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  #81  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2021, 1:55 PM
jonny24 jonny24 is offline
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I've only been to Oshawa once, as a kid on family vacation on the way to Ottawa, but I remember checking a really cool car museum - can't remember if it was specifically GM or not but lots of history about automaking in Canada.

Don't remember anything else about the city though.
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  #82  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2021, 2:07 PM
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Oshawa is really two cities: one is a working class rust belt town with declining local industries, and the other is a Toronto suburb for middle class commuters. The two don't really mix, so Oshawa kind of feels half as big as it is on paper.
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  #83  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2021, 2:25 PM
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Oshawa is really two cities: one is a working class rust belt town with declining local industries, and the other is a Toronto suburb for middle class commuters. The two don't really mix, so Oshawa kind of feels half as big as it is on paper.
A friend of mine once moved in with a lady from Oshawa.....they moved in to a house in Brooklyn but she had two young kids but had kicked out the birth father/ex-husband when he got a stripper pregnant that he met when he went to the strip club to pick up his drunk and disorderly father.

Through this relationship my friend told me many stories of the Oshawa underbelly. He had a lucky escape.

Another friend of mine here grew up in Oshawa after moving to Canada as an early teen from the UK and he worked in the summers in High school and university etc at GM. He had lots of tales of poor workmanship, drunk/high employees etc and just general debauchery and critterdom.
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  #84  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2021, 2:27 PM
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I don't like the sound of "Oshawa". It sounds harsh, like someone with a very bad lisp trying to say Ottawa.

Not meaning to diss Oshawa as I live in the world's second largest (but first for being boring) London.

Although let me tell you, London (Ontario) has a really seamy underbelly, that can readily be experienced just by walking or driving down any streets within 200 yards north and south of Dundas St. East.
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  #85  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2021, 3:05 PM
megadude megadude is offline
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Montebello Park in St. Catharines is nice and some of the homes around it were surprisingly nice. My brother actually lives three houses away from the park. However, there is a social housing house right beside it and it's no always pleasant to walk by it. This is also where anti-maskers and whatever show up for rallies. And there is a vagrancy element that hangs out there. You will sometimes see needles. Like Little Lake Park in Midland, the place I often fish when I go to the cottage, there is an element that comes out at night to the point where they installed needle disposal boxes outside the washrooms.

My sister and three cousins went to Western. I visited London maybe three times. I should have gone more often. So many nice neighbourhoods and houses here and there, but ya, I've also seen the other side. I remember waiting at a KFC once in one of the sketchier neighbourhoods and seeing some of the people in line and I couldn't help but to stare. Kind of reminded me of waiting at a White Castle in Columbus, OH once where some lady was on the phone while waiting talking about her parole and how fucked up her kids are and all kinds of shit with no filter or volume control on her voice. No one was talking like that at the London KFC but the appearance of some of these people were the same as at that White Castle.

A Haitian-French girl from my work, who grew up in Paris, moved to TO to be with her BF. Two years ago she was looking for a house. She mentioned a realtor showed her houses in Oshawa and she showed me on the map. I told her that you probably want to avoid Oshawa. There's a reason those houses are noticeably cheaper than the surrounding areas. The girl beside her, who grew up in rural Hamilton and lives in Burlington, over heard and said, ya DO NOT go there.

I also agree that 3R is virtually completely absent for being what it is. I only stopped by for food between MTL and QC. I should have drove into town and explored a little. My favourite director and one of the greatest of all time, Denis Villeneuve, is from there. And I grew up being a huge racing fan. Grand Prix of TR has a long history there. And more recently the world rally cross championship, which I was going to visit in 2019 but my grandmother's 90th birthday got in the way, and that was a party I couldn't miss as I would have been the only one of the 13 grandkids that would be absent.

And yes, resort towns and cottage areas don't get much mention but so many of us have been or go to these places.
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  #86  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2021, 3:13 PM
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Originally Posted by MolsonExport View Post
I don't like the sound of "Oshawa". It sounds harsh, like someone with a very bad lisp trying to say Ottawa.
One time I had to rent a car in Ottawa to drive to Oshawa. The agent I spoke to on the phone was in the US. It was a ridiculously confusing conversation.

"So I'll be picking it up in Ottawa, but I need to return it in Oshawa... No, OSHawa... no, no, picking it up in Ottawa, Ontario, returning it in Oshawa, which is a different... yes they're both in Ontario. No, not Ontario, California..."
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  #87  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2021, 3:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Hali87 View Post
One time I had to rent a car in Ottawa to drive to Oshawa. The agent I spoke to on the phone was in the US. It was a ridiculously confusing conversation.

"So I'll be picking it up in Ottawa, but I need to return it in Oshawa... No, OSHawa... no, no, picking it up in Ottawa, Ontario, returning it in Oshawa, which is a different... yes they're both in Ontario. No, not Ontario, California..."
I've rented cars maybe 50 times, but over the phone only a handful of times. I've had two horrendous conversations with reps over the phone to the point where you wonder not only how they can actually keep this job, but how they even get through life on a daily basis. But have also had a couple where I was seriously impressed.
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  #88  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2021, 5:05 PM
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Originally Posted by MolsonExport View Post
I don't like the sound of "Oshawa". It sounds harsh, like someone with a very bad lisp trying to say Ottawa.
The nickname is The 'Shwa

At least St. Catharines has the affectionate nickname St. Kitts
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  #89  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2021, 9:02 PM
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Looks like we can remove Oshawa from the list.
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  #90  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2021, 9:17 PM
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What about Burlington or Oakville?

(Based on what I've heard they're pretty much exactly like Oshawa, only pretentious)
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  #91  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2021, 10:41 PM
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Originally Posted by Hali87 View Post
What about Burlington or Oakville?

(Based on what I've heard they're pretty much exactly like Oshawa, only pretentious)
Can't tell if you're joking or not...Would be a funny joke though.

Those two places are the opposite of Oshawa. I suppose the similarities are that they have GTA style suburban subdivisions (North Oshawa) and that they are on the lake.

Burl/Oak are arguably the two best suburbs in the country while Oshawa would be way down the list. Though Oshawa can also be seen as a standalone centre, hence being a CMA, the other two not so much.

As for being pretentious, I don't see that as being very palpable. In certain areas, such as south of the QEW down to the lake, it might be. This is my experience though, whether before I lived here or after I made the move here eight years ago.
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  #92  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2021, 11:26 PM
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Oakville is too old money to be truly pretentious. It’s legit obnoxious rich people! Beautiful downtown though, and nearby Kerr st was beginning to get some cool stuff last I went. Burlington feels a bit more like a real city to me even though the downtown is a bit gappier. Together they are the closest thing I can think of Canada has to some of the older commuter suburbs in the US like NYCs Connecticut Metro North suburbs or Philadelphia’s mainline.

The Dirty ‘Shwa is a standalone post-industrial city that ended up in Toronto’s orbit.

Also never really got where “St Kitts” originated though it is an interesting nickname. Most people in Toronto don’t recognize it unless they’ve spent time in Niagara so it’s definitely a regional thing.
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  #93  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2021, 11:30 PM
Hali87 Hali87 is offline
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Originally Posted by megadude View Post
Can't tell if you're joking or not...Would be a funny joke though.

Those two places are the opposite of Oshawa. I suppose the similarities are that they have GTA style suburban subdivisions (North Oshawa) and that they are on the lake.

Burl/Oak are arguably the two best suburbs in the country while Oshawa would be way down the list. Though Oshawa can also be seen as a standalone centre, hence being a CMA, the other two not so much.

As for being pretentious, I don't see that as being very palpable. In certain areas, such as south of the QEW down to the lake, it might be. This is my experience though, whether before I lived here or after I made the move here eight years ago.
I'm half-joking, but what makes Oakville and Burlington "good" while Oshawa is "the opposite"? From an outside perspective the differences are not very obvious, other than a bit more focus on the lakefront in Halton. They seem like (materially) similar places. Obviously their reputations are quite different though.

edit: saw Niwell's post after
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  #94  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2021, 11:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Hali87 View Post
I'm half-joking, but what makes Oakville and Burlington "good" while Oshawa is "the opposite"? From an outside perspective the differences are not very obvious, other than a bit more focus on the lakefront in Halton. They seem like (materially) similar places. Obviously their reputations are quite different though.
oh.. there's a difference.. trust!!!
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  #95  
Old Posted Jul 24, 2021, 2:55 PM
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Originally Posted by niwell View Post
Oakville is too old money to be truly pretentious. It’s legit obnoxious rich people! Beautiful downtown though, and nearby Kerr st was beginning to get some cool stuff last I went. Burlington feels a bit more like a real city to me even though the downtown is a bit gappier. Together they are the closest thing I can think of Canada has to some of the older commuter suburbs in the US like NYCs Connecticut Metro North suburbs or Philadelphia’s mainline.

.
Good points, and I agree (my mom lives in Oakville).

Montreal has a few too (Beaconsfield, Baie d'Urfe, maybe Pointe Claire near the lake). Oakville, especially the wealthier parts, reminds me greatly of Lakeshore Rd./Beaconsfield Boulevard in the West Island
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  #96  
Old Posted Jul 24, 2021, 5:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hali87 View Post
I'm half-joking, but what makes Oakville and Burlington "good" while Oshawa is "the opposite"? From an outside perspective the differences are not very obvious, other than a bit more focus on the lakefront in Halton. They seem like (materially) similar places. Obviously their reputations are quite different though.

edit: saw Niwell's post after

I think one difference is in how they developed.

I believe that Oakville and Burlington both grew from post-War of 1812 villages with small ports that served farmers and grist and lumber mills, but when they hit their growth spurts after WW2 it was largely due to suburbanization and the QEW providing great access for a variety of industries that relied heavily on trucking. A lot of people with money and upper-level jobs in Hamilton ended up settling in Burlington, and I would think it was similar for Oakville re: some of Toronto's wealthy. Neither suburb had the kinds of income disparities you see in larger places, at least not to the same degree, and that continues today... they do have their rougher edges but nowhere near to the ones in "blue collar" cities like Hamilton.

Oshawa began as more of an industrial town, but later on didn't have enough economic diversity to help weather the changes in the auto sector, so it's been going through a lot of hardship since the 1980s and '90s. And I agree with hipster duck's point about it being like two cities -- the suburbanization wave has been strong and created one version of Oshawa, but the other has not revitalized and hasn't seen the gentrification and investment that's been occurring in other cities that grew from heavy industry.

It's a lot more complex than that and I probably don't have the history completely correct, but that's how I see those cities.
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  #97  
Old Posted Jul 24, 2021, 5:28 PM
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nobody talks about Brampton unless it's on 6ixbuzz on instagram. but it's the 9th largest city in the country.
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  #98  
Old Posted Jul 24, 2021, 5:58 PM
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Originally Posted by Hali87 View Post
I'm half-joking, but what makes Oakville and Burlington "good" while Oshawa is "the opposite"? From an outside perspective the differences are not very obvious, other than a bit more focus on the lakefront in Halton. They seem like (materially) similar places. Obviously their reputations are quite different though.

edit: saw Niwell's post after
I'm not that familiar with Oshawa, but it appears to be quite unique in not having streets with gracious Victorian semi-mansions next to downtown. Seems like the central shopfront district is surrounded by a belt of modest workers' houses thenceforth by the usual postwar and modern suburbia. Looks completely charm-free, in contrast to Oakville and Burlington.

Having gone to high school in Hamilton, I can confirm that Burlington was universally seen as rich and snooty, but to us Oakville was too far away to be familiar or relevant.
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  #99  
Old Posted Jul 24, 2021, 6:13 PM
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For Alberta, Edson is pretty much unmentioned. It's basically the New Brunswick of Alberta. Not linguistically but by how much of it is monopolised by a few families.
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  #100  
Old Posted Jul 24, 2021, 7:46 PM
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