Haha...yeah I dunno. I don't notice because I know so many people here. Going for a walk downtown or around the lake on a sunny day is something straight out of Sesame Street...
Stilez
quote:
Originally posted by Jayx1
i see a trend. Women generally tend to like or not mind the people here. Men seem to mention attitude and coldness often.
Hmmmmmm
Ive noticed this alot in real life too.
Funny you should mention that.
I decided to randomly ask 50 strangers along Spadina & Queen throughout the span of 2 weeks last month just simply asking them if they were originally from Toronto, if so.. what area, and if not...where from?
45/50 were not originally from Toronto. The 5 that were were all from the East end of Toronto, and were all pretty chatty. The ones who actually were hesitant at first and gave attitude until they realized what I was asking were all from out of town.
I drew my own conclusion. It's the non-native Torontonians who seem to give off this 'attitude' that everyone speaks of. To me it seemed to be a case of concern for their own safety (avoiding strangers, putting on fronts to scare strangers off in the big city kind of thing).
Now I know that this is not a thorough or 'in depth' survey by any means, only a small amount of people were approached...it wasn't well planned (kind of spontaneous actually, sparked by a conversation I had with a coworker who's from Scarboro), and I didn't take down any notes or scientific data. It just proved what we were discussing that in Toronto (as in all other major Urban centres, and large metropolitan cities in the world), the majority of the people who live and work in the city tend to come from outside the city, and not necessarily from the city itself. It's not a big surprise, but what is shocking is that the native Torontonians were alot more friendlier than the non-natives...and I thought it would be reversed considering that small town people are known for being friendly. I think that once they move here, either they feel the need to 'act' a certain way, or react this way as a sort of defense mechanism.
You each can come up with your own conclusions about it, but I think it's pretty clear about the results.
DigiNut
Wanted to respond to this too:
quote:
Originally posted by SasH21
Well, that's great to be laid-back, which I am myself. To each their own, right. But, growing up in Ukraine, we were always taught to dress up, wear more dresses, skirts, heels, etc...I think most of the Europe is like that.
Even when my friend from New York came here, she was surprised to see that people dress way too casually.
My buddy from Poland always said the same thing. It was his opinion that women shouldn't be wearing jeans and tanks to a club and that men should definitely not be wearing baseball caps and shorts. This was in white trash Kingston, not Toronto, but I've seen it here too.
I'm certainly no fashion nazi, and I think it's great that certain people have the self-confidence to sometimes go out looking like they just got out of bed, but compared to overseas and even some of the bigger U.S. cities, a lot of people here are just slobs.
DigiNut
quote:
Originally posted by jennypie
It's amazing how dumbfounded it makes people to look them directly in the eye as you pass them, smile, and say hello.
I'm one of those people, especially when it comes from women. It just happens so rarely that it's a bit of a shock, that's all.
Silky Johnson
quote:
Originally posted by DigiNut
I'm one of them, especially when it comes from women. It just happens so rarely that it's a bit of a shock, that's all.
Must be the small-town in me...but I find it strange to share space with a person, especially in passing them on the street, and not acknowledge their existence.
Intangible
quote:
Originally posted by jennypie
Must be the small-town in me...but I find it strange to share space with a person, especially in passing them on the street, and not acknowledge their existence.
LOL! Yeah I know what you mean.
And something about people with dogs, I automatically say "Hi" "Good morning" or something... I think maybe because small town dog walkers are always so overly friendly...
Here I still get weird looks. Even my neighbours that live in the same building give me weird looks when I say hi, and I do that all the time.
techead
quote:
Originally posted by The Highroller
This thread was inspired by a recent post by Emery saying he had a love/hate relationship about the place.
For both those who live here, and those who don't, what do you like and dislike about the city? Please specify in your post whether you live here or not.
I live here.
Pros:
- Great nightlife
- Lots of great cultural events in the city (especially in the summer)
- Great employment opportunities for the line of work I'd like to get into (I'm pretty sure the employment opportunities in Toronto are pretty good in general)
- Low crime rate / generally a safe city to live in
- Friendly people
- Affluent yuppie culture
- Creative and multi-faceted fashion scene (among the general public, not necessarily fashion designers)
- Lots of parks and trees
- Lots of general "variety" in the city due to the large number off immigrant communities that exist
Cons:
- Horrible transit system
- Undeveloped waterfront
- Municipal governments that never fix the above problems
- It's in North America (ie not very ideal for traveling)
- "Fun police" trying to shut things down like Cherry Beach, clubs, and making it difficult to have festivals that play electronic music
All of the above
musicsnob_NOT
quote:
Originally posted by The Highroller
This thread was inspired by a recent post by Emery saying he had a love/hate relationship about the place.
For both those who live here, and those who don't, what do you like and dislike about the city? Please specify in your post whether you live here or not.
I live here.
Pros:
- Great nightlife
- Lots of great cultural events in the city (especially in the summer)
- Great employment opportunities for the line of work I'd like to get into (I'm pretty sure the employment opportunities in Toronto are pretty good in general)
- Low crime rate / generally a safe city to live in
- Friendly people
- Affluent yuppie culture
- Creative and multi-faceted fashion scene (among the general public, not necessarily fashion designers)
- Lots of parks and trees
- Lots of general "variety" in the city due to the large number off immigrant communities that exist
Cons:
- Horrible transit system
- Undeveloped waterfront
- Municipal governments that never fix the above problems
- It's in North America (ie not very ideal for traveling)
- "Fun police" trying to shut things down like Cherry Beach, clubs, and making it difficult to have festivals that play electronic music
Since you and I have talked a lot about this while we have been away together I agree 100%. Other cities in NA have done things right (Chicago with its waterfront, Boston with its parks and common areas, NYC with its homeless problem).
As we have also discussed most of the Cons can be corrected if we were ever able to get some real leadership from our municipal politicians and other levels of government. We need someone who isn't scared to make a commitment to transit, and the waterfront. Someone who isn't scared to get us going in the right direction who may not be in power to reap its benefits. Someone who will treat us as adults (how can New Orleans allow drinking on the street and we can't ever do it for certain events (pride, jazzfest, etc.).
The only thing they can't change is how close we are to other places (like you said we aren't in Europe).
dEsidEL
quote:
Originally posted by musicsnob_NOT
Someone who will treat us as adults (how can New Orleans allow drinking on the street and we can't ever do it for certain events (pride, jazzfest, etc.).
i've always wondered this myself, North America, is one of the only places in the world, (save for certain Islamic countries where alcohol is prohibited altogether), where you can't openly drink in public. More specifically, within North America, Toronto I've found has some of the strictest drinking laws in Canada.
I don't understand what the issue is with all the overprotectionism that comes from the city and province concerning quality of life. Are we any less responsible than Las Vegas, Miami, or New Orleans with their more lenient laws when it comes to alchohol? You don't even have to go that far when in Montreal you'll find off licenses and very relaxed policing when it comes to drinking in public.
I too blame the 'fun' police..
malek
quote:
Originally posted by dEsidEL
You don't even have to go that far when in Montreal you'll find off licenses and very relaxed policing when it comes to drinking in public.
I'm kind of against drinking in public, in the streets, someone mentionned how people dressed trashy, well holding a beer and walking along, is the same in my eyes.
Our police is more and more present in the lively streets in the summer and they don't hesitate giving tickets to the punks holding beers anymore. But since there's plenty of street festivals where you can drink, its kind of a non-issue here.
Whats an "off license" btw?
slingshot
The NIMBY'ism in Toronto is quite ridiculous and is a major impediment to the growth of the city in many aspects. (In my opinion of course)
