Voice of the City takes essay submissions from anyone in the city, the essays cover a range of topics - from food truck vendors outraged at food truck laws, to lobby groups demanding greater reproductive rights for Mexican dogs. (Maybe.)
For two weeks after I submitted this, essays of a similar nature, but far more serious were used for VOTC. I think mine got bumped, so here it is here.
I was only supposed to be here for a year of school and then I’d leave.
And I did leave, last spring.
But then my girlfriend did the impossible and got a job, in her field, in Halifax. A Triple Crown that can be tough for an outsider (or a local) to pull off in Atlantic Canada.
So we packed up the truck and made the long drive from our home province of B.C. to the East Coast.
I’m familiar with the territory as I did my undergrad in St. John’s, but I was in Halifax for less than eight months, and after nearly a year away, it feels brand new again.
Throughout the years I’ve had lots of friends threaten to come visit out here, but the threats remain threats and I’ve rarely had a visitor.
It’s understandable that they don’t visit, I’m a long ways away. So in place of airport hugs it’s the usual bit of texting and Facebook messages back and forth. And always this question:
“How is Halifax?”
Usually, “How is [place you live]” stands in for, “how are you?” Maybe it demands a mention of the weather, mostly it’s an invitation to talk about yourself.
But r unemployed, combine that with a limited social network and no school and suddenly, “how is Halifax?” becomes a hard question to answer.
I can’t defer to a job, or my studies, or even what my friends and I have been doing. There’s not much to say about me.
So, since moving back, when somebody asks, “how is Halifax?” I’ve been taking the question at face value: How is Halifax?”
What is the city like? How does it compare to back home? What little differences exist?
This is a sample of how it is to me, these are the sentiments, the passing observations I’ll sometimes beam back to the west coast:
Halifax can clean up after a blizzard, way better than we do in B.C.
It's $63 to take a cab to the airport in Halifax.
Halifax is a wealthy uncle who is almost dead and you won't get any of his money.
Halifax has the best access to surfing of any city in Canada. 20 minutes from downtown you can be surfing, it takes longer to get to the chairlift if you live in Whistler.
Halifax has opened three frozen yogurt shops in the past year. The economy is driven by frozen yogurt.
Halifax is a trip to your grandma's place in the country but the weather is bad and you stay inside and visit with your grandma the whole time.
The high schools are fancy in Halifax.
People put their unwanted housewares in the street in Halifax.
Halifax is where less adventurous people come to have adventures.
Halifax is the only place I've heard "Upper Canada" used in a derogatory way.
What is "Upper Canada?"
Halifax has a chain of grocery stores in which the employees get on the microphone and tell you about the specials of the week.
Halifax is Christmas dinner.
Halifax tries too hard to like vegetables.
Everyone goes for a run in Halifax.
There is an outdoor skating oval in Halifax, it's free and it's the best public recreation experience in the country.
Halifax has the most stressful farmers market in the country.
Halifax has no great streets, only a bunch of pretty good streets.
Don't you dare speak ill of the music scene in Halifax.
Halifax has a great music scene.