City Analogues

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

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

Ah yes, the Waegwoltic Club. I still remember my "halfway party" there (a party held towards the end of second year medical school). The place simply reeked of old money.

I think a lot of SSPers have no idea the class system that exists in the deepest darkest parts of the south end of Halifax. I'm sure Rosemount has nothing on it...……...

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by 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.

I agree with that. They are very analogous and I felt the same sort of wonderment in both — no world-famous landmarks but every detail is interesting. The self-containedness (if you will) and almost infinite depth of the culture and history contributed to my belief that you can’t be a knower (or a “citizen”) of the world, but only of places.

[kool maudit]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

the class system that exists in the deepest darkest parts of the south end of Halifax

I have heard the section south of Inglis, particularly Young and the Arm streets off Francklyn, referred to as the "Deep South".

The meaning was pretty clear. It meant something different than an apartment on Tower and South. It meant big houses.

It also very subtly meant the other thing. It wasn't Preston down there.

[kool maudit]

Originally Posted by Andy6

I agree with that. They are very analogous and I felt the same sort of wonderment in both — no world-famous landmarks but every detail is interesting. The self-containedness (if you will) and almost infinite depth of the culture and history contributed to my belief that you can’t be a knower (or a “citizen”) of the world, but only of places.

I am honestly kind of excited to know that someone else perceives this!

I have mentioned it here, but nobody I spoke to about it had spent much time in Boston.

[kool maudit]

And yes, it is self-containedness. Stockholm is extraordinarily that.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

I have heard the section south of Inglis, particularly Young and the Arm streets off Francklyn, referred to as the "Deep South".

The meaning was pretty clear. It meant something different than an apartment on Tower and South. It meant big houses.

It also very subtly meant the other thing. It wasn't Preston down there.

Yes, I have used the term "deep south end" on SSP myself. If the south end is posh then the deep south end is...….. well,

It's not so much the size of the houses as it is the casual and unintended arrogance of being part of the truly upper crust. It is not meant in a malicious way, it's just a manner of letting others know they don't belong.

One of my mates in residency experienced this. He was a mature student, had been a GP down in the south shore, and he had a family (and some savings). He lucked out in being able to rent a house on Belmont-on-the-Arm, but once the neighbours found out he was a student (mature radiology resident or not), well, although there was a veneer of civility there, there was also a bit of chill in the air as well...…….

[esquire]

Those people sound absolutely insufferable. It feels genuinely weird when I meet people who take themselves that seriously.

[lio45]

I'm probably one of the few SSPers here (and maybe the only one) who's familiar with all of: San Diego, Miami, the French Riviera and Maple Creek.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by lio45

I'm probably one of the few SSPers here (and maybe the only one) who's familiar with all of: San Diego, Miami, the French Riviera and Maple Creek.

There should be a special badge for connaisseurs of glamourous sunspots like you

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by lio45

I'm probably one of the few SSPers here (and maybe the only one) who's familiar with all of: San Diego, Miami, the French Riviera and Maple Creek.

Three out of four. I admit defeat.

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by lio45

I'm probably one of the few SSPers here (and maybe the only one) who's familiar with all of: San Diego, Miami, the French Riviera and Maple Creek.

I have done all 4. Bought beer in Maple Creek lol.

[Hali87]

The Waeg does feel like a residual "New England WASP"-style cultural relic and I never really got the appeal (I used to sail there but haven't been back in about 15 years). It was actually founded as a less-preppy alternative to RNSYS (on the Mainland side) but modern-day RNSYS seems more like a no-nonsense sailing club whereas the Waeg has the worst marina setup in the area, about a half-dozen different swimming pools, and an unpleasantly stilted old-money atmosphere and average-or-worse (for the area) facilities overall. FWIW there was never any sense of racial/cultural exclusion - anyone was welcome as long as they were willing to pay their annual fees. But it did always just feel kind of... stale. I get the impression there are golf/country/hunt clubs in other cities that are a bit like this.

That part of town (between the Arm and the rail cut - a really narrow strip if you look at it) is sort of Old-Money but most of the genuine old money in the area moved west about a century ago when the banks and manufacturing centralized in Ontario. I'd agree it's the most stuffy part of the city (probably the entire province tbh). The number of multimillionaire families living in South End mansions is pretty small though, and the wealthiest parts of the South End remind me of mainstream middle to upper-middle class Ontario in terms of social outlooks and people's behaviours/tastes (but with oceanfront properties in some cases). The couple dozen examples that feel a bit over-the-top would probably be 100% normal somewhere like Westmount, the Glebe, or Kerrisdale. This is in pretty stark contrast with the rest of the South End which is a crowded, transient, student/yuppie area, dominated by the hospitals, universities, and port.

I'm guessing things have probably changed quite a bit over the last 30 years or so. A lot of the wealthiest people in the area live in Bedford, Fall River, Hammonds Plains, or other suburbs now. A lot of the large flat conversions that dominate the South End now would have been owner-occupied a generation or 2 ago. Some of the kids I used to sail with are wealthy adults now but most are not.

[MolsonExport]

Robin Leach, reporting from Maple Creek.