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The high-end designer brands really serve more as bragging rights than playing any tangible role in anyone's life. There are all the luxury brands on Bloor West in Toronto, and I can point at them and say "see we have this and that", but really, what's the point. I will never shop them in my life and their existence means nothing to 95% of the city's population. I have lived in LA and seen Rodeo Drive, and shown it with some pride to visiting friends, but in the end, it only shows something about the consumerism in the city and nothing else.
When we talk about shopping, why do people automatically think of luxury brands as if they have anything to do with them? Designer clothes in my view are nothing but marketing stratification for the sole purpose of profit maximization. Beyond a certain price, the added benefit of quality is basically close to zero. Honestly, with the label, who can really tell the different between a Gucci and a non-designer dress with good quality? Many designer clothes are hideous and people are just pretending to like them.
If that counts that much, Central Valley, New York must be an ass-kicking city due to the existence of the woodbury premium outlet.
Some high end designers put out very nice clothes, but people who chase after "labels" are typically folks with very low taste who cant put together a decent outfit on their own. Go out and find a proper local tailor and get your clothes made properly for half the price of a high end designer. Sure it is fine to augment your wardrobe with a few pieces here and there, but the majority of it shows you have zero taste.
With that said, LA I know for a fact has a ton of exceptional local smaller designers and is truly a shopping mecca at all ends of the spectrum. Rodeo Drive is not where you find them though. As far as Montreal is concerned I am sure the local designer scene is great there as well, but is it just me or is the city's sense of style overrated? I always hear how Montreal folks dress so well, but I really dont get that impression when I am there. It isnt a badly dressed city in the least but this super fashion forward place that people make it out to be is not exactly the impression I get either.
The high-end designer brands really serve more as bragging rights than playing any tangible role in anyone's life. There are all the luxury brands on Bloor West in Toronto, and I can point at them and say "see we have this and that", but really, what's the point. I will never shop them in my life and their existence means nothing to 95% of the city's population. I have lived in LA and seen Rodeo Drive, and shown it with some pride to visiting friends, but in the end, it only shows something about the consumerism in the city and nothing else.
When we talk about shopping, why do people automatically think of luxury brands as if they have anything to do with them? Designer clothes in my view are nothing but marketing stratification for the sole purpose of profit maximization. Beyond a certain price, the added benefit of quality is basically close to zero. Honestly, with the label, who can really tell the different between a Gucci and a non-designer dress with good quality? Many designer clothes are hideous and people are just pretending to like them.
If that counts that much, Central Valley, New York must be an ass-kicking city due to the existence of the woodbury premium outlet.
To be fair, rising poverty levels are a common trend among high priced metro areas and cities in both the US and Canada. Does that automatically make a city less of a desirable place to live? I choose to live in a city (Cambridge) which has a 16% poverty rate, which is much too high. London, UK has almost a quarter of its residents living in poverty as well. You choose to live in a city (Toronto) which has almost a 1/4th of its population living in poverty(Nearly a quarter of Toronto residents live in poverty: James | Toronto Star) But does that make them bad places to live? We both know that while poverty is an issue in the GTA, if you are a Canadian who wants to further their career in the largest economic center, then Toronto trumps Montreal professionally every day of the week.
So brining up poverty levels in this discussion does not tell the entire story. Even though anything above 10% in my opinion is a black eye for a city, but with rising costs it is our new reality.
To be fair, rising poverty levels are a common trend among high priced metro areas and cities in both the US and Canada. Does that automatically make a city less of a desirable place to live? I choose to live in a city (Cambridge) which has a 16% poverty rate, which is much too high. London, UK has almost a quarter of its residents living in poverty as well. You choose to live in a city (Toronto) which has almost a 1/4th of its population living in poverty(Nearly a quarter of Toronto residents live in poverty: James | Toronto Star) But does that make them bad places to live? We both know that while poverty is an issue in the GTA, if you are a Canadian who wants to further their career in the largest economic center, then Toronto trumps Montreal professionally every day of the week.
So brining up poverty levels in this discussion does not tell the entire story. Even though anything above 10% in my opinion is a black eye for a city, but with rising costs it is our new reality.
I never said more poverty = a bad place to live. I'm fully aware of Toronto's poverty rate.
I'm simply relating how the cost of living and poverty relate to each other. Check the article out.
Toronto's cost of living is not like LA or even SF. Those cities have a higher cost of living.
To be fair, rising poverty levels are a common trend among high priced metro areas and cities in both the US and Canada. Does that automatically make a city less of a desirable place to live? I choose to live in a city (Cambridge) which has a 16% poverty rate, which is much too high. London, UK has almost a quarter of its residents living in poverty as well. You choose to live in a city (Toronto) which has almost a 1/4th of its population living in poverty(Nearly a quarter of Toronto residents live in poverty: James | Toronto Star) But does that make them bad places to live? We both know that while poverty is an issue in the GTA, if you are a Canadian who wants to further their career in the largest economic center, then Toronto trumps Montreal professionally every day of the week.
So brining up poverty levels in this discussion does not tell the entire story. Even though anything above 10% in my opinion is a black eye for a city, but with rising costs it is our new reality.
Given that the national poverty rate in the US is around 11%, the nation has a black eye essentially, let alone the cities, in that regard.
I think we get your point by now. And in any other SF/Bay area threads as well.
Both cities have their merits. Does it always have be oversimplified to something like this?
Yes well I'm not stopping anyone from making their points. fyi.
Los Angeles has the 4th highest concentration of ultra high net worth individuals on the planet.
Quote:
Individuals worth $30 million+, 2013 1. New York 8,025
2. London 6,360
3. Tokyo 6,015 4. LOS ANGELES 4,945
5. San Francisco 4,840
6. Paris 3,195
7. Hong Kong 3,180
8. Mexico City 2,695
9. Washington DC 2,675
10. Chicago 2,665
The high-end designer brands really serve more as bragging rights than playing any tangible role in anyone's life.
I agree. Besides the wealthy and the rich, the average person probably doesn't think about top notch shopping brands a whole lot. I'm sure these brands do play a role in the lives of the rich, though.
I never said more poverty = a bad place to live. I'm fully aware of Toronto's poverty rate.
I'm simply relating how the cost of living and poverty relate to each other. Check the article out.
Toronto's cost of living is not like LA or even SF. Those cities have a higher cost of living.
You will probably also find those living within the poverty rates in cities like toronto and montreal have access to a better social safety net.
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