|
As others have said, Vancouver is a city in transition. It's natural that people will resist or resent change, particularly if that change involves people and culture that is different than the same they grew up with.
As I've said a few times in this thread, many parts of East Van in the 1970s and 1980s were considered to be ghettos by those living on the West Side. This is reflected in the housing (vinyl-siding, tar roofed Vancouver specials with 2 full suites) and the types of businesses that used to be on the main streets. However, whatever real down-to-earth charm that East Van had has been lost to trust-fund kids, who have taken over neighbourhoods previously home to ethnic communities such as South Asians (Main and 49th), Vietnamese and Chinese (Kingsway and Main), Italians and Portuguese (Hastings-Sunrise) and Filipinos (Fraser). The city I grew up is no longer the same and never will be, no matter how much people bitch about Gregor, the NIMBYs, foreign money, etc.
At the end of the day, people will do what's best for themselves and their loved ones. If that means leaving the region for quieter and greener pastures somewhere else, so be it. The thing is that neither the region nor your neighbours will really care much if you do. Metro Vancouver will continue to steamroll along.
|