Hi, Ive lived in several large and small cities across Canada and I cant seem to figure out you Halagonian’s yet. I find a vast majority of people to be quite passive-aggressive, very inconsiderate, and socially awkward. Regarding being socially awkward, is there a reason people here feel the need to stare at each other-it almost comes across as though its a stare down to show whos tougher. Maybe its a small city wanting to have a big city attitude. Whatever it is smarten up-so far I dont find you people to be very charming or pleasant.
—Been Around
This article appears in Jun 18-24, 2009.
I find people love to stare from cars…as if we peds are the enclosed ones 😛
And sometimes I get the staredown from guys, which can be creepy.
Otherwise, I don’t know what you are talking about, except in regard to individuals.
Why gives a shit whether a few yokels drool in your general direction? Throw them a turnip and they’ll go scuttling down the street making assorted snorting noises.
I make eye contact with people a lot, just walking down the street, I think it comes from working in healthcare, where you try and be friendly to everyone you see. Could be coming across as staring, but most people don’t seem to mind, and just smile or say hello.
Not giving a shit really helps a lot, I find.
Or stare right back at their shoes/pants/face.
I think I saw TTFN on the street yesterday and I was staring at her chest..all she did was smile at me :o)
Hi, I’ve lived in several large and small cities across Canada and the USA and I’ve found Haligonians to be the most awesomest [sic].
London, Toronto, Chicago: all 3 places very stuck up and cold in general (always exceptions). Halifax: friendly & warm. To all the women here in HRM: thank you for being friendly and approachable (unlike the other cities). Try to cross a city street not in a crosswalk in any other those places and let me know if traffic in both directions stops……
Bobby33 – you stared at the fucking ground?
HAHA
Word down the street is you’re just really annoying.
OP, this is a small city with big city problems. Just a couple of weeks ago a guy was stabbed for doing just that… staring. I guess we know who’s tougher now. Nice, eh? Stick around and kill’m with kindness. (They hate that.)
I like Halifax, and I like the people but DAMN I’ll be the first to admit it’s a small city trying to come off as a big city…there can be a lot of pretension here, my friend. All you have to do is sit at the starbucks on SGR (the one by AA) and “people watch” for an hour or so…I think the problem with halifax is that it “tries to hard”….esp to be a Montreal or a Toronto or the “vancouver of the east coast” when it really doesn’t need to be. Halifax is charming all on its own and needs to realize this!
Yeah, you hit the nail on the head there, PK. Halifax has a serious identity crisis, and too many people with big fish/small pond syndrome.
I have to say, only certain parts of Halifax and certain people in Halifax try too hard. Downtown and the south end come to mind. There are genuine people out there (mostly in here, heh) just don’t look for them downtown.
“Yeah, you hit the nail on the head there, PK. Halifax has a serious identity crisis, and too many people with big fish/small pond syndrome.”
I have a family friend who is a fairly suave businessman, born outside of Canada. He worked in Halifax and this is exactly what he said.
All these businessmen and lawyers in Halifax would go around like they are the king of the world, go to a upperclass pub downtown on Friday afternoons and ring their mistress on their mobile and think they were the second coming of Jesus.
He didn’t bother telling them that they were nobodies. Halifax is a small backward city in a fairly insignificant country.
Nobody outside of Halifax cares about Halifax. You’re not a big shot. Embrace the city with humility.
Sadly, I’ve experienced less pretension in cities like Ottawa and Toronto than I have in Halifax.
Aye.
My Dad lives in NYC, and he was visiting once and he asked me a few times if he had something on his face. I said no, then asked why. He was wondering because everyone was staring at him. It really freaked him out.
Yeah, there are a few slack jawed yokels. I have had friends from out of the country visit and they have noticed the staring problem too. its even worse in the small towns around Nova Scotia. They just watch you drive by and leer at you, stoic and silent.
They make the children of the corn look like the guy from the oxyclean commercial!
take a picture assholes!
Heathro: maybe your dad is just gorgeous.
Geezz, what the hell is everybody talking about? Passive-aggressive inconsiderate socially awkward Haligonians?
Identity crises? Trying too hard? Fishy syndromes? Leering stoic silent psychos? Backward insignificant nobodies?
What a pile of fucking crap!! Who’s the pretentious one here? Anyone that sums up 400,000 people, all special, all with completely different backgrounds, all from different origins, and all unique individuals, then extrudes such generalized bullshit after coming in contact with a handful of them…that’s who.
Un-fucking believable!!!
It’s because people here grew up very sheltered. I’m not originally from the Maritimes and the first thing I noticed here is that people aren’t really like with the modern times (and I don’t mean like fashionably trendy, I mean they are stuck in a rut or something) …it’s weird and you are right….people stare far too much…especially on the bus. And the business class, since there is so few of them in Halifax are pretentious because of the fact that they are on the poor side of the country and feel the need to stand out among the great majority of lower to middle class people here.
HOWEVER, having said this, Haligonians are nowhere near as snotty and pretentious and pompous as Torontonians ….i feel comfortable slamming Toronto as my family is originally from there so its ok by me. Hope no one gets offended, but I think most people from T-DOT would agree with me on that.
I havent been to far out of the maritimes so I dont realy ahve an opion on people in diffrent cities. But!! you will get this any where you go I find it also depends on the area your in lunch hour downtown no one will be stopping to chat type of thing.
I notice all earthlings are pretentious most of the time as they destroy their wonderful planet and pretend nothing is wrong with that.
I concur smee. Maybe I just have lived in too many emotionaly stunted cities to slag Halifax. The grass is always greener. Sorry to pop the bubble of those who are hoping they can save enough pop cans to get the hell out of town, or wishing someone hires them in a “real”, well adjusted, modern city. If you feel everyone stares at you…well you know the deal…”how come your in this bar everytime I come here? you must be a drunk!” …I have never noticed anyone stare at me…then again, I tend no to look to see is looking at me, why would I care? Also, keep in mind that many rural people migrate to Halifax to find work and settle down (like most commercial centres…cities) and looking to see if that person “who looks just like Bob from home” really is. Consider sporting a t-shirt or ball cap questioning “what are you lookin’ at?” paranoid? self important? Or am I just invisible so no one stares?
If you would like to see how great other cities are, just hop on the information freeway and visit the blogs and forums of other cities..oh yes, they all have them, and they all are full of bitchers that can’t wait to leave, or dispair that the myriad of faults that plauge the shithole they are stuck in, will crush their sorry souls.
Heavy shit FB! Right some heavy.
It drives me…. it is as if most here have never been outside to prison walls of the province and it is hard to have a discussion with folks who didnot know there is a world on the other side….it has created a learned helpless/hopeless/complacent attitude…. of kool-aid drinkers…
Heathro, they were prolly wunnering why yer da still had all his own teefs
LMAO
chime in dueling banjos
op…..go back to where you came from, and when you get there, go fuck yourself.
dubiousDUBBZ… yet another shining example of “friendly Nova Scotia”