Toronto area Vs. San Francisco Area (with poll) (living, restaurants)

[stiga9]

Man there isn't one of these yet! Crazy enough, these two cities are very similar.

The greater Toronto Area (GTA) has 6 mil people, and SF Bay area has 7 mil.
First, lets rule out weather, SF beats it hands down, AND feet down.

But in terms of living, entertainment, families, which is more fun, better?

Toronto has the 2nd biggest public transportation usage and system in US and Canada. SF has around 30 percent of their people using MUNI and BART.

Both cities have a huge chinese population throughout the metro (meaning both are very diverse, Toronto being more diverse though).
SF has the prettiest hills, Toronto has the prettiest skycrapers (sorry NYC, you're a little too dirty compared to Toronto).

Both is top 5 most visited place for tourism in north america.
Both one of the cleaner areas of north America, both growing, both highly rated place to live.

sorry, forgot to put poll earlier.

[ifeeldope]

I would go with Toronto even though i have much love for San Fran. Toronto is closer to other cities like Buffalo, Detroit, Rochester..4 seasons, diverse, uhh...free health care

[Newarkbomb]

I'd say Toronto.
I just never wanted to go to San Fran; I never heard or saw anything that caught my attention to want to go to San Fran.

Toronto has more to see i think. Different country, different rules, and it's one one of the biggest cities in Canada. And it would be interesting to check out.

[stiga9]

Originally Posted by Newarkbomb

I'd say Toronto.
I just never wanted to go to San Fran; I never heard or saw anything that caught my attention to want to go to San Fran.

Toronto has more to see i think. Different country, different rules, and it's one one of the biggest cities in Canada. And it would be interesting to check out.

Its THE biggest city in Canada by far =)

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by stiga9

Both cities have a huge chinese population throughout the metro (meaning both are very diverse, Toronto being more diverse though).

Actually Toronto is mainly comprised of white people and asians. These 2 groups account for what? 90% of the Golden Horeshoe.

The Bay Area like Toronto, has no racial majority but we also have 1 Million+ Asians and 1 Million+ Hispanics.

[pwright1]

For me it would definately be San Francisco. I love just about everything about SF. I love the architecture. It's dense, walkable, great shopping, culture, entertainment, restaurants, natural beauty, charm, public transportation, its all there. The weather in SF I could easily take over Toronto's. Plus the ocean, sf bay, wine country. I can't get enough.

[Atticman]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Actually Toronto is mainly comprised of white people and asians. These 2 groups account for what? 90% of the Golden Horeshoe.

The Bay Area like Toronto, has no racial majority but we also have 1 Million+ Asians and 1 Million+ Hispanics.

Actually that's incorrect. Toronto has large communities of immigrants from all over the world. The black community numbers over 350,000, and the South Asian community is in the 700,000 range. The Chinese community alone numbers approx. 500,000. There are many other ethnic and immigrant communities that number in the 50,000 to 200,000 range.

The Golden Horseshoe area (which is most properly compared to the Bay area) has a population of over 8 million, the 6 million figure mentioned by the OP is just for the much smaller Greater Toronto Area. Keep in mind that Canada and The U.S. use different methodologies when measuring metropolitan areas; the American metro areas are much more expansive in terms of what is included in population counts.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by Atticman

Actually that's incorrect. Toronto has large communities of immigrants from all over the world. The black community numbers over 350,000, and the South Asian community is in the 700,000 range. The Chinese community alone numbers approx. 500,000. There are many other ethnic and immigrant communities that number in the 50,000 to 200,000 range.

But for the most part, whites and asians comprise aproximately 90% of the population of the Toronto CMA.

The San Francisco Bay Area's two largest racial groups comprise about 65% of the total population.

[Steve-o]

Wow, great thread! This one made me think for awhile. Anyways, while I love San Fran, Toronto has the slight edge here for me. Close call!

[thedudewiththeplan]

Hard to say, they are both very nice cities with great density, public transportation, both the most liberal cities in North America. I guess I would give a slight edge to Toronto due to the snow (I love snow!) and Universal Health Care.