Toronto

[editor]

So, I'm back from a very long stay in the Great White North. It wasn't all that white, but what should I expect in August? I was in Ottawa on work and it rained most of the time so I didn't see all that much other than the inside of a hotel room or the inside of an office building. Then I went to Toronto for a while and had a chance to get out and see the sights. I took a couple of thousand pictures so it will be a while before I can sort through them and post any here. I actually took a lot fewer than I hoped because the weather was lousy most of the time. Here are a couple of iPhone pics for now:

Skyline

Casa Loma - Formerly the private residence of a man who started with nothing and turned himself into a millionaire. When the depression hit the city taxed him so heavily he lost his home and everything he owned. Now it's owned by the city.

A sign of Canadian pride at Indigo (like Borders). In spite of the stairwell jingoism the Canadian section of the bookstore was barely four small shelves.

A CITY-TV news truck

Canada Geese sculpture at the Eaton Centre (like the Galleria)

And here are my thoughts on Toronto:

Toronto is like Houston in that it has a main downtown and skyline surrounded by a dozen other skylines. This is an artifact from the 1950's when Toronto merged with its suburban neighbors into what was once called Megacity Toronto.

Toronto transit isn't that great. There are only two main subway lines and two small feeder lines. The surface streetcars still run on the same routes they did in the 1950's and only in the downtown area. The subways and streetcars are old, run-down, and only marginally clean. The buses are better, but not much.

The city, as a whole, is run-down looking. You can tell from the architecture that the 50's and 60's were boom time for Toronto, but little has been done since then in the way of maintenance and upgrades.

It's not surprising to see, though. This is a socialist city in a socialist nation, so money is more likely to be allocated for social services than infrastructure. And it appears that even on those occasions when infrastructure is built, little or no money is allocated for maintenance. One example is the miles and miles of bent, rusting guard rails on the route from the airport. Then once you get into downtown, the streets are cracked, potholed, and poorly maintained. Downtown Houston is a motorist's paradise compared to Toronto.

Toronto appears to be entering another boom cycle, though. There is a downtown condo boom going on, which is nice. But at the same time there are hundreds of perfectly serviceable buildings which are vacant, abandoned, or worse.

Another sign is that there are Help Wanted signs in just about every shop window. By contrast, even entry-level jobs are hard to find in Chicago, with dozens or even hundreds of applications being filled out for a single Barista position at Starbucks.

Toronto is still discovering the value of its waterfront. The private islands are now public parks (except one) and condo blocks are starting to fill up the spaces on the shore of Lake Ontario that were once rail yards.

Coffee is huge. The four big chains are Tim Horton's, Second Cup, one that I can't remember the name of, and Starbucks. Tim Horton's is the big monster in terms of sales (70%+ of the coffee market, with Starbucks second at 7%), but the problem with Tim's is that many places don't have anywhere to sit, and the few that do are often packed. Starbucks and the other chains are going after the growing "third place" market -- another sign of a growing upper middle class.

Toronto has an Avenue Road.

Toronto has a number of Chinatowns. The main one I went to was good. Nice wet markets and lots of non-English speaking locals. But it is unfortunately arrayed along a wide boulevard so it lacks that urban density and excitement of the ones in New York and Vancouver. But at least it was large. Probably almost as large on a per-block basis as downtown Houston.

People in Toronto try to be tidy, but the city is still messy, mostly because of the city's lack of effort. People throw their trash in the trash bins, but the bins are often overflowing and blowing garbage all over the place. Toronto is a very pedestrian-friendly city, so people are always throwing stuff out along the streets. This should not be a surprise to the sanitation department. In Chicago the streetside trash cans are emptied at least twice a day, even on Sundays, in the busy areas. I don't know what it's like in other cities, but Toronto needs more frequent trash pickups.

That lax attitude toward cleaning other people's messes extends to other parts of the culture. In fast food restaurants and mall food courts, there were always a few tables open but they were always covered in garbage. And signs, newspaper boxes, telephone poles, light standards, mailboxes, and pretty much any flat surface surrounding the University of Toronto is covered in generations of flyers, spray paint, and graffiti marker. It's one thing to get tagged, but it's quite another to leave it for what is obviously years and let layers of filth build up an inch thick.

There are waaaaaaaay more homeless in Toronto than in either Chicago or Houston. I mean actual homeless, not just people begging for change on the street. One morning at 4am I walked around Nathan Phillips Square (the plaza in front of city hall) and counted more than 30 people sleeping rough. I counted another 20 in the few blocks around city hall. In the same area at the same time in Chicago it would be closer to 5. From what I remember of Houston, the number would be around the same.

The food is bad. I'm really surprised. I think this is a relic of Canada's second-tier status next to the United States. See, for decades Canada saw itself as a poor nation next to America. I'm not saying this because I'm an American. I know several people who have family on both sides of the border and they've all said the same thing -- when there are holidays or reunions or whatever they're always referred to as the "rich Americans come up to see us." This is most likely because for years and years the Canadian dollar has been worth so much less than the American dollar and Americans near the border would make big shopping trips into Canada to load up on stuff cheap -- just like Texans on the Mexican border. My theory is that over the years as Canadians coped with the pressures of their lesser economic power they learned to make sacrifices -- using substitutes and chemicals and fillers and flavorings wherever possible in their food. Now they're just used to it. Every hamburger I ate (three from three different popular Canadian chains) tasted awful. It reminded me of Burger King and McDonald's back in the 70's before the big 1980's drive to "100% Beef" that we now take for granted. At restaurants for breakfast you pancakes come with "pancake syrup." If you want "maple syrup" that's an extra CAN$2.40. I ran into many other examples of foods that Americans expect to be high quality, but the cheaper version is mainstream in Canada. Hopefully with dollar parity happening the Canadians will use their new economic power to demand better quality food.

The people are really nice. The locals would go out of their way to be helpful. The tourists -- not so much. It was pretty easy to tell the two groups apart.

A tour guide claimed that the United Nations named Toronto the most ethnically diverse city in the world. I rarely believe anything a tour guide says that has a superlative in it, but this one could be true. There were all sorts of people there. The largest groups were Asians, followed by South Asians, English Canadians/Americans, Quebecoise, Eastern Europeans, Eskimos/Inuits/Indians/First Nations, Brits, OZ/NZ, and Pacific Islanders. I saw maybe a couple of dozen people in two weeks I would think of as Mexican/Central/South American. Of the tens of thousands of people I passed on the street I think three were black, and they looked like straight-from-Africa black, not the American kind.

In all, I was disappointed with Toronto. I was last there 20 years ago when I was a kid. Seeing it as an adult, I feel like my bubble was burst. I imagined it as a great shining metropolis. The "New York of the North" as is so often said. But it's really not all that great. It's like New York in the 70's before the city cleaned itself up and got its act together.

I'm still glad I went. I got to see a big city and found out much to my relief that in spite of its similar population (Toronto: 2.3mil, Chicago: 2.8mil) and location on the Great Lakes it's nothing like Chicago. But I don't think I'll go back anytime soon.

[MidtownCoog]

Nice review. Our sister office is there but I have never been.

Did you at least pick up a Roots Canada tee?

[editor]

Nice review. Our sister office is there but I have never been.

Did you at least pick up a Roots Canada tee?

No. Roots does not make anything bigger than XXL. I'm an XXXL or an XXLT (preferably). You can't even order it on the internet, the guy in the store said that Roots simply doesn't make them. Which I guess makes sense, because from what I could tell Canadians seem a little smaller than Americans.

My wife, however, did load up on Roots gear including some very fetching dresses.

An interesting side note -- Roots didn't sponsor the Canadian Olympic team this year. I went to Roots specifically to get some Vancouver 2010 gear, but they're not sponsoring that, either. It's all with The Bay (Hudson's Bay Company) now. I didn't get any Vancouver 2010 stuff, but my wife did. There was a huge after-Olympics sale.

[barracuda]

Nice review. I've been to Toronto many times for business, and I've always enjoyed myself there. My experience has been more positive than your's overall.

The negative aspects IMO include the traffic on the 401 and other highways in the area. They suffer from unbelievable gridlock during rush hours, and it's not much better during non-peak times. It makes Houston's highway system look wonderful. I also agree with the trash...I always noticed lots of litter lining the 401 and other major roads, especially on the drive between the airport and downtown.

Regarding some of your criticisms though, I'm not sure I agree with the dirtiness and disrepair of downtown. Toronto is an older city than Houston, and they haven't shared our zeal for demolishing older buildings in favor of shiny glass towers. I think it's just the nature of an older city that older buildings will have some dirt and grime on them. And the streets in downtown Houston are great now, but you wouldn't have said that ten years ago, before the massive DT street repair project.

Also, there are many great restaurants in Toronto, but maybe it depends on your food preference. I found quite a few excellent ethnic restaurants (Greek, Indian, Thai, etc.) that were comparable to what we have here in Houston, and at comparable cost with the exchange rate of the time. The locals also seem to really like the big market-style restaurants - like Richtree Markets - that are scattered around the city. Great place for breakfast or if you can't make up your mind. And as for smaller serving sizes and

[editor]

I saw a Richtree, and meant to go back. It looked really good. Reminded me of Eatzi's.

[Jax]

Interesting analysis of Toronto. I grew up about an hour from Toronto on the south shore of Lake Ontario. I was never a huge fan of Toronto, but I always liked it because I used to drive up there for rock concerts when I was in highscool. I actually chose Montreal over Toronto as the city where I would spend my undergraduate years (~2000-2005).

When I was back home last month visiting, my dad and I sailed across the lake and stayed on Toronto island for a few days. While I didn't get to spend too much time in the city, I did get to hang out on the waterfront a lot, and I was pretty impressed with all of the mixed use condo developments. It was also very clean near Queens Quay where I spent most of my time.

Last time I rode on the subway was in 2005, and I don't remember it being so bad, although it was definitely less clean than Montreal's subway. I thought it was somewhat similar to NYC's subway except much less extensive.

Maybe the issue with cleanliness is getting worse.

When my cousin from Atlanta came to visit me about 8 years or so ago, she commented that Toronto was cleaner than any city she had visited. I thought that was interesting. I also heard some Torontonians say that about Downtown Houston when they visited (although they also commented that it was emptier than any major city downtown they had visited).

Anyways, thanks for the commentary, it was an interesting read. Here are some pictures from my Flickr photostream if you guys are interested: http://www.flickr.com/search/?ss=2&w=7...onto&m=text

[TexasVines]

how did you feel about overall safety

it has been a long while since I was in Toronto, but last time I was in Canada (probably 1998) in Montreal there were younger girls getting on the subway in like a group of three.....it was pretty packed after a baseball game, but still they were probably 15.....then at the end of the line where I got off there was a girl about 20 alone in the station face to the wall talking on the pay phone with her bike and oblivious to what was going on around her....in the USA I would not imagine she would have not been facing into the open part of the station

some people leaving the game somehow picked up on the fact I was from the USA before I even spoke and were very complimentary of the Astros and nice to chat to in general

the place made me feel very safe all around

it was weird going to the A&W in the mall and the girl busting out her French.....I would just say sorry I only speak English and by the way I talked they would smile and say that was OK they did too....same with room service.....picked up the phone and dialed and had no clue what the guy said....I just said man I hope you speak English too because I am starving......he laughed and said he did......much different than when me and my family were there in the late 70s or early 80s and the one restaurant had to find the "English speaking waitress"

I love Canada.....a bit surprised to here these comments....but I always feel safe there and when I have been to the western parts they seem to really like Texans and Calgary really likes to get into it about the rodeos (ours VS theirs) which theirs is pretty cool

[barracuda]

how did you feel about overall safety

I've always felt perfectly safe in Toronto to the point where I don't even think about it, even at night.

it was weird going to the A&W in the mall and the girl busting out her French.....I would just say sorry I only speak English and by the way I talked they would smile and say that was OK they did too....same with room service.....picked up the phone and dialed and had no clue what the guy said....I just said man I hope you speak English too because I am starving......he laughed and said he did......much different than when me and my family were there in the late 70s or early 80s and the one restaurant had to find the "English speaking waitress"

To me, part of the charm is the multiculturalism you get to experience in the big east Canadian cities. There is something very European and friendly about the culture. It's a little different as you get into the suburbs and country though.

[editor]

Last time I rode on the subway was in 2005, and I don't remember it being so bad, although it was definitely less clean than Montreal's subway. I thought it was somewhat similar to NYC's subway except much less extensive.

Maybe the issue with cleanliness is getting worse.

Actually, I think you're right about that area. I spent about a hay and a half along the waterfront, especially near Queen's Quay, and it was much nicer there. I think the reason is that since most of the waterfront is former CN rail yards redeveloped into condo tower villages what you have now is privately owned public space, so there's more accountability. Residents complaining to their condo associations are going to get results long before people complaining to city hall.

Toronto is doing a lot of interesting things with quasi-public space. Yonge-Dundas Square is an excellent example. I think a book could be written about that one block.

[editor]

how did you feel about overall safety

I felt perfectly safe. Even when I got off the beaten path into some areas that could be considered dodgy, I never felt anything but safe. That said, from what I could tell from the newspapers and TV Toronto is starting to get some serious gang problems and shootings seem as common as in an American city of similar size.

some people leaving the game somehow picked up on the fact I was from the USA before I even spoke and were very complimentary of the Astros and nice to chat to in general

Usually when I travel overseas I tell people I'm Canadian to fend off repeats of some bad situations I've experienced in the past. That trick doesn't work in Toronto. The people there magically knew I was an American.

it was weird going to the A&W in the mall and the girl busting out her French.....I would just say sorry I only speak English and by the way I talked they would smile and say that was OK they did too....same with room service.....picked up the phone and dialed and had no clue what the guy said....I just said man I hope you speak English too because I am starving......he laughed and said he did......much different than when me and my family were there in the late 70s or early 80s and the one restaurant had to find the "English speaking waitress"

When I'm in Montreal I try my French and it usually works out. Maybe they think I'm retarded or something, but they at least play along. I only ever had to go the "Uhh... Do you speak English?" route once when I was buying a Christmas gift at The Bay and the woman wrapping it up asked if I wanted to fill out some kind of rewards card. She started going into the list of benefits and lost me.

I love Canada.....a bit surprised to here these comments....but I always feel safe there and when I have been to the western parts they seem to really like Texans and Calgary really likes to get into it about the rodeos (ours VS theirs) which theirs is pretty cool

There's an article in this week's Macleans that says Calgary has the largest population of Americans outside of America -- 100,000 was the estimate.

[lockmat]

Toronto appears to be entering another boom cycle, though. There is a downtown condo boom going on, which is nice. But at the same time there are hundreds of perfectly serviceable buildings which are vacant, abandoned, or worse.

132?! That seems insane, especially in this world economy. What is driving this?

Could you imagine Houston having 132 highrises going up at once? Per Emporis, Houston currently has 5 under construction.

There are currently 132 highrise buildings under construction in Toronto, according to the figures.

Mexico City ranks a distant second with 88 and New York City is in third with 86. The field drops off dramatically after that: fourth-ranking Chicago is building 17 highrises, while Miami rounds out the top five with 16.

Emporis defines a highrise building as between 35 and 100 metres high, or 12 to 40 floors. Buildings taller than that are considered skyscrapers.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1064773

[YakuzaIce]

132?! That seems insane, especially in this world economy. What is driving this?

Could you imagine Houston having 132 highrises going up at once? Per Emporis, Houston currently has 5 under construction.

From what I understand, condos are cheaper than single family homes up there. So just imagine if the more than twenty thousand single-family building permits issued last year for the metro area were for high rises instead.

Also, I'm curious what high rises are actually under construction here. It seems emporis has locked pretty much everything behind a pay wall now.

I know these two just started.

Westheimer @ Sage

2200 Post Oak

There must be some other things going on. Most of the new construction seems to be midrises at the moment though. Granted there are quite a few high rises that could break ground in the next year or so.

[editor]

There must be some other things going on. Most of the new construction seems to be midrises at the moment though. Granted there are quite a few high rises that could break ground in the next year or so.

This isn't specific to high-rises, but it's a little project I started:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=206730043409095570269.0004a96360f502ee46915&msa=0

It shows projects proposed and under construction in the Houston area. It's FAR from complete, and I welcome anyone who wants to help collaborate on it.