Two close friends moved out West to British Columbia all in the span of a month. Understandably, the calling for a healthier lifestyle, somewhere closer to nature and a less competitive workforce drew them west-ward, and it provokes the question,"Where will I end up?"
Is Toronto the city I'll stay in forever? As I carve out my values and identify the things that make me feel most at home, I realize that Toronto, does in fact, meet a lot of my needs. I know I probably won't feel this way forever, but for right now, I really have to say, I love this city.
Toronto isn't everyone's favourite place. Some days it's not my favourite either. There's definitely days I want to pick up and float away, but the more I think about it, I'm grateful for a lot of things in Toronto. It really is a love hate relationship. Three major battles I face are career, living and the people. Each with its own downside and each with its upside.
The day in day out, commuter career
I work in a business field: there’s burnout, there’s time-demanding commutes, mundane schedules, little opportunity to make big impact to "change the world", and kinda limited pay for industry standards. Sounds terrible, right?
Well, here's how I look at it. The fact of the matter is, that’s the career I chose. I could have chosen to work in a "softer" field, bored out of my mind, working in a small office, making an okay salary and live in a suburb or small town. But that's not what I want either.
I truly do love the field I’m in, working with the clients I do, exercising my creative side, meeting cool and diverse, smart people and challenging my brain to think "big picture" ideas, instead of completing repetitive tasks. Frankly, I can’t see myself doing PR in any other city, other than Toronto because any other city can't provide the diverse work culture that Toronto does.
You develop a hustle by working in this city and even on the days it gets me down, there's 100 to 1 really rewarding days where I am thankful to work here!
The pad
$1.4 Million for a house is atrocious. So why would I choose to live in Toronto long term if I can't afford a home? Well, perhaps purchasing a house isn't my goal. Hear me out.
I loved my family home in the country: four bedrooms a backyard and a safe community for me and my friends to frolic on golf courses and the local tobogganing hills in the winter. I simply don't want to invest that much money into a place that will be so big, it costs me thousands of dollars to renovate and then further maintain (because that's what I can afford - a Property Brothers reno, minus the attractive twin duo).
So why don't you move and buy a cute little house you can afford? Another thing I'm concerned about is climate change. I would rather buy used instead of build new, live cooperatively as a unit instead of solo, invest in a bungalow not a three story house, and if I really had my way, it would be energy efficient as hell, considering energy efficient buildings deliver between 20 and 50 per cent annual savings compared to conventional buildings! But the only place to live within these accommodations, really only happens in city centers.
Point being, I accept the cards I’ve been dealt. I won’t live, and can't afford to live, the the same life my parents did in a huge house. So...condo living? Sign me up. Cute little apartments to make it my own, but let the landlord figure out the home ownership stuff? Yep! Live in a co-operative? SIGN ME. THE HECK. UP! Would I prefer it look over a river instead of concrete jungle- OF COURSE- but the beauty of living in Toronto is we are world's 5th largest greenest city and I have opportunity to explore new cultures, parks, festivals, music, food, clothing, stores and people all within a short walk (or annoyingly stalled TTC ride). So why wouldn't I choose to live environmentally friendly, in one of the most accessible cities in the world?
The peeps
Everyone hates Toronto - I get it. The majority of us are stuck up. We have nature deficit disorders, ulcers from work stress and can’t hold an attention span longer than 8 seconds (and we lost DeMar DeRozan*) - no wonder we're a bunch of angry birds. But to be very honest, I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting such educated and diverse people all in one city.
The mix of people I'm friends with, and now call my Toronto family, are some of the best people I know. The people here expose you to new cultures new cuisines, styles, traditions and ideals. I'm proud to be in a city that celebrates all identities... and offers a larger and more accepting dating pool then the rest of Canada.
Dating aside, Toronto does in fact have really kind people. If it weren't for this city, I wouldn't have grown as much as I have or explored the things I've seen if I were in any other city.
*I know diddly-squat about sports but I think this matters to Torontonians
So will I stay in Toronto forever? I don't really know yet. For right now, it serves me well.
I moved here 5 years ago from a small town. I appreciate and love everything small-town-living offers. By experiencing both country and city life, I can say with confidence, Toronto really is a great city. People harsh on it all the time, but I say, don't knock it till you've seen, felt, experienced and lived it.
Do you live in Toronto? Do you love or hate it?
Do you live in a city? Are you happy there? Where do you think you'll end up?
Keep exploring, friends.
-Mimi