Toronto and Vancouver might be two of Canada's biggest cities, but life in each is as different as it gets.
Joni Mitchell once said, “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.” Most people think this song is an environmentalist anthem about destruction and excessive urban development. But it turns out it's actually about me, leaving the West Coast for Toronto and learning, the hard way, what it means to trade mountain views for the CN Tower and fresh air for whatever's happening at College Station during a heatwave.
After spending five years immersed in the smells and sounds of the 6ix, I made my way back to Vancouver—and suddenly, the simple things I once took for granted (tap water) started hitting different.
So, in honour of hindsight and a humbling return, here are 11 things I missed about Vancouver when I lived in Toronto.
The sea to sky highway
Toronto may have the Gardiner Expressway and a high collective blood pressure to go with it, but nothing, and I mean nothing, can compare to the Sea to Sky Highway. (It's in the name—Sea to Sky! Are you kidding?).
In Vancouver, the commute to Whistler doubles as a car commercial. It’s one of my favourite things to do with first-time visitors, and no matter the weather, it will always leave your passenger princess adorably in awe. In Toronto, your biggest natural highway wonder is a slush puddle the size of a Smart car.
No humidity
Remember that Friends episode in Mexico where Monica's hair kept expanding until it had a sort of electrocuted quality to it? If you’re curly-hair inclined, that's what you’ll face in Toronto from June to September. The humidity is sticky, oppressive, and uniquely unkind to your getting-ready routine. Makeup? It will melt. Hair straightener? Doesn’t stand a chance.
In Vancouver, in general, you can usually walk outside in the summertime without melting into the pavement. Your hair stays approximately the same size.
Hot girl walks
In Vancouver, a hot girl walk involves the seawall, a mossy forest, and the faint possibility of seeing a seal bobbing in the distance. It's peaceful, rejuvenating, and depending on what music you're listening to, properly emotional.
In Toronto, you'll hit half your steps while passing four cute boutiques, a vintage shop, three wine bars, and now you’ve accidentally spent $220 and bought a stool for no apparent reason. Great for the economy. Not so much for your glutes.
The air
There is not a single Vancouverite or Vancouver transplant who can resist taking a deep, exaggerated breath the moment they step off the plane, followed by the obligatory comment about the air. It's an insufferable ritual we all perform. (Insert smug, obnoxiously deep breath here).
If you've endured a summer in Toronto through construction dust and mystery subway smells all locked in and mixed together with the claustrophobic humidity, you'll understand precisely why.
A recent, related article: “Toronto’s air quality is worse than India today and people are being warned to stay indoors”.
Tap water
Toronto tap water has a distinct flavour profile: hints of metal, thick in texture, and for some reason, if you don't put it in the fridge, it never gets cold enough.
In Vancouver, the water tastes like it was hand-delivered from a glacier (maybe this is a placebo effect from just looking at the mountains? But it works regardless). It's thin, icy, and you don't need a Brita
The sushi
Don't hit me with the: “But now there’s a Nobu in Toronto!” Unfortunately, it doesn't hold a candle to our sweet hole-in-the-wall Vancouver sushi spots tucked away on every other block.
West Coast sushi is fresh, affordable, and never tries to be anything it's not. Meanwhile, if you want casual sushi in Toronto, prepare for all-you-can-eat deals featuring slightly grey salmon. (Sushi should NEVER be all you can eat. For that matter, nothing should be all you can eat, but especially sushi).
Not shovelling the driveway
To be entirely transparent, I’ve never shovelled a driveway. This is not because I have a prim or proper nature, it’s because I’ve never personally owned a driveway. But if I did, I could confidently say that being in Vancouver and not having to shovel it would be a major plus.
Cherry blossoms
There's a two-week window in spring when Vancouver turns into a perfumerie and postcard. The cherry blossoms bloom, people's personalities defrost, and for a brief moment in time, even Gastown doesn't smell like urine.
I know, I know... “In Toronto, we have High Park!”
But also, everyone in Toronto knows about High Park cherry blossoms, which means you're just one of 8,000 people aggressively trying to photograph a tree without another human in the frame.
The views
Snow-capped mountains, ocean views, lush forests, dramatic sunsets. You know it well, or you envy it from afar. Toronto has a skyline, but unless you're emotionally attached to skyscrapers and the CN Tower, it just can't compete.
Palm trees
Are they native to Vancouver? Absolutely not. But are they here? Yes. And do they do something psychological to you when you see them in the rain in February as a reminder there's a light at the end of the long, grey, Vancouver winter tunnel? Also yes.
Toronto's idea of winter optimism is a colourful parka and a small prayer.
Living in Toronto taught me many things: how to spend beyond my means, the meaning of having actual good nightlife, and how to drive on the world's most stressful highway (the 401). But being back in Vancouver reminds me what it feels like to walk with purpose, wonder at nature, and breathe easy (literally).
Sorry, Toronto, Vancouver wins every time.
The views expressed in this Opinion article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
