Monday, June 11, 2012

List #29: Signs your neighbourhood has been gentrified

Don't even THINK about asking for drip coffee at Matchstick
I'm joining in with North West Mommy's Listicles this week with my take on the topic: Things that make you go hmmm... or, you know your neighbourhood has been gentrified when:
  1. A new children's store has opened up, featuring princess dresses, $60 toddler tee shirts & ballet flats for 3-month-olds
  2. The closest full-service restaurant is French food & has a two-week waiting list for reservations
  3. There is not one but two yoga studios within 200 feet of each other
  4. Detached single-family homes sell for a minimum of $800,000 (unless you want to live on an extremely noisy trucking route or are buying 'for lot value only'. Then you could score something for a mere $700K)
  5. There is a vegan shoe store & it's somehow stayed in business for over a year
  6. You see two Stokke strollers in five minutes
  7. $200,000 buys you a 14-year-old 423-square-foot studio apartment
  8. The closest cafe has only hand-poured single-origin coffee


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Why Monday lists? Reading the lovely Chloe's blog, Tea Swamp Park, I found an idea I had to 'steal': a list of all her Halloween costumes, with quite a few photos. She got the idea from Hula Seventy's List Project. I've decided to do the weekly lists for a year that Hula Seventy is doing. 

Tea Swamp Park & Hula Seventy are not the only ones doing lists, however. Check out NorthWestMommy's list & 'assignment' for next week.

24 comments:

  1. $60 TODDLER SHIRT?! I was just commenting yesterday with incredulity at the $30 price tag on a toddler dress at The Gap (as that is often my own budget for dresses).

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    Replies
    1. Yup. I took Sprout in the boutique next to Collage Collage that I won't name. Looked at the four or five boys' items in the sea of pink tulle. Decided none were quite within our budget. Sprout tried to steal a fox stuffie. We left.

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  2. Oh yeah baby, your hood belongs to a whole new world now. but fear not, close by there are still little islands where drip coffee can be found :)
    Love your list. And thank you for introducing me to Chloe too!

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    1. Well, I don't actually even drink coffee... it's just the principle of the thing. ;)

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  3. I had no idea vegan shoe stores even existed....

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  4. Vegan shoe store?!? WHA? I thought I was in suburbia hell, but it appears you have me beat!

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    Replies
    1. I think vegan shoe stores are still an urban thing. You're probably safe for a few more years yet... ;)

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  5. What a great list! Well done. I laughed out loud at the Yoga studio one.

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  6. Visiting from "Listicles". I have never HEARD of a Vegan Shoe Store, yet alone one that is thriving! You KNOW you're a redneck when....haha.

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    Replies
    1. Welcome! Yeah, living in urban East Van has definitely erased my 'redneck accent'. But hey, even if I live near a vegan shoe store, my first home was still a mobile on the side of the highway out in the sticks. ;)

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  7. I'm glad to know there are vegan shoe stores. Always bugs me when they have on leather shoes. The sweet smell of integrity and upscale. :) Ellen

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    1. You can get vegan-gluten-free-organic pretty much anything here in East Van now. It's nice that everyone can match up their principles with their espadrilles... ;)

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  8. That definitely doesn't sound like my neighborhood :)

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    Replies
    1. You never know... None of these things existed when we moved to this house four years ago!

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  9. LOL. Ten years ago, that neighbourhood was one crack den after another! Totally laughing over the vegan shoe place. Seriously!

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    Replies
    1. Yup, I lived just a few blocks north of here in 97/98 & it was very different. I'd regularly have guys pull up & ask me if I was 'working' when I was on my way home. I'm still baffled at that: my usual uniform was military surplus pants, gore-tex jacket & combat boots with purple hair. What part of that screams 'prostitute'?

      Despite all the money moving in, it's still a bit sketchy around here, which is part of the reason I like it. :)

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    2. I lived and raised a family in that neighbourhood and never once ran across a crack house. That was mainly a working class neighbourhood with people raising their families. Harriet Glynn what area are you talking about exactly?

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  10. When we were buying our condo near Main St. 5 years ago, my dad was all, "Ummm, are you SURE you want to go east of Oak St.?" (he had spent some time in Vancouver years ago on work trips, but not recently). And then he saw the Starbucks and told us it was going to be just fine. :)

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    1. That neighbourhood hasn't changed THAT much over the years.
      The Starbucks has been at Main and 15th for fifteen years maybe more. One of the best little Bakeries (Liberty Bakery) has been there for over fifteen years. There are more Condos and Townhouses there now, but I don't really see where it's been gentrified. The Salvation Army Thrift shop is still there and probably will be for some time.

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    2. You're right, the ship sailed on Main Street over a decade ago. But I'm talking about 16th & Fraser. The little strip of 15th between Kingsway & Fraser has completely changed since we moved in. 75% of the businesses are new there, as has Fraser Street a bit south of there.

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    3. Yes I see, it would be nice to see some improvement for the better at that little strip. It hasn't really changed much.
      It has so much potential.

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  11. This is so different than my neighborhood. It does sound very interesting, though. :)

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  12. We live out in the country and have to drive forever to get to a Fresh Market or Trader Joe's. If anyone tried to build a vegan shoe store, the local rednecks would burn it down...Love your list!

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