Peace n' Love

Vancouver is a city of hippies - just an observation I've made. Whether I'm glancing quizzically at a bunch of colourful, flower-filled paintings at the local cafe, sitting next to a 50-something guy with orange glasses and a leather jacket on the bus, or walking past one of the many community garden projects in the city, I can't help feel that this place was built on good old peace n' love - and of course, that's not a bad thing. I think there's many factors as to why this city feels so relaxing and the people are so friendly, (even if those laughably antiquated notions are gone) the scenery is one of them, hippies is another.

Unfortunately, as will happen with all big cities, as they get bigger, so do their problems. From the outside Vancouver looks especially inviting. The snowfields, parks, beaches and the social lifestyle would appeal to anyone, and these things are certainly a part of why I love this place so much, they're all very much a reality. The problems include poverty, so bad that the downtown eastside is basically a no-go zone for anyone not wishing to be swamped by homeless people, the minimum wage, and a distinct lack of hair net wearing-17 year old Spanish flamenco dancers.
As the Olympics in 2010 creep closer, I can't help but wonder what's going to happen to all these people who live on the streets of the city. Most came here either to escape the brutal cold of the Canadian interior, or were put here by third parties needing more space to build condos or empty psychiatric hospitals. I'm not even joking there, a good deal of the homeless people here were booted out of the local psych hospital around 6-7 years ago when the provincial government decided it needed to save some cash. Owie.

The city therefore has two very distinct faces. Like the comic-book villain, one side is friendly enough, the other side is distorted and just plain creepy, but also quite melancholy. If Gotham wasn't as... gothic, and was a lot smaller, and was basically a completely different city, it would be Vancouver. Ok bad analogy.. But I'm honestly not sure how the city will go about fixing this problem. I suppose in time these things are rectified, but it's painful to watch. Like many things you wish were fixed, you just don't find the time to step in, or you feel that even if you did, nothing would be done. For now I'm quite busy enough with my search for the aforementioned Spanish flamenco dancers, but from an outsider's perspective, one who's now living in this city, it feels to me like what's missing is nothing more then good ole peace n' love.

Jimzip :D