The next person who uses the term “come from away” in my presence will get an earful on how unfunny this term actually is.
Sure, YOU might think it’s charming or endearing but it’s divisive and ignorant.
Especially when being one of those “come from away” types means you’re fine making sure I get treated like a second class citizen in my own country of birth by fellow canadians.
This article appears in Mar 27 – Apr 2, 2008.
Look, its just a recent verbal trend. (yes, I know its an old term but it was packed away with grammas old doilies for years). Its like when it was decided that “we” in Nova Scotia yell “Socialable” in a bar and everyone downs their drinks. Remember that? It was a couple years ago, maybe you were away. Or its like when the media started using the quaint term ‘hooley’ or ‘hurley’ or something to refer to what everyone knew/knows as street hockey or pond hockey and all kinds of fuckers in their 30s/40s said yeah we used to call it that but really we just called it plain old hockey.I’m sure theres a section of an English Dept. somewhere that can explain all of this.Pabst Blue Ribbon!
Yeah it’s a stupid term and it makes us look like xenophobic hicks. I am curious though, do you have to tell people where you are from, or are we just good guessers?
What does this inarticulate post even mean?? I dont understand how someone saying they’re ”from away” ensures that you get treated like a second class citizen in your own country of birth. Can you elaborate, please? Because so far, you’re the one who’s coming across as ‘divisive and ignorant’.
Toronto?
Spot on! I’ve always thought the same about this phrase as well. Regardless of it’s origins or age it is a divisive term and is used to seperate and define those not from the Maritimes. While I don’t believe it’s overtly prejudice it is an unfortunate way to describe someone.
fuck right off back to where you came from If you want to be a local. how unfunny is the term anyways? I have a feeling the next person to use it around you will get the same as the last… nothing
Try visiting cape breton, where if you grew up on the south shore of the same province you are ‘from away’.
lmao trevor – and anywhere outside of nova scotia is “ontario” – the whole time i lived in edmonton my grandmother thought i was in toronto.
Wow, T, and matt, thanks for demonstrating what a jackass you can be. You’re the very type of people we (who moved here) are talking about.
Speaking as someone from Nova Scotia who now lives “away” I’d like to send out a big “Fuck you” to all those who moved there “from away” and do nothing but complain about and disparage the place… I’d give anything to be able to have the financial security there that I have here, and that is the ONLY reason I’m gone and trust me, where you’re from ain’t so shit hot, bitch. And as soon as I can drain as much as I can from this shithole, I’ll be back where I want to be telling you all to your faces “If you don’t like it, get the fuck going, douchebag”
Fucking A, Querty. Fuck them and their prefab Clayton Park mansions.Pabst Blue Ribbon!
Hey Cranky, isn’t Ginger annoying enough? So why the ”Pabst Blue Ribbon!” after every single comment you make? It’s not cute… in fact it’s really, really annoying.
Such class acts you are. I don’t own a clayton park manse, thanks for assuming, however.”Go back where you came from” will earn you a punch to the face if you pulled that garbage anywhere else, you xenophobic twit. Pull your head out of your ass. People move here and realize this city isn’t friendly (i’ve been to far friendlier), and your hatred of outsiders is the first thing we notice from a good number of you. Halifax is a pretty city on the outside, with a really nasty attitude on the inside.
Hey Tania, maybe “Halifax” is nasty to you because you’re a sour, bitter woman. Maybe you take yourself too seriously, and people find it boring.Maybe you have a superior attitude that’s based on nothing other than the fact that you used to live somewhere else.Maybe, douchebag, it’s you. Just maybe.
I kind of agree with Tania here. While there are tons of great people in Halifax, it is a pretty snooty, conservative, two-faced town. As much as I may miss its beauty and the feeling of “home”, I’ll be happy if I never have to encounter so much narrow-minded hickery again. That’s not to say it doesn’t exist where I am, its just dilluted with so much more people and more opportunity to avoid it.Halifax is full of hicks and preppy, conservative old money and the most cliche, unoriginal art/music scene ever- everyone is so concerned with thinking they are the cat’s meow that nothing interesting is ever done- be it politics or art. I don’t know if Tania thinks she’s superior because she’s new- maybe she’s just frusterated because Halifax can be really fucking irritating!
If Tania was one of those pre-fab Calyton Park “mansion” people, she probably wouldn’t think Halifax sucked so hard. She’d be too busy out shopping at Pete’s Frootique (paying $6 for a pear), shopping at Suttle and Seawinds and running with her lab and jogging stroller in Point Pleasant Park on the weekend to complain!
Lol Lynn – I see where you’re coming from, but people out here look down their noses enough at “Newfies”; it’s one thing to have to endure it while I’m on their turf, but hearing it belittled by someone from “away” while they’re living in my town is, to me, entirely intolerable. That’s our place, and if these douchebags think it’s so awful, I really, truly do wish they would shut the fuck up or get the fuck going. We are who we are, for better or worse.
Um. No. I don’t think I’m superior. Never said that. I do think Halifax is patently unfriendly, in ways I’ve never experienced in all my travels. What I did say is that my experience is people tend to look at the “CFA” people and shun them. I know people who moved here, and 6 months later can’t get hired because jobs are held for “locals” first. I’ve had perfectly decent conversations go south because as soon as someone discovers I’m not from here ( and people ask, it’s a local obsession), their whole tone changes from friendly to hostile. Qwerty thinks it’s fine to go to another province, take a job and money, and slag us off, but truth is, you’re there, and people are giving you a shot. Halifax should be a much more open city but if you’re not from here, you really are an underclass of people. As evidenced by the “go back where you came from, bitch” comments come from.A city can’t grow and thrive if halifax locals keep driving people off with this attitude that anyone from away is suspect. After 2 years here, I gave up actually meeting people who don’t think i’m here to steal jobs, and women and open up another starbucks. I just think the city has so much potential but people here really seem to want to crush the life out of it. You’re so afraid of change you lash out at people who openly admit they’re different. Not everyone who moves here is “yuppie scum”. Some of us just wanted to contribute and work. I might always be an outsider here but where I’m from, we don’t care where you’re from, we just want to know you, what you can do, and what you can contribute.
People “give me a shot” because they have to. There aren’t enough of them to fill the vacant positions. If there were an economic reversal, believe me, they’d be running us off with pitchforks and torches. All day I’m forced to listen to thinly veiled putdowns of where I’m from and the kind of ignorance I thought was put to bed in the dark ages. I tolerate it because they have something I want and he best way for me to take it from them is to smile and keep my fucking mouth shut. You, however, have nothing I want; in fact your words and arrogant attitude are strikingly familiar to me. I can’t help but feel that the people you meet are unfriendly simply because they do not like you, and not because you have a different hometown. I had lots of friends when I lived in Halifax from all over he world, and it was never an issue.
Totally agree… Halifax will never get over that mentality of people are here to steal jobs. What fucking jobs I ask? Ohhh, a call centre? A subway restaurant? Wow, where do I sign up? The government went overseas to recruit skilled, financially stable immigrants, got them to pay $130,000 for a business mentorship and surgeons got screwed with gutting fish in Glace Bay for $20,000 of their own money and Nova Scotians still perceive anyone who “comes from away” as stealing their precious jobs! You are right, Nova Scotia is a xenophobic- and racist province that just uses people. Its not just the ordinary citizens but the government too- gotta fill the pockets of the old boy’s club by any means possible!Tania, I just hoped you weren’t duped into moving to Nova Scotia by all of the bullshit advertising their booming economy across the country. Now that was an embarassment!
There are a lot of people on this site that are Nova Scotians living away. I think that speaks strongly in favor of the loyalty and sense of community maitimers generally feel for one another, and I think that is a very positive thing, even if it sometimes manifests as being a little xenophobic or close minded. Maritimers are used to being ignored and forgotten by the rest of the country and have learned that we need to rely on each other to get by. Sometimes that means bartering for goods and services to meet your needs (still very popular in many rural areas) and sometimes that means hiring “locals” over people from “away”. The latter may offend people and may hurt us in the long run, but don’t confuse it with hickery. I think the bigger “hicks” are the people who come to the maritimes expecting us to do things like all the other places in the world they have travelled and being surprised when we don’t conform to your “foreign” standards. Add to that the total ignorance from canadians about anything that happens east of montreal and you have real “bumpkins” on your hands. I think a nova scotian living away is treated more like a 2nd class citizen because the people we encounter think we are backwards hicks who they are superior to. Visitors to Nova Scotia get treated bad because we see through that ignorant bullshit and treat them as self-rightous spoiled brats rather than the supreme beings they think they are. For the record, I don’t think all people coming to Nova Scotia have that CFA attitude and I think immigration (national and foreign) is vital to the success of our province. I just hate it when someone comes to my house and tells me how I should have arranged the furnature and that is the essence of the CFA attitude. We are doing OK on our own. We know that the streets are paved with gold in other towns…we don’t need to be reminded….we happen to like them lined with trees rather than concrete. Learn to go with the flow, or flow on outta here. Sorry about the rant.
When people automatically assume that YOU think you’re superior, with no real evidence, and then proceed to try to tear you down, they are saying much more about themselves that about you.This apparent xenophobia is really masking a deep inferiority complex. Maritimers think “CFAs” are wealthier, more worldly, more sophisticated, better dressed, or whatever, etc. etc. and it makes us feel like hicks. As a defense, we accuse the CFAs of being snobs, pretentious, arrogant, whatever. It’s just another way of not dealing with our own problem (insecurity), and trying to make it someone else’s problem.Call it the good ole culture of defeat. I know people love that expression. 🙂
No arguement that the defeatist attitude is a problem with maritimers and what you say is pretty much true (assume one is a snob without evidence)However, in a city like halifax where many of the people from “away” are from ontario because they are here to go to school, you are going to meet a lot of people who are 19-24, from weathly families and frustrated with the lack of LuLulemon boutiques. It was the lack of starbucks when I was in school. These people ARE snobby. 5 min into a conversation and you realize it. Not all of them are snooty and many are great people, but you encounter enough that you start forming opinions. It is really aggrevating when someone who doesn’t know you or understand you tells you how you should be doing things. We are NOT bumpkins here. We know what we do and don’t have going for us. So when someone comes to town and says “the music here sucks” “The shopping here sucks” “the people are rude” etc etc, why are we the assholes for saying “why did you come here then?” or “if you don’t like it, why stay?” We may have issues with xenophobia, insecurity and an inferiority complex, but other Canadians have problems with being overconfident, selfish and snobbish. Those types of personality traits are not very compatible, so of course they lead to problems. I’m just saying, don’t blame it all on the Maritimers.
Hmmm snobbishness is relative. Everybody thinks everybody else who is wealthier or more “refined” is a snob. But I do know what you mean about snotty 20 year old Ontario kids. A few of my friends in university were from Ontario, mostly Ottawa and they did judge some things – especially the 2 gay Torontonians (FUCK, they really WERE pretentious! LOL)But I was always very aware that, despite feeling defensive, I kind of agreed with most of their observations. Not that I would have admitted it to them. It was only when they would suggest that Halifax has no good restaurants or some really blatantly statement like that, that i would really get annoyed.More recently, I got annoyed when a BC friend said there is nothing to do in Halifax but drink. Then I thought about it. Not much else really. LOL
There are people in every part of the world who have defeatist attitudes and are insecure and lash out at everything that is different from exactly what they’re used to. Everywhere, not just the Maritimes. I’m not referring to those people – they live in their own world, and I want no part of it.What is annoying to me is that there ARE people from very specific regions in this country, who consider themselves superior to Maritimers , simply because the place they were born is more economically sound. I know, nobody comes out and says “I think I’m better than you because I’m from X” (just as nobody would come out and say “I’m a racist”), but it more than comes across in your glib statements and arrogant attitudes.The second thing that annoys me is that if anyone from the Maritimers dares point out this truth, we’re called insecure, defeatist, or told we have an insecurity complex, and are lumped in with the uneducated and truly insecure and close-minded, and brushed aside or dismissed. Well, it’s one thing to deal with the attitude when I’m away from home, but like I said, I’ll be goddamned if I’m going to listen to it from you when you’re in my town and keep my mouth shut. I don’t go around telling people here I think their attitudes suck (which they do), they’re materialistic and boring (which they are) and have no sense of humour (which they don’t), because that would be rude. Even if it’s true. So why the fuck do you think you can come to my house and criticize what you don’t like about it? Go fuck yourselves assholes; learn some manners or fly he fuck out of here. And if you continue to parade yourselves around like some authority on all things worldly and culturally relevant, expect people to hate you.*And as an aside to the dopes who will inevitably point out that there are no absolutes and I’m being too general- I’m not saying this is true about “everyone”. I know that not everyone from every place are identical. I’m talking about a certain type of person, who are more prevalent in certain places.
…..mmmmm…..I’m from away. I am from a place where no one looks you in the eye, smiles or thinks to say “good morning”. People are cold and distant. When I first came to NS(8 years ago) I was shocked by the friendliness of strangers. So these comments abour rude and unfriendly NS folks confuse me.
I’ve gotten that reaction when I made suggestion on more efficient ways for the city to grow. I’ve seen other cities make the same mistakes Halifax is now, with the random subdivisions that are poorly laid out on the outskirts of town, that end up being a mess later on.Or saying that maybe if you’re doing construction on a major access point onto the peninsula you should pony up the extra money to get 24hr construction crews. Especially at the peak of tourist season.I like NS, but it’s very frustrating to make suggestions about important things like urban planning and get rejected out of hand because you’re ‘from away’. There is a definite xenophobia, and it’s frustrating to live in a town that thinks it’s a city but is run like a village.
Qwerty, great points, I think I totally agree with you on this topic. It’s fucking rude to come to someone’s home and tell ’em how to do things.Now, Pete, I can see your frustrations, especially since they seem to stem from the urban planning aspect (I assume this is your field). You may be from “away” but if it is your job to suggest ways to improve Halifax your comments should be welcomed even if they are not heeded. As long as urban planners realize that Halifax has to develop and grow in a way that is compatible with maritime culture and priorities. I would hate to see Halifax become “just another big city” and lose it’s uniqueness. I think that is one of the fears that restricts development in halifax. We like things the way they are generally, and need to find a way to grow that maintains the things we like about this city and province.
Miles, I think the big problem from the urban planning perspective is that Halifax already IS on it’s way to becoming just another generic “big” city. The growth of the business parks and the bland new residential developments in clayton park, for example, are poorly planned, don’t suit the old parts of the city at all, and are far too segregated in terms of reisdential versus commercial. There are no neighbourhoods and cars are a necessity.I think people promoting population density are right on the money – they’re trying to promote dense, walkable self-contained neighbourhoods that make you want to go outside and get about. The exact opposite of what is currently happening.I know some people think “dense” means skyscrapers and “big city” ugnliness, but it doesn’t have to mean that.If people from other locales have already seen these mistakes made in their cities and have suggestions to avoid them here, I think it’s a real shame if we blow these ideas off just because of their source.
wow tania, im the type of person you’re talking about? I got no problem with cfa’s coming and getting jobs. I have plenty of friends from all over canada and outside canada who now or in the past lived worked and/or went to school in halifax.What i do have a problem with is people who think everything else is someones problem. Maybe people are treating you poorly cause your a tool? This might not be the case but feeling that the term CFA is offensive seems a bit over the top, is where your from so tabo?As for the local obsession of asking where your from, people ask because they are curious. Maybe your from the same part of NS and have moved to halifax and know some of the same people. If you are from a different province which would rule that common ground out I can see that convo going down hill.”I might always be an outsider here but where I’m from, we don’t care where you’re from, we just want to know you, what you can do, and what you can contribute.” Bullshit! Sounds like a nice place though.
Actually Miles, it’s just an interest of mine I inherited from my dad. I moved to Hamilton from Montreal when I was little. Hamilton 15 years ago is Halifax today; the suburbs where starting to develop but not fully established, some big box stores had just been built on the outskirts, and generally people where moving out of the city centre. Fast forward to a few years ago, and the downtown mall, which used to be a collection of high end stores, is now full of dollar stores. The downtown itself is several square blocks of shitholes, with the occasional cool shop, riddled with crack houses and dive bars (and not in a good kitschy way). So city council continues to approve haphazard developements (on prime farmland) outside the downtown which is just encouraging further detorioration. They are only now starting to trry and encourage people to come back town, but it will probably take at least a decade.Any of that sound familiar? If you live in the burbs, you have to drive to go anywhere. Places like Dartmouth Crossing speedsd this all up. The downtown has gone downhill in the two years I’ve been there. The saving grace is that there are quite a few condo developements going up. People will sneer at that as yuppie havens, but they do lots of things; they reduce rush hour traffic, reduce overall use of cars if you can walk everywhere, and helps support local businesses. Having a thriving vibrant downtown encourages more smaller local businesses downtown, which in turn encourages more people to live downtown…So as I see it, Halifax can do several things, continue on as it is now, and become a generic big city with sprawling, poorly planned burbs and a dead downtown, or control and limit expansion outwards to keep the character of the city.The other part of burb developement is that the true cost to the city never gets passed on to the builder. It costs a lot to put in and support all the infrastructure, and their taxes are usually lower. So when HRM is already struggling with it’s infrastructure, the city planners are shooting themselves in the foot.But with announcements to spend billions to get MORE CARS ON A THIRD BRIDGE, to bring in more traffic onto the peninsula, which has no room to expand the roads, meaning even more gridlock, I’m getting ready to give up. Maybe I’ll just go back to Toronto. Like everyone else from away. >=(
Pete, I appreciate your comments. I also think your comments are not directed in the typically CFA way with that CFA attitude. I also think you are right for the most part. I think I would rather see halifax built up rather than out, mostly to preserve the easy access to wilderness that I love so much about the city. It makes me sick to drive along the bi-hi and see all those new developments out by bedford that are just postage-stamp lots in an area that was woods 10-15 years ago. I also agree with the idea that trying to bring more traffic into the penninsula is a dumb idea (at least car traffic). Bringing people in by bus/train wouldn’t be so bad. I am against building halifax too high in the area between the waterfront and citadel hill. I like the unobstructed view of the dartmouth refinery. But there is plenty of space to build up on the peninsula (south and north of the hill). And it’s not like we are talking about ginormous skyscrapers for Hali anyway…not for a few more years at least. Also, it would be cool to see Dartmouth build up a bit on the harbour side. Could relive some of the stress from the penninsula while keeping things in a small radius. But urban planning isn’t even a hobby of mine and some of my thoughts may be dumb or naive. I just want to find a way to preserve the good things about halifax and minimize the downsides of a small city becoming bigger.