“There seems to be this belief that newer is better, or that the little old houses need to get torn down to build these big in-fill mansions. People move to this neighbourhood because they like the character, the rows of poplars down 10a, 11th, 11a, 12th, the weirdos at the coffee shops, the kids in the park, the old folks, the history…
But as soon as they get here, they want to change everything: bigger houses, running the kids out of the neighbourhood, sectioning off big chunks of Riley Park with tape for their kids’ birthday party. I think that when they move here, they have their old habits – they want a friendly community, but they don’t know how to be neighbours. They don’t want to change.
The best part is: when you’ve been living here as long as I have, you start to see the neighbourhood change them. They become part of the community, they become the weirdos hanging out at the shops and in the park – families and all. And after all that, they’re the ones griping about how all these new people are moving into Hillhurst and Sunnyside, trying to change everything. 50 years ago, I was that newcomer, ha ha!” – Name Withheld