Quote:
Originally Posted by RuralCitizen
You can't blame people for not being able to afford rent on podiums that are only accessible by big corps such as banks, pharma, or coffee chains. If you want a lively downtown where people visit often, you need to offer a space that is cheap for customer. Chances that these type of businesses would succeed are low as they would operate at a loss.
People do have outings, but there is just so much one can afford in a budget when you have to spend money in most places. I hate the "Ottawa people are boring" argument. (you don't say it specifically, but it is implied. So I speak for the mentality on this forum in general) People just have different priorities or different living context. Instead of being quick at labeling people "boring", can we ask ourselves, "why people are not going out?". Could it be that lots live in the suburb and don't want to commute back to the core? Could it be unreliable public transportation that people want to avoid? Is the amount of time required to move from one part of the city to another too expensive in people's "time budget"? Could it be that they prefer spending their money on other aspect of life such as traveling, uber eats, streaming platforms?
I don't know, I'm just brainstorming. But it is clear to me that people aren't simply "boring". Boring isn't the cause, but rather a symptom of multiple issues that ends up in this "stay at home" behavior.
And for sports teams, you do have greedy big ego owners, but the reason they can't keep big names is probably because the whole Ottawa context just can't compete with the benefits other American cities offer. Not because people are "boring". The reason they can't fill stadiums might be because we don't want to commute to Kanata, or "drive" to Lansdowne. It could be that we can watch the same sport on our comfy couch with cheap beer, on our 4K Ultra HD 80" TVs. I think it just comes to comfort and priorities.
If you can offer something that can compete with the comfort and convenience of things we already get at home, you might have a successful business.
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At the risk of going further OT, I'll respectfully disagree. I think it's a "chicken and the egg" situation when it comes to boring people and unimaginative businesses. When I moved to Ottawa I was firmly against the notion that Ottawa and Ottawans are boring. After having lived here for a few years, I've since revised my stance to say that only Ottawa isn't boring, but Ottawans, unfortunately, are.
I remember finding it odd that my public sector friends in their mid twenties were so keen on retreating back to their suburban caves the moment they got off work, even with so many decent pubs within walking distance of the office. Invites to go out and do various activities were often met with "yeah, I would but........." followed by every form of excuse in the book that prevented them from leaving the house. Yet, you could always count on them reciting the classic "there's nothing to do in Ottawa" the minute the topic came up.
Over time, I think businesses have adapted to accommodate Ottawa residents' homebody nature. Interesting bars/restaurants close their doors, while food delivery services thrive because nobody wants to leave their homes. We get unimaginative architecture for the same reason that there are very few designer brand stores, despite the relatively high average income - because nobody here cares about looks or style, or impressing other people for that matter. Not that there's anything inherently wrong with that attitude, but it's certainly different from most other metros of 1+ million people.
As for sports, yes a lot could be done to up the entertainment value or convenience for attending a Sens game, namely the arena location, but you have to remember the Sens did originally try to build their arena at Lebreton Flats in the 90s and were denied. People will complain about ticket prices, etc. etc. but the reality is that tickets in Ottawa are dirt cheap, people would just rather watch at home on the couch. Again, nothing inherently wrong with having a personal preference, but over time you do see where the "boring" moniker comes from.
I'll just add that in no way am I putting the onus on people who are struggling financially to spend money they can't afford to, I'm referring to the people who do have disposable income. And there are lots of them in Ottawa.
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