I'm white as they come, but work at the University and it really feels like it's the dumb old generation that's just entitled to being comfortable in their own skin. I know in my heart we would be welcomed by the kindness of the people we met up there and be able to sleep without worrying whether someone is vandalizing my car or our yard. My husband and I are planning on moving to Kingston when he retires in a few years. ![]() Just from my time spent in Kingston I felt like I could breathe and walk down Princess, go into stores and restaurants and not have to look over my shoulder. The cost of living here is high as well and good paying jobs are hard to find and Women’s rights are being decimated more and more everyday. Just passing a southern white man in a pickup truck makes me nervous. I can’t even bring myself to watch the news anymore. Mass shootings in Synagogues, black churches, Mosques, gay bars, schools, pick a place. Violence against Asian Americans and African Americans is horrible. As a mixed race female I can honestly tell you that racism is rampant in the states. I’m not a resident of Kingston, I live in the states, but we visit Kingston often. However, I do feel like there are more layers of racism that say, in Toronto, for sure. Overall, I've never felt completely discriminated against and I don't feel like my walking through the streets would cause a scene. "I don't know who I spoke with, but I couldn't understand him through the accent." ![]() I feel like there are a lot of incidences of very casual racism e.g. I butted in and told her to apologize and that language would not be tolerated. ![]() When a patient asked my Indian colleague to speak English. When a patient came in and asked if "Turban head" was working today. When a patient told me I wasn't the staff member she was speaking with because I speak an "Oriental language" and "even through the mask, I know you speak a different language than us." Yikes. I don't recall any moments in Waterloo or Sudbury, but I do have some stories from Kingston having moved here summer 2021: Having lived in Toronto, I don't recall ever dealing with racism because well, it's so diverse and an insult would insult most people in the same vicinity. I'm a POC (Asian) and I don' think I could properly speak for your experience, but I've lived in Toronto, Waterloo, and Sudbury so I can compare to those cities. I’m a teacher so not relevant for me, but my husband and a lot of our friends make about 20-30% less than they would for comparable positions in Toronto. She also has a few posts on her blog that specifically address her experiences of racism and racial issues in the city.Īlso, for what it’s worth, since you mention cost of living as a reason you’re considering the move, Kingston is absolutely more affordable than the GTA, but salaries here also lag behind a bit, so if the potential move would include changing jobs just account for a potential pay cut that may come with relocation. So she started documenting positive aspects of the city and her experiences in it, and makes a point of highlighting and uplifting POC owned local businesses. Part of her reason for starting the account was that her experience of growing up as a POC in Kingston made her hesitate about moving back, but she also knew the city had a lot to offer and the only way it would become better and more diverse is if, well, it diversified. It’s an account/blog run by Tiana, a Black woman who grew up in Kingston, moved to Toronto, then eventually moved back around the same phase of life you’re currently in. ![]() Have you ever experienced, witnessed or heard of any sort of racism in Kingston and I guess more generally, will my wife and child be able to sleep soundly without the feeling that their city hates them for no reason?Ĭheck out on instagram. My question to all potential future neighbors is this As a white man with a black wife and a mixed baby on the way we of course have some concerns about the future of our child. I am aware that searching "racism in X city" is likely to result in a lot of horrible articles of how racist said city is, thus this post. That being said, my biggest concern is racism. From what research we've done online it seems to be a beautiful and more importantly, affordable city. For this reason we are strongly considering moving out of the GTA and Kingston is high on our list of potential new homes. We currently live in a condo that we own but our mortgage and everything else is getting more and more unaffordable. Recently, with the rising cost of living in the GTA, my wife and I have been struggling to get ahead.
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