply speak English. What they don't tell you is that speaking English has it's own problems in Montreal. I'm sure if you stayed in your yurt all day and only travelled to McGill and then back home, you wouldn't have any problems. But I can't tell you how many times I've been sworn and yelled at for speaking English. "On parle francais ici!"
Then the student protests happened. At first, these didn't bother me. People have the right to protest government actions that they find unacceptable. What these protesters didn't take into account was that it isn't the 1960s anymore. Occupying a building where people are working will get a phone call to the police. Destroying public and private property is going to get you gassed. To be completely fair, these things happened in the 1960s as well. This idea of "police brutality" sure isn't a new thing guys. Anyway, the city was in chaos for far too long. The pots and pans marches lasted way too late into the city, waking up children and adults who simply wanted to get some sleep before another day of school/work. It was irritating.
These problems were exacerbated once the Parti Quebecois came into power once more. They took a hard-line approach to protecting the French language. Tuition increased regardless of the fact that students voted for Marois based on her support of their movement. Politically, this is not somewhere I wanted to be. Why would anyone want to live in a province where the government is trying to get rid of you?
It's also a place where it is difficult culturally. The minute you open your mouth, Quebecers (both anglo and franco) know that you're not from here. Once you tell them where you're from, you're branded as a "Westerner" with all the derogatory stereotypes associated with being from Calgary (because Western Canada is Calgary donchaknow). The culture here is also very brash. If you tip at a restaurant insufficiently, the waiter will tell you that it's not good enough. If a bartender at a club does nothing except open a beer bottle for you (no pouring required) and you don't tip, you WILL get sworn at. I asked a salesperson in Sephora the other day if I could use my rewards points online and I got a mouthful about how my shopping online kills his job. I can count the amount of times someone has held the door open for me, but I've lost count on how many times it has been slammed in my face. No one here smiles. Everyone smokes.
#2 Why Winnipeg?
As my friend Mark eloquently said, "Well, it's gotta go up from there." Most people I know think I'm crazy for wanting to move to Winnipeg. This is completely understandable. The mosquitoes, floods, -40 winters and terrifying crime rate should be enough to scare any normal person off. But given my reasons for leaving Montreal, I knew I wanted to come back home to western Canada, but was dead set against going back to BC or Alberta (Growing up that's just what you did - you hated Alberta for no reason). That leaves Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In all fairness, I have no experience with Saskatchewan. I have a few friends from there (and, y'know, my dad being from Saskatoon), and it sounds like a nice place. Really though, I have no connections to the province. Manitoba on the other hand, I have a lot of experience with. Both of my parents had lived in Winnipeg at different points in their lives (my dad spent his childhood there, my mom spent some of her childhood and some of her teen years there), which has led to a proliferation of family in the city who simply "never left" - they are Winnipeggers.
Every summer when I was a girl, I would visit my family (mostly on my mom's side) in Winnipeg. This pretty much ended when I was old enough to take care of myself while my parents were at work (so say 11 years old-ish) and then I would visit Winnipeg sporadically (including one Christmas - see, I can do winter!). So I guess what I'm saying is that it's a city that I know, at least superficially. I can get around. I know where to go and where not to go.
Towards the end of finishing my degree, I was lucky enough to have two of my dearest friends come visit me from Kelowna. One of them lives in Ontario, the other in Winnipeg. At the time I had no idea what I was doing - I couldn't stay here, I'd never find work. I needed to leave, but to where? I hated the idea of going to the GTA. If I was going to live in Toronto, I would live in Toronto, dammit! But who can afford to these days? When I actually budgeted it out with averages, there would be no feasible way for me to live in Toronto proper in a decent area making anything less than $50,000 a year. Finding a job had it's own unique challenges - I had (and continue to have) little interest in working in my field. Instead, I'm looking to move into business (marketing, advertising, maybe human resources/recruiting). Due to my education, I'd have to start at the bottom and I wasn't sure if Toronto would be a good place to do that.
Towards the end of their stay, I started joking that I should just pack up and move to Winnipeg. Laughter all around. But it was a serious consideration of mine - so I told my friend if she could find a two bedroom something-or-other, that I would come to Winnipeg. So she did. And the rest is history.
