City Analogues

[Harrison]

Darwin, Northern Territory is obviously analogous to Maple Creek, Saskatchewan

[ssiguy]

I think London is a bigger version of Ann Arbour Michigan.

London is much bigger and has more industry but no larger heavy industry. Both are prestigious university towns and their schools are renowned for medicine. Both home to old wealth and low crime rates. Both are in the middle of rich agricultural land and a long major local rivers but not major waterways or lakes. Each city is served by major freeways but neither has a true urban freeway going anywhere near the downtown.

Although Ann Arbour is much closer to Detroit than London is to Toronto it, like London, both are very distinct from their nearby big cities and like it that way. Both have rich architectural heritage and large inner city leafy neighbourhoods with historic homes. Both cities pride themselves on their green spaces and parks and their love of their trees. Ann Arbour is nicknamed "the tree town" while London is The Forest City.

[ue]

Originally Posted by someone123

Portland OR and Seattle both have areas that vaguely remind me of the feel of Halifax, with this being more prevalent in Portland. I expected Portland to be an undeniably much larger-feeling and more cosmopolitan-feeling city. But that's not what it's like in person. Portland reminds me a bit of what you might get if you took many copies of Victoria and placed them all next to each other. It is not unlike the feel of LA in that abstract sense.

I can see the Victoria analogy, especially just because of proximity. But while Halifax and Victoria are the same size, Halifax (due to the lack of a Vancouver on its doorstep) feels like a more substantial, complete city. With Victoria, Metro Vancouver just has an undeniable reach/pull. Halifax, on the other hand, is the big city, for 4 provinces. It thus has the accumulation of culture, art, business, and amenities, that you don’t find in Victoria as much. Not that there aren’t these things, but, as well-regarded as UVic is, it isn’t Dal.

So, I think Halifax is, oddly, a fair comparison to Portland. I think it’s just the vibe, that Ellen Page indie feel that both cities have in spades, combined with a very nice urban fabric. Portland obviously feels bigger, I think, but it’s sleepier than similarly sized Vancouver, in much the same way that Halifax feels bigger than similarly sized Victoria. Halifax also lacks that stodgy old money preppy vibe that New England is stereotyped for, even though it isn’t quite as laid back as BC in general is. Victoria I think also just skews a bit older, as it’s a popular retirement community. Both it and Halifax are touristy, but it feels more overwhelming in Victoria. Probably helps it has a 2.5 million metro on the mainland, as well as large American cities nearby, and being a major destination for folks in BC/Alberta (and Sask/MB to a lesser degree).

[MolsonExport]

Okotoks and Tokyo. Separated at birth. The way it is growing, it will one day be larger than Tokyo. Eat that, "Stats-Canada"

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Okotoks and Tokyo. Separated at birth. The way it is growing, it will one day be larger than Tokyo. Eat that, "Stats-Canada"

Okotoks + Tokyo = Tokyotoks.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Harrison

Darwin, Northern Territory is obviously analogous to Maple Creek, Saskatchewan

Is it the crocodiles???

[svlt]

Originally Posted by ue

I can see the Victoria analogy, especially just because of proximity. But while Halifax and Victoria are the same size, Halifax (due to the lack of a Vancouver on its doorstep) feels like a more substantial, complete city. With Victoria, Metro Vancouver just has an undeniable reach/pull. Halifax, on the other hand, is the big city, for 4 provinces. It thus has the accumulation of culture, art, business, and amenities, that you don’t find in Victoria as much. Not that there aren’t these things, but, as well-regarded as UVic is, it isn’t Dal.

So, I think Halifax is, oddly, a fair comparison to Portland. I think it’s just the vibe, that Ellen Page indie feel that both cities have in spades, combined with a very nice urban fabric. Portland obviously feels bigger, I think, but it’s sleepier than similarly sized Vancouver, in much the same way that Halifax feels bigger than similarly sized Victoria. Halifax also lacks that stodgy old money preppy vibe that New England is stereotyped for, even though it isn’t quite as laid back as BC in general is. Victoria I think also just skews a bit older, as it’s a popular retirement community. Both it and Halifax are touristy, but it feels more overwhelming in Victoria. Probably helps it has a 2.5 million metro on the mainland, as well as large American cities nearby, and being a major destination for folks in BC/Alberta (and Sask/MB to a lesser degree).

Cruise ships too, I think the passenger traffic from Victoria Harbor was close to a million people in 2019 while Port of Halifax had a little over 300,000.

[MolsonExport]

Tokyotoks actually has a ring to it. Like Tuktoyaktuk. Beats Okotoks.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Tokyotoks actually has a ring to it. Like Tuktoyaktuk. Beats Okotoks.

Sounds like the name of a Japanese call-in radio show.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Sounds like the name of a Japanese call-in radio show.

That's the wrong pronunciation though. That would be Tokyo Talks. This is Tokyo Tokes - a good name for a weed emporium.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by svlt

Cruise ships too, I think the passenger traffic from Victoria Harbor was close to a million people in 2019 while Port of Halifax had a little over 300,000.

Victoria is on the Alaska cruise route which is much busier than the cruises that go around the Maritimes and stop in Halifax.

These numbers include every person on one of the cruise ships including those who don't disembark. I'd guess that this industry is not going to look very good in 2021, but maybe it will come back in future years.

[Chadillaccc]

Calgary and Denver are virtually identical in built form, feel, geography, and development, just more skyscrapers in Calgary. My tourists (I'm a tour guide, mostly tourists from the US) usually say the same, they'll also draw parallels to Portland or Salt Lake City, but I don't see those as much.


Edit: Ah I see that's been mentioned a couple times!


Yeah it's dope that we have run of the river attractions right in/just outside of downtown, a consequence of being next to the front ranges (clean water) and both cities are recognized globally for their water treatment (no dumping of untreated water).

Originally Posted by shreddog

Further to the Calgary-Denver analogue
Calgary - Harvey Passage
SOURCE
Denver -Confluence Park
SOURCE

FWIW if you took the Calgary picture from the east side of the island, the DT would look very similar to the Denver angle.

Another example of the similarity...

16 Street Mall - Denver


https://www.gocolorado.com/savings-a...nver-colorado/'


Stephen Avenue - Calgary


https://www.robertharding.com/previe...lberta-canada/

[SaskScraper]

^ I totally get that feel between Denver and Calgary

Originally Posted by Harrison

Darwin, Northern Territory is obviously analogous to Maple Creek, Saskatchewan

That was random, You've been to both places too? I thought I'd probably be the only SSPer to have ever been to both. I had never thought of Saskatchewan's cattle country and top end of Northern Territory to be similar, until I traveled through there from Bali.

I don't think the communities of Darwin or Maple Creek have much in common.
I mean Darwin's burb, Rapid Creek with it's water tower sort of reminds me of Saskatchewan town's water towers, maybe the one storey bungalows in both places could be seen as similar, at most.
maybe?.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@-12.3844...2!8i6656?hl=en

https://www.google.com/maps/@49.9020...7i13312!8i6656


Darwin on the coast is tropical but the drive inland to Kakadu I couldn't help but think landscape looked familiar for some reason even though I had been to Northern Territory only once before but only to Alice Springs region.
Then it hit me, we were in Cattle Country!

Large section of Northern Territory are flat similar to Saskatchewan with grasslands and bush area reminiscent to both. The windmills at watering holes and fence line along highway with cattle doing what cattle do. Besides the Oz cattle trains with 3 or more trailers and main cattle port at Darwin, the way the industry developed in both places is very similar.

One of these pics is in Northern Territory not far from Kakadu and other a few kms north of Maple Creek in Saskatchewan.




https://www.google.ca/maps/@-12.6713...2!8i6656?hl=en

https://www.google.ca/maps/@49.93428...2!8i6656?hl=en

https://www.google.ca/maps/@49.49430...2!8i6656?hl=en

https://www.google.ca/maps/@-12.6466...2!8i6656?hl=en



Posters mentioning Portland as analogues to certain Canadian cities.
Again, I would never have made the connection, it wasn't until having been to Portland first,
The largest cities in Saskatchewan and Oregon have a lot in common.

Both are river cities renowned for their quality & quantity of bridges including one that spans just south of the downtown with freeway connecting to east side of river in each city.
Speaking of River, both cities are renowned for their river beaches. https://www.tourismsaskatoon.com/blo...-around-river/.....https://dossierhotel.com/dossier-fie...ce-bridgetown/

Portland and Saskatoon both have a bit of hipster/bohemian feel to them and with some rough edges around the fringes.
Old town area of Portland and 21st Street in Saskatoon both have central entertainment area's with lots of bars and and night clubs.https://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/article/515571.....https://thestarphoenix.com/news/loca...ue-streetscape

Portland is the food truck capital of America and Western Canada including Saskatoon have rode that same wave with some of the highest numbers of food trucks per capita in Canada.
For example, Saskatoon's Food Truck Wars festival typically has over 40 food truck venders, in a normal year.

https://thestarphoenix.com/business/...e-eating-it-up

https://www.tourismsaskatoon.com/lis...uck-wars/4610/

https://www.canadiangrocer.com/worth...ontinues-67904

https://lfpress.com/2016/07/10/far-f...-pilot-project

http://halifaxmag.com/cover/halifaxs...ck-in-neutral/

[Harrison]

^I was more so making the connection between Darwin and Maple Creek due to their similar tropical climates!

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Harrison

^I was more so making the connection between Darwin and Maple Creek due to their similar tropical climates!

And the crocodiles.

[biguc]

Originally Posted by SaskScraper

Portland and Saskatoon both have a bit of hipster/bohemian feel to them

This time you've gone too far, Saskatoon marketing department.

[ssiguy]

I agree with the Calgary/Denver analogy. They seem like twins in so many ways.

[niwell]

There's never going to be a perfect match, but Denver/Calgary is probably the closest. That being said, Denver does seem significantly bigger with a more extensive historic pre-war area. But at the same time fewer new office buildings/highrise condos and more surface parking lots.

Was looking at Denver on streetview and actually managed to find this in the Cherry Creek area (not sure if Calgary has an analogue to that, maybe the Chinook area in the future): https://goo.gl/maps/QxGVh9hzukbEYLiC8

Denver is also home to TRVE Brewing, the best (only?) black-metal themed brewery I know of!

[kool maudit]

It might sound a little strange, and there are more obvious comparisons to be made, but central Stockholm can be very reminiscent, adjusting for continent and style, of inner Boston.

Both places feature architecture of a scale and quality beyond anything else in the region, but both quickly drop off to more varied forms. Just as the Back Bay is somewhat akin to a tiny Upper East Side, so are Vasastan and Östermalm like little Viennas.

In both cases, the buildings are very bit as chunky and ornate as their more metropolitan counterparts, there are just far fewer of them!

Add this to the polished, high-GDP-per-capita, ultra-educated, somewhat subdued feel of both cities and there is a definite vibe going on there.

I can easily picture the same pharma exec/dean of engineering/wealth manager piloting his specced-out Volvo V90 (the Germans are gauche, after all) through Friday traffic on the way to the marina or the cottage from either city.

Stellan Skarsgård in Good Will Hunting can be our bridge here.

[kool maudit]

Originally Posted by ue

Halifax also lacks that stodgy old money preppy vibe that New England is stereotyped for

It's there, or it least it was when I was in high school. The kids of those judges and surgeons were partiers.

HGS boys did indeed bring Sacred Heart girls to the Waeg parking lot in their fathers' S-classes.

Cocaine residue was cleaned off the bathroom sinks of Young Avenue before Mom and Dad got home from Jackson Hole.