After English class yesterday I was walking to my Film Studies class in the Old Arts building, and as I climbed the stairs into the foyer, I overheard a conversation between two students. The female in the conversation was excitedly telling the male that she had just finished signing the papers for a condo she had bought. The male responded by saying "Oh that's so exciting, congratulations!" This made me think...
I mean it seems an obvious and natural reply to say, "Oh that's so exciting," but what does that really mean when you actually stop and think about it?
It means that this woman has decided to become a permanent community member in the city of Edmonton. It means that she has chosen to begin putting her roots down, presuming that she plans on staying at her new place of residence for some time, in the city of Edmonton. It means that she most likely feels satisfied with what the city of Edmonton has to offer her in the present and in the future. It means something a little more than just a woman's decision to buy a house.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Perhaps she's just excited (and he's excited for her) because she owns her own home, and it just happens that this is where her life is right now. I hear that's a goal some people aspire to, to own a house of their own. I'm not quite sure why, but owning your own home is a source of pride and maturity. Personally I find it way to permanent, it somehow means you can't leave if you own a house somewhere.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree with you. Of course they are both just excited. I was just trying to think about it in a different way is all...
ReplyDeleteI'm picking up what you're putting down, Laura. That girl would only be buying a house here if she was making a long-term commitment to this city.
ReplyDeleteTangentally, I've heard that one of the things our generation expects to be handed on a silver platter is home ownership. While our parents scrimped and saved to accumulate a down payment, we expect to be able to buy a house or condo straight out of post-secondary, and are sometimes helped out by our parents who may buy the condo while we're still in school. This is always followed by the sort of analysis that suggests we're spoiled brats who won't know how to cope when Bad Things come our way.
I'm not sure how much of this sort of thinking is coloured by longing for the good ol' days when life was simpler and people were tougher.
I’m struck by your idea about ownership of a little slice of one’s city. It gets me wondering how owning properties (vs. renting) affects the growth and shape of “communities” (vs. just “neighbourhoods,” without the fuzzy connotations). I think you’re right that buying represents a commitment to the city, and I’m wondering if there’s some relation between this commitment and one’s involvement in those little things that make neighbourhoods into communities in a city’s eyes -- the community leagues, the cute gardens, the PTA's campaign for a 4-way stop. Buying a house costs a lot of money…. How much do communities, in this sense, cost? Maybe this is why we (or at least I) find it harder, at first, to see vibrant community in an area of run-down, rented walk-ups than elsewhere....
ReplyDeleteI don’t know if this line of thought is even relevant -- maybe someone could do a Jane Jacobs-style comparison of Edmonton neighbourhoods that are mostly owned versus those mostly rented, and see what they find. ...Anyone??
This post put a smile on my face. I have a lot of pride in Edmonton, and I know that I'm in the minority of my friends in that regard. Whilst a lot of people I've met have been quite blunt in saying "I'm just getting my degree to leave this hole," I feel that this city has a lot to offer. Maybe my brain is hard-wired to like medium-sized cities, but the only other places in Canada I'd want to live are Ottawa and Victoria.
ReplyDeleteWhen I hear of someone new to Edmonton who actually likes it, I light up (metaphorically).