I fail to understand the draw to Toronto, ON.
I do see that there are many festivals and niches throughout the city that may be of interest to travelers, but the need to live and grow (if there is room) doesn't seem believable.
Any Torontonian will defend this city till the death, but I see it more as those times when you feel strongly about something even though you know its not good or right so you simply defend it harder, trying to convince both yourself and others. Torontonians and Maple leafs fans are the same sort of people (and many are in fact, the same people); cheering for something that you know is no good but feel a strong need to be patriotic and stand up for your roots. There is a time in everyone's life where they need to realize that, yes, the maple leafs and Toronto do suck, there is not much chance of either getting better, and its time to move onto something worth cheering for.
For example:
I went for coffee with a friend today. This coffee shop (called Snakes & Lattes - I do strongly recommend it) is 15 minutes from my house down Bloor. I gave myself 20 minutes to get there; it took 45. What is the point in having so many roads if they are constantly under construction? I then made the mistake of trying to avoid Bloor and making my way down to the Gardener Expressway. About 45 minutes later I had made it approximately 5kms (generally a 5 minute drive). For a coffee shop that is only 15 minutes from my house I am unsure why it took me 1 hour. I blame the construction in part, but the other 90% is on the drivers shoulders.
I have been a lot of places on this earth and nowhere, I mean nowhere, have I encountered so many people with the inability to drive, AND I LIVED IN HONGCOUVER FOR A MONTH! If I were to believe in any contagious disease sweeping the city it would be whatever deadly bug is living on the Toronto Drivers License. It appears that when you receive one of these cards all common sense, morality, and 90% of your ability to make the right decision are suddenly sucked from you and thrown out the window of the car that you are having difficulty maneuvering in a reasonable fashion.
I would say that today was 2 hours of my life I will never get back, but I am going to expand that into 'This Degree is 4 years of my life that I will never get back'.
Not all things Toronto are bad. Like I said, Snakes & Lattes is fantastic. I do rather enjoy the Kingsway area, and Humber college is a beautiful place.
People keep asking me if I plan to stay in Toronto when i finish school. Here is my answer: I would like to move to West Vancouver where the trees are plentiful and the people are fewer and father in between. I would then like to live in Calgary when it is time to raise a family. If those two places are inaccessible for whatever reason I would opt to live in Victoria, Hawaii, Nova Scotia, Ottawa, any US State, Mexico, Africa, the Middle East, South Korea, or even maybe North Korea... and if all of those fail. I may live in the outskirts of Toronto. Does that answer the question?
But my fingers are crossed for West Vancouver.
And now would be the time to finish up my homework, watch some tv, and send positive messages into the universe that the 401 is not busy heading West tomorrow (Sunday) morning, cause if it is? well... its hard to blog from a noose.
Fair thee well.
I guess I am the exception; I was born and raised in Toronto and I absolutely hate it! It's not so much the city itself but the people. The city has cool places to hang out, nice drives, lots of great shops but it's just the people that kill it for me.
ReplyDeleteI spent the whole summer in Ottawa and I love it there. Not because of the city itself but because the people are so nice! Customer service actually exists there, it's amazing. I'd definitely love to move there if there were more job opportunities in the field but unfortunately, there's only a few agencies... so I'm stuck!
West Vancouver sounds like a nice place though :)
There are tons of agencies in Vancouver and Calgary as well. Calgary is more small town/big city. over a million people but still the small town mentality. Nicer. and Vancouver is beautiful. The people are a little different.. bit way more laid back.
ReplyDeleteTrue stuff. I was also born in Toronto, lived here all my life, and although maybe I'm not IN LOVE with it, I do want to love it. In any case, I feel at home everywhere here, and I always feel safe, in the spots I know.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I dislike generalizing anything about a city's people. There are just too many people here to label them all with certain characteristics. I could never say that all the people in Toronto are strict, or rude, because it simply can't be true, and I've experienced both the good side and the bad. Just like I can't say that all Montrealers are kind people. People everywhere are different. And for a city like Toronto, being the most multicultural in the world, you can find absolutely any kind of person.
That may be fun, as much as it may be uncomfortable. But it's diversity.
And I think if you expect goodness from people, you'll find it. Rarely do I stumble on someone who could ruin your day.