YES! My parents are finally moving out of Barrie!

I had all but given up on persuading my parents to leave Barrie. They're quite elderly now and could benefit from having me around to help them out. Much as I love them, I absolutely refuse to move back to Barrie. They've had a while to think about it, and it was a tough choice - partly because moving is such a hassle and expense. But, they've finally decided to leave Barrie. They really don't have any attachment, roots or fond memories of the city. It's just a place they've lived in since the 1990s.

The snow clearing is a lot for them to handle at their age now. My mother no longer drives any further than 5 minutes away to the bank or supermarket (good thing, with all of the crazy drivers in Barrie, I seriously stress about about both of my parents getting injured or killed in an accident). Any further than a 5 minute drive, and my mother gets my father to drive her. Not that I want to see him wracking up the miles driving around Barrie (or anywhere really).

My mother has a sister living in Barrie (my aunt and uncle). Aside from them, they really know nobody else. They haven't made any meaningful friendships or have an connection to the city. None of us are from Barrie. My aunt and uncle have lived in Barrie since the early 1980s when he got a job transfer. But my parents moved to Barrie as retirees. I think they've finally realized that Barrie is not the ideal city for retired folks, especially the very elderly (mom is 77, dad is 83).

I'll have to bite the bullet and stay in Barrie for a weeks, maybe a few months to help them get the house ready for sale and then with the move. But it will be worth it! No more trips to Barrie to come and visit them! A bit of short term pain for long term gain. We'll probably all move to a city where there is far less snow and more senior-friendly, as well as a city that I can live with. Ideally that would be somewhere outside of Ontario, but as long as it's not Barrie, I'll be happy. In fact, the further away the better! Somewhere in British Columbia or the southern US would be nice, but we'll see what we come up with.

Despite the snow, I've always liked the West Island area of Montreal. I went to university in Montreal and love the city. But, I speak French, my parents don't. There are some very English areas, but my mother is not fond of the area and we need to pick a place that all of us can agree on. I myself would rather be in a sunny climate down south during the winter months, as I'm definitely not a winter person (even though I've put up with it for years, not to say that I like it).

I always dread having to come to Barrie to visit my parents. It's not like I have any fond childhood memories, nor does it feel like home (because it's not). For years I've been praying that my parents would come to their senses and move out of Barrie. Finally, my prayers have been answered! I suppose every city has some positive attributes, but as you can tell, I have a hard time finding any about Barrie. That city is definitely not for everyone. When I come to help my parents get the house ready for sale and with the move should be the last time I ever have to set foot in Barrie. You have no idea what a huge weight that will be off my shoulders. I've been feeling really bad that I'm not around to help my parents. I owe it to them, but just couldn't bring myself to moving back to Barrie. Now I won't have to. Well, once they've sold the house and moved. I'm really looking forward to that day!

Once my parents move out of Barrie, I really won't have much of a connection to the city. But, I'll still keep this blog up and more and more people are stumbling upon it and finding it useful and/or entertaining, or just a place to vent. Others find it a relief to know that they're not alone in their dislike for the city. For all of you who are currently in Barrie (and it seems to be people who moved to Barrie, and weren't raised there), I truly hope you are able to move away soon. It's a great feeling! And if you're thinking of moving to Barrie, make sure it's the right city for you! It's not for everyone.

Wow - this blog is going stronger than ever now!

I almost forgot about this blog... I made it over 3 years ago while in a frustrated, depressed and hateful mood. But, it felt great to get my true feeling out in the open. The blog proved to be more controversial than I had expected (which is a good thing - you can never please all of the people all of the time). Try to please everyone and you please nobody. A blog like this had to be done.

Today I logged in for the heck of it and was surprised to see 33 unmoderated comments. More than half were automated spam comments for p0rn and v!agra, etc. But some were from real people with real comments. Thank you for taking the time to post! I'm sorry it took so long to login and check for comments, but I wasn't expecting so many! In fact, there seem to be more and more coming in. I'm not sure how people are coming upon this blog, but they are.

I don't want to dwell on what I hate and complain about it. I've moved on. My time spent in Barrie is behind me now. This blog is one of the remnants that has been memorialized as a reminder of my time in that city. I'm happily (and still) living elsewhere - in fact, I'm not even in the province of Ontario anymore. What a difference! It's great living in a place I like. I'm so much more of a positive an happy person now.

I no longer need to rant and vent about Barrie, but I'll keep this blog up for people who do, or at least use this as a stepping stone on the way to finding a city you'd like to live in.

If I liked Barrie, I'd be back in a heartbeat. But I'm so happy and grateful that I don't have to live there anymore (the few years I spent there were more than enough and seemed like an eternity). In fact, I'm not even in the same province anymore!

Have an awesome day!

Peace.

:)

Barrie Haters Unite!

Wow, I'm almost speechless... not only does this blog live on, it's getting more and more page views and comments as time goes on. In some twisted, sadistic way, that makes me happy! :) More and more "Barrie haters" are coming out of the woodwork. I knew I wasn't the only one who disliked Barrie. So many of you have written lately, with most of you agreeing that Barrie is not such a great city (to say the least). You've got all kinds of reasons. Some are the same as mine, some are a lot different. But at least we all share one thing in common - our feelings about how much BARRIE SUCKS!

It's been almost a year and half since I left Barrie, and it's been WONDERFUL! I feel like such a big weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I only wish my parents would leave Barrie. I keep in touch with a few people I met in Barrie, and almost all of them have moved away! A few months ago, I came for a visit to see my parents and I felt a knot forming in stomach even before I got back to that horrid city. Needless to say, I did not enjoy being there and could not wait to leave!

So to all of you who didn't like Barrie and left, congratulations! I know what a wonderful feeling it is to leave a city you hate, namely Barrie. You've no doubt found happiness and satisfaction somewhere else, as I have. And to those of you who regret ever setting foot in Barrie and can't wait to leave... I wish you good luck in making the break as soon as possible. Do it, you'll be glad you did. And if you happen to like Barrie, well then good for you! You can't please all of the people all of the time.

Lastly, I'm really happy this blog has been available as a resource to people who currently live in Barrie, have lived in Barrie or were/are actually considering moving there. Many of you have read the pages of this blog and some of you have posted a reply. For that I thank you. And if it helped to just "vent" your frustrations about Barrie, I'm glad, and happy that you were able to do it here.

OK, so Barrie is not for eveyone, let's agree on that at least!

It's been over a year since I put up this blog. I've changed so much since then. Soon after I made this blog, I moved far away. In that time, this blog has been featured on a radio station, ready by many, and received quite a few comments - both pro and against Barrie. You may have seen me come across as a very bitter person. And I was. Living in Barrie was just not the right thing for me to do and I got more and more miserable by the day. I had the choice of making the best of it, or moving away. I chose the latter. A change of scenery was the easiest way for me to start thinking positively.

I don't want to dwell on it, because I've moved on and don't want to complain anymore, but this update needs to be written. Some people have found Barrie to be the answer to their dreams. For me, it was one of my worst nightmares! It was so nice to finally leave Barrie. I can only hope my parents decide to move away too. I know they're not totally in love with the city, but they don't dislike it as much as I do. We aren't even from Barrie, so there's no reason to stay.

So to all who took offence to my opinions, Peace. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. This is way more of a controversial subject than I could have ever imagined. In the past year, I've learned to relax and not be so hateful. The Secret (recommended to me by friends and strangers alike) was just the beginning. I knew all that stuff before, but Barrie was not the right environment for me to act upon it. Even my writing style has changed over the past year. I don't take back anything I said about Barrie, and I'm glad I got that opportunity to vent. But, now that I've said it, I've moved on and won't complain about Barrie. Life is too short to quibble about such things.

Let's just say that Barrie is not for everyone. Over the past year, people have posted both positive and negative comments about the city. I'm leaving this blog up so that others may read it. For some, it may reinforce their love of the city, or make them want to move to Barrie, or reconsider it. For others, it may be a feeling of relief to know that there are others who share their dislike of the city. You can't force someone to like a place.

Peace. (wherever you may be living, be it in Barrie or elsewhere)! :)

Barrie: home of cold, snowy winters and hot, humid summers

It seems many places are getting crazy weather lately. However, most of them are just flukes. Barrie's strategic location gets cold, snowy winters and hot humid summers. Spring is virtually non-existent. From about October to May, it's cold and, for the most part, trees, plants, grass, crops, etc, don't grow much. That's about half the year. For two of three of those months, it's bitterly cold. Don't forget, Barrie is in a snow belt.

An hour down the road in Toronto, it can be a few degrees warmer and free of snow most of the winter. Then we get a brief transition from winter to summer. Soon it's hot and humid with dangerous insects that prefer this area. Out of the whole year, there's maybe a month or two that I personally find neither too hot and humid nor too cold and snowy.

Usually by April, the spring thaw is underway, snow disappears and the grass starts to grow. But, this is Barrie. In Barrie, April snow falls (not showers) bring May flowers. A couple of times this month, we've had a nice, light blanket of snow, while in Toronto, not a flake to be found!

Who would have thought of winter injuries happening in April. My father managed to have a nasty fall due to the snow in April. Had it not been for the snow, he probably wouldn't be in pain and using a cane or crutches. Last winter, he took a nasty fall and fractured his hip. Due to the prolonged winter in Barrie, be prepared for more winter injuries, accidents, money spent on winter tires, winter clothes, boots, snowblowers, etc.

PS: As I write this, the East Coast, and even Eastern Ontario are suffering a winter storm to various levels of severity. I feel your pain. We get that sort of thing on a regular basis here in Barrie and Central Ontario.

Canada's Worst Driver show should come to Barrie

You may have heard about the hit TV show "Canada's Worst Driver" on the Discovery Channel. They're looking for new nominations. If they come to Barrie, Ontario they will no doubt find more than enough people in a matter of minutes.

Personally, I'd rather driver in New York City. I find that more relaxing that driving in Barrie. Barrie drivers are the most inconsiderate I have ever seen. For example, yesterday I was driving on Highway 90 west, approaching Tiffin. A beat up old pick up truck slowly pulled out into traffic from a driveway, narrowly missing the car in front me. He braked, and instead of waiting for me to pass, decided to slowly pull out in front. I guess he figured I had plenty of time to put the brakes on so he could take his time. Maybe that hunk of junk wasn't capable of accelerating that fast. He only got up to 60 km/hr in an 80 km/hr zone.

The he turned onto Tiffin (without signaling). I was going that way too. Then he was doing about 45 km/hr in a 60 zone before eventually sauntering along into the driveway of another place (I think it was a body shop or junk yard, how appropriate).

Then, as I was getting back up to speed, a Buick Le Sabre pulled out of another driveway and eventually got up to about 55 km/hr. Again, the driver figured I could slow down to let him in. Both times, there were NO other vehicles behind me!

He turned off at Ferndale Road. Then at the next intersection, another pick-up truck (from a construction company) slowed down for his red light, then pulled out into traffic, again making me slow down to let let him in. Red lights mean stop, not slow down! At least if you make a rolling stop and pull into traffic, get up to speed and don't make others have to slow down for you, especially when there are no other vehicles behind the one you just cut off!

This was all in just a matter of about two minutes. Normally it would take about 20 or 30 minutes to see such displays of incompetent driving in Barrie. And no, I'm not an aggressive, road rageous driver. I have a flawless driving and insurance record, and drive respectfully and carefully.

Oro Medonte, just north of Barrie, new preferred dumping ground for dead bodies

If you came or are thinking of coming to Barrie for fresh clean air and no big-city crime, think again! Yes, Oro Medonte, just north of Barrie is fast becoming the new dumping ground for dead bodies. Yesterday a charred body was found in a burt out truck in Oro Medonte, not far from where a body was found a few weeks ago, or another body was found in a snowbank by a snowplow driver a few weeks before that. Along with all the big city amenities and population growth comes the big city crime!