This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.
There’s a City Beyond the Peninsula People!
People need to get it through their heads that “Halifax” is actually much more than that just within the old city coundaries of 10+ years ago. There’s a lot outside of the peninsula that is so often disregarded and forgotten in favour of obsessing over
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Dartmouth is, for the most part, a sprawly, strip-mall ridden place. It needs density, walkability, and more trees in certain areas.
I dunno, i’m from halifax and I have had a ton of friends from the Dark Side. I dread going over there. It looks like it was caught in a time warp. The cars, houses and people look straight out of a episode of “Littlest Hobo.” The only other place I have been that has driving as scary as Dartmouth was Bangkok, but at least in Thailand they don’t drive 3 tons of American steel as if a sloth was at the wheel.Sure there are some interesting places “over there.” The lakes are beautiful, the parks are green and there is a library (i know, I can’t believe it either!) All cities have nice areas to it. But Dartmouth just can’t possibly be compared to Halifax. Halifax has a vibrant down town, a beautiful cityscape, shops, gardens, Universities, parks, lakes etc etc. How many strip malls and strip clubs are there in Halifax? How many trailer parks and Motor-home dealerships are there. Sure Dartmouth has some neat spots, but don’t be taken away with foolish pride. Dartmouth is a wank city and I reckon that it will always be.
Dartmouth and Halifax ARE NOT SEPERATE CITIES! Jeebus, I think that’s the point here. All decent sized cities have districts and Halifax needs to try just a little to grow up.
I have to say for someone who doesn’t know Dartmouth, you have a lot to say. What there is in Dartmouth that is not in Halifax, well cheaper housing, I rent in Dart and work on the other side. I pay less in rent and have twice the space as my friends do on the other side. I would never give that up to be in the middle of the “bar scene” and rowdy univeristy students. I feel quite safe walking the streets of Dartmouth, I couldn’t say the same about Halifax. I find that most people who don’t like Dartmouth have never lived there and therefore do not know what it has to offer. It was called the city of lakes for a reason. Just because you don’t like it, doesn’t make it a bad thing.
Well…as someone who was raised in Dartmouth, and now lives in central Halifax…I do have to say I prefer Halifax. However, I don’t have anything bad to say about Dartmouth. You can’t deny…it IS a slower pace in Dartmouth compared to Halifax, but that’s what some people prefer. Myself, where I don’t drive, I prefer the more condensed surroundings in Halifax, with everything conveniently close by. I can’t understand why Dartmouth is being referred to as a “wank city” by a previous person…it’s a matter of preference, and if you prefer to not live in Dartmouth, then so be it…but don’t bad-mouth people who like it. It’s actually not all rainbows and lollipops living in the city sometimes…like a certain Aliant TV offered…oddly enough, they DON’T OFFER IT YET in peninsular Halifax, but they do all over Dartmouth and Cole Harbour!
Holy shit. Dartmouth is way better than Halifax IMHO. Driving is WAYYY better here – at least we don’t have people popping out onto the street everywhere like in Hfx!! We don’t need density. If density means gum-ridden and shit-stained streets like around Pizza Corner, you can keep it. I lived in Hfx for 8 years and in Dart for 5. I much prefer the “Dark Side”. Why? I have a tiny mortgage. It’s 12 minutes for me to get to work in Hfx (20 on the bus) – a shorter commute than some of the peninsula! My yard is bigger than most in Halifax. My neighbours actually TALK to each other. I have my very own driveway – I don’t have to share with some freakshow neighbour who draws his property line down the middle. I can have my blinds open at night and not worry about neighbours peeking at me. There are tiny hidden parks **everywhere**. There aren’t so many houses on each side of me that they block the sunlight. My house is filled with it from sun up to sun down. I have an outdoor fireplace that I can use without the whole block bitching. So if that’s bad, I’d hate to see what you consider good.