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The only part of Toronto that seems the least bit sterile is the financial district and the Southcore area behind Union Station which contain many brand new office towers and condominiums. Unfortunately, many tourists who visit the city to see a sporting event at the Air Canada Centre or the Skydome (Rogers Centre), or visit the Aquarium or CN Tower rarely stray too far from said area other than checking out Yonge Dundas Square or shopping at the Eaton Centre or the upscale shops along Bloor Street.
Anyone who has ventured just beyond the immediate downtown core to the highly animated, graffiti strewn often gritty and eclectic neighbourhoods of West Queen West, Chinatown, Kensington Market, Parkdale, Little Italy, The Gay Village, The Annex, Little Portugal, Koreatown, Chinatown east, Little India, Greektown, or took a wrong turn and found themselves at Dundas and Sherbourne in Downtown East would be hard pressed to find anything resembling "sterile" as far as the eyes can see or the nose can smell!
As for diversity, there are really not "many American cities" that are as diverse as Toronto, really only one or two are in the same league (NYC and LA) and there are a few others which are quite diverse in their own way, but just do not reach the same level as you find in NYC, LA and Toronto. SF, and perhaps Houston come close, but they're not quite there.
Recent article about a BBC program which named Toronto the world's most diverse city:
American cities are not diverse at all. They also seem to be "confused" about what the term diversity means. They say "but we have lots of blacks and hispanics!!!" - no lol, that's not diversity. Certainly not in a Toronto or London (U.K) sense of the word. NYC is the closest thing possible to the American version of "diversity" but still.. not anywhere near to Toronto or U.K or many European cities.
American cities are not diverse at all. They also seem to be "confused" about what the term diversity means. They say "but we have lots of blacks and hispanics!!!" - no lol, that's not diversity. Certainly not in a Toronto or London (U.K) sense of the word. NYC is the closest thing possible to the American version of "diversity" but still.. not anywhere near to Toronto or U.K or many European cities.
I think you meant to say not very diverse or not as diverse. I can agree that some US cities are not very diverse,and I'm sure some cities in your country are not very diverse either, especially depending on what part of the country you are in. I'm not hung up on that being the most diverse is the be all end all of a city or metro area. Being the most diverse doesn't make you the richest, the most powerful, the most influential, or the most respected. I really don't think that's a title that world leaders really worry about, or even the average person out there. I mean who is counting anyway, like what's difference in the most diverse, very diverse, pretty diverse, fairly diverse, or somewhat diverse. I mean the average person is not keeping score or walking around their city worrying about something like that. If your city have that title congrats to you and your city, you should be proud, but does that make your city the absolute best on the planet. I think we overrate the diversity thing at times, it is a very good thing, but it's not everything. Some poor countries out there are very diverse also. Plus every country immigration policies are different, it is probably just harder to get into the US these days.
The only part of Toronto that seems the least bit sterile is the financial district and the Southcore area behind Union Station which contain many brand new office towers and condominiums. Unfortunately, many tourists who visit the city to see a sporting event at the Air Canada Centre or the Skydome (Rogers Centre), or visit the Aquarium or CN Tower rarely stray too far from said area other than checking out Yonge Dundas Square or shopping at the Eaton Centre or the upscale shops along Bloor Street.
Anyone who has ventured just beyond the immediate downtown core to the highly animated, graffiti strewn often gritty and eclectic neighbourhoods of West Queen West, Chinatown, Kensington Market, Parkdale, Little Italy, The Gay Village, The Annex, Little Portugal, Koreatown, Chinatown east, Little India, Greektown, or took a wrong turn and found themselves at Dundas and Sherbourne in Downtown East would be hard pressed to find anything resembling "sterile" as far as the eyes can see or the nose can smell!
As for diversity, there are really not "many American cities" that are as diverse as Toronto, really only one or two are in the same league (NYC and LA) and there are a few others which are quite diverse in their own way, but just do not reach the same level as you find in NYC, LA and Toronto. SF, and perhaps Houston come close, but they're not quite there.
Recent article about a BBC program which named Toronto the world's most diverse city:
That doesn't sound too desirable. I thought TO's nickname was Toronto the good? Of course I know times change.
Those neighbourhoods are teeming with life and most of the stuff that makes Toronto interesting, and most of them are very safe to explore at all hours (Downtown East can be extra sketchy at night). Toronto's somewhat gritty looking, graffiti bombed neighbourhoods West of Downtown are where most of the coolest places, hippest restaurants and best nightlife are located.
"Toronto the good" was Toronto's nickname well over 100 years ago, times have indeed changed, although Toronto is still extremely safe by big North American city standards.
I don't get how Toronto is perceived as sterile nowadays, as in clean/tidy. Have not been there but based on pictures on line there's tons of unsightly graffiti (one of their mayors wanted to get rid of it). Has it been cleaned?
I guess people have different perceptions of what clean is..
I came across this guy's youtube channel, lots of great videos of him driving around various American cities, plus some places outside the U.S. such as Toronto. Here he is taking a drive down Yonge Street in Toronto.
Largest major city to where I lived. Went there every fall for the theatre, much more pleasant and closer to me than NYC. My son went there for his advanced studies. The attraction for me in Ontario is the Englishness not the diversity.
Also love Kingston and Ottawa as much or more. Strange to hear the enemy fortifications were against us across the lake. Lots of Canadian families have relatives on both sides of the border.
After being on this forum for as long as I have, I am fully under the belief that if the Greater Toronto Area were to literally just become an independent city state of the US overnight and kept everything the exact same except for the Canadian flags turning into American flags, it would be considered one of the best cities in the entire world by people on this forum.
Instead it gets some sort of unique criticism that no other city on this board gets. I highly doubt there is another city on this site that gets so much negative criticism from people who have never even actually visited the place. It almost always loses the head to head polls unless it's compared to some obviously smaller <2,000,000 metro.
People act like it's ugly and boring. I even remember a head to head of Denver vs. Toronto in Cty vs. City where many (clearly) ignorant posters were saying how Toronto's architecture, education institutions, layout, and night life were inferior to Denver's. Like what? It's the liveliest city I've been to in the US and Canada after only New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas -- that's in a list including Chicago, Boston, San Fran, Seattle, Houston, Montreal, Tampa, and Philly.
There's a reason I chose this place when offered a job here, and why I will continue to live her as a Canadian/American dual citizen. It's the most balanced city/metro in North America, and it isn't even close. It's not the best at any one category, but it does everything very, very well. Everything. The Economist, Travel & Leisure, and Forbes seem to think so, too.
Maybe you're just biased as a Torontonian? Seriously, what does an American get from Toronto that is unique? Quebec has a fascinating culture. You can taste Francophone culture by driving for a few hours. That's neat. Vancouver and BC have the mountains. They can be a bit stale, but the Canadian Rockies are stunning, no doubt. But what does Toronto offer? Diversity? NYC and LA offer that in spades. Condos? We can see those in Miami, NYC, Chicago. Quirky hipster neighborhoods? Brooklyn, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle provide those. In the end few are impressed by Toronto because it doesn't provide something unique that can't be found anywhere in the U.S.
Really? Did you just say NYC is not multicultural? Whatever dude. Also yeah, 58 percent of Miami is foreign born
They live in a bubble. Many Torontonians think they are God's gift to the world unfortunately. And many have an infatuation with being "world class." You providing facts isn't going to change that. Even most Canadians these days have a horrible view of Toronto. It's seen as sterile, rude and snobbish. The condo boom seems to have gone to their heads. Unfortunately, dozens of cookie-cutter, blue-clad condos does not make a city great or "World-Class"
It's a fine city, but the nagging, whiny boosterism of many Torontonians rubs everyone the wrong way, Americans and Canadians alike.
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