On the Floor

I didn't know what to write about when I realized it was my turn to write a post. I looked through my RSS subscriptions for ideas. I tried thinking about the various things I've learned in the past few months but random code samples didn't really seem interesting enough to warrent a post. While looking out the office window and watching a rented U-Haul moving truck trying to back up down Bold Street the wrong way it hit me. I should write about Hamilton.

Going back two years, I have to admit my initial reaction at the prospect of moving to Hamilton was a negative one. Though, in retrospect, it was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. I had been living in Toronto for a few years and I loved it. By the time I left I had finally started to settle and figure out how to live the Toronto lifestyle -- aka broke and creative. Hamilton meant I had to start again and I did not relish the prospect.

I moved to Hamilton to take a job with Social Media Group in Dundas. A year later I found myself working here at factor[e] within walking distance of my Bay Street apartment. In that time I've been warming up to the thought of being here for a while. You might even say I've kind of been looking forward to it. The other day even changed my city on Facebook from Toronto to Hamilton.

So to celebrate my admitting on Facebook that I live in Hamilton I've compiled a small list of things I like about my new city.

Farmers Market: This is one of my favourite parts of Hamilton. It's up the street from my house and open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday until 6.

Augusta Pubs: This is one of the great parts of living where I live. There are 5 pubs on Augusta, each of them offering their own charm and all of them within 7 minutes of my house. One night on my way out to watch the Leaf's lose at the Cat 'n' Fiddle we walked past the Ship where Brian Borcherdt (of Holy F**k fame) and Julie Fader were playing that night. So after the game we caught a concert. I thought that kind of night only happened in Toronto.

James St. Art Crawl: I've only actually made it out a few times, but the art scene in Hamilton has some good stuff going on. The art scene isn't limited to one night a month either. I strongly encourage everyone seek out the art community in Hamiton. Just walking up James Street you'll find all kinds of galleries open for business. The Art Gallery of Hamilton always has a few awesome exhibitions as well.

The Bruce Trail: The valley Hamilton is sitting in is riddled with hiking trails. Having recently adopted a young dog I'm pretty excited about starting to explore the trails more extensively. Bruce Trail Conservancy is also one of our clients.

HYPE: HYPE stands for Hamilton Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs. There seem to be a lot of us in this city. Kitestring is doing an awesome job pulling us all together every month or so for an after work unwinding without work talk. Here's the video from the first one.

The future: There are a lot of interesting projects on the horizon in Hamilton such as the LRT system and an encouraging focus on bike routes in the city.

All in all I'm happy in my new home and I look forward to discovering more of it. Any tips?