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How do we retain talent in KW?
#16
(01-19-2018, 10:04 AM)kaiserdiver Wrote: Is K-W's proximity to the GTA actually an impediment to becoming a big concert market? It seems like a lot of shows go to London, then directly on to the GTA, but maybe that's just due to not having the right sort of venue here.

That is my impression too, but is that due to proximity or facilities?
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#17
(01-18-2018, 10:36 AM)urbd Wrote:
(01-18-2018, 10:32 AM)urbd Wrote: In short, Kitchener-Waterloo are boring cities overall. There's not much to do besides going to a bar, restaurant or movie. Culture as almost everyone has said is clearly lacking. The universities are isolated, students struggle to become part of the community and just want to leave when they graduate (this is changing for the better, for sure). There's just not enough variety of activities, but that could just be because of the size of the cities. But in short, and as a young professional, this place can be pretty boring.

Continued: I find myself wanting to go to Toronto almost every weekend for nightlife (Chainsaw and Phils don't cut it after a while) - especially for the LGBT community, there's literally zero options here. Also the lack of art exhibits and attractive events that are not only 'family friendly fun', etc. As someone said earlier, KW are known to be good cities to raise a family, and I could see that... but for a lot of young professionals that is just not part of the equation yet.

It's not great but there are a few options for the LGBTQ community.  UW has Glow, the oldest LGBTQ organization in Canada.  Downtown Kitchener has Spectrum.  They organize all kinds of events and get togethers.  The bar and club scene is non-existent, so far as I know.  At one time DTK had two clubs and a bar at the same time.  But dating apps and (greater) social acceptance seems to have reduced the need for bars.  They were mainly for cruising anyway.    It's happening elsewhere too.  The last time I walked around Montreal's Gay Village I couldn't help but notice the number of closed businesses.  

And for other communities and cultures, this area has much to offer.  UW has many clubs and organizations for students from around the world.  Currently 37% of graduate students at UW are international.    It would be nice to keep some of that talent here after they graduate.  Many will if they find their community here.
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#18
I would second the comment on boring places vs. boring people.  Kitchener-Waterloo (and the Region in general) was built on community and there are a plethora of community level groups, organizations and activities out there.  The challenge is connecting everything together.  When local media was centralized, it was easier to get the word out about anything happening.  If it was in The Record, most people knew what was going on.  Now, with the diversification of news sources and community calendars, it's more difficult to spread the word.  Often, if I were to try and get the word out about a community event, it might take the best part of two hours to cover all of the major community calendars in the area.

Non-boring places take time to evolve.  Having a mixture of independent businesses, community spaces and public space instead of a run of chains helps.  As does avoiding privatized amenity space or buildings built up to the sidewalk with no provision for public stopping places makes any space boring.  Unfortunately, the public space has generally lost out in the interest of "big visions" that sometimes work and sometimes fail spectacularly.

The Kitchener-Waterloo Community Foundation takes the pulse of the Region in its Vital Signs report.

Finally, encouraging people inhabit public spaces is a challenge.  When it is just as easy to stay home and watch a Netflix show as it is to go out for a walk; or when waiting for a bus or an appointment it is easier to pull out a phone than to make conversation, the public space becomes a dead zone.

What's the best way to retain talent in KW? Keep doing your part to make it a great place.  Say hi to someone you don't know, walk in your neighbourhood (even if the only destination is back where you started), or go out and find the communities that are already out there (or make a new one yourself).
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#19
Fighting words?

Michael Litt, CEO of Vidyard, in a March 29, 2018 opinion piece in The Globe and Mail writes:

Quote:Importantly, it’s not technology but rather community resources that the region lacks. The absence of convenient transportation, high-calibre health care and accessible education all represent serious challenges to our future. Combined, these lifestyle factors hamper our ability to attract the best and brightest people, as well as to cultivate and retain talent from our own backyard. When I speak to engineering students at local universities, for example, only about a quarter plan to stay in the region after graduation. And this regional brain drain extends well beyond tech.

...

That’s why it’s key to up-level Kitchener-Waterloo in terms of nightlife, restaurants, art galleries, theatres, concert venues and more. A thriving cultural scene appeals to high-level recruits from outside the community, entices young local graduates craving a dynamic lifestyle and, really, benefits everyone who lives here.

Luisa D'Amato in an April 6, 2018 opinion piece in The Record returns fire:

Quote:Just as Litt's critique of the region seemed disengaged because the conversation was happening elsewhere, so his discussion of our cultural vibrancy seems disingenuous, because it is disconnected.

It's no secret that the fast-growing technology sector does not donate to arts groups at the levels it should. Tech employees don't attend arts events in the numbers they should. Perhaps they'd like different events. But without a conversation, we won't know. And without involvement, arts can't grow

I'm reminded a bit of the old joke about the person who marries someone, encourages them to change their lifestyle and then complains, "What happened to you? You're not the person that I married!"

As I've said before, Waterloo Region has quite a lot going for it and it's a shame that some of those who move here aren't happy with what they find (or what they don't or can't find).
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#20
WR has a lot going for it in terms of tech, of course, but I'd be lying if I said I enjoy the arts community here. I'd really really like to stay in Waterloo Region - I grew up here, there's jobs, there's family. But in all honesty, even moving to Guelph is compelling because of the thriving arts community. The music scene is better, the small businesses and restaurants feel more like they came from the heart and not from the deep pockets of the tech sector... I wish I could put my finger on what exactly could change to improve the region, but I'm not quite sure. I'm sure a lot of people would disagree with me though.
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#21
I agree that the music scene is lacking, even compared to other comparably-sized cities in Ontario (Guelph and London both seem to get more variety of live music). It's the #1 reason I'd want to live elsewhere, and it's odd to me that a city our size with a large student population doesn't have more variety of venues and music. I often see Canadian bands I like do tours of Southern Ontario playing everywhere except for Kitchener-Waterloo. Part of the problem is that we're in Toronto's shadow, not far enough to develop our own music culture like, say, Halifax - any good band I know moves to Toronto fairly quickly.
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#22
(04-06-2018, 03:21 PM)GtwoK Wrote: WR has a lot going for it in terms of tech, of course, but I'd be lying if I said I enjoy the arts community here. I'd really really like to stay in Waterloo Region - I grew up here, there's jobs, there's family. But in all honesty, even moving to Guelph is compelling because of the thriving arts community. The music scene is better, the small businesses and restaurants feel more like they came from the heart and not from the deep pockets of the tech sector... I wish I could put my finger on what exactly could change to improve the region, but I'm not quite sure. I'm sure a lot of people would disagree with me though.

I don't dine or shop in Guelph, so I can't really compare, but I don't know what you mean by the bolded bit.

When people say the Region is "weak" in music, I take it that they mean wrt popular musical entertainment?  

I find that the Region has a fairly strong music culture (if you like classical), but is weak wrt theatre and very weak wrt dance.
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#23
I don't know a lot of people that work in tech but I have a couple friends that do, one works in town and likes the quieter life in KW and the other one was working here but got a job in California and makes way more money (even accounting for increase cost-of-living). I think local tech companies could try paying people more money to get them to work here, as I understand it rent for office space and such is more expensive in Toronto or silicon valley. Commuting around KW is also a breeze compared to other places. I do agree with need faster, more frequent GO train service. HSR would be nice too but that's not really KW's fault it's not a thing.

The other factor affecting my friends is the long hours they often put in, with the company having lunch and supper delivered so there's not really a lot of time to go out and enjoy the "cultural activities" that are happening here, let alone being able to drive demand for more. I know the 40 hour work week seems so antiquated now but if people work 50 or 60 hours a week they aren't gonna be staying up late to attend Nightshift or go out to a club for some music. I work a lot of long hours, though it's skilled trade work, the last thing I want to do after 10 or 12 hours is go home, clean up and go out. Gimme pizza and netflix any night of the week.
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#24
(04-06-2018, 03:21 PM)GtwoK Wrote: WR has a lot going for it in terms of tech, of course, but I'd be lying if I said I enjoy the arts community here. I'd really really like to stay in Waterloo Region - I grew up here, there's jobs, there's family. But in all honesty, even moving to Guelph is compelling because of the thriving arts community. The music scene is better, the small businesses and restaurants feel more like they came from the heart and not from the deep pockets of the tech sector... I wish I could put my finger on what exactly could change to improve the region, but I'm not quite sure. I'm sure a lot of people would disagree with me though.

I think things are getting better, but an issue might be 'advertising'. So while there could be more stuff occurring, that stuff that is occurring isn't advertised enough. For example, you have Maxwell's in Waterloo and The Boathouse in Kitchener. We obviously need more venues, but even then, the word needs to get out.

I wish I could put a finger on it too, of what else exactly needs to be done. But I do think the 3 cities need to learn to work in unison to improve things. So much potential.
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#25
We have a limited amount of large spaces and horrible transit between them.

With limited space we have an abundance of smaller "clubs" with niche themes that appeal less broadly. By clubs I mean groups of people not nightclubs.

There are a lot of arts and culture initiatives. Many of them have been very vocal about their need for low cost space and support to be able to expand. From my outside perspective it does look like it's moving forward as they gain support, however it's a slow process.
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#26
I'd like to see more places to work. Remote work is common, but places to work remotely aren't. Ubiquitous, frequent transit would make this a little better so that the uncommon spaces are possible to reach.

In fact, ubiquitous and frequent transit within the Region with a continued failure to improve transit to/from the GTA (adding all those travel lanes to the 401 is going to make traffic so much worse, it's like They want a parking lot) might help improve the Region. If it were easy to get to the GTA there'd be no pressure to develop anything but subdivisions here. And subdivisions are one of the quickest ways to destroy culture that I've seen.
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#27
This is sort of indirectly connected, but worth a read:  https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investin...-up-their/

Makes you think though, if there's less draw to places like Toronto and Vancouver, could a secondary tier of cities like Waterloo Region see an influx of young talent?  And if so, then how do we make ourselves more attractive?
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#28
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#29
New group aims to help downtown Kitchener dwellers connect
Quote:As downtown Kitchener booms with unprecedented growth, a group of residents are reaching out to find ways to create a sense of belonging and community.

They're looking at setting up a downtown neighbourhood association, that could do everything from make it easier for people to get to know their neighbours, to help provide residents with information about changes happening downtown.

The downtown population is growing quickly, with new developments like City Centre and 1 Victoria adding residents in the core, along with more established developments like the Eaton and Market Lofts.

A lot of the growth has been in highrises, notes said Sarah Brown, one of the people looking to start the new neighbourhood group. "Sometimes (in a highrise) it's a bit harder to connect with your neighbourhood than if you live in a traditional cul-de-sac with houses right next to one another."
...
The new association aims to serve people living in the area roughly bounded by Victoria, Weber, Benton and Joseph streets. "It's brand-new," Brown said. "It doesn't really officially exist yet."

https://www.therecord.com/news-story/915...s-connect/
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#30
Odd to exclude the East End, given the proposed developments, no?
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