Eight Ways St. John's has changed in the past 10 years or less:
1.
Need for Traffic Updates! Except for a brief period of time in the
mornings and evenings traffic did not slow. Ever. There was no such thing as traffic. I scoffed at people who thought we had
traffic. Now, it helps to have Cecil
Hare (CBC) and twitter feeds telling us which spots to avoid in the city. Even middle of the morning: allot 20 minutes
no matter where you are going!
2.
Ethnic Restaurants: now there are more of
them! There were always a handful of
Chinese restaurants around, and India Gate is a fixture here, but you can get
many other types of yummy Pakistani, Afghan, Asian and Middle Eastern now!
3.
People Walking Around the City. I see people walking everywhere. You didn’t see that as often years ago and it’s
good that people are walking more. All
the city has to do now is make the place walkable – even in the winter.
4.
Lots of BMWs, Audis and Volkswagen. This goes to show how much more money is in
the city than there used to be – it makes me a little sad to know the Sunfire era
is over.
5.
Good Talent and Entertainment: Let’s face it, St
John’s has a hugely deep pool of local talent and b’ys it is fabulous! But now there’s also talent coming from away
to play, dance and act for us.
6.
The Big Box Stores/Businesses. Seems like someone sets those “Big Box Store
Seeds” overnight and with the right amount of rain, up she comes! One morning I went to work past Robin Hood
Bay Road and there were trees – when I came back that evening there was gravel
and hundreds of gulls watching the new buildings begin to sprout.
7.
Continuing Urban Sprawl. Can someone get a handle on this? It just seems endless. And now “Dannyland” is coming online
too. What’s happening to the old houses
and subdivisions? Is the entire bay
relocating into the city? Can we try to
plan it a little better? Anyone wonder why the entire area by Quidi Vidi Lake
is so underdeveloped (chicken factory, anyone)?
8.
A New Appreciation for this Fine City: It used
to be that St. John’s was the place to go in NL when you had to move away from
your town either to go to school or find work (if you didn’t leave to go to the
Mainland). But now it seems people have
a growing appreciation for the food, culture and look of this small but sprawling,
beautiful city on the edge of a continent.
Thank goodness for that.