Help Make Victoria a More Welcoming City

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• It's hard to make friends in Victoria.

  by JEdney, almost 5 years ago

  I moved to Victoria in Fall of 2019 from Alberta. Within 6 months, the pandemic hit, so I don't have much experience of the community under "normal" conditions. However, what I've heard since shortly after arriving here is that this it's hard to make friends here; long-time residents are for some reason not typically keen to build new relationships.

  I'm fortunate that my move here introduced me to a great bunch of colleagues and a couple of warm-hearted family friends; friendships that have clung to like a life raft throughout the pandemic, though sometimes anxiously feel like I'm too heavy... Continue reading

  I moved to Victoria in Fall of 2019 from Alberta. Within 6 months, the pandemic hit, so I don't have much experience of the community under "normal" conditions. However, what I've heard since shortly after arriving here is that this it's hard to make friends here; long-time residents are for some reason not typically keen to build new relationships.

  I'm fortunate that my move here introduced me to a great bunch of colleagues and a couple of warm-hearted family friends; friendships that have clung to like a life raft throughout the pandemic, though sometimes anxiously feel like I'm too heavy for. My husband on the other hand, is a Teacher on Call and, despite a very outgoing, gregarious personality, has had difficulty building new relationships through work. We feel comfortable, safe, and enjoy the many amenities Victoria has to offer, but not as strongly like we belong here.

  It's hard for me to separate pandemic Victoria from "normal" Victoria, but my sense is that the gap between longtime residents and newcomers to the community has grown even wider during the pandemic.

• Feeling undervalued

  by Manzanita1, about 5 years ago
  I have lived in Victoria for all but 3 of the last 50 plus years and have resided in Burnside Gorge for the past 30 years. I have never before felt so under valued as a resident of what used to be this beautiful, safe city. This neighbourhood in particular, had suffered immeasurably since the City and Province have put an enormous amount of supportive housing into the area. I no longer feel safe in my community and take every opportunity that I can to go elsewhere to shop and exercise.

  
  

  Balanced communities are a must and I feel the... Continue reading

  I have lived in Victoria for all but 3 of the last 50 plus years and have resided in Burnside Gorge for the past 30 years. I have never before felt so under valued as a resident of what used to be this beautiful, safe city. This neighbourhood in particular, had suffered immeasurably since the City and Province have put an enormous amount of supportive housing into the area. I no longer feel safe in my community and take every opportunity that I can to go elsewhere to shop and exercise.

  
  

  Balanced communities are a must and I feel the City has done anything but create balance in many of VictoriaVictoria's neighbourhoods and has alienated the hard working taxpaying citizens who call Victoria home.

• Keep it welcoming

  by SMFernandes, about 5 years ago
  I’ve lived in Victoria more than 20 years, starting as a student, and always found it a welcoming & pleasurable place to call home. Diversity is so important to keep it so and affordability plays a huge part. People who work here, whether it’s in a company or cafe, should be able to enjoy & invest in living here.

  I’ve lived in Victoria more than 20 years, starting as a student, and always found it a welcoming & pleasurable place to call home. Diversity is so important to keep it so and affordability plays a huge part. People who work here, whether it’s in a company or cafe, should be able to enjoy & invest in living here.

• Do employers in Victoria share the same value and spirit?

  by Tan, about 5 years ago

  Answer is NO. I came here with 17 years of international working experience. Victoria employers asked me to start at entry level job, the lowest possible level. I said fine. I completed my masters degree in Victoria from a reputed university and knocked on the doors of the employers again. They didn't open the door, not even to check who is knocking! It is frustrating to start my career from scratch again. This is so unwelcoming experience for me and my family. I am living in Victoria for last 2.5 years and trying to secure a decent job for over... Continue reading

  Answer is NO. I came here with 17 years of international working experience. Victoria employers asked me to start at entry level job, the lowest possible level. I said fine. I completed my masters degree in Victoria from a reputed university and knocked on the doors of the employers again. They didn't open the door, not even to check who is knocking! It is frustrating to start my career from scratch again. This is so unwelcoming experience for me and my family. I am living in Victoria for last 2.5 years and trying to secure a decent job for over 6 months now. No employer is ready to employ me either based on my wide work experience, or based on my masters in management degree here. They are just offering me entry level jobs, and I am not alone. I know hundreds of my friends struggling here. It is disheartening to see Engineers and Lawyers flipping burgers and delivering food to doorsteps! It is a huge waste of talent & resources and adding negativity to the newcomers' community. I am on work permit. There are many federal/provincial funded organizations helping to newcomers on PR, but no one to help to people on study/work permit. I could just get a little help from VIRCS, that's it. I read everyday that Canada has immigration target of millions of people... who is going to see their wellbeing? Who is going to ensure if they are getting proper work/jobs? All other initiatives are waste, if the main earning source is not taken care of.

• Not welcoming

  by thegolfguy, about 5 years ago
  I have travelled and lived in many cities across Canada , the US and the world. When i moved here 3 years ago I quickly realized that Victoria is the least Friendly of any city........sorry collection of municipalities that i have ever lived in.

  For all its beauty and reputation there is very little sense of community and a have and have not class segregation is prominent.

  Diversity is always welcome , although Victoria, Oak bay Saanich etc talk a good game but don't live these values. I personally think that until amalgamation happens the CRD will continue to deteriorate... Continue reading

  I have travelled and lived in many cities across Canada , the US and the world. When i moved here 3 years ago I quickly realized that Victoria is the least Friendly of any city........sorry collection of municipalities that i have ever lived in.

  For all its beauty and reputation there is very little sense of community and a have and have not class segregation is prominent.

  Diversity is always welcome , although Victoria, Oak bay Saanich etc talk a good game but don't live these values. I personally think that until amalgamation happens the CRD will continue to deteriorate., any soon people tourists will realize that its not that great here.

• Safety First

  by DH250, about 5 years ago

  I have lived in Victoria most of my life, and I have lived in James Bay for the last 20+ years..

  Safety needs to be prioritized in our city. The police and bylaw services need to be funded appropriately to make this city safe again. There are so many people who won't come downtown anymore because of the sense that the city is no longer safe. And it hasn't been safe over the past year -- too many incidences of violence. It needs to be safe for everyone, the housed and unhoused alike. I no longer feel as safe as... Continue reading

  I have lived in Victoria most of my life, and I have lived in James Bay for the last 20+ years..

  Safety needs to be prioritized in our city. The police and bylaw services need to be funded appropriately to make this city safe again. There are so many people who won't come downtown anymore because of the sense that the city is no longer safe. And it hasn't been safe over the past year -- too many incidences of violence. It needs to be safe for everyone, the housed and unhoused alike. I no longer feel as safe as I used to -- if I walk downtown am I going to be threatened with a knife or a crowbar, or ...?

  The provincial government and VIHA need to provide the mental health supports that people need. The City's job is to keep us safe. Reducing funding for the police before those supports are in place is just foolhardy.

  One of my favourite things about downtown is Christmas -- I love the lights and the parade, it makes it feel like a smaller and more welcoming town. So bring back the Christmas lights in 2021.

• Bring Back Safe Victoria

  by ConcernedVictorian2021, about 5 years ago

  I moved to Victoria 16 years ago, and my three children were born here. My family used to enjoy walking through Beacon Hill park, visiting the petting zoo, shopping downtown, eating at downtown restaurants. We found Victoria to be a welcoming place 16 years ago. Unfortunately, city council's decision to allow entrenched 24/7 camping in public parks has increased the level of violent crime in the city. In just the past few weeks, a man was arrested for pulling a knife on two women in Bastion Square on a Monday afternoon, a father was threatened in front of his family... Continue reading

  I moved to Victoria 16 years ago, and my three children were born here. My family used to enjoy walking through Beacon Hill park, visiting the petting zoo, shopping downtown, eating at downtown restaurants. We found Victoria to be a welcoming place 16 years ago. Unfortunately, city council's decision to allow entrenched 24/7 camping in public parks has increased the level of violent crime in the city. In just the past few weeks, a man was arrested for pulling a knife on two women in Bastion Square on a Monday afternoon, a father was threatened in front of his family by the playground in Beacon Hill park, and a disabled man was assaulted and robbed in Beacon Hill park. The supportive housing facilities set up all over downtown Victoria are also regularly in the news for violent assaults occurring there, as well as seizure of drugs and weapons. This no longer feels like a safe place to raise a family. The first step in making this a welcoming city again is to admit that we have a problem with public safety and make a plan to rectify the situation. Let's be less welcoming of the criminal element and more welcoming of ordinary, law-abiding people.

• Make Victoria Safe Again

  by vicwest, about 5 years ago
  When I first visited Victoria as a tourist it was a beautiful safe city one of the most beautiful cities in the country. Everyone was friendly, great ethnic and culture centres were very welcoming and you felt safe at night. Having moved here recently and many of my immigrant friends we do not feel safe and are threatened by people downtown, there is not enough police around and people in my community have been harassed and threatened and do not feel safe. Having lived in Chile and Mexico and many other countries throughout the world Victoria has become one of... Continue reading

  When I first visited Victoria as a tourist it was a beautiful safe city one of the most beautiful cities in the country. Everyone was friendly, great ethnic and culture centres were very welcoming and you felt safe at night. Having moved here recently and many of my immigrant friends we do not feel safe and are threatened by people downtown, there is not enough police around and people in my community have been harassed and threatened and do not feel safe. Having lived in Chile and Mexico and many other countries throughout the world Victoria has become one of the most unaccepting and threatening communities that I have ever lived in. I wish that there was a way to have more community watches, safety or police so our family and children can feel safe in the city. I am also living in fear that my children will step on a needle from the amount of syringes being left around. Please make the communities safe and inclusive for children with police support.

• Diversity of opinion

  by DrSensei, about 5 years ago
  Over my lifetime, our society has become much more accepting of diversity. The sort of casual, generally accepted prejudices that were endemic in my youth have largely disappeared. It would be difficult to overstate just how far we have come. I remember a time when Chinese prejudices against Europeans, or Japanese prejudices against Chinese, or British prejudices against Italians, or a myriad of other prejudices on ethnic or religious bases were freely expressed in Canada, and no one seemed to think it reprehensible. And other aspects of identity, such as sexual orientation, were not mentioned at all! So it's always... Continue reading

  Over my lifetime, our society has become much more accepting of diversity. The sort of casual, generally accepted prejudices that were endemic in my youth have largely disappeared. It would be difficult to overstate just how far we have come. I remember a time when Chinese prejudices against Europeans, or Japanese prejudices against Chinese, or British prejudices against Italians, or a myriad of other prejudices on ethnic or religious bases were freely expressed in Canada, and no one seemed to think it reprehensible. And other aspects of identity, such as sexual orientation, were not mentioned at all! So it's always a comfort to me to think about the progress we have made, and - although of course we're not perfect - to hope that we will continue making more progress in the future.

  
  

  I do worry that current "identity politics" tend to emphasize and enlarge divisions in society, and threaten to return us to the situation I remember from my youth. It sometimes seems to me that people who purport to be fighting racism are instead trying to force everyone to look at their neighbours through a racialized lens. Talk about inherent biases and microagressions is a way of dividing people into "them" and "us", and those who feel the need to validate their own identities in this way do so at a cost to the harmony between the rest of us.