Every Friday we publish a piece called Why We Fell In Love With Toronto This Week and a few months back we put out an article called 17 Reasons Toronto is Better than New York.
So it’s no secret we have a soft spot for the T-Dot.
But after publishing Making A Case for Living in Calgary, we realized we should probably give our Canadian young professionals a more thorough look at our diverse metropoli.
Yup, we just made up a word. That’s how much we love this place.
Sure it has its problems with construction, traffic, and outrageous real-estate prices, but as the 4th largest city in North America, it’s bound to have some pains in the gut along with its glory.
Toronto is a fantastic city to visit, but no matter what you do, how old you are, and how many you roll with, it’s also a great place to live. So if you’re thinking about hanging your hat in a new hacienda and starting a new chapter in your life’s atlas, here’s our case for the GTA.
The Food Situation
There are over six thousand restaurants in Toronto.
Let that sink in (to your stomach) for a minute.
Also, pretty close to none of them are boxy chains with goofy uniforms and airbrushed photos of chicken tenders on their menu.
Think about it: you could eat at a different restaurant every day for 18 years. Now, if you actually tried that, you might end up with a few cockroach cannoli. But all in all, you’d probably be one happy foodie.
If there’s a type of cuisine out there in the world, chances are you can get it in Toronto. And if you’re willing to do some snooping you won’t have to burn much cash because there’s no shortage of bare bones, authentic establishments run by fair, passionate people from all over the world.
Mexican, Japanese, Vietnamese, Italian, French, Ethiopian, you name it. You can’t walk around downtown without tripping on a burger joint, and whether you want healthy, cheap, or splurgy, it’s all just a short trip away. And that’s only the restaurants.
Toronto also has an overwhelming number of awesome grocery stores and markets. Beyond your No Frills, Metros, and Loblaws, you’ve also got Whole Foods, McEwan, and Pusateri’s, not to mention amazing options like St. Lawrence Market, Evergreen Brickworks, and Highland Farms. Or if you need more creative ingredients, you can venture into Chinatown, Little India, or any of the many ethnic pockets in the city.
You’re going to do a lot of eating in your lifetime. It’s probably best to live somewhere that knows how to feed you.
You’ll Meet One of Everybody
With about 20 per cent of the country’s immigrants – half the population of the city was born outside Canada – if you live in Toronto you’ll hear about 140 different languages and dialects and meet people of literally every size, shape, and colour.
And as we’re now well aware, that makes for some great eats. But it also means that your average day at work, on the streets, or in the stores has the opportunity to be a bit more professionally and socially informative, inspiring, and generally more interesting than it would be living almost anywhere else in the world.
People Actually Live Downtown
During the week, most major cities turn into ghost towns after 8pm, and we’re not talking about Halloween parties. Toronto, on the other hand, never loses its heartbeat.
While it can result in some horrendous traffic and sardine cans for subways, it means that there’s always something going on and there are always people doing it. Part of it is because houses are so expensive that downtown apartments are the affordable alternative, but part of it is also that for a top-tier city, it’s not that crazy-expensive to live in a central location; average 1-bedroom apartment rent hovers around $1,500/month.
Whether you’re trying to get over a case of the Mondays or putting on your Weekend Warrior wear, if you live in Toronto you’ll almost never be rolling solo.
There’s Always Something Happening
Since so many people live in the city, Toronto has a lot of eyes, ears, and mouths that need filling… and it rarely shirks its duty to entertain.
Toronto has festivals, marathons, street fairs, parks, concerts, grand openings, fundraisers, art exhibits, tastings, after-hours poker, and just about anything else you can imagine doing in a concrete playground.
If you live in Toronto and you’re bored, you’re doing it wrong.
World Class Arts & Entertainment Culture
Whether it’s music, ballet, theater, film, or art, Toronto consistently provides the best the country has to offer. Everyone is well aware of the Toronto International Film Festival, but did you know that Toronto is host to more than twenty other film festivals? Hot Docs, Reel Asian Film Festival, Toronto Jewish Film Festival, European Union Film Festival, South Asian Film Festival… the list goes on.
Our large venues like the Molson Amphitheatre, The ACC, Massey Hall, The Sony Center, and The Kool Haus/Guvernment attract the world’s biggest acts. Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Bob Dylan, Cher, Beck, Nine Inch Nails, Soundgarden, Arcade Fire, The Black Keys; you will never miss a great act while living in Toronto.
Then you’ve got the new and amazing Four Seasons Center for the Performing Arts bringing you the finest of opera and ballet, the AGO with non-stop next-level art, The ROM with fascinating exhibits and Friday Night Live, theatre like The Book of Mormon, Evil Dead: The Musical, and Jersey Boys running throughout the year, and comedy like The Second City and Comedy Bar for everyday laughs as well as big name stand-up acts like Russell Peters, Demetri Martin, Jay Leno, and Bill Cosby all coming through town.
We would keep going but we’ve got a few shows to catch…
For a Huge City, Toronto is Really, Really Safe
Ontario and Quebec consistently rank as the provinces with the least amount of crime and Toronto, despite its enormous population, is always a role model. So far in 2014, Toronto has only had 47 homicides and only 153 total victims of violent crimes (in comparison, Chicago is currently sitting at 345 murders in 2014). And since 1981, Toronto has never been the “murder capital” of Canada; Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Calgary have.
In 2010, Maclean’s ranked Toronto 52nd for overall crime, maintaining its same position since 2010 while consistently being in the top 10 fastest growing cities in the country.
Whether it’s walking at night, letting your kids play outside, or flashing a wallet in a crowded area, in Toronto you’re usually safe and sound.
It’s the Only City in Canada with Four (and a half) Major Sports Teams
Now, we’re not saying Toronto has the most successful franchises, but nobody can say that the T-Dot isn’t a team player; everyone gets the chance for a little playing time now and then.
Baseball fans get to hit the Rogers Center to watch the Blue Jays regularly play classic squads like the Red Sox and the Yankees, football (or “soccer” for the uncultured, *scoff*) footies can experience arguably the most energetic of the city’s prs sports experiences by watching the TFC at BMO field, hockey-goers have the Maple Leafs, and basketball fans have the most exciting Raptors team in almost a decade. And if you’re a die-hard (American) football fan, there’s also the Toronto Argonauts.
Even if you’re not a huge sports fan, most people can appreciate the entertainment value and energy a full roster brings to a city. Just wait ‘til they all start winning.
As for Toronto, it clearly already is.
#NOTABLE
Cover photo from: istock.com/IngaL
Toronto Subway photo by: istock.com/ IMNATURE
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