It’s a pretty hot topic right now. There’s even a show about it on HGTV Canada. I’m talking about the urban vs. suburban lifestyle. What do I like? I’m definitely Team Urban. I love being steps away from the subway, which could get me just about anywhere I want in the city in probably less than an hour (wish it could be better. More subways and underground LRTs, City Council?). I don’t mind living in a smaller space (downtown is expensive and larger spaces would be unaffordable). With so much to do everywhere around me, I don’t need a house with a big back yard to enjoy myself. If I get tired of my condo, yet still want to blog or go online, I can take my laptop and walk to virtually any cafe (there are about 10 Starbuckses alone near me, not to mention other chains and independents). Museums and galleries are not far away. I can also buy my groceries several times a week, rather than once, meaning that the food is a bit fresher. Shopping is great, too. And as a blogger, it’s easier for me to get to events, since most are south of Bloor. I’ve also found that since moving down here, I’ve been walking much, much more. It’s a great way to exercise without having to go to the gym. As you can probably tell, I’m not a big fan of driving.
Toronto Harbourfront area
We like trying different restaurants out on a regular basis, and the midtown to downtown areas of Toronto have plenty that we can get to easily (and again, without having to worry about the expensive parking costs). The suburbs? Sure, there are some, but so many are chains! And non-chains seem to be similar to each other. At least Greater Toronto Area suburbs have authentic Chinese food (i.e. we’re not stuck with egg rolls and chop suey. Any restaurant that serves egg rolls, especially savoury ones that don’t look more like cookies is serving Canadianized/Americanized food and a no-go for me) that is decent to very good, but said restaurants are very family-oriented and it isn’t what we want all the time.
Living downtown means you’re close to live theatre – and with the TTC, one won’t need to worry about finding parking space
Will I live in the city forever? Maybe… Make that probably. Downtown is definitely a good place for me right now. I’m married, but I don’t have kids. My husband and I can go to restaurants – nice, non-chain ones at that and have a choice of grocery stores. We aren’t limited to mainstream chains (though we like them). However, downtown is no place to raise a child. It isn’t the smaller spaces in condos that I have an issue with, but the fact that the streets are so crowded. The streets just aren’t stroller-friendly. Not to mention that many downtown schools don’t exactly have the best reputations. So we’ll likely move a few subway stops north to the midtown area once we have a family. You sacrifice being closer to museums and galleries, but you’re devoid of small, independent cafes, restaurants and a walkable lifestyle. It’s also a bit more affordable. Not to mention the fact that midtown area schools tend to have a good rep, regardless of whether they’re public, separate or private. Although it doesn’t matter as much if we decide on French Immersion (a high possibility whether we live downtown or midtown).
You can get “real” Chinese food like cha siu bao both in the suburbs and in the city
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate the suburbs. I grew up in an “inner” suburbs (pretty much the northern most part of the city without hitting what’s now known as the 905) and a very typical development at that. Houses were similar-looking, both inside and out. Kids played street hockey, rode bikes and trick-or-treated on Halloween. We had delicious backyard barbecues in the summer. It was almost 1980s sitcom like. I guess you could say I had an idyllic childhood and lived in a pretty privileged environment, but there were drawbacks. The house I lived in until Grade 8 was far away from the closest bus stop. It took you 10 minutes to walk. Not a bad walk, you might think, it was also a fairly quiet area. And it’s not that great an idea for a woman to walk in such an environment at night, no matter how safe an area is. In other words, not exactly pedestrian-friendly. If you wanted to go for some coffee at the closest Second Cup, you have to walk through a park. Good during the day, but again, not the best at night.
If one gets tired of the city, they can always get away
People ask me whether I miss back yards with swimming pools and larger living spaces. Honestly, I can’t say that I miss it too much. There are parks in the city and my current condo has a pool and gym. And if I really want to get away, there are plenty of resorts one can check into or cottages to rent.
Image credits:
All picture above are from Wikimedia Commons
