Forum: 

How Goth friendly is Vancouver?

Darkboy75's picture

Just wondering if anyone knows how goth friendly of a city Vancouver is, or if there are certain areas that are better. What I mean by this is the extent to which gothic people are hassled by the majority of the population, verbal insults or physical violence. I live in a city in southern Alberta called Lethbridge and it's not a very goth place, lots of jerks and close minded people here. I would like to live somewhere where people don't give a shit about things as much or at all, was planning on moving to Vancouver. Any info about this would be much appreciated.

You shouldn't have any problems.

I have gotten the usual weird looks and the very rare laughter(from young East Asia ethnic groups; Chinese find it strange for guys wearing black nail polish) But nothing like you have described over in Lethbridge.

The Downtown and the Commercial Drive areas are particularly so. There is always going to be the odd rube from the suburbs that might yell something incoherent as they drive by, but by and large, no one bats an eye around here.

Having lived in Lethbride for a bit myself, I know exactly what you're talking about. Lethbridge and the surrounding area are a very conservative community. Vancouver is a bigger pond filled with all sorts of fish. And some of those fish are goth, and the other fish don't seem to mind.

Agreed. I came over to the Vancouver from Vancouver Island. I've always loved dressing up but the area I lived in on the Island was very conservative and red-neck central. If a girl wore any kind of alternative clothing she was branded a lesbian (another no-no in that community) and pretty much ostracized.

But when I came to Vancouver for the first time to attend college it was incredibly liberating and I was almost given wierd looks for NOT expressing myself more. :P

I discovered Sin City, Celebrities, Deadly Couture, New World, Millenium (before it closed down), and many other great outlets for my exhibitionism. Heck I even participated in some amateur strip contests just for fun.

So ya, Vancouver is a great place for expresssing yourself. Sure you get the odd jerk but sometimes you get people wanting their picture taken with you too. :)

Deffinately get your butt over here! :)