Just as a little addition to the previous entry on the personality of Vancouverites... I have a theory going for the different ways that relationships (friendship and otherwise) unfold in Canada's three largest cities. In Vancouver, it's really easy to say hello to and meet new people (it's a very friendly city), but really hard to build relationships with them. In Montréal, it's hard to approach people because they can appear cold and snobby; however, once they get to know you, they want to have a really meaningful, long-lasting relationship with you. In Toronto, you have neither of those things. People are hard to say hello to and they don't want to start relationships with anyone.

No sense of self, running away from their problems, and forever searching for "something better?"

Ever since I moved to Vancouver, I've found myself having lots of conversations with people about what appears to be a higher-than-average number of ephemeral, "flighty", shifty people in Vancouver. It seems that there is no shortage in the city of people who lack a sense of self identity, who are perpetually unsure of the purpose of their lives and the directions their lives are headed, and who are forever searching for "something better". For many, Vancouver is a sort of stepping stone to "bigger and better" things—namely, the bright lights of Los Angeles and Hollywood and all the success they can bring. If this is the case, it certainly makes sense why people seem so loath to commit to anything—including relationships. Because they would have no qualms whatsoever about picking up and leaving Vancouver the minute something new comes up, building relationships with people here is tough.

Indeed, I'm sure more than a few of us have realised that, while it is easy to meet people in Vancouver (it's a very friendly city), it's really hard to build and maintain relationships with them (friendship or otherwise). People here always seem "busy" doing something else. "Yeah, sure, I'd love to get together, but..." Yet they really aren't busy with much of anything. It all seems to be a symptom of living a sort of empty, flimsy life. To commit to any relationships would, in their minds, mean committing to the life they already have—which they find wholly unsatisfying.

Furthermore, to choose to build and maintain relationships would give others the impression that they have time to do these things. But people who are on the fast road to somewhere—to "bigger and better things"—can't risk portraying this image. It would mean that they aren't out doing those bigger and better things, because the bigger and better things don't really exist. And indeed, I think for a lot of people in Vancouver, this really is Terminal City. Most people from Vancouver have come from out east, and many, many of them seem to have come to Vancouver to start fresh, new lives. Many of them seem to have escaped something unpleasant back home and hope everything will change by moving out to the frontier—to the wild west. Unfortunately, personal problems have a nasty way of following you—regardless of where you decide to run away to.

If people are coming to Vancouver with a lot of unresolved issues, not only are they going to have a hard time adjusting here and building the kinds of relationships that are necessary for emotional health and stability, but their issues are also going to keep them from pursuing those "bigger and better" things that they think are awaiting them on the next step of their journeys (namely, LA and Hollywood, or, as is becoming more fashionable, Japan and the orient).

It is sad to see so many troubled people in this city. Personally, I'm doing whatever I can—as just one guy—to offer the kind of support and understanding that I think a lot of people here need. In that sense, I truly value my new life here in Vancouver. Through empathy and human connection, I've already made some wonderful friends and have helped several people find their true selves, and that makes me feel really good. Having gone through my own horrible struggles, it's nice to be able to give back.