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Toronto is really quite a distance from New England. I'd have to say there are very few similarities between Toronto and Boston.
I think the large Canadian cities, and the Canadian regions in general, have more in common with the areas of the USA that are directly south of them and more or less adjacent. The Canadian Maritimes are a lot like New England. Montreal is sort of a unique exception, then Ottawa and Toronto have a lot in common with the American area around the Great Lakes (um, except for Detroit -- perhaps another unique exception...) Calgary has a lot in common culturally with the areas south of it, so I hear, and Vancouver has a lot in common with the Washington and Oregon region. Some geographers have been making this same observation for a long time. I think there's a movement to join BC with WA and OR, I can't remember the hypothetical name of this entity though...
I'd have to say that Detroit isn't actually so much an exemption as an oddity, there is a Canadian city with a very similar look and feel to it, although somewhat newer in architectural style, the catch, it's actually south of Detroit. Windsor Ontario, a mid-sized Canadian city (CMA:337,000 people), and arguably part of metro Detroit, does in fact feel similar to Detroit's middle class suburban areas, and many of it's suburban cities. Although Windsor's economy isn't as tied to Detroit as many places are to a directly adjacent city, the two are inarguably intertwined, and as such can be considered contiguous, something locals will adamantly deny. The two cities share common media outlets, shopping areas, and have overlapping transit systems despite being in two different nations.
There are things from Detroit which as notably missing in Windsor, Windsor lacks some of the Mexican-American influence found in Detroit, it is instead replaced with a French-Canadian influence. Approximately15% of Windsor's population are "Franco-Ontarien." From a cultural perspective the two are almost identical, sharing similar beliefs and values, Windsorittes can be misidentified by other Canadian's as American, many people in the region use F˚ over C˚, even among small children. Windsor is also built in a similar manner to Detroit, with a number of roads maintaining their respective names across the Detroit river in Canada.
I find it hard to compare to the Northeast because I didn't find the tough culture one sometimes encounters in the northeast (NYC, Boston, Providence, etc. - although perhaps I stereotype from limited experience?).
I've never thought of the Northeast as having a "tough culture".
Toronto is Toronto to me. I can't really compare it to the other cities in the mid western or north eastern part of the U.S. cities. I can only compare it in terms to NYC in that it is very, very multicultural and cosmopolitan. Other than that, it has it's own thing going on.
I've never thought of the Northeast as having a "tough culture".
What's a "tough culture"?
I think he means folks internalize their emotions a lot more. Less welcoming, more keeping to one self.
Although my experience in non-northeastern cities is limited I did notice during a road trip from Montreal to Miami that people got increasingly 'soft' (looking for an opposite to tough here lol) as the trek continued downwards. By soft I mean people's guards weren't raised (socially) and people seemed more eager to know your story, and share theirs.
Exception being South Florida, which we all know is kind of a northeast transplant city.
For the record I enjoy the open, welcoming style in the south but being used to a big northern city, I'm well aware that the 'toughness' is just a mutually agreed upon facade; the longer you engage someone the more you realize people aren't actually 'colder' in the North.
I've never thought of the Northeast as having a "tough culture".
What's a "tough culture"?
Whaddareyou lookin' at, tough guy?
My experience is admittedly based on attending a fairly conservative college in New York State with a lot of suburban New Yorkers ... when they were drunk, there was lots of fighting going on, and in general lots of competition and conformity. Maybe it was the upper-middle-class version of "Jersey Shore"? Not at all easygoing like I often find people in cities like Minneapolis, Portland, San Francisco or Denver (the latter two where I've lived).
This is certainly one element, who were over-represented at my college, as the next college over was a liberal artsy place and the people were quite friendly (and the girls better looking ... oh well).
Anyways, what I mean to say is Toronto is so darn nice its hard to compare to some northeastern cities like NY or Philly ...
Never been, but Toronto seems like a more modern, less dilapidated Great Lakes city. Maybe what Detroit might have been if it hadn't had gone downhill. It's tempting to compare it to Chicago, but I feel Toronto is more urban, despite Chicago's impressive skyline and massive core, with lots of high rises more like that of New York City, Vancouver or Miami. Toronto also has a multicultural population like NYC and Chicago, while Detroit and Buffalo seem less diverse. Of course Toronto's city isn't majority black like Detroit or Cleveland.
Is the architecture more like Midwestern or Northeastern cities? It seems more Midwestern, since it's not a very old city (although older than Chicago, similar in age to Detroit). I think it largely boomed in the past 50 years or so too.
As a Torontonian who lives in Boston and has had a couple of good friends move to NY (so I'm there a lot), I can tell you Toronto is definitely more Mid-Western than East Coast. I recognize that NY and Boston are very different different to begin with but based on my experiences, I find the East Coast culture to be more direct, faster-paced, focused on work, rooted more in history and tradition, and I hate to say it, but a bit elitist. Not too say these things don't exist anywhere else but I (and my friends) found it quite prevalent. I think Canadians draw parallels b/w NY and Toronto because NY is the financial centre of the US/World and Toronto is Canada's financial centre, plus Toronto is relatively faced-paced compared to the rest of Canada but I think Toronto's culture/vibe is closer to Chicago. Toronto is more multicultural and it is in a different country with different social systems, etc. but that being said, the people are more polite/reserved, practical, friendly, even-tempered, and value lifestyle more. Toronto is smaller than Chicago (5m vs. 8m) in populatioin and GDP (270b vs. 575b) but they are both regional centres and the locals seem to have a similar attitude: get the work done now lets focus on hockey or football or cottage or family or whatever. East Coast people seem to be more overworked but when it comes time to relax, they take less time off but spend it more on luxury. This is all based on my experience.
One thing about Toronto... it's booming and alive. When business gets out and people go home, the city remains alive right through the entire night. People are always walking in the streets. The inner city is actually growing very fast. There are over 150 condo buildings being built in the city of Toronto with another 150 going up in suburb regions of Toronto (more than any other city on the planet). It's a vibrant and growing city. Unlike alot of US cities that are ghost towns on the weekends and at night... Toronto is the opposite. Take a stroll through downtown Toronto during a weekend or a weeknight and you will see bustling activity. I was out on the recent May 24th weekend and it was shoulder to shoulder crowds, it felt like the center of the universe.
I was out on the recent May 24th weekend and it was shoulder to shoulder crowds, it felt like the center of the universe.
Please don't stretch it.
Have you been to Tokyo, or Hong Kong, or Shanghai? If you had, wouldn't think Toronto is anything close to being crowded, even in downtown.
Centre of the universe - you hope you were being sarcastic. It is hardy the centre of Canada. Toronto is the centre of GTA.
^ Relax buddy. It's only an expression. But Toronto is basically the center of Canada. It's much larger than any other city in the country by a long shot. It's the business capital, cultural capital, and entertainment capital. And trust me... I've been to every single major Canadian city from Halifax to Montreal to Ottawa to Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria and Vancouver. Toronto beats them all for hustling activity.
As for larger Asian cities, of course they dwarf anything in North America. I was talking in comparison to many US and Canadian cities. I've been to every major US city and with the exception of New York, Toronto is the most "alive" city during non work hours. You need to take a chill pill.
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