Raise the Hammer

I moved to Hamilton several months ago to get out of the suburbs, to expose myself to “life” rather than hide in the fantasy land where nothing bad ever goes on. Also I got a really nice house for dirt cheap.

I can attest that commuting is a grueling task, an absolutely horrible way to start your morning and end a long work day. I commuted to Mississauga from Hamilton for the past several months and before that it was from Burlington or Oakville, there were some days I just wanted to call it quits but had to drudgingly push on in order to save up enough for a down payment and to pay the bills. It was a good paying job the best I ever had and without a post secondary education it would be hard to find one right away that would pay as much.

However many of my family and friends would refuse to live in downtown Hamilton not just because they subconsciously want to cause themselves pain or that they underestimated the weight of the commute but because they have children and want larger backyards and quieter streets or more so because of the safety issues that come with living downtown. You may make yourself believe that it's safe as anything and some of their fears are unwarranted (there are some very nice and safe neighborhoods in the downtown core) but you can't deny that there are some very “interesting” characters down town.

Can they really be blamed then? If they can afford to live in a much safer community with much bigger yards, where houses are in better condition and they are almost guaranteed a return on this investment. I wouldn't say that they made a mistake I would say it was an obvious choice for them.

They take the positives with the negatives and I think they weigh their choices out quite seriously. Maybe they self-sacrificially lay down their own desire for “joy” so that their children can grow up in an environment where they can play street hockey or walk down the street without coming across a used needle or explain why that strange man just yelled profanities at them. Maybe maybe their wiser then we think they are and maybe we aren't as smart and more enlightened then we think we are.

Not to mention that if everyone all of a sudden moved downtown that prices would skyrocket and I wouldn't be able to afford a place to live. So SHH!

Comment edited by sleeplessinhamilton on 2010-04-17 23:26:10