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Everyone thinks I am making this thread only to bash Markham. I am not.
Many other similar city to city threads between different suburbs have gotten far more replies. Markham vs. Irvine is no different.
Markham has much better Chinese food than Irvine, for one. And arguably better public transit.
Not at all. I think most of us know you as a self loathing Californian. I'm making a friendly suggestion that Houston may be for you. It has everything benefit you would get from OC, weather being the exception.
Looking at Google Maps, Richmond Hill and Markham look like very well-planned, upscale areas indeed. And they seem to be quite dense and compact for a suburb. However, I really don't see that much high-density development in Richmond Hill, hardly any high-rise apartments at all. Irvine does actually have a few high-rise apartments, and more high-rise office buildings (up to 21 stories). Also, Richmond Hill has a population density of around 5,000/sq mile, whereas Irvine has a population density of around 4,000, BUT when Irvine is fully built out the population density will be around 5,000, AND 40% of Irvine's area will be permanently preserved as wilderness and parks, so the actual population density of Irvine's built-up area is actually more like 8000-9000 sq. mile. It seems like Richmond Hill is already mostly built-up, with far less preserved open space, and therefore won't get any denser than it is right now. Unless Richmond Hill is another version of Richmond or Burnaby, near Vancouver, I don't see how it's denser than Irvine. Correct me if I'm wrong, but going off of Google Maps I see that even the single family homes in Irvine are far more closely packed on smaller lots than they are in Richmond Hill/Markham.
Of course Markham and Richmond Hill beat Irvine when it comes to the Chinese presence--Irvine has only a 17% Chinese population, while Markham hovers at around 40%. I am always wowed at how clean heavily Chinese areas in Canada are compared to, say, the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles, which is rather run down. (And I'm Chinese myself--not being racist here!)
I did only see a small part, so maybe it's more suburban further out.
Just looking at Google Maps, that's definitely the densest part of Richmond Hill. 95% of Richmond Hill looks like single family homes and townhomes. And Irvine has areas with even more high rises.
I am always wowed at how clean heavily Chinese areas in Canada are compared to, say, the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles, which is rather run down. (And I'm Chinese myself--not being racist here!)
There is nothing "run down" about most of Pasadena, San Gabriel, or any of Sierra Madre, San Marino, or Arcadia. I don't know what San Gabriel Valley you have been to, but it certainly is not the one that I have experienced.
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