You can take the girl out of Toronto but you can't take the Toronto out of the girl

Sometimes living in Vancouver is like living in a foreign country. There are certain cultural norms I'll never quite understand.

For example, it is considered rude to ask someone you just met what he or she does for a living. If you go to a party in Vancouver, no one will ask you where you work. It's just not done. Sometimes it takes months before the subject ever comes up.

Either everyone in Vancouver hates their jobs or they're simply more interested in other things. I was at a party the other night and not one person asked me what I did for a living. I was, however, asked if I preferred snowboarding or skiing.

I've gotten so used to not talking about my job that whenever I go back to Toronto I find it jarring to be asked where I work. Especially because it's almost always the first question I get asked when I meet someone new.

When I first moved to Vancouver, it was refreshing to be asked "What do you do for fun?" instead of "What do you do for work?"

Now I just find it weird. It's not that I’m dying to tell people where I work. I don't mind not talking about my job. But it's odd that it almost never comes up in conversation. There's something deliciously ironic about how militant most Vancouverites are about propagating the city's laidback lifestyle.

I'm not saying it's a good thing or a bad thing. I'm just making an observation.