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I'll look into TO then. Its not like I go to NYC WEEKLY and its only an hour or 2 extra.
One other thing I was wondering about Toronto is it was said earlier:
"In Toronto, 90% of our population are back to their suburban homes watching TV by 7. Many are afraid of missing their 6:15pm Go train back to whatever suburbs they are from on a daily basis."
Could someone explain a little as to why this would be unless this is just Winter statement? Does this apply for summer as well?
I wouldn't characterize that as accurate... There is obviously a large number of people who commute from the burbs to DT for work and then leave to go home but Toronto also has a large native population that lives and works DT. Whoever said that doesn't live DT...
Well thats what my ULTIMATE goal would be but citizenship and immigration is making that kind of difficult.
-No family in the US
-I don't know an american to marry.
-I don't have $500,000 to take the investors route
-General labour not accepted for the job route. Thats for highy skilled in demand positions. I'm general.
-NYC itself is too expensive
Been trying to find loopholes to immigration but not having any luck and besides I don't want to take loopholes anyways. I want legal US citizenship but just don't think I qualify. Hell if I could get US citizenship I would live in the BRONX just to be a Subway ride away. But nope. Citizenship kind of built a fence with razor wire.
Which is why I need to find the best place in Canada that would be closest to NY in both vibe/feel and Greyhound travel time. Niagara to NYC is 8 hours as it is and I think about as CLOSE as you can get to NYC from Canada is Niagara as well.
I would say Toronto is going to be your best bet. It's not NYC and never will be but it's still one of the biggest cities on the continent and the downtown core is growing with lots of development so it's getting better all the time. In all honestly, moving to NYC without a good paying job is going to tough as well, but it can be done if you really sacrifice and persevere. Remember, you can "visit" the US for six months as a Canadian citizen so you can work with that. Or if you are studious, save up and go to school in the NY area then land a job there after. I've meet people who applied to NYU just because it's in NYC.
If you think about it, only Toronto, Montreal, Boston, DC, Chicago, Philly and SF are cities in Canada/US that I would say are urbanized in the NYC sense but of course not to the same degree. Other cities like LA are urban but in a different kind of way. So this is a select group and living in Toronto will give you a good urban experience, assuming that is what you are looking for. I think it's a good step. If you feel the need for a mega city then worry about making that move next. Personally, I enjoy most US/Canadian cities but I would much rather pack my bags and move to Asia if I didn't have circumstances holding me back. I think there is no better life experience than living and experiencing different places and bigger doesn't always mean better. If you have a chance in life, just do it. You will not regret it. Move to Toronto.
Last edited by johnathanc; 02-05-2014 at 04:08 PM..
In all honestly, moving to NYC without a good paying job is going to tough as well, but it can be done if your really persevere and are willing to sacrifice.
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I often think this way: I will never move to New York unless my income is sufficient for me to pay for the rent of a decent sized (500sf+) one bedroom apartment in Manhattan below 95 st.
NYC may be nice and vibrant and stuff, but it is not worth it to share an tiny apartment with a roommate or live anywhere but Manhattan fighting for space in the subway for over an hour one way each day. Queens or New Jersey is not New York living. It is like Vaughan or Scarborough aren't exactly Toronto.
Which is why I need to find the best place in Canada that would be closest to NY in both vibe/feel and Greyhound travel time. Niagara to NYC is 8 hours as it is and I think about as CLOSE as you can get to NYC from Canada is Niagara as well.
Niagara is hardly the closest. Even Montreal is closer to NYC than Niagara Falls. Kingston is slightly closer too.
I can't agree more. Residential, residential, residential. That's the striking difference. I was very very surprised how residential downtown Toronto is the first time I came here - I am glad more people living downtown, but the lack of decent retail on so many streets is disappointing.
Dundas West for example (except around Chinatown). Bathurst st. Jarvis st. Queen East. Bay st, University Ave. Plus All the dead quiet smaller side streets such as Huron, McCaul, Beverly, Berkeley, Ontario, Gerrard. It is just houses and apartments.
I don't find downtown being "tranquil" is a good thing. Toronto is very big and is 90% tranquil. Downtown shouldn't be tranquil. And that makes Toronto vibe not comparable to NYC at all.
The recent flood of condo towers makes it even more so. The only place in downtown I consider major retail is Eaton Centre. That's pretty much it. I do like many of the small independent shops that spread out sparingly throughout. They're charming and full of characters. You're right. Many of the major streets are far more residential than people would expect. I really don't mind having a rather quite downtown though. It's less stressful for pedestrians that way. Perhaps not so good for business, I suppose.
TO is exceedingly different from NYC. They're like apples and oranges really. It is hard to compare them and get meaningful result. Not that TO is lacking anything, but the vibrancy of NYC is unique even within the US. It is definitely one of favorite cities.
True.
And my observation is that tons of new projects are slated to be completed in 2016/2017/2018.
I bet in 4 years, downtown Toronto will be quite different from today, and I am really looking forward to that.
This may be the case, but don't forget that many of the units sold in those condo towers belong to foreign buyers with hot money for investment purpose and not for living in. Unless everyone of those get rented out, otherwise they'd be just left empty and who knows for how long. The rent they charge is not going to be cheap and there will be a great number of units flooding the market when all those project are completed in few years time.
This may be the case, but don't forget that many of the units sold in those condo towers belong to foreign buyers with hot money for investment purpose and not for living in. Unless everyone of those get rented out, otherwise they'd be just left empty and who knows for how long. The rent they charge is not going to be cheap and there will be a great number of units flooding the market when all those project are completed in few years time.
Even in the unlikely event that a quarter of the units remain 'empty' - there are still tens of thousands of units to be occupied over the next few years and it has been and will continue to have an enormous impact in the DT core. How anyone can deny this is astonishing.. Do you live in DT Toronto and have perused these phantom condo's that are all empty?
Even in the unlikely event that a quarter of the units remain 'empty' - there are still tens of thousands of units to be occupied over the next few years and it has been and will continue to have an enormous impact in the DT core. How anyone can deny this is astonishing.. Do you live in DT Toronto and have perused these phantom condo's that are all empty?
Fusion or whoever else can answer this. Is ground floor retail included in all of these new condo's? I see the cranes all over the place when I visit, but never paid much attention to the design. It is great to add more people to the downtown core, but we need more things for them to do and retail of all sorts (shopping, restaurants, bars, etc...) are what really liven up a city.
Restaurants especially are what make a city vibrant. Shopping tends to shut down early everywhere, but restaurants can stay open until all hours of the night.
Well thats what my ULTIMATE goal would be but citizenship and immigration is making that kind of difficult.
-No family in the US
-I don't know an american to marry.
-I don't have $500,000 to take the investors route
-General labour not accepted for the job route. Thats for highy skilled in demand positions. I'm general. -NYC itself is too expensive
Been trying to find loopholes to immigration but not having any luck and besides I don't want to take loopholes anyways. I want legal US citizenship but just don't think I qualify. Hell if I could get US citizenship I would live in the BRONX just to be a Subway ride away. But nope. Citizenship kind of built a fence with razor wire.
Which is why I need to find the best place in Canada that would be closest to NY in both vibe/feel and Greyhound travel time. Niagara to NYC is 8 hours as it is and I think about as CLOSE as you can get to NYC from Canada is Niagara as well.
Thats the big one. If you really wanna live in NYC its gonna cost you. Otherwise you can still live there but in other parts of the city that are away from the "action" like parts of Queens, BK, the Bronx, or even outside the city in NJ. Living in the outer boroughs are fine. It just depends on what you want.
If money is the big issue for you, you can still live in a big city that has lots to do, offers good public transit/subways and travel to NYC once in a while. Chicago, Toronto and Philly are all great cities with a lot to offer. No they are not NYC, but they are great cities.
Condos to be finished in 2014-2018 (only between Sherboune and Spadina)
2014: Aura, L tower, U, X2, Theatre Park, Five, RCMI, Ivory, Posthouse, Nicolas, Pinacle Adelaide, Peter, Tablaeu, B street, Berczy, fashin house
2015: One Bloor, Ice, Karma, PACE, 60 Colboune, Waterlink, 1000 Bay, Casa II, Chaz, Bond, Backstage, Carnary,
2016: One York, 88 Scott, 21 Ave Road, YC condo, Massey, Piccaso,Monde
2017: 16 York, 45 Bay, Core Condo,
2018: Yonge/Rich, Dundas Sq Garden
Tens of thousands of people will be moving downtown!
Thats a lot. Plus there much more like U Condos, INDX Condos etc.
The only gripe I have is that transit should be boosted at a similar rate in the core. The only transit related developments I can think of that are going on are the Union Station expansion, the UPX rail link, and the new streetcars that roll out this year on selected streets.
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