Toronto or Vancouver? Where should I live?

lol

Not sure how serious you are, but you are spot on about the drivers and commute. The worst I've encountered.

Originally Posted by audiophilia

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lol

Not sure how serious you are, but you are spot on about the drivers and commute. The worst I've encountered.

im dead serious,operative word Deadly,it is truly scary what people do on the roads here.my favourite:asians going 20Km under speed limit in passing lane with tunnel vision (will not look left or right even if you pull up beside them and honk for 2 minutes straight to get the **** out of the way)
man im getting angry and frustrated just thinking about it,im sorry i need a timeout.

Originally Posted by Doxe

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That being said. the women in Van are in better shape than anywhere else in the World.

eh i've lived in Glasgow - Nottingham - London and Brighton.

All 4 of those places had WAY nicer looking girls.....

presumably your basing this on your east /west experience ( VAN/ ONT) as they sure have big asses here too..(in VAN).....to me anyway.

Originally Posted by frenchy

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im dead serious,operative word Deadly,it is truly scary what people do on the roads here.my favourite:asians going 20Km under speed limit in passing lane with tunnel vision (will not look left or right even if you pull up beside them and honk for 2 minutes straight to get the **** out of the way)
man im getting angry and frustrated just thinking about it,im sorry i need a timeout.

eh - your in VAN...right...?

If not you could be describing it.

Otherwise it's Canada wide.

Originally Posted by Beetleything

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eh - your in VAN...right...?

If not you could be describing it.

Otherwise it's Canada wide.

toronto is a **** hole,i should know i live here since 86.
crime is off the charts (i know vancouver just had 10 people shot in a single shooting but still,thast a slow week for us,its like NY 15 years ago).
and dont even get me started on the drivers,especially the asians and indians...OH MY ******* GOD.
also it was just announced that Toronto has the longest commute home/work..yes even longer then NY and LA i think it was 68 minutes average.
did i mention that half the ******* population cant ******* drive?
then you got the idiots in the nightclubs,i dont know how many guidos ive had to bitchslap just to settle "****" down.
tomgirl mentioned calgary is like a mini toronto,well Toronto is like a mini NY.
if i had a choice i would move to montreal.
did i mention the moron drivers?
seriously be afraid,be very afraid (and i have driven in Rome/Paris)

Lots of very reassuring answers here. I think one crucial thing that hasn't been mentioned is the weather, although Van is pretty rainy for a lot of the year I think I'd much rather prefer barely any snow + moderate summers with wicked proximity to beaches as opposed to Toronto's smuggy and humid summers and meh winters.

So far it seems like Vancouver has the leg up for me! Just hope I get the job...pray for me bros

1up: lots of good advice here. T.O is the financial engine of Canada, like NYC is to the US. It's an "alpha city" (G-7), and nothing like it thus in Canada. The food, night life, shopping, art/museums, etc. are all in a league of its own. Montreal is close, which has its unique charms. Being from Cowtown, you might find the size of the place a bit overwhelming at first (most C-towners do), but you'll get used to it. If you feel the need for the 'great outdoors' cottage country is only a stone's throw away, and we love Alberta beef here (so no worries in that department). There are no race riots or anything else like that here, seriously, you can keep your doors unlocked in most 'hoods. Also, there are many neighbourhoods in T.O, each one different from the next, the whole world being here (I love that myself). And the lake is swimmable, having earned the coveted "blue flag" distinction. T.O is known as the "livable city" -- lots of green space and parks, and one of the best planned cities in the world (including transportation, etc.). Live-Work balance is possible here, and it's safe. Also, it's very clean and friendly (as a Calgarian, you might not at first think so, but compared to other major world cities it is). Van by comparison is an outdoor city, loaded with coffee houses. The restaurants aren't the greatest, but that's what Victoria is for, along with golf. Its charms are the harbour and English Bay in particular--the sea walk. B/c it's nestled in b/w the mountains and the ocean, there's only so much to buy/rent in terms of real estate, and places are smaller as a result. Can't swim out in the Pacific, though (a shame). That said, BC (all of it) is gorgeous. And the skiing is wonderful. In T.O, there's a ton of condo and rental developments, something new it seems being built daily. Houses are expensive, though. Also, the place is huge when expanded to include the suburbs (the Greater Toronto Area) which are very affordable compared to the outlying areas of Van. The GTA is also well connected by commuter trains. Toronto Airport is a major international port, so can fly out west anytime you want, or take a train even to NYC, Montreal, Ottawa, etc. No real skiing here--hills by comparison, and while there are provincial parks nearby, not exactly the same as out west. (i.e., you might miss your mountains, but the lake is nice, too Weather-wise, southern BC is also known as Canada's Mediterranean (T.O isn't as mild in winter as Van, but it's mild as compared to Alberta. It rarely goes much below the freezing point in T.O (0 degrees Celsius) with little snow--January mostly (it's colder with more snow in the mid-west US--T.O being more like Connecticut, with upstate NY getting more snow). Meanwhile, in summer, T.O's well into the 30s (with the humidity pushing the thermo up such that the Lake is really quite useful tl/DR: All depends on what you want--big city life and all that that means, or the laid back and outdoor life of Van. Both are good, though.

toronto has the shittiest drivers and unless you're by the subway the public transportation is horrible

outside of the city core: get a car and touch up on your defensive driving abilities

Well I got an update, looks like it'll either be Calgary or Vancouver now, so I'm staying on the west coast for sure!

I'm actually currently living in Edmonton, but I grew up in Calgary, so I guess I'd be fine with either. Though I'm quite intimidated of living in Van now because of what everyone says the housing/rent situation is. I imagine even if I did go there it would be temporary anyways - gain some experience, maybe do grad school at SFU, then move to NY? Yes please.

honestly dude, i would recommend it to continue living in anywhere in canada. If you really want real-life exprience, Vancouver isn't the place to get it. If you do have the means to go down to the states, might as well start ASAP. i lived in Vancouver my whole life and i hate it. there is nothing there. Party scene is lame, people are literally depressed with SAD, plus you got to pay that marsupial 15% tax.

the only time that vancouver is actually worth checking out is during the summer.

Here is another point:

In Van I felt out of place wearing a suit and tie. In TO, wearing a suit and tie is more acceptable.

The weather in Van is raining or overcast for 8 months out of the year. I like the rain, but the gloom can be taxing. That being said, spring comes in late Feb. early March (the cherry trees bloom in Kits in March).

In TO, the summers are hot and muggy to the point of oppression. The winters are bitter cold. But there is sunshine year round.

As for the women: Van women are in the best shape (but dress too casually). TO women dress better than Van but look better in their clothes than out of them (I've done enough yoga, pilates and BodyPump classes to report on this). Montreal women are the best dressed, are in great shape, but they smoke in order to stay thin.

In short, move to California (if you can find a job).

Oh, and people in TO drive like blind, drunken marsupials with a death wish. But at least there are no goddamn B-Line buses in TO clogging up the streets.

Originally Posted by Coeur de pirate

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honestly dude, i would recommend it to continue living in anywhere in canada. If you really want real-life exprience, Vancouver isn't the place to get it. If you do have the means to go down to the states, might as well start ASAP. i lived in Vancouver my whole life and i hate it. there is nothing there. Party scene is lame, people are literally depressed with SAD, plus you got to pay that marsupial 15% tax.

the only time that vancouver is actually worth checking out is during the summer.

+1 on that....

i was driving around on a warm sunny Sunday night about 9.30pm ish and going down main roads with shops etc...nothing open.no bar/cafes...i mean how much coffee can you drink??

I was thinking at a set of lights - if this was europe - you'd see a bar or something with people outside chatting etc and you'd stop and go in, get a drink, go outside and chat to people -----here nothing- on a warm summer evening.

You walk down streets at 10pm - everybody is home!!!
It's the most boring, dead, hard to meet people, place i've ever lived.
A lot of people here think they are hot **** just because they live here and people are not to chatty.

Trying to have a conflab with some of these people is a minefield...dodging the PC comments that people seem obsessed with here.
I remember in London England bumping into to people all the time and going for drinks etc.
One time i walked into an office building, spoke to receptionist--(sparks)-went to persons office- 5 mins later left--on the way out spoke to receptionist-- left with here number.

Try that here and you'd be arrested!

Agree people here dress to casually.
(meaning badly-scruffy-outdoor ****-teva's/flip flops -even this time of the year?)

Sure the beaches are nice in the summer....but the cops patrol them and you cannot have any alcohol open or they will make you pour it out...i mean even if your an adult with some vino--no no no.

People call it no fun city...i agree.

Originally Posted by Coeur de pirate

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honestly dude, i would recommend it to continue living in anywhere in canada. If you really want real-life exprience, Vancouver isn't the place to get it. If you do have the means to go down to the states, might as well start ASAP. i lived in Vancouver my whole life and i hate it. there is nothing there. Party scene is lame, people are literally depressed with SAD, plus you got to pay that marsupial 15% tax.

the only time that vancouver is actually worth checking out is during the summer.

You are dumb. Seriously. Stop bitching and go Skiing. Having 3 ski resorts within an hour of DT and one of the best in the world within 2 makes Van awesome.

Originally Posted by Kajak

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You are dumb. Seriously. Stop bitching and go Skiing. Having 3 ski resorts within an hour of DT and one of the best in the world within 2 makes Van awesome.

uh huh ..the skiing is good.....that's 4-5 months of the year...and not everyone likes skiing.

Originally Posted by Doxe

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Oh, and people in TO drive like blind, drunken marsupials with a death wish. But at least there are no goddamn B-Line buses in TO clogging up the streets.

.....because they are too busy SMSing/texting/yapping on their f$%^&* cellphone/crackberry. There
are no B-line buses but depending on the street you'll either have the streetcars/trolleys or other cars congesting the roadways.