6 Reasons Why You Couldn't Pay Me To Live In Toronto & Sorry, Not Sorry
Vancouver is just ... better.
Toronto, Ontario. Right: Morgan Leet
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
It's no secret that Toronto gets all the hype in Canada, and people there usually think their home is the center of everything.
But after growing up on the East Coast and living in Ontario for a bit, moving to Vancouver (the 6ix's great rival) was like a breath of fresh air. I used to think my aversion to living in Toronto was because I'm not a huge big city gal, but living in Vancouver proved that theory wrong.
So I sat down, determined to figure out why the heck I dislike Toronto, and I didn't come up empty-handed, to say the least.
It's overwhelming and too fast-paced
I've lived in Ottawa and Vancouver, and neither is as overwhelming as Toronto. I've also visited many other cities and the ones I like best are nice and spread out. For the most part, I love places where I can feel like I'm not constantly surrounded by skyscrapers.
In Toronto, it feels like everyone is moving a mile a minute, which is just too much for me.
Lake Ontario isn't the ocean, and those patches of sand aren't beaches
Ontario in general is too far from the ocean for me. Two of the four years that I lived in Ottawa were spent trying to convince myself that lakes were kinda like the ocean. I've learned that nothing can replace the salty air smell and the wide open sea.
I'll see my Toronto friends posting pics at the beach, but let's get real — that is a man-made patch of sand.
It's expensive like Vancouver, but you don't get the perks
Toronto is more expensive than Vancouver, and here you get the ocean, warm weather, mountains, beaches, and so much more at your fingertips.
I'm having a hard time coming up with one thing Toronto has that my home doesn't.
The people aren't as friendly
We have a little nickname on the East Coast for all of our Ontario friends — "Onterribles."
I'm not 100% sure if that's just my family honestly, but most of my trips to Toronto have proven the term to be correct.
In all seriousness, I do have some amazing friends from the city, but when you're walking around people are not as friendly as they are in other places I've lived.
It has zero character
I love going to cities like Montreal, where it's just brimming with character. The glass buildings of Toronto just don't cut it for me.
To be fair, downtown Vancouver isn't much better.
Nature — where you at?
I get that I'm biased living in Vancouver now, surrounded by incredible nature, but seriously — Toronto is bleak.
There might be a few parks here and there but nothing to truly make you feel like you can escape the city feel.
- 6 Reasons Why I Could Never Live In Vancouver & You Can't Convince Me Otherwise - Narcity ›
- An Ontarian Moved To BC & Is Asking Locals Which 'Wholesome' City They Should Live In - Narcity ›
- I Moved To One Of The 'Best Places To Live In The World' & It Lives Up To The Hype - Narcity ›
- 6 Reasons Why I Wouldn't Move Back To BC After Living In Toronto For 5 Years - Narcity ›