It’s really important to not forget that this is a major, metropolitan area that I live in now. It’s true to say that walking down any given street in Iowa City wasn’t entirely safe, but there was that feeling that you had more safety there. That’s not to say that I fear for my safety in Vancouver, but I also am not entirely familiar with the “bad parts of town.”
Take yesterday for example. I went running through Stanley Park. For the most part, at least from what I understand, it’s a somewhat safe area as long as you’re not walking around the place after sunset. While on my maiden voyage into the park itself, I couldn’t help but flashback to an episode of Da Vinci’s Inquest that I caught on WGN just before I left the states. It’s a crime drama that takes place entirely in Vancouver. The episode I’m recalling as I head through the woods was about some one that was murdered in the park. What I couldn’t remember was if it was a jogger or not. Between that and the inclines I found myself on, it was hard to think about anything else.
At three in the afternoon, I think I was pretty safe. However, I ran the back portion of Lost Lagoon two days prior, same time of day, rainy, and cool. I don’t think I’ll do that again. Even at that time of day, I got a little freaked out, especially due to the fact that I never passed another walker or runner the whole portion of that route. And since then, I’ve been told that I shouldn’t do that again. I still have a lot to learn about living here.