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Fact is, it is mostly subjective and we could debate it forever
Your last sentence pretty much sums it up, this is completely subjective. How a site like Mercer (as reputable a company it is) can measure something like QOL has always been lost on me.
Every major city in the "First world" offers a high standard of living as long as you can make a living.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack
This is something of an eternal debate here. It is why you often see comments about Toronto lacking personality, character, a culture of its own. Or hear that Montreal has more character than Toronto even though it is smaller, blablabla. And then Torontonians will counter that no one of this is true. And it goes on and on.
I would say that Toronto's diversity is only one factor. An even bigger factor is the fact that Toronto happens to be the metropolis of an entire country whose identity/culture/personality is very diffuse and hard to pin down.
If you look at New York City, for example, it is very diverse as well and it has a much more clearly defined identity and culture than Toronto does.
That's true, I know both New York and Chicago are very diverse but both have very strong identities/a sense of local pride. From speaking to Canadians I get the sense a lot of Canadians don't have as much provincial or city pride as Americans. Except maybe the Quebecois and maybe Newfies. Do you think that's true?
Toronto almost seems too diverse. Nothing wrong with it, but is there a strong sense of identity in such a transient place?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack
This is something of an eternal debate here. It is why you often see comments about Toronto lacking personality, character, a culture of its own. Or hear that Montreal has more character than Toronto even though it is smaller, blablabla. And then Torontonians will counter that no one of this is true. And it goes on and on.
I would say that Toronto's diversity is only one factor. An even bigger factor is the fact that Toronto happens to be the metropolis of an entire country whose identity/culture/personality is very diffuse and hard to pin down.
If you look at New York City, for example, it is very diverse as well and it has a much more clearly defined identity and culture than Toronto does.
A little story of mine: Just a few days ago I found out something funny. I was driving down to NYC area and everytime I entered each states I was able to see those big signs with their nicknames. "The Empire State" for New York, "State of Independence" for Pennsylvania, and although New Jersey didn't have such sign, New Jersey cars had their plates saying "The Garden State."
Then I stopped by for a break and happened to see my Ontario plate which I never looked closely, and it said "Yours to Discover." I lol'd.
Maybe Toronto and Ontario lacking identity is more official than some of us think?
A little story of mine: Just a few days ago I found out something funny. I was driving down to NYC area and everytime I entered each states I was able to see those big signs with their nicknames. "The Empire State" for New York, "State of Independence" for Pennsylvania, and although New Jersey didn't have such sign, New Jersey cars had their plates saying "The Garden State."
Then I stopped by for a break and happened to see my Ontario plate which I never looked closely, and it said "Yours to Discover." I lol'd.
Maybe Toronto and Ontario lacking identity is more official than some of us think?
Do you remember when Ontario plates used to say "keep it beautiful"?
That's true, I know both New York and Chicago are very diverse but both have very strong identities/a sense of local pride. From speaking to Canadians I get the sense a lot of Canadians don't have as much provincial or city pride as Americans. Except maybe the Quebecois and maybe Newfies. Do you think that's true?
These are certainly the two strongest regional cultures in Canada. Newfoundland only joined Canada in 1949 and prior to that was a British colony and even a de facto independent country for a period.
As for Quebec, its identity is very "national" and is not really that dissimilar from that of small countries like Denmark and Sweden. Many Quebecers (even those who are not separatists) tend to view their relationship to the rest of Canada through a "European Union''-type prism. Basically, that Quebec is the real nation or country which then it opts to share a certain number of things with a larger entity called Canada. This last perception is of course a fallacy and inaccurate, as Canada is a far tighter and closer arrangement than the EU, but what can I say - people will think what they want.
"State of Independence" and "Empire State" are meaningless phrases. New York or Pennsylvania no more has a unique "identity" than does Ontario. They are all part of North American English-speaking culture, and they have their own unique attributes in some areas.
Do you remember when Ontario plates used to say "keep it beautiful"?
Just did a little research - I didn't even exist back then. lol
Does that quote have anything to do with history or whatever? Or is it simply telling me to keep the province beautiful?
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