Cities, happiness and personality: a research manifesto
Dear readers,
I really tried to love Vancouver. I will not spend a great deal of time trying to convince you that I did, but I really did. The fact is, five months after moving here, I’m a shadow of my old self. I will not spend a great deal of time trying to explain to you what happened, all you need to know is that the city had a pretty hard way of showing me our personalities don’t match. I can’t wait to get the hell out.
I hold Vancouver personnally responsible for all of this. You see, I’m an over-confident, stubborn twentysomething French girl. I refuse to believe that one can go in a few months from “hyper-active young graduate about to conquer the world” to “I feel like I’m dying inside.” Especially when each time you leave the city, be it for one day, you suddenly get all jumpy and annoyingly energetic again.
I know this sounds weird, but think about it for a minute. If you’re Canadian, you know that anyone who’s spent some time in Vancouver either loves it or hates it. Loves it like “I’ve visited 30 countries and I wouldn’t live anywhere else,” hates it like “this place has no soul and is truly depressing.” Actually, Canadians have pretty strong feelings about every major city in the country. “Toronto totally sucks.” “Montreal is just sooooo awesooome.” There doesn’t seem to be any middle ground.
Now the people who hate Vancouver usually have a hard time explaining why it is so. Of course there’s the rain, lack of cultural events and nightlife, unappealing architecture, etc. But then they always end up adding something like “there’s just something to it.” Or, “it’s the vibe, I don’t dig it.” And eventually they conclude with “I don’t know what it is, but it’s just depressing.”
I’ve been trying to convince myself that maaaaybe the summer will reveal the city’s hidden treasures, feeling guilty to not be content with what I have. But the truth is, my mind was made up after a few days only. I remember the first time I walked on Commercial Drive. It didn’t take long before I thought “I don’t know what it is, but this street has something weird to it.” I didn’t feel comfortable at all. Nowhere in the city did I have the same sense of wonderment that Montreal elicited in me.
Where did that feeling come from? What is that “thing” about Vancouver that nobody seems to be able to explain? What happens in the brief moment during which we discover a new place that makes us decide whether we’re comfortable or not? I won’t take “gut feeling” for an answer. I shall discover what happens in our brain when we visit a city for the first time, how cities and places can affect our personality, and why we love or hate our cities so passionately. This will be an exciting trip into the fields of environmental psychology, urban sociology, psychogeography and more.
I’ve also decided to regularly give an account of the state of my research in this blog. Posts will be classified in the category “research.” You are encouraged to participate by submitting your ideas and hypotheses as well as by giving your opinion and advice.
Wish me well!
Flavie