Toronto locals love to complain about Toronto, but if there's one thing we love even more, it's complaining about the rest of Ontario. And after spending years road-tripping across the province (hello, I was in my 20s during COVID), surviving university towns, sitting in cottage traffic, and watching my fair share of TFC games, I've come to the realization that some places in Ontario are not built for the weak (of which I am).
To be clear, this isn't about places being objectively bad. Some of these places are fun for a weekend. Some, dare I say, are even iconic. But living there full-time? Living there through the spot's worst seasons? Well, that's another story entirely.
Here are the places I consider my personal hell in Ontario (a.k.a. the worst places to live in Ontario as a Toronto local).
Prince Edward County (...because winter)
This one may be slightly fuelled by personal bias, as it coincides with one of the most chaotic weekends any of my friends have ever experienced.
Last Valentine's Day, a group of my friends rented a cute little cottage in Prince Edward County for a romantic winter weekend getaway. Very romantic. Very wine country core. Looking to disconnect and relax as pretend-old people in their late 20s do.
Not only did my best friend's hair literally catch on fire during the trip, but they also almost got stranded there once the snowstorm rolled in. Which, let's be honest, when is there not a snowstorm in Ontario in the winter?
We Torontonians are spoiled when it comes to snow removal. The second a snowflake hits the Gardiner, there are already twelve plows out on the road attacking it. And that's not even including the three salt trucks circulating before the snow starts. Outside the city? Totally different story.
The roads in Prince Edward County during winter can get genuinely scary. Long dark stretches with almost no lighting, slow snow removal, icy backroads, and weather conditions that can change at any minute. What should've been a relatively normal drive home took nearly twice as long.
Prince Edward County is a gorgeous summer hideaway. During a snowstorm, however, it can very quickly turn into an episode of Yellowjackets.
Anywhere North of Toronto (try getting there on a summer Friday at 4 p.m.)
Cottage culture is practically a religion in Ontario.
On the second Friday afternoon of the summer, every major highway north of Vaughan transforms into a parking lot. And every year I ask myself the same question: Does nobody work?
Toronto is supposedly the city of hustle culture. Everyone has side jobs, freelance gigs, remote work, second careers, third careers, Pilates memberships, networking events, and podcasts about productivity. So how is everyone simultaneously driving to Muskoka at exactly 4 p.m. on a Friday?
The traffic becomes absurd almost instantly. A two-hour drive somehow turns into six. Temperatures rise, tempers flare. Marriages are (probably) tested.
If you live north of the city year-round, summer weekends essentially mean surrendering your roads to cottage traffic until September.
The Toronto 'ICE Condos'
Listen up, you Toronto haters! Toronto isn't safe from the heat either. This is for everyone who sends me hate mail accusing me of being a snobby Torontonian.
The lore around the ICE condos runs so deep that the building has practically become a local urban legend. Everyone in Toronto knows these condos are bad, but no one ever really fully explains why. It's one of those infamous spots across the city you either have to hear about through conversations with friends, read about on a Reddit thread, or see for yourself when you attend one of the condo parties here. It's a canon event if you're new to the city.
For starters, the condo is rumoured to have hundreds of Airbnb units, and that's just the registered ones. The result is a revolving door of tourists, parties, and strangers dragging suitcases through the lobby at 2 a.m., and a general atmosphere with the same liminal energy of Pearson Airport.
Then there's the elevators. If you've ever visited someone there, you already know the psychological warfare of having the longest part of your morning commute be the trip from your floor to the first floor. Add in the other complaints I've heard (constant fire alarms, paper-thin walls, and management horror stories), and you've got the condo building of everyone's dreams (psych!).
Wasaga Beach
This one speaks for itself, honestly.
The second Ontario experiences even the slightest increase in temperature, everyone collectively decides to drive to Wasaga Beach at the same time. It becomes the Jersey Shore of Canada (Canada Shore producers are you listening? If you want to do it right this time, you'll remember this for filming).
For visitors, it's part of the charm. For locals? I cannot imagine the kind of mental endurance required to survive a whole summer here.
The traffic becomes unbearable. The beach gets packed shoulder-to-shoulder. Every convenience store has a lineup out the door. Somewhere, someone is blasting Pitbull from a portable speaker at maximum volume.
Ontario waits all winter for summer, and Wasaga gets the full impact of the destination.
Niagara Falls (especially on Victoria Day Weekend)
Can you imagine somewhere in Canada louder than Niagara Falls on Victoria Day weekend?
The combination of fireworks, long-weekend traffic, casinos, Clifton Hill chaos, tourists, and patriotic Canadians trying to squeeze every possible second out of the first summer holiday creates a complete sensory overload.
There’s something almost admirable about the commitment Ontario has to treating Niagara Falls like the official kickoff to summer, but actually living there during Victoria Day weekend? Absolutely not.
Liberty Village (it's not worth the TFC Season chaos)
There are few places in Ontario that transform quite as dramatically during sports season as Liberty Village during Toronto FC games (another Toronto spot for you Toronto haters keeping track).
With roughly 20 home games a season and Exhibition GO station sitting right outside the neighbourhood, Liberty Village becomes a complete zoo before and after matches. Fans flood the area all at once, splitting out of bars, restaurants, sidewalks and patios, chanting the iconic "ohhhhhhh oh oh oh oh oh ohhhhhhh" over and over again.
And listen, I get it. Sports culture is fun. Community spirit is something we should all be fostering in this post-pandemic apocalypse we're living in. But if you actually live there? Every game day is a challenge.
Good luck getting dinner anywhere without a lineup wrapped around the block. Good luck walking your dog through the crowds of people in red scarves. Good luck hearing your own thoughts once the chanting starts outside your condo window again.
Living in Liberty Village already requires patience. Add in the TFC season, and the quaint neighbourhood loses a lot of its charm.
A student house in Waterloo
If you read my ranking of Ontario cities, you already know I struggle with university towns.
Now imagine adding tens of thousands of university students, a massive street party, zero personal space, and enough alcohol to medically concern an entire province.
Waterloo during St. Patrick’s Day weekend is complete mayhem.
People are climbing onto roofs. Tables are being broken in front yards. Entire streets are covered shoulder-to-shoulder in green outfits before noon. Phone service barely works because so many people are concentrated in one area.
And somehow, despite all of this, the so-called “party” continues all weekend long.
The wildest part is that St. Patrick’s Day isn't even the only weekend like this. There's still homecoming season to survive, too.
At a certain point, living there starts to feel like accidentally living inside a very loud YouTube prank video.
Ultimately, every one of these places has people who genuinely love living there.
Some Ontarians thrive in complete and utter chaos, and who am I to judge? Just a girl with a heck of a lot of opinions.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
