1. You’ve been in Toronto too long... take a walk in a park anywhere around here and you’ll get a tip of the hat and a hello from everyone on the trail.
2. I have a friend who gets mad at people who don’t wave while driving on Cortes Island. Yes... that’s a thing there. You pass by someone in your car, you better bloody wave! Haha
1. I agree that it's a city (not a Toronto) problem. The alienation and distance is an artifact of an unnatural design for human habitats. I enjoy the trail but ... not the same thing. Also I am from a small town originally and they have the same problems, but amplified in some negative ways (grudges, feuds, and fights; never outgrowing your history etc.) and positive ways (people know you and you have a larger network of people who care about you.
And... this is off topic but... we have come to know our neighbours in a way I have never done since living in that small town, during the pandemic.
2. I can't describe it, but the true feeling of social belonging in a large community is still different the_squid. Of course, this is an intangible emotional connection and entirely subjective so I have no way to prove it, anymore than you can disprove it. But the odd feelings of connectedness that I have felt, happened at:
-Burning Man
-Religious events, such as gatherings at the Vatican pre-JPII assassination attempt
-Concerts and theatre gatherings that were moving
-Socialist countries