Toronto vs Boston (populations, market, states, unemployment)
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The three top tier North American cities that I think are most similar are Boston-Montreal-San Francisco. I'd like to see a poll for those cities. Not much in common between Boston and Toronto, although they're two of my favorites in NA. I guess I have to give my vote to the one I'd most like to live in - so, T.O. it is. It's dynamic, very well maintained, cosmopolitan and there is a lot of exciting development going on right now. I like Boston's character, history -- and its seafood! Boston's a great city too.
I would give the nod to Boston over Toronto in overall economic terms but at the same time each city has its own strengths in specific industry clusters - Boston though is more competitive and has a higher GDP. I do cringe when people use CSA GDP comparisons to Canadian cities when Canadian cities don't measure CSA's.....
I would also imagine that Bostons elite wealthy are more wealthy than Toronto's - for the avg joe not so much..
I also prefer the history of Boston over Toronto..In many other areas however, I think Toronto has it over Boston.. International tourism, festivals, arts and culture and an overall bigger/more cosmo/International city..
I agree with you about International Tourism (I assume the numbers are higher for Toronto, never really looked), Festivals and being a bigger international city. But on the arts and culture its tough for me to agree.
Toronto has the bigger mainstream Theater scene but its hard to argue about the quality and diversity in Boston's. It gets the mainstream shows (The Broadway casts use Boston as a training ground before they hit NYC) but also community theater is so big in Boston. Not sure if you watched the Tony awards, but the American Repertory Theater and Huntington Theater Company cleaned up at the awards and was named best regional theater company.
For Ballet and Opera, both represent themselves nicely. For Symphony orchestra the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops are viewed as one of the "Big Five" and Symphony Hall is viewed as one of the two best acoustically sound symphony halls in the world. It is also regarded as one of the top 3 halls in the world overall as well.
For Museums I have to give the nod to Boston as well, both have interesting lineups:
Also for performing arts you can't discount the presence of world class music/performing arts/visual arts schools like Berklee, MassArt and Emerson which Toronto has no equal. I can go to a local Jazz club and hear the next big act playing locally while they are still unknown and studying at Berklee. For example in the past: http://www.berklee.edu/awards/alumni-grammy-winners
So I would not just assume culture is better in Toronto as Boston can hang or even surpass most. Both are cultural heavyweights though, not losing anything being in either.
Last edited by edwardsyzzurphands; 08-08-2013 at 10:14 AM..
I like Toronto a bit better, nightlife/food/exciting/way more diverse/high rise living, but would pick Boston to live b/c of it's coastal and New England location.
Yep, Toronto is the 4th best city in the world to live in, according to The Economist's list: (Perth and Adelaide are tied at 8th and 9th.)
The Economist's World's Most Liveable Cities 2011 (Top 10):
City Country Rating
1 Vancouver Canada 98.0
2 Melbourne Australia 97.5
3 Vienna Austria 97.4
4 Toronto Canada 97.2
5 Calgary Canada 96.6
6 Helsinki Finland 96.2
7 Sydney Australia 96.1
8 Perth Australia 95.9
Adelaide Australia 95.9
10 Auckland New Zealand 95.7
Does anybody actually use any of this crap... Out of those I'd only really consider Sydney and Melbourne based on personal circumstances.
Somebody else might only consider Vancouver and Calgary...
It's using a PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) measurement. It takes GDP and then adjusts it in order to reflect equal purchasing power across the board.
Even using your $323B, that would put slightly below Boston (which was at about $326B in 2011) despite being a far larger metro.
And, as previously mentioned, moving beyond the raw measurement of GDP, Boston is ahead Toronto in finance and far ahead of Toronto in industries like high tech, biotech, medical research/life sciences, nanotech and higher education.
Oh for sure - I'm more than aware that Boston has a larger GDP and thanks for the clarification of PPP.. having said that - We don't have to pay for healthcare like you do plus we have access to a more extensive social services net that will spillover into industry. We aren't exactly as capitalistic in model as the U.S and it is going to show in GDP numbers imo. We also have plenty more FOBS to deal with here (isn't bad it actually adds to our vibrancy and mosaic) but yeah is going to be an anchor vs a 3rd to 7th generation American who is educated at Harvard or MIT. This is not an attack against Boston but these things are what they are and there's usually more to a story than just raw GDP numbers - especially when you are crossing international lines.
I agree with you about International Tourism (I assume the numbers are higher for Toronto, never really looked), Festivals and being a bigger international city. But on the arts and culture its tough for me to agree.
Toronto has the bigger mainstream Theater scene but its hard to argue about the quality and diversity in Boston's. It gets the mainstream shows (The Broadway casts use Boston as a training ground before they hit NYC) but also community theater is so big in Boston. Not sure if you watched the Tony awards, but the American Repertory Theater and Huntington Theater Company cleaned up at the awards and was named best regional theater company.
For Ballet and Opera, both represent themselves nicely. For Symphony orchestra the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops are viewed as one of the "Big Five" and Symphony Hall is viewed as one of the two best acoustically sound symphony halls in the world. It is also regarded as one of the top 3 halls in the world overall as well.
For Museums I have to give the nod to Boston as well, both have interesting lineups:
Also for performing arts you can't discount the presence of world class music/performing arts/visual arts schools like Berklee, MassArt and Emerson which Toronto has no equal. I can go to a local Jazz club and hear the next big act playing locally while they are still unknown and studying at Berklee. For example in the past: Alumni Grammy Winners | Berklee College of Music
So I would not just assume culture is better in Toronto as Boston can hang or even surpass most. Both are cultural heavyweights though, not losing anything being in either.
Nice list and I agree with you they both are strong in Arts and Culture. You are missing museums from Toronto but i'm sure you didn't capture all of Boston's either and it can get to the point where we are splitting hairs - you just aren't going to get the same International and diverse vibe as you would in Toronto in Boston (more established and more vanilla - though it would have more of an egalitarian vibe). I'd be very surprised that the number of festivals or size of those festivals would equal Toronto (which fits into arts and culture), TIFF and theatre scene which I believe Is far on top in T.O. There's just something to be said for our wide ranging diversity and size including on the gay front.. Toronto is just a bigger, more diverse and more pulsing place.
Oh for sure - I'm more than aware that Boston has a larger GDP and thanks for the clarification of PPP.. having said that - We don't have to pay for healthcare like you do plus we have access to a more extensive social services net that will spillover into industry. We aren't exactly as capitalistic in model as the U.S and it is going to show in GDP numbers imo. We also have plenty more FOBS to deal with here (isn't bad it actually adds to our vibrancy and mosaic) but yeah is going to be an anchor vs a 3rd to 7th generation American who is a white bread guy educated at Harvard or MIT.
True, they are different systems and will give different results...both with their own advantages and disadvantages. However, FWIW, Massachusetts is actually the first/only state in the US to implement a system not unlike universal healthcare. Most healthcare is still provided by private insurance, but the system is much different than the rest of the US.
Regarding immigrants, there are a bunch in Boston but I'm sure it's nowhere near the levels of Toronto. I personally love it. I think it adds so much flavor and culture to the cities.
I like Boston. What I like about it in particular is it is probably the most "mature" big city in North America - it doesn't aspire to be America's "big city" and seems confident as a bastion of history and intellectualism. Toronto and Boston serve very different "functions" in their respective countries. Toronto is more diverse and feels "bigger" but Boston is no slouch in the diversity area; Toronto also has more vibrant streets than pretty much anywhere than NYC and Montreal. Also Boston is more of an "egghead" city than just about anywhere in North America (except maybe DC) and has a very highly educated and cultured population - something like 45% of greater Boston has a college degree (while Toronto, Chicago and even New York are more "working class" cities). While Toronto has a "critical" mass for high culture as well, the average "man on the street" in Boston is probably more "cultured" than just about anywhere on the continent. However (and this is likely related to its history) it seems more "elitist" and status conscious than elsewhere in North America.
Both cities however have a lot of donut shops.
Last edited by King of Kensington; 08-08-2013 at 07:56 PM..
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U of T is not better than Harvard? Say it ain't so
