Things Ottawa Gays Like: Moving to the Suburbs

Something I'm noticing more and more as I grow up are the sheer numbers of Ottawa gay boys that decide to pack it in and call it quits in the downtown core after they land a 'good' job. Faster than you can blink an eye they've picked out the picket fence in some god-forsaken part of Barrhaven, or a new sub-development project in Kanata or Emburn.

Why anyone, straight or gay, would ever want to move to the burbs in the first place is beyond me. With gas inching closer and closer to $1.50/L, the housing bubble bursting in the US, owning an insanely overpriced piece of property way out in the middle of nowhere away from any amenities is surely not a good idea.

Then there's another side to the coin. I wonder how the gay community can legitimately ask for a gay village on Bank Street if gays and lesbians continue to move out of the downtown core. I'm certainly not calling for ghettoizing of the gay community, and of course I support people's individual freedom to live where they choose, but gay urban sprawl has really cost Ottawa the luxury of have a Church, Davie, or a St. Catherines Street where if you go for a walk at any given time you're sure to run into other gays and lesbians in abundance (not just the small handful you see on Bank Street). I know in Vancouver, for example, there are 20 story condo buildings where almost the entire residency is GLBT, because of their close proximity to gay clubs and services.

What we have here is the proverbial Chicken and the Egg story. People won't move (or stay) downtown unless there's better services and things to do; and there won't be better services or things to do unless people move (or stay) downtown.

For the rest of our suburban gay friends - enjoy your experience with Terri Hatcher and the rest of the Housewives.