Douchebags? Seriously? I think you're capable of disagreeing with someone without resorting to name calling and negativity.

Jennifer O'Brien and her supporters, you're all douchebags. Get over it, not everyone is obliged to talk to you. You're the reason I no longer read the London Fucked Press....

I'd just be happy with polite, good old-fashioned basic manners. I'm a friendly person but warmth I save for friends and family. I do like to say good morning to strangers just to see them jump. They creep by you looking out the corner of their eyes and mumble something which I assume is a good morning and not a fook off. By the third time they're used to it and actually say good morning without acting like you have a shiv. When was the last time someone asked you for the money for your purchase and said please or thank you? "Here you go" is not thank you. "No problem" is not thank you.

I've been to Paris France which has a metro area of 12 million people. Many people say that Parisians are snobby and rude. This couldn't be farther from the truth. To "act" like a big city implying that big cities aren't personable and friendly is complete BS. It is true that London is lagging in this respect! In Paris, sales people were EXTREMELY talkative / inquisitive and people were so friendly that they would strike up a conversation with you along your journey... here in London sales people are hit-or-miss but I have never had anyone strike up a conversation with me randomly on the street or transit like I experienced there. So while agree there isn't much we can do about it - to deny that many Londoners can be conservative and unfriendly would be inacurate.

I really can't believe that this is 2nd ranked. Seriously, if forcing people to be overfriendly (aka messing with one's social psychology) is how people want to improve London, then we as a city are screwed in the long-term. I think that some of you need to get over it, "it" being the psychographics of this city, things you cannot change. It's like telling a retarded person to "stop 'it'." To the person who has claimed to have went to the same LCBO, restaurant, gas station, grocery store etc (over the last five years), do you really expect them to remember your name? Not to mention there are tens of thousands of customers between the places. Is it really wrong that some people happen to keep to themselves and mind their own business? Why are we acting like some small hick town, where everybody should know everybody? This city has about 360,000 people in it, aka a big city, and we should start acting like it.

The image of London as waspy is so outdated. Image takes a long time to catch up with reality so we have to stop repeating that outdated mantra.

IMO, both assertions are naive or ill-informed. And we cannot find a solution if we start off on the basis with incorrect assumptions.

With regard to the wasp image - just look around and walk around to see how false that is. It may have been true 30 years ago, ironically when London was economically healthy and considered a desirable destination.

Secondly, I've never, ever, lived in a place that threw open its arms and welcomed strangers. Every city I've ever lived in - and I have lived in many cities - have always looked to a newcomer with suspicion.

Whether I was a kid with my family or if I was a highly visible person on air as a TV reporter or anchor. I've always experienced some degree of "she or they are outsiders".

Ethnic identity is not our problem - it's desirability of living conditions and work. People don't care whether the image is waspy or mixed anymore. Those days are gone. They want certain features - jobs, money, cleanliness, efficiency of city government, taxes well-spent, affordable availability of commodities, efficient internal transportation, good quality education in elementary and high schools (an option taken out of local control) and recreational-leisure activities.

Well-planned, tree-lined neighbourhoods where it's safe and pleasurable to be outside are significantly overlooked. But the LFP's roundtable discussion dealt with that accurately.

We need a sense of community, a feeling of kinship with one another, regardless of colour, race or religion. That means people have to stop identifying with their ethnic/religious group and promoting it and to keep that for family and willingly join in the community's activities on an equal level.

Kinship no longer means isolating ourselves on the basis of ethnicity, religion of gender stereotypes. We have to actively promote equality in London and our identity will evolve naturally, uncontrived.

We need a sense of kinship with one another independent of waspy or non-waspy identities.

I think you've got it bang-on Nathan - birds fly in flocks. And I don't think there's much that can be done about it.

What you say is true. What I think is that people center themselves around other like-minded people. These conservative (insert other adjectives here) people need a place to go away from the cosmopolatian attitudes found elsewhere and London seems to be where many decided to set up shop. Unfortunately for the rest of us who don't have a provincal attitude we're kinda stuck with it or inevitably are drawn away from our adopted or birth home of London.

at one time london and winnipeg (30 years ago?) were the demographic
capitals of Canada. Does that still apply.The problem is there are many
Londons(slice and dice the demographics) and there is no cross fertilization
of ideas towards a common goal yet to be determined.Make London the
Dream capital by promoting the formation of many dreams. London never
was a Forest City it was originally a City in the Forest and most of
the area near the Forks of the Thames was probably a grassy plain that
flooded for eons with ice jams and spring runoff.Get rid of the Forest City
tag.London The Dream Capital . Someone once said make no small plans
for they do not have the power to inspire you or others.

Go for it. Hammer this to death, or to life.

It seems too often that people in the service industry feel they are doing you a favour and often act as if you are interrupting them. I could never understand that.

Personally I would have been so upset with paying out $57 for no smile I'd march right back to that homeless person and give him at least a dollar, heck make it $3 for an even $60. $57 spent to upset you, and zero that made you feel good, what's another $3 in the big picture, eh?

OK, I wasn't planning on hammering this to death, but two things happened during my walk downtown at lunch today to support my cause: First I walked past a man who appeared to be homeless, sitting on the sidewalk. I smiled at him and he said this: "Hey, thanks for smiling. That's rare in London." I swear it's true. He said that. I'm not making it up. Then I continued on my way to the Grand Theatre, where I paid $57 for three tix to watch my own daughter -- my 5-year-old daughter, who is a joy, but no Shirley Temple -- do one dance in a dance recital. During the exchange, the woman at the box office refused to smile, respond to my questions with anything more than a reluctant one-syllable answer. AND at the end, when I said thank you very much, she simply passed over my tickets and grumbled you'rewelcome. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Trust me, it took everything in my power to refrain from tossing those tickets at her and demand my money back. What the heck?

a friend from Peterborough was visiting on the weekend and told a group of us what his favourite thing about London is: "watching the fights when the bars get out."
not sure if that says more about him or about London.

Too conservative indeed! In fact just the previous day I put in a recommendation for a naturist/nudist beach or resort along the Thames River waterfront or in the Fanshawe Conservation Area.

Please read the details here: http://lfpress.uservoice.com/forums/112027-who-s-london-/suggestions/1810031-public-naturist-nudist-beach-or-resort-within-city?ref=title

Please comment and/or cast your vote as the temperatures are already scorching in some areas and so more and more people in this city--men, women and even childen--are going "clothes-free"--especially at home, like me!

i have spent a lot of time here, in the 80's and again for the last decade. i went abroad, as a "canadian" and smiled and chatted with people in bank line, and on the streets and was looked at like i was going to accost them. sad but true. and now, i feel like that here at home. we need to loosen up and start to smile again. london needs to not feel afraid of londoners. we're the ones that are here after the students have left, and we're the ones that will keep it together. yes DTE

dte

That is some very good food for thought. Makes me think I should try to put away all I currently perceive and open my eyes to a fresh perspective. I admit I have personally been looking at things with a negative attitude. I gotta' get out more and open my eyes. Thanks for the nudge.

London is a place that people from all over the world want to call home, but somehow it never gets to feel 'homey'. There are ingrained snobbish attitudes toward neighborhoods and schools that are perpetuated regardless of disconfirming facts. When I came to London I was warned about 'east of -Adelaide' yet ,compared to many North American cities , EOA is a solid working class community. The untapped treasure in London is it's diversity. Anyone who thinks it a Wasp town needs to look around. The problem is that ethically and linguistically diverse members of our community lack a voice and presence.

Jennifer, I am on your side 100%!
I was born and raised in London and 5 years ago moved to Cambridge with my family. Cambridge is the first time I've felt welcome in a city and I spent over 18 years in London. When people ask me how I liked living in London, my answer is almost never a good one. I refer to London sometimes as a big high school. Separated from each other, constant judgment, no manners. After having gone through high school once, I was glad I didn't have to then grow up with adults that still live with that mentality. It's a sad day when you have to question whether or not to make a compliment, hold a door, wave, or to just be polite in general. Smiles don't cost a thing and 9 times out of 10 a genuine smile can brighten someones day. Talk about minimal effort.

Thanks for the feedback. I want to say that I have lived in this city for 10 years, and have met some of the most amazing, inspiring people in the world here. Some of my best friends live here and I love them. But it took a while. The first few years, I was astonished by the cool reception I would receive when passing people on the street, local shop owners and even some neighbours. I noticed right away, people didn't sing along at concerts, and like Randy said - they didn't wave at me when I let them pass in traffic. I felt unwelcome. My friends and family from Windsor and Toronto noticed it when they came to visit. I love this city now, but I still find there is a tendency to gather in cliques, to resist change - and I hate that. Why are we so reserved? Is it because this is a student town? I know UWO and Fanshawe students have a completely different intro to London.
Thatguyinlondon, I think it's a great idea to bring your friend for the tour and get his impressions. This is a good, safe place to raise a family, but it's more than that. It's filled with good people. We just need to let our light shine through.

I have made a friend via Twitter who is moving to London for school in the fall. I will direct him to read these forums and share his impressions before he gets here. Then I shall give him a London tour and he can share his impressions after getting here. Fresh perspective cannot hurt.

Signed: Loosening Up In London

I entirely agree. I’d like to point out, however, that Downtown London can be especially welcoming. I live and work down here and there’s a real sense of community and friendliness that I don’t find very often outside of the core. I’ve had friends come from other cities and join me on a trip to the Covent Garden Market and they’re astounded by the interactions that you can have with the vendors there. People look you in the eye, they have a conversation with you, they remember you! The odd time when I do venture out to a business elsewhere in London I have to admit, I feel like I startle the vendors and cashiers with my friendliness, as if I’ve broken some unspoken rule that requires everyone to keep their eyes to themselves and move along as quickly as possible. Like Jennifer said, loosen up! Smile! Have a conversation with a stranger! I promise you won’t regret it.