Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yes, it's more "Brooklyn gritty" than "Buffalo gritty." Now watch people's heads explode...
I'm not sure which is more comical: the insistence that Yonge and Eglinton and North York Centre as being exciting areas equivalent to Santa Monica, the insistence that Los Angeles has a bigger downtown than Toronto, or the insistence that Toronto doesn't compare favorably with Cleveland let alone Philadelphia.
Yes, it's more "Brooklyn gritty" than "Buffalo gritty." Now watch people's heads explode...
I'm not sure which is more comical: the insistence that Yonge and Eglinton and North York Centre as being exciting areas equivalent to Santa Monica, the insistence that Los Angeles has a bigger downtown than Toronto, or the insistence that Toronto doesn't compare favorably with Cleveland let alone Philadelphia.
What is comical is people trying to Compare Toronto to Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, ( fill in whatever city you want ), etc. Each city has its own characteristics with some being more unique than others like New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. I have never heard of being 'gritty' as something to brag about.
[quote=botticelli;26920834]I don't buy that at all. Hipsters don't live in nicer polished buildings mostly because they can't afford them. I mean, for the same price, how many of those hipsters will choose those gritty old houses without AC and squeaking staircases over the Four Seasons and Shangri-la? Give me a break. New condos are uninspiring, so those mass produced nondescript Victoria houses where are present all over this continent are "inspiring"? They are even more boring than CityPlace condos.
You totally don't get it at all . Hipsters/artists DO move into crappier places BECAUSE they are crappier and they would rather puke in their mouths than move out of the city or buy a condo. That's why,to many, they're so confusing! Many of them will rent out a whole house in Brockton (lived with a bunch many years ago), Parkdale, St. Clair west, Junction, east end with their friends and set up a music studio in the basement. Having tiled pictures of "Maria" or some kind of biblical saint pinned up by their front door which was left behind by original Portuguese immigrants, or a 1960's pink and turquoise bathroom would be a selling feature to rent out a house or apartment. I know tons of these folks. Some have a strict "south of bloor only" mentality as well as to where they live. The "they can't afford it" argument is bunk as well. Hipsters are an unfortunate example of gentrification and many pretend to live the hip to be poor lifestyle while they get tons of support from their parents. In my opinion, what has and is happening to Little Portugal and Little Italy is heartbreaking.
There continues to be a mass exodus of hipsters from San Francisco to Oakland, California. This happened not because Oakland is cheaper, but because San Francisco wasn't cool anymore and it was becoming too popular now. No "normal" person would choose Oakland over San Francisco. Oakland is a dump, but those who moved there thought it would give them street cred. They're a very finicky and somewhat elitist group of people.
We must have different definitions of gritty but I agree downtown Hamilton is terrible. But I find many parts of downtown Toronto gritty, off the top of my head: Jarvis, Church, Wellesely, parts of Annex and Danforth, parts of Dundas West, Parkdale, Yonge south of Bloor, Cabbagetown, Regent Park, Parliment, parts of Queen East, and even parts of Harborfront are kinda gross. IMO, many areas do not have a classy, upscale feel to them and have a lot of unkept buildings and people and no so good schools. There is a lot of grit downtown IMO and that's part of what Toronto is. Not to say these places are cheap to buy in but how many areas downtown (south of Bloor) really have that upper end, upscale feel to it? Most of these types of neighborhoods are not really downtown, like High Park and Midtown or certain parts of the burbs in North York and Etibicoke.
If you think the public schools south of Bloor are bad...you can forget about L.A., New York (save a few "elite" publics like Stuyvessant), Chicago, etc. In inner-city Toronto, the majority of university-educated professionals send their kids to public schools. In the U.S., they either go to private schools or zip off off to affluent suburbs when their kids are of school age.
I'm no Canadian nationalist, but the retreat of the affluent from public institutions is far more pronounced in the U.S. (and in the U.K. for that matter). I'm just glad we have an elected school board independent of the municipal government and Rob Ford does not have the "strong mayor" powers of Rahm Emmanuel or Michael Bloomberg.
You totally don't get it at all . Hipsters/artists DO move into crappier places BECAUSE they are crappier and they would rather puke in their mouths than move out of the city or buy a condo. That's why,to many, they're so confusing! Many of them will rent out a whole house in Brockton (lived with a bunch many years ago), Parkdale, St. Clair west, Junction, east end with their friends and set up a music studio in the basement. Having tiled pictures of "Maria" or some kind of biblical saint pinned up by their front door which was left behind by original Portuguese immigrants, or a 1960's pink and turquoise bathroom would be a selling feature to rent out a house or apartment. I know tons of these folks. Some have a strict "south of bloor only" mentality as well as to where they live. The "they can't afford it" argument is bunk as well. Hipsters are an unfortunate example of gentrification and many pretend to live the hip to be poor lifestyle while they get tons of support from their parents. In my opinion, what has and is happening to Little Portugal and Little Italy is heartbreaking.
Agreed, hipsters are a counter-culture group. They will do anything to be different and stay away from anything mainstream, including fancy, luxury buildings. Different generations always create counter-culture groups like hippies, heavy metal folks, goths, and now hipsters. Honestly, I think most these people are just posers. But I can accept that people go through phases when they are young but I will say that I see a lot of old hipsters around too which I find truly confusing.
You totally don't get it at all . Hipsters/artists DO move into crappier places BECAUSE they are crappier and they would rather puke in their mouths than move out of the city or buy a condo. That's why,to many, they're so confusing! Many of them will rent out a whole house in Brockton (lived with a bunch many years ago), Parkdale, St. Clair west, Junction, east end with their friends and set up a music studio in the basement. Having tiled pictures of "Maria" or some kind of biblical saint pinned up by their front door which was left behind by original Portuguese immigrants, or a 1960's pink and turquoise bathroom would be a selling feature to rent out a house or apartment. I know tons of these folks. Some have a strict "south of bloor only" mentality as well as to where they live. The "they can't afford it" argument is bunk as well. Hipsters are an unfortunate example of gentrification and many pretend to live the hip to be poor lifestyle while they get tons of support from their parents. In my opinion, what has and is happening to Little Portugal and Little Italy is heartbreaking.
There continues to be a mass exodus of hipsters from San Francisco to Oakland, California. This happened not because Oakland is cheaper, but because San Francisco wasn't cool anymore and it was becoming too popular now. No "normal" person would choose Oakland over San Francisco. Oakland is a dump, but those who moved there thought it would give them street cred. They're a very finicky and somewhat elitist group of people.
Thanks for the explanation. Too me, the so-called "hipsters" are trying too hard to be different, which in itself is not cool in the first place.
Now I understand why they do this, but the question is, in that case, who gives a sh** about what hipsters like? Unless they are some sort of real artistic genius, they are simply poor people with no practical skills even to make a living on their own but thinking wearing some old jeans with 20 holes, freakish tattoos all over their body and carrying a cheap guitar somehow makes them unique.
Honestly, I think most these people are just posers. But I can accept that people go through phases when they are young but I will say that I see a lot of old hipsters around too which I find truly confusing.
If a hipster is 19, I can understand this counter-mainstream thing. But when he is 29 but still possess no real skills to find a job to support himself but claims to be an artist, he is just a common loser.
I will repeat: there is nothing gritty about Toronto, or anywhere else in the GTA for that matter.
It is not up for you to decide.
Parts of downtown and the inner suburbs are gritty, whether you admit it or not.
Yes, there are worse cities, but that doesn't change anything. It is like Montreal being a lot colder doesn't exactly make Toronto a warm city.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. Hipsters/artists DO move into crappier places BECAUSE they are crappier and they would rather puke in their mouths than move out of the city or buy a condo. That's why,to many, they're so confusing! Many of them will rent out a whole house in Brockton (lived with a bunch many years ago), Parkdale, St. Clair west, Junction, east end with their friends and set up a music studio in the basement. Having tiled pictures of "Maria" or some kind of biblical saint pinned up by their front door which was left behind by original Portuguese immigrants, or a 1960's pink and turquoise bathroom would be a selling feature to rent out a house or apartment. I know tons of these folks. Some have a strict "south of bloor only" mentality as well as to where they live. The "they can't afford it" argument is bunk as well. Hipsters are an unfortunate example of gentrification and many pretend to live the hip to be poor lifestyle while they get tons of support from their parents. In my opinion, what has and is happening to Little Portugal and Little Italy is heartbreaking. 
