Winnipeg, Manitoba

I was in Winnipeg for a couple of days. It's a really nice prairie city, located several hundred miles north of Minneapolis (here's a map for my American friends who aren't quite sure.) We had beautiful weather while we were there---nice and hot without any of the humidity we so often have in Toronto. The fabled Winnipeg mosquitoes ("...as big as bats!") were also nowhere to be found.

Living in Toronto, and before that Washington, D.C., it's easy to forget that a big city can still be both sophisticated and sweet. While Winnipeg certainly has its hard edges, it still has (to me) a small-town-like friendliness that is very welcoming. Housing is affordable, yards are big, and it would be great place to raise kids. It's also very diverse and has great activist and arts communities. These facts were pointed out to me more than once by the enthusiastic, self-deputized members of the Winnipeg Welcome Wagon I was hanging out with.

I'm not sure if I'm ready to make the leap to the prairies, and I think it would be even more difficult to convince Wendy of Winnipeg's wonders. But I can say that it felt like more than just a nice place to visit. Among cities, Winnipeg could even seen as a sign of hope.