Life Satisfaction by Canadian City (Stats Can)

[Rockies]

I just wanted to share this chart which I always find interesting ranking life satisfaction by Canadian city. I wish they reproduced this with more current data but it doesnt look like it has been done.

I find it interesting that the cities that a lot of people assume have high life satisfaction (like Vancouver) are at the bottom of the list. And places like Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and Saguenay rank towards the top.


Link to the full page: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-626-x/11-626-x2015046-eng.htm

Here are some other Life satisfaction metrics from Stats Cn: https://www160.statcan.gc.ca/satisfaction-meaning-sens/life-satisfaction-vie-eng.htm I find the by Gender and Province one interesting as it highlights that life satisfaction is way higher in Quebec than the rest of Canada, followed my the maritime provinces, and then the prairies, and then BC and Ontario at the bottom. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1310084301

This article in Macleans argues that the high life satisfaction ranking in Quebec come from national and cultural identity and a feeling of belonging and that they used to have the lowest satisfaction in the 1980s, but have climbed to the highest through intentional nation building: https://macleans.ca/politics/happy-happy-happy-why-quebecers-are-feeling-so-good/

Any thoughts on these statistics and if we can make any conclusions based on them?

[Metalcat]

I'm not at all surprised by that list, it makes a lot of intuitive sense to me.

I live in a major Ontario city and spent a few days in Saint John in 2021, until recently the poorest city in the country, and I loved it so much I bought a property there within a week so that I could relocate there in the future when I'm not tethered to Ontario. The massive influx of population into the province is raising housing prices and I didn't want to be priced out.

I personally radically prefer living in more working class areas in Canada. I've never been to western Canada, so I don't know if the trend holds out there, but in the eastern half, a lot of working class communities tend to be happier, in my experience.

Even in my city, I live in the poorest neighborhood because it's much warmer and friendlier than the rest of the city.

Now I live half-time in a rural Newfoundland fishing village where we have minimal access to anything, but life satisfaction out here is excellent. I have to brace myself every year for the brutal culture shock of moving back to the city and preparing for what I call "the misery Olympics" of the people there. And that city ranks  pretty high on the list.

I can't even do more than a few days in Toronto.

[nereo]

I’m pleased but not surprised to see Saguenay at the top and trois riviera and Quebec both in the top five (places we’ve both lived and/or worked extensively in).  Tons to do, lots of it supported by local/ provincial and reasonable COL. also understand several of the bottom cities.

[FLBiker]

Interesting.  I live in a small town in the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, so my "city" never shows up on these things, but I'm not surprised at all that the major metropolitan areas fare poorly.  Between the cost of living and the (to me, anyway) general unpleasantness of dense, urban living, I have no interest.  I feel bad for folks who feel forced to live in those places due to work.  We were originally planning to move (back in 2020) to Dartmouth / Halifax because we thought we'd need to for work, but then I was able to find a remote job.

Like Metalcat said, we've found folks in small town Nova Scotia to be extremely friendly.  I was kind of afraid they'd treat us as outsiders (because we're all American originally, now dual citizens) but I haven't felt that way at all.  Our area may be a bit more open in this area, though, as there's a university the next town over.  In a funny way, though, I feel like the folks here are more judgmental towards the people that came here from Ontario than us.

Between the kind people, the beautiful nature, and the lower cost of living, there's nowhere else I'd rather live.

[nereo]

Interesting.  I live in a small town in the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, so my "city" never shows up on these things, but I'm not surprised at all that the major metropolitan areas fare poorly.  Between the cost of living and the (to me, anyway) general unpleasantness of dense, urban living, I have no interest.  I feel bad for folks who feel forced to live in those places due to work.  We were originally planning to move (back in 2020) to Dartmouth / Halifax because we thought we'd need to for work, but then I was able to find a remote job.

Like Metalcat said, we've found folks in small town Nova Scotia to be extremely friendly.  I was kind of afraid they'd treat us as outsiders (because we're all American originally, now dual citizens) but I haven't felt that way at all.  Our area may be a bit more open in this area, though, as there's a university the next town over.  In a funny way, though, I feel like the folks here are more judgmental towards the people that came here from Ontario than us.

Between the kind people, the beautiful nature, and the lower cost of living, there's nowhere else I'd rather live.

How do you figure? Montreal and Quebec both scored higher than the average, as did Ottawa. Halifax and Calgary weren’t statistically different in my read. Seems less to do with metro/non-metro and more specific to the Provence and individual city.

[rocketpj]

Cost of housing has got to be a huge factor in those rankings.  Vancouver is objectively beautiful, but when >60% of your income goes on rent or mortgage, it's hard to be happy.  I loved living there, but man am I glad I don't live there now (though I'm not far away).

[okits]

The scores are from 2009-2013.  I assume the current score for Toronto is even lower now. 😆

[Missy B]

I`m surprised Vancouer isn`t lower actually. But the graph is misleading in that it chops off the back end. The difference is between 7.8 and 8.2, even though the graph makes it look like Vancouver is only half as happy as the top city.
Vancouver is expensive, aloof, cranky and  with higher proportions of mentally ill people, and that really does affect the quality of life of everyone, especially those who live and work downtown.

There is a tendency here to whinyness and passivity. People complaining about how its "No Fun City" even though there is way more going on here than, say, any of the cities in the Prairies, but no one there complains that other people aren't going out of their way to make entertainment for them... they just make their own.
Perhaps its all the grey, but people complain about the weather a lot. Been a few times I`ve wanted to send people to Edmonton for a year. You want weather worth bitching about, there you are. Oh, except people don`t complain that much there.
Also, very lame support for the arts, possibly because they don`t like to commit to anything. You have your niche groups, but arts really aren't valued as part of the citygeist the way they are in Montreal or Toronto.
There are definitely people who want to get engaged with things and creating or making change, but I don't feel like they get the traction, subscription, or energy that they would in Calgary, say.

There are a lot of things about Vancouver I appreciate, and everyone loves to brag about early springs,  golf/skiing days and the natural setting. My family is here, and I built my life here.  But its a tough city and I've thought for a long time that I would have been happier somewhere else.

[Metalcat]

I`m surprised Vancouer isn`t lower actually. But the graph is misleading in that it chops off the back end. The difference is between 7.8 and 8.2, even though the graph makes it look like Vancouver is only half as happy as the top city.
Vancouver is expensive, aloof, cranky and  with higher proportions of mentally ill people, and that really does affect the quality of life of everyone, especially those who live and work downtown.

There is a tendency here to whinyness and passivity. People complaining about how its "No Fun City" even though there is way more going on here than, say, any of the cities in the Prairies, but no one there complains that other people aren't going out of their way to make entertainment for them... they just make their own.
Perhaps its all the grey, but people complain about the weather a lot. Been a few times I`ve wanted to send people to Edmonton for a year. You want weather worth bitching about, there you are. Oh, except people don`t complain that much there.
Also, very lame support for the arts, possibly because they don`t like to commit to anything. You have your niche groups, but arts really aren't valued as part of the citygeist the way they are in Montreal or Toronto.
There are definitely people who want to get engaged with things and creating or making change, but I don't feel like they get the traction, subscription, or energy that they would in Calgary, say.

There are a lot of things about Vancouver I appreciate, and everyone loves to brag about early springs,  golf/skiing days and the natural setting. My family is here, and I built my life here.  But its a tough city and I've thought for a long time that I would have been happier somewhere else.

Yeah, if I had to categorize the tourists I meet out here in Newfoundland, the Vancouver folks are whiny and the Toronto folks are ragey.

The Vancouver folks don't whine about Newfoundland, they come here, light up about how friendly it is, and then whine about Vancouver. I've seen folks almost come to tears about the prospect of having been here for a month and having to go back. Vancouver folks frickin' LOVE the culture out here.

Toronto folks often hate it here after awhile. The service here is warm if you're nice, but it's not at all solicitous, and their classism about not being catered to by service staff comes out in full force and they lose their shit.

It's been very entertaining seeing the patterns of how people from different parts of Canada react to Newfoundland.

[Missy B]

I`m surprised Vancouer isn`t lower actually. But the graph is misleading in that it chops off the back end. The difference is between 7.8 and 8.2, even though the graph makes it look like Vancouver is only half as happy as the top city.
Vancouver is expensive, aloof, cranky and  with higher proportions of mentally ill people, and that really does affect the quality of life of everyone, especially those who live and work downtown.

There is a tendency here to whinyness and passivity. People complaining about how its "No Fun City" even though there is way more going on here than, say, any of the cities in the Prairies, but no one there complains that other people aren't going out of their way to make entertainment for them... they just make their own.
Perhaps its all the grey, but people complain about the weather a lot. Been a few times I`ve wanted to send people to Edmonton for a year. You want weather worth bitching about, there you are. Oh, except people don`t complain that much there.
Also, very lame support for the arts, possibly because they don`t like to commit to anything. You have your niche groups, but arts really aren't valued as part of the citygeist the way they are in Montreal or Toronto.
There are definitely people who want to get engaged with things and creating or making change, but I don't feel like they get the traction, subscription, or energy that they would in Calgary, say.

There are a lot of things about Vancouver I appreciate, and everyone loves to brag about early springs,  golf/skiing days and the natural setting. My family is here, and I built my life here.  But its a tough city and I've thought for a long time that I would have been happier somewhere else.

Yeah, if I had to categorize the tourists I meet out here in Newfoundland, the Vancouver folks are whiny and the Toronto folks are ragey.

The Vancouver folks don't whine about Newfoundland, they come here, light up about how friendly it is, and then whine about Vancouver. I've seen folks almost come to tears about the prospect of having been here for a month and having to go back. Vancouver folks frickin' LOVE the culture out here.

Toronto folks often hate it here after awhile. The service here is warm if you're nice, but it's not at all solicitous, and their classism about not being catered to by service staff comes out in full force and they lose their shit.

It's been very entertaining seeing the patterns of how people from different parts of Canada react to Newfoundland.

Oh, that's so interesting. I always tell people who are going for the first time that they're going to love Newfoundland. For a Vancouverite, socially, its like stepping out of a desiccating artic wind into a nice warm sauna. I never guessed that anybody wouldn't get on there. But that's Toronto culture for you... there's this wierd insecurity and self-importance and need to be taken seriously.

I remember on 9/11 hearing that some of the planes bound for New York had been redirected and were landing in - i think it was Gander? - and I remember smiling, the only smile I had that  day, and thinking, those folks don't know it yet, but they are in for a treat.

[Metalcat]

Oh, that's so interesting. I always tell people who are going for the first time that they're going to love Newfoundland. For a Vancouverite, socially, its like stepping out of a desiccating artic wind into a nice warm sauna. I never guessed that anybody wouldn't get on there. But that's Toronto culture for you... there's this wierd insecurity and self-importance and need to be taken seriously.

I remember on 9/11 hearing that some of the planes bound for New York had been redirected and were landing in - i think it was Gander? - and I remember smiling, the only smile I had that  day, and thinking, those folks don't know it yet, but they are in for a treat.

Yeah, there's a major, record breaking Broadway musical about what happened in Gander called Come From Away

But yeah, plenty Toronto people love it here, but if someone complains about the service, you can pretty much bank on their plates being from Ontario. We've traveled quite a bit of Atlantic Canada and very consistently when people meet us they say "no offense, but you don't seem like you're from Ontario" because we're so friendly. And we laugh and say "because we both grew up in Quebec."

It's not so much of a self-centeredness thing, although that is a component, it's more that Ontarians, particularly Torontonians have a much more rigid concept of how things should be. Hence why they freak the fuck out about poor service here, it's less about themselves and more about horror at it being "wrong."

They don't just get mad, they assume that the rest of us should be horrified as well. Last time it happened a couple got up and exclaimed to us at the neighbouring table "we've waited 10 minutes and nothing!" And then exclaimed again to the next table. They were looking around expectantly that all of the other patrons would be on their side.

I looked at her and put on a bit of a fake Newfie accent and said "ma'am, you're in Newfoundland."

But yeah, there's a definite, low-grade pervasive anxiety in Ontario that makes the people that way. I go back every year and have to brave myself for the looming dread feeling. I'm not surprised that droves of Ontarians migrated east during the pandemic.

[Rockies]

In Alberta there is a phrase - "they winge like an Ontarian". As in, they never seem happy with how things are and what they have and always complain about little things.

Yes that is an unfair sterotype (I've met a few optimistic Ontarioans). I think instead of being attributable to Ontario, it could be attributed to Toronto, or in general its a big city attitude. Vancouver seems to also harbour a lot of pessimism and social cliqueyness.

[nereo]

Living in Quebec as an anglophone I frequently got the cold shoulder from smaller (“less tourist catering”) bars and small restaurants. As my French improved and I started speaking more with bartenders and servers I noticed there would be an instant switch when they learned I was not from Toronto/Ontario but from the US. I was surprised to discover they were way more friendly to me then.  Asking why, the common response was that they felt many people from Toronto came into their bar acting entitled and expected English service.

[FLBiker]

I'm not surprised at all that the major metropolitan areas fare poorly

How do you figure? Montreal and Quebec both scored higher than the average, as did Ottawa. Halifax and Calgary weren’t statistically different in my read. Seems less to do with metro/non-metro and more specific to the Provence and individual city.

I'm certainly no expert on Canadian cities (I've only visited a few of these places) but my sense in looking at this list is that most of the ones on the lower end are part of big, urban, sprawl-type areas, while the ones at the top are more stand alone (and thus surrounded by nature and smaller towns).  I could be wrong, though.  Quebec does seem to come out well as well.

[naturalhattrick]

Not surprised to see smaller Quebec cities near the top, that was always my experience as well.

[aloevera1]

I would love to see the current, 10 years later version of this chart. I think the last 10 years really did a number on life satisfaction score in a lot of cities on this list.

[beee]

Am I reading the chart right?
The bottom one, Vancouver, has a score around 7.81.
The top one, Saguenay, has a score around 8.25.

The difference between extremes on the chart is like 5%.

[treffpunkt]

Am I reading the chart right?
The bottom one, Vancouver, has a score around 7.81.
The top one, Saguenay, has a score around 8.25.

The difference between extremes on the chart is like 5%.

You are. They've truncated the graph to make the insignificant 7.8/10 compared to 8.2/10 look like a massive difference. It's a pretty standard manipulation to make uninteresting numbers look meaningful.

[beee]

Am I reading the chart right?
The bottom one, Vancouver, has a score around 7.81.
The top one, Saguenay, has a score around 8.25.

The difference between extremes on the chart is like 5%.

You are. They've truncated the graph to make the insignificant 7.8/10 compared to 8.2/10 look like a massive difference. It's a pretty standard manipulation to make uninteresting numbers look meaningful.

Good news that Canadians are pretty satisfied with their lives! 8/10 on average.

[nereo]

Am I reading the chart right?
The bottom one, Vancouver, has a score around 7.81.
The top one, Saguenay, has a score around 8.25.

The difference between extremes on the chart is like 5%.

You are. They've truncated the graph to make the insignificant 7.8/10 compared to 8.2/10 look like a massive difference. It's a pretty standard manipulation to make uninteresting numbers look meaningful.

that doesn't mean it's not meaningful or significant.  Pay attention to the CI bars on each graph.  In layman's terms it means there's a significant (statistical) difference between most of those sampled.  Whether that's meaningful to the average person is a different question, but the scale doesn't mean it isn't.  Consider this if it were grading - the top cities would be "above average" while the bottom ones are clearly underperforming (and would be obvious).  Or if this were blood-glucose levels the range would cover normal through pre-diabetes all the way to diabetes.  Or the (inverse) of BMI, you have underweight people at top and obese people on the bottom. Or the median scores for elite divers - you've got the Chinese gold medalists at the top and those that never even qualified for the games at the bottom.

tl;dr:  Yes, these are statistically relevant difference.  Even a ~15% range from top to bottom can be relevant.

[beee]

Am I reading the chart right?
The bottom one, Vancouver, has a score around 7.81.
The top one, Saguenay, has a score around 8.25.

The difference between extremes on the chart is like 5%.

You are. They've truncated the graph to make the insignificant 7.8/10 compared to 8.2/10 look like a massive difference. It's a pretty standard manipulation to make uninteresting numbers look meaningful.

that doesn't mean it's not meaningful or significant.  Pay attention to the CI bars on each graph.  In layman's terms it means there's a significant (statistical) difference between most of those sampled.  Whether that's meaningful to the average person is a different question, but the scale doesn't mean it isn't.  Consider this if it were grading - the top cities would be "above average" while the bottom ones are clearly underperforming (and would be obvious).  Or if this were blood-glucose levels the range would cover normal through pre-diabetes all the way to diabetes.  Or the (inverse) of BMI, you have underweight people at top and obese people on the bottom. Or the median scores for elite divers - you've got the Chinese gold medalists at the top and those that never even qualified for the games at the bottom.

tl;dr:  Yes, these are statistically relevant difference.  Even a ~15% range from top to bottom can be relevant.

And it's 5% here, not 15%. I don't doubt that this might be a statistically significant number. I am not sure that it's significant for a general public though.

Same as professional athletes numbers, an average person won't perceive the difference between a gold medalist and an athlete who is trying to just qualify for the games.

[GuitarStv]

Getting around is a big deal here in Toronto.  I live at the East end of the city.  If I want to drive to visit my sister at the West end of the city, it takes between 45 minutes and 2.5 hours.  Slowdowns seem to be completely at random.  Taking public transit from my house would be close to three hours each way and involve multiple transfers between buses, subway, then buses again.

Fix some of that problem, and I bet happiness would go up more than 5% on average.

[HenryDavid]

Purely a guess, but I wonder how much of the ranking reflects the way happiness can be based on the comparison groups you see around you.
Toronto and Van provide more envy-material than Saguenay I bet.

When I was a student in Toronto one amusement was just looking at all the luxurious places I knew I could never live. Eventually I stopped caring, and anyway moved far afield.
But constant envy and FOMO are a drag.

[Metalcat]

Purely a guess, but I wonder how much of the ranking reflects the way happiness can be based on the comparison groups you see around you.
Toronto and Van provide more envy-material than Saguenay I bet.

When I was a student in Toronto one amusement was just looking at all the luxurious places I knew I could never live. Eventually I stopped caring, and anyway moved far afield.
But constant envy and FOMO are a drag.

This is so true and a huge part of why I always prefer living in working class areas. Where we currently live, I think we're the only people I know of who have had braces.

That's "rich kid" shit here.

[rocketpj]

This is so true and a huge part of why I always prefer living in working class areas. Where we currently live, I think we're the only people I know of who have had braces.

That's "rich kid" shit here.

If you really want to short circuit your hedonic adaptation or FOMO try working at a homeless shelter like I have for the past 5 years.  Whatever shit I might be dealing with is utterly eclipsed by about 9am on any particular day at work.

[Metalcat]

This is so true and a huge part of why I always prefer living in working class areas. Where we currently live, I think we're the only people I know of who have had braces.

That's "rich kid" shit here.

If you really want to short circuit your hedonic adaptation or FOMO try working at a homeless shelter like I have for the past 5 years.  Whatever shit I might be dealing with is utterly eclipsed by about 9am on any particular day at work.

To be fair, you're responding to someone who has been homeless and has worked on and off in homeless shelters over many years, and makes a career of helping people whose lives are brutal. So yeah, kind of preaching to the choir, but still a very valid point.

That said, I've always found that no matter what populations I'm working with, that's work, and who I'm surrounded with in my personal life has a huge impact.

I've lived a lot of places and I will always prefer community-oriented, working class areas where what I consider "frugality" is actually pretty cushy. I've never enjoyed living in wealthier areas, the flagrant consumerism is just tedious to me. I find endless conversations where people talk to one another about what they spend on to be exhausting.

Of course there are plenty of poorer communities that aren't warm, they're scary and dangerous, and there are probably wealthier communities where people don't drone on about their spending. I've lived a lot of places, but a single human can only live in so many. But it's so consistent for me so far that I'll probably always stick with what I know I prefer.

Although, in the city where my condo is, the area is rapidly gentrifying and I dread the change. I can see it in the parking garage, the old beater cars are steadily being replaced by luxury sedans and SUVs. The rural Newfoundland village is also changing. Mainlanders with money, like me, are the only buyers for these 100+ year old houses, we're the only ones who want them and can afford to fix them up. So we're preserving the architectural history, but we're also slowly replacing locals.

Unfortunately, my favourite kind of community is also the exact kind of place that gets gentrified: low income, but nice enough for folks with money who are looking for a bargain and like those kind of communities to move in. Basically, if I buy somewhere, I am the exact problem that I dread.

[okits]

Purely a guess, but I wonder how much of the ranking reflects the way happiness can be based on the comparison groups you see around you.
Toronto and Van provide more envy-material than Saguenay I bet.

When I was a student in Toronto one amusement was just looking at all the luxurious places I knew I could never live. Eventually I stopped caring, and anyway moved far afield.
But constant envy and FOMO are a drag.

I think what seems in reach or out of reach makes a difference, too.

We are in two school communities.  Both have a striving mentality (which we have, to some extent, too).  In one community, I feel about level with everyone else in situation and expectations.  In the other, I feel we would need to strive to attain what others already have (and they are striving to reach beyond what we haven't even reached yet).

I feel more happiness among the first community, where I never have the kneejerk reaction of feeling we are behind all the time.  Reminding myself we are living by our values, etc. is conscious work I mostly don't have to do among the first community.  I'm often doing it among the second, where it's easy to feel dissatisfied.

@Metalcat - build yourself a high horse as an "Early Gentrifier" LOL.

[falling leaves]

I live in Vancouver and I don't really get a lot of life satisfaction from living here if I'm real about it.

After 30 years of living here I've done OK financially, but my social life, dating life and family life all took a big hit when I moved here from a smaller town in the UK.

For the last 16 years I've lived in a house that I managed to buy off my accountant, a Chinese lady who has been a good friend to me over the years.

My house is in an area where almost everyone is from China or Hong Kong, and almost all cannot speak English or prefer not to in their day to day life. I have to say in big letters that this is not a racist post. But... how can anyone live in an area where you can't talk to each other and actually be part of the community.

It's dark and rainy for 5 months of the year. Because of that there's no jumping on my bike and ride it down to the park etc... there's very few 3rd places around, so there's a tendency to sit and wait until March when it gets light outside.

I went to my local swimming pool last night, mostly because I know that in the sauna there will be random people to make small talk with and maybe learn a couple of words of their language, and it was a pleasant way to spend an hour, but that's no way to live life.

The cost of living and housing here is through the roof! and as a landlord I've actually benefited from that, but I can see the huge problems it's created for many.

I've always worked for myself and I kind of like it that way, but that adds to the isolation too. Roll on to that that my daughter and grand kids moved East quite a few years ago, and it's a bit of a lonely carry on! I'm ready to cash my chips in and try somewhere else in 2025.

[rocketpj]

Unfortunately, my favourite kind of community is also the exact kind of place that gets gentrified: low income, but nice enough for folks with money who are looking for a bargain and like those kind of communities to move in. Basically, if I buy somewhere, I am the exact problem that I dread.

2 strong Canadian traditions.

1.  Immigrate, work hard, raise kids and grandkids who will resent immigrants.
2.  Move to a nice affordable place, settle down, resent anyone else who follows you there for 'wrecking the quality of the community'.  For bonus points, never once reflect on how you were part of an earlier wave of the exact same phenomenon.

[Metalcat]

Unfortunately, my favourite kind of community is also the exact kind of place that gets gentrified: low income, but nice enough for folks with money who are looking for a bargain and like those kind of communities to move in. Basically, if I buy somewhere, I am the exact problem that I dread.

2 strong Canadian traditions.

1.  Immigrate, work hard, raise kids and grandkids who will resent immigrants.
2.  Move to a nice affordable place, settle down, resent anyone else who follows you there for 'wrecking the quality of the community'.  For bonus points, never once reflect on how you were part of an earlier wave of the exact same phenomenon.

Yep, exactly. Except I'm very aware of typically being part of the first wave of the problem.

That said, if you're early enough, like I've been, you get a loooong lead time on the change. I talked DH into buying in our city area nearly 20 years ago, and it stayed pretty much the same as the snowball of change was veeeeey slow to build in size. Now it's huge and rolling quickly, so we'll see what happens, but it's been a good run.

[rocketpj]

'Now it's huge and rolling quickly, so we'll see what happens, but it's been a good run."

Here as well.  We ended up here about 15 years ago.  During and after the pandemic a lot of Vancouver people realized they could sell their microscopic apartments and buy a house here while working at home.  Which is what we did 15 years ago, but nevermind...

[HenryDavid]

I reckon that frugal people and artists (necessarily frugal since they rarely inhabit the high-dollar economy) are always the first-wave people who are later followed by gentrifiers . . .  because we see value. Others see a rough-looking area, we see a walkable, affordable place with some history and we don’t care that it’s not chic. We like that.
It’s like a filter we apply.
Others use a more “normal acceptability” filter.

X number of years later, the place becomes chic.
Money gets applied to every surface until the money-gleam takes over. And the high-rent paying chain stores arrive.
Enjoy while you can.