Toronto City Profile
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- čas přidán 25. 06. 2024
- Overview of the city of Toronto and discussion of its urban geography. I look at the downtown, other neighborhoods, islands, walkability, transit, parks, economy, and more.
If you would like to purchase a pin for the viewer wall map or just to support the channel, please visit patreon.com/geographyking
Album displayed:
Rush - "Exit Stage Left" (1981)
In the proper Canadian context, the Rush song is called "Wye Wye 𝗭𝗲𝗱" .
I always forget that Americans are about the only ones that say zee instead of zed.
@@GeographyKing As one who answers phone calls in a customer service role, I appreciate "zed" since too many letters in the alphabet sound so much alike.
I knew about the different pronunciation of Z, Zedd from a Russian-German DJ and Zee is a TV channel from India.
Good observation eh! 😉
I think even in the US, pilots are supposed to say Zed.
You covered Toronto better than any other video I've ever seen, even better than any that are actually from Toronto! As a Torontonian myself, just want to say thanks for this - Cheers 🇨🇦
Thank you! I appreciate that
Fantastic job. I’ve lived in Toronto for all 50 years of my life and this is the best video if seen that truly gives a great overview of the city. A local person could not of done a better job.
I’m so happy that you included my city, the reason why there is new housing in the beaches is because there used to be a giant race track Woodbine. When it closed there was a lot of space there which is why there are so many new homes.
The horse track was called "Greenwood". My family raced horses there for decades. Woodbine still exists, closer to Toronto airport.
There was also the Scarborough Expressway corridor that had been set aside for awhile (and based on old rail corridor rail yards) which opened up some construction when TPTB finally gave up on that "dream".
@@ryanhie2829 Greenwood racetrack was the originally Woodbine racetrack until relocated in 1956 to the current location and the old track was renamed Greenwood. So both technically right.
I lived in Toronto for a few years in the 70s, and I always felt very safe, even as a child.
@@CanadaExplorer101 That was then this is now - it is horrible i have liv ed here for 84 years of my life - i used to love it now i hate it...thank goodnes i am older...
Its a shitty city with shitty people
@@CanadaExplorer101 This type of violence isn't just happening here, it's been happening in many places. It's believed to have something to do with the mental health effects on people having gone through the pandemic and social restrictions, etc.
I was doing work for the NBA All Star game there for a week a few years back. It was a great city to make me feel at ease during long install nights at the Eaton Centre. Sure, it was February and absolutely frigid, but the kindness of the people warmed me right up. I really enjoyed Yonge street. The reference library was so amazing. I got a little bit of a Chicago meets New York vibe in Toronto. Amazing place.
I remember the AllStar game, it was the 1 week when it was cold. 3 days after it was above 50F
Also, that was the coldest day in about a quarter of a century (one of Toronto's coldest EVER!). It was pleasantly mild just before and just after. The coldest cold Toronto ever feels patiently waited for the NBA All Star game! What a FREAK!@@Ejb905
Fantastic video! The Toronto metro area would be more like 8 million people if it was measured in the same way as an MSA in the U.S. Canadian CMA'a are much more compact and can never be combined after they've been created, so the adjoining Hamilton and Oshawa metros will always be counted separately by Statcan when they really should be joined together as the Toronto-Hamilton-Oshawa Metropolitan Area. The "CSA" equivalent would be the Greater Golden Horseshoe which has around 10 million people now.
The Greater GTA with a population approaching 10 million, is equivalent to Chicagoland and about to overtake it.
I think GTA is in the 4 - 5 million now the Ontario combined Province is 14.5 million
@@frankdeturse5180 The GTA is over 7 million now. Ontario is now over 15 million.
@@frankdeturse5180 The GTA was > 5 million by 2006.
I love Toronto. On my last visit there my wife and I joke that when we retire we’re going to be reverse snow birds: instead of wintering in Florida we want to spend our summers in Toronto.
Florida is not the place to visit anymore forget it - it is run by a bad group and hatred and racism .... we are open to everyone here. It may not be hot here in winter but summers are glorious
The reason for the new housing in the otherwise-established Beach neighbourhood stems from the fact that the old Greenwood racetrack (horse racing) was decommissioned about 30 years ago, leaving some prime land near the waterfront (not far from downtown) available for re-development. Some beautiful townhomes (squished together!) went up over the next decade.
A lot of huge races were held at Greenwood every year for decades. It was the major racetrack in Canada! The streets are named after famous Canadian horses such as Northern Dancer. I would love to own the house right on the former finish line. The history if you are into horse racing is amazing.
Thank you for the info. I was quite curious about that.
That was another big mistake building those homse there
It’s interesting that Toronto housing is so expensive. Major American cities closest to Toronto ( Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse) have some of the most affordable housing in the USA. Being a financial and a Tech hub it’s probably more closely related to NYC/ Dallas/ Austin/ LA/ San Francisco/ Seattle economically.
it would be interesting to hear Canadian’s perspective on why Toronto is so expensive. Also what would be the equivalent to Cleveland / Buffalo / Detroit.
Known colloquially as Pleasantville this neighbourhood is the site of the former Woodbine racetrack. The Queen's Plate was originally run here.
Great video! I visited Toronto back in summer of 2018 but definitely learned a lot, and realized how I barely scratched the surface.
I live in California, but originally from the Chicago suburbs. I went to visit family for a week, but my father was scheduled to be out of town most of the time I was there, and he said I could borrow the car while I'm gone, and I asked "is it ok if I go on a longer roadtrip?" He said sure as long as you take care of it. Though the next country over was a bit further than he was assuming!
I left the Chicago area in the morning, stopped in Ann Arbor, MI for lunch, crossed over at Port Huron/Sarnia, and got to my hostel in Chinatown near Spadina and Dundas after dark. I parked my car in a nearby parking garage and had some great Chinese food. Didn't know about the Kensington Market, but I was pretty close to it apparently.
The next morning I went walking south and slightly east to where the city hall and other historic government buildings, including stopping for a coffee and pastry for breakfast. Walked up to the Royal Ontario museum where I spent 2-3 hours. Outstanding museum Then walked through the University area and Queens park. HIGHLY recommend if you want to walk through an area where to feel Old Toronto, the British legacy with architecture and park space reminiscent of "Oxbridge" in England.
Then walked down to the harbor to get a ferry to the Center Island park, where I relaxed, and looked out at the skyline for maybe an hour at most, and then took the ferry back and had dinner and walked up and down Yonge street in the evening. Then headed back to the hostel.
The next morning drove to Niagara falls, where I spent the entire day on both the Canadian and American side. Stayed in Buffalo for the night, and then headed back to Chicago via Cleveland, where I stopped and added Cuyahoga Valley to the list of national parks I've been to.
I love Toronto. My maternal grandparents were married there in1915 and my husband and I spent our honeymoon there in 1982. I'm glad it has grown and is thriving! We live in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
My goodness, I got to get to Toronto. The green space, public transit, walkability, and neighborhoods sound amazing, thanks for the info! Fun fact: the Toronto Rush are the pro Ultimate Frisbee team there. They won the AUDL Championship in 2013. I guess the band is where they got the name from potentially.
The Frisbee team does not make Toronto - you have not lived here
@@frankdeturse5180 I'm not sure what that means, "does not make Toronto". I know I don't live there, I just follow the AUDL(American Ultimate Disc League). They were 1 of the best teams from 2013-2019
It is also incredible when you include the skyline in the northern part of the city, North York, the Humbershore region, as well as the emerging skylines in the Toronto suburbs of Mississauga and Vaughan! That would be its own video, but definitely shouldn’t be overlooked!
I'd love to visit Toronto one day and explore those neighborhoods. The Scarborough Bluffs area looked cool. Thanks for the great video.
Do not stuck in Downtown area for more than few hours, it's just a generic North American Downtown with skyscrapers. Go to East York (Riverdale park has the best city view imo), try Greektown there. Also Bloor St. W. around High Park is very nice area, St.Clair street is very beautiful. North York is pretty far from downtown, but has the best Asian and Persian food. Also Yonge St. north of Bloor st. is very and very beautiful
Run. Don't come here. Go to America it's better
Bluffs is a very cool place. It's the only nice part of Scarborough.
@@ThisHandleWasTheOnly1Availablewatch your mouth...just kidding but all of southern Scarborough is beautiful, it's just not affordable.
@@ThisHandleWasTheOnly1Available you've got to be kidding. I'd say Port Union waterfront park rivals Bluffer's Park. Colonel Danforth Park between West Hill and Highland Creek is a popular sot, for hiking, picnic and BBQ, Area's that don't have high rise apartments (or only one or two condos) tend to be nicer areas in Scarborough.
I love the Canadian city videos!
Love the video! As someone who lives in the Kensington Market neighborhood, there are a couple extra details about the market that you missed. Initially it was called the Jewish Market, as the Jews faced discrimination and could not find places to work that would let them rest on the Sabbath, resulting in them creating their own market and centres of employment. Over time as other groups continued moving to Toronto, it became what you see today.
Now there are few if any Jews in Kensington Market but plenty of everyone else, especially Chinese, Jamaicans, and Latinos. It's a great neighbourhood to visit if you want to try various ethnic street foods from vendors owned and operated by people of those ethnicities.
The "Hispanics" who moved to Kensington Market right after the Jews moved out after World War II were actually Portuguese immigrants, mostly from the Azore Islands (out in the Atlantic, well removed from mainland Portugal). Then came in the Anglo-Caribbeans and eventually the Chinese.
You may be right but there are plenty of Latin Americans there now too, including many Mexicans.@@yodorob
@@gummypuss69 That's much more recent than any of the other groups I mentioned above.
Nice to see Exit Stage Left in your background, Kyle! Rush always!
Always a good day when geo king posts!!
I moved to SF from Toronto back in September and I miss Toronto so much :( I've never felt unsafe in Toronto, even walking at night. Totally different story in SF though
Thanks Kyle for video of my hometown, I’ve lived in the St Lawrence Market neighbourhood for over 20yrs and LOVE IT, near the waterfront. We walk or take transit most places, convenient and less stressful than driving.
In recent decades, winters have become milder, rarely wear boots. Many use the 30km (19 miles) PATH enclosed walking network system of shopping, theatres, offices, condos that connects over 70 buildings, subway and trains.
Thank you so much for featuring our city in a positive light, there are so many videos out there right now about the negative aspects and the expensive cost of living, and yes even though we have a lot of problems there are still so many amazing parts of Toronto and we are a really unique place with a lot of really special people who make the culture what it is. Bless. 🙏
3:48 One of my favorite memories of visiting Toronto 30 years ago was looking down from the top of the CN Tower at the planes landing below me. It really messed with my mind. Not many places you can watch planes land from that angle.
I was in Toronto April 2023 too!! I’m so mad I didn’t see him, but yea Toronto is great
Thanks for this Kyle. Next month I'm going with friends to Toronto and I've been wanting to go since I was 8.
That's an excellent overview of Toronto. Thank you!
As a lifelong Toronto resident this is great to see!
The city - and the larger metropolitan area extending out to the Greater Golden Horseshoe (which is larger than but encompasses the GTA) has seen massive growth since the 1990’s in particular. The top destination for immigration (hundreds of thousands come to the GGH annually) as well as folks moving from other Provinces and parts of Ontario. The smaller cities - such as Hamilton and Kitchener-Waterloo - which were previously sleepy small college towns of
I lived in Toronto back in the late 1980s. I miss it. Great city but, damn, it gets very cold in the winter. Someone there said that it would be perfect if winter was one less month. Thanks for the memories!
I'm sure you know that a huge proportion of the Canadian populous live within 20 miles of the border, but I was surprised to find out that latitudinally most of these cities like Toronto are south of Seattle. Even south of Portland, OR...
Always appreciated. Thank you!
Read up more on canada and you will fine many things about our borders
Well of course, the climate is practically unlivable above 50 degrees north of latitude in Ontario due to the harsh long winters. In fact, as someone who's lived in Toronto for 17 years, I personally can't even get used to the long cold season here which is already far more mild than northern Canada.
I love most aspects of this city but I think I may have to move to the deep south sometime in my life because I feel like I am only really living and enjoying my life in the months of May to October and enduring/hibernating for the colder half of the year.
@@adelb7897I'll gladly trade you my spot down in metro Atlanta. I was born & raised here in Atlanta & my family has been in Georgia for many generations, but I have never been able to tolerate the heat here. I guess I tolerate it in the sense that I haven't died from it, yet, & I haven't moved away, but I definitely don't enjoy it. Winters are short here & bitter cold is sporadic, or we may go some years without bitter cold. Measurable snow is seasonally sporadic. It's been 6 years since we've had any significant snow. There has been an inch or so a couple times spread throughout the seasons since, but it usually melts by the next day or a few hours after falling. Atlanta isn't the cultural powerhouse that Toronto is, but it's pretty diverse, with lots to do. Crime is horrendous here though.
My feelings about Toronto are bittersweet, weighted more heavily towards bitter. I love the neighbourhoods, architecture and energy of the West end in particular. I'm from a small town in Southern Ont and lived in Toronto early in my career throughout my 20's, it's a right of passage for a lot on Ontarians building a career. Up until 2018 I was paying $750/month for a studio apt. in an old Victorian house in the Annex. Sadly it is now exorbitantly expensive to rent and live a fulfilling life in the city even on a well above average salary. It's a city for the wealthy, everyone else struggles and racks up debt. There are serious societal issues bubbling below the surface tourists won't see such as mass immigration numbers the infrastructure can't support, foreign investment (money laundering), fraud and speculation in the housing market and historically high addiction and homelessness. I acknowledge these problems can be found throughout North America but Toronto is particularly afflicted, on top of being burdened with very poor governance provincially and federally. I hope it turns around but for now I just like to visit once or twice a year, take a walk through my old neighbourhood, grab some of my favourite take out, maybe go for a bike ride through High Park, and get out. This city needs a housing crash just to be liveable for middle-class citizens again.
Bitter
I hear you and i am 84 years here and it has changed from a very dark night to a bad day in Toronto in my opinion - if we get a certain Mayor or two win we are screwed royally for 4 more years and will pay for it... if i am here that is.
@@rgobrien58 You're astute.
Being from London Ont…it’s almost exactly the same as you described Toronto to be. Couldn’t agree with you more. Toronto used to be so nice and beautiful. Nowadays, I visit and can’t wait to leave after one day.
Toronto is far more interesting and vibrant now. More density and more transit!
The story of how High Park & Don river kept British navy afloat when Napoleon came calling is worthy of its own history lesson. Rush may have immortalized YYZ, however the man it is named in honour of deserves recognition as well. Lester.B Pearson international airport.
I am no agreenbale on Lester B. Pearons Airport
Thanks for the shout out to Rush, patron saints of Toronto. Great city.
Thanks for covering a Canadian city. As someone from the southeast US, I'm always curious about what goes on on the other side of the northern border. I hope to visit and maybe even live up there one day.
I have visited 45 of the US states more than once in my life and it seems americans dont travel much nor do they know anything about Canada to you watch Jeopardy- we love it but we answer all the US questions they dont know their own country it is rather funny
As a lifelong resident of Canada, you'll get free medical, friendly people, and next to zero gun fights. Although, you need to stay vigilant in larger metropolitan areas in reference to theft. Cuz no developed country is exempt from the implications of drug addiction and property loss.
I’m literally going to Toronto next week to see my family! Couldn’t be better timing! I haven’t been since before covid (except for a layover at the airport), and I’m super excited! Great video!
Now that is a good thing at last
Fun fact for us math nerds - James Stewart, who wrote the standard calculus textbook and made millions off it, built a calculus-inspired multi-million dollar home in the Rosedale neighborhood and hosted many music events. It's called "The Integral House".
My partner and I divide our time between my home in Buffalo and his home in Toronto. On my one hour (very late at night on Friday or Saturday) commute has amazed me for almost twenty years due to the remarkable growth experienced in the city. Not a week goes by that Im not floored by the skyscrapers that seem to pop up within a matter of weeks. Living in Buffalo, where time has essentially stood still and prices have remained affordable, Im flabbergasted by the unprecedented home values in Toronto. In Leaside, a nice, middle-class white collar early suburb about 10 minutes north of downtown, single-family homes have gone from an average price of $350,000 years ago to over $2.25 million 15 years later. Taxes have not increased. Is it a wonderful city? Absolutely. It's such a new, futuristic, safe, diverse
City. It's a perfect complement to Buffalo....an old, historic, architecturally significant, safe, neighborly place surrounded by unmatched natural beauty.....and except for that little old border thing, is practically part of the "Golden Horseshoe" of Southwestern Ontario.
I lived on the opposite side of the lake for a few years, just over the border on the NY side. My choices for entertainment and social life were drive 30 minutes south to Buffalo, or drive 90 minutes around the lake to Toronto.
Toronto usually won out in that decision, and it wasn't even close.
My jaw hit the floor when I saw the title. I have literally been asking for this video for years. Thank you Kyle!! xD I live in the Harbourfront, manage one of the (quote, unquote) best bars in the world which is situated on Queen West, have lived in pretty much every borough of the city, and absolutely love how grimy and charming this city is. Every raccoon that stops in its tracks, looks me square in the eye and walks on by like I am less than them fills my heart with joy. Kensington Market is indeed the best part of the city, maybe even the country/continent- it is a part of what raised me at this point, and it will always be home. That being said, while you mentioned how diverse the city is, I kinda wish you would do a deep dive into the various ethnic neighbourhoods here. To name just a few (it would be pretty much impossible to name them all): Little Italy (aka Corso Italia), Not one but two China Towns, Greektown, Little Portugal, Little India, Little Jamaica, Corktown (lots of Irish), Little Tibet (aka Parkdale), Little Manila, Little Moscow, Roncesvalles (aka Roncey, aka Little Ukraine), Forest Hill (Jewish as fuck. L'chaim), Koreatown (aka Christie Pits), there is a huge indigenous/First Nations community here, and then you have the beautiful, weird, quirky space that is the Gay Village... Toronto is more than a city of neighbourhoods... it is the world in a city, and every neighbourhood is part of that mosaic. It is my favorite place.
There's certainly no shortage of topics to discuss about Toronto, and this video could easily be 30 minutes and still not cover it all.
Roncesvalles has always been polish, not fascist.
@@ms_gk There's a healthy mix of Polish and Ukrainian in that part of the city, as the two cultures are fairly close anyway. Also: we don't need that kind of "observation" around here.
@@frisbeepilot Never in my life I heard of Roncy being ukrainian/ fascist. Also, I don't care about your needs.
Roncesvalles is definitely a Polish neighbourhood first and foremost, but great summary of all the different communities otherwise. My favourite thing about Toronto is the world in a city feel I get upon arrival every time.
An excellent video about T.O. thanks for all the interesting factoids. I'm just east of the city in Durham Region, and always enjoy visiting, though I'll use transit if I'm going downtown and skip the driving. 😉
Toronto looks like a great place to visit. Canadians seems like they've got their act together.
That is debateable these last few years - i beg to differ - we do not have our act together...
@@frankdeturse5180 yeah ever since the morons up in suburbia elected Douggie everything has been going to shit.
One of my high school friends was from Toronto. His family lived in the North York district in the 1950s and 60s and operated a diner on Yonge Street in the city centre. At that time North York was considered a suburb, but looking at the map I don't think that's true now.
North York has its own skyline full of Condominium towers now.
@@Spike-pp5hx Yes.
North York used to be its own city but was amalgamated and became part of Toronto in the late 90's. North York used to be very suburban but its been changing with time. It's still not as urban and expensive as Downtown Toronto but its well on its way.
Acutally NOrth York is a city of over 1 million people no and even further spread northward
@@Spike-pp5hxDang places like North York, Toronto and Vancouver in BC have lots of cranes for New skyscrapers.
It took me years to warm up to Toronto after moving here...but ince I did and started exploring the secrets of the city i have really come to enjoy it here. So much greenery, Great progressive people,unbelievable food quality and options, fantastic neighbors, still very very safe. Really grew on me to the point im going to stay here.
Well done, you’ve nailed what makes Toronto great: the ravine system. I can bike 13kms from my house to downtown and do it all on bike paths. Woohoo!
Great episode as usual Kyle. One small correction - you say that Kensington Market started off as a largely Hispanic area, but Toronto didn't have much of a Hispanic community until relatively recently. In the early 20th century Kensington was the centre of Toronto's Jewish community, and was often referred to as "the Jewish Market".
Yes the order of arrivals is off, Hispanic wave is the most recent I think.
We are the multicultural city in the world i would say with over 160 languages and ethnics here
I was thinking the same thing. There are just a few signs of the earlier Jewish presence now, including two old synagogues. I was wondering if he may have seen signs in Portuguese, which was a significant wave, and mistakenly thought it was Spanish?
@@cynthialauer6142 That's a good thought but the Portuguese businesses are mostly located in neighbourhoods to the west and not so much in Kensington itself.
@@cynthialauer6142 If Latin Americans have arrived in Kensington Market, it's way more recent than the Portuguese (mostly Azorean) wave of the post-WWII period.
This series is so great! The best part is that there are so many more cities to profile!
You did such a good job!! Really thorough and in depth and you highlighted a ton of interesting things that aren't usually known to non-torontonians. Really appreciate it.
Really cool to see such a developed city have so much natural hiking trails and green space. It's like a city within a forest.
Thanks dude! We Canadians often feel mostly ignored by US based channels but you're not one of them. I'm a lifelong BC resident and have spent the majority of that time in the Vancouver area. And congratulations to Canada, who at noon today(Fri June 16th) cracked a milestone i thought frankly would've taken longer. Today, we eclipsed the 40M mark in population. Really enjoy your videos Kyle! Many thanks for this one!
**Little known factoid about TO : Toronto has the world's largest population of raccoons. They also have the world's most frustrated hockey fans. And don't be to offended my Ontario brothers and sisters, because I live in Vancouver, where despite 3 trips to the Stanley Cup in my lifetime, they still have never hoisted the sacred chalice at center ice.
I don’t think Toronto is that bad during winter tbh. Definitely not the worst place to be in Canada during the winter over the past few years.
As a Torontonian, this is quite a good video on the city. Our biggest problem by far is housing affordability. But the islands are great in the summer, transit is quite good by North American standards, and I’ve never felt unsafe here, except when almost being hit by a car (the drivers are especially horrible). Overall it’s a nice place to live. But yes, the winters are brutal.
Thanks again John in Chicago
Canadians have begun integrating visible minority people into our country. It makes urban city living very expensive, but also more fascinating and fun. You capture this vibe very well in this video Kyle. One thing an earlier poster noted, Zee is not Zed here!
Wow, great one Kyle! I'm on the other side of the continent and wasn't really aware of how dynamic Toronto is.
I live in Pickering, just east of the city, so hearing you were here in April of this year and I missed you kinda sucks. Anyway I'm glad you finally did a video on my city, especially considering you mostly only cover US geography. Keep up the good work!
Awesome video Kyle! As a displace Torontonian I really enjoyed your take on my former stomping ground. Another interesting feature of TO is The PATH, the mostly underground pedestrian walkways which are great to get around town in during the dead of winter but also any time of year. One quibble, it's Y-Y-Zed (LOL) and the opening bit is the Morse code, repeatedly - . --- . ---- .. (I can hear the code in my head having heard it so many times).
I lived in central Toronto for 25 years with a bicycle as my main means of transportation. Living in TO is heaven if you do it that way.
You take your life in your hands with bikes on the roads and sidewalks with electric motorized - bikes - delivery boys on motorized bikes on sidewalks no license no rules or regulatiions be aware
Awesome work here, Kyle!! :)
I live in Toronto and I approve. Thank you Kyle
I‘ve lived in Toronto for 23 years and you know this city better than I do.
Nice video. You touched on the changes in Corktown. The new park there is actually a berm designed to protect that part of the city from flash flooding of the Don River. It is part of a massive project to unlock hundreds of acres of new development, parks and wetlands that will turn a post industrial area into a Northern European style neighbourhood. If you ever make it back it would be an interesting video.
I've only been there once, but I loved every second of my stay. It's such a beautiful city.
Great indepth video! Having lived there I loved the energy of the city. But yeah, the winters...
Perfect timing, I just got in bed to chill out for a bit before going to sleep lol
Hey the city I grew up in!
Another great video, Kyle. Thank you for teaching us more about Toronto. While I have you, would you please consider adding captioning to your videos? Thank you!!!
Just click on the cc button my friend!
Thanks for the tour.
Great job describing the city; gave me a renewed appreciation for it despite the fact I've been living here for 26 years! Sometimes people living in a huge city like Toronto fixate on the inevitable negatives that come with its size and forget the many plusses the city has, and I admit I'm often one of those people, so a video like this is appreciated. Liked and subbed!
Great video....Really enjoyed it!
BTW the original IMAX theatre called the Cinesphere (it's a giant ball) is still being used and is the still the best place in the city to see a movie imo! It is temporarily closed atm because of a big construction project surrounding it.
Excellent video!
Great job Kyle as usual. 37 year TO resident here a few things you could’ve gone deeper to show just how great our challenges are here, including crowding, affordability and taxation, mobility and accessibility, struggling small businesses, and rising crime but all told you reminded me that fundamentally this is still a pretty great place to live and filled with opportunities. Best large city in Canada by far when you add it all up IMHO. Thanks.
This was fun!
All that new housing in the The Beach (or “The Beaches” - there is a debate, haha) is on the grounds of a former race track that was closed in the 80s.
Toronto is also the country’s largest media hub.
Kyle,
You are the best
Great vid, to answer your question about the new neighbourhoods in the Beach, most of Toronto's waterfront was industrial so there were massive chunks that have since been sold off for development. The new single family home neighbourhood you were in is an example of what kind of development occurred as house prices started to go up but land prices had not yet shot through the roof. That, plus zoning and NIMBYs, meant we ended up with low density there.
Toronto has come such a long way since it was mainly WASP and was "the Belfast of Canada" for its Orange Order activity, and was second fiddle to my own Montreal in terms of Canadian cities. Kyle, if you like Toronto, you'll LOVE Montreal!!!!
Thank Rene Levesque for making Toronto the number 1 city in Canada 😁
Great video. As a Torontonian, I thank you. Toronto the Good, the town than fun forgot, until the Italians brought their wine and the Jamaicans brought their music.
As a resident of Toronto having lived in London, UK and then Montreal I love TO. For me, the ravine parks are the highlights. Pure green spaces with rivers/creeks. BTW the airport code is YY Zed.
When is the last time you seen some new green spaces they are high rise condos now i can count from my 40th floor aptl. bldg. looking south across the lake (we cannot see it anymore) over 23 cranes building and blocking sunshine and views... where are the green spaces - i have lived here for 84 years - maybe high park area and a few golf courses but they are building on ever square foot
of the city...take a drive down Yonge st. from St. Clair to Dundas and see what is
coming down and going up ... Yonge/Dundas the hub of the city is a horrid mess
and was the most vibrant place in 50's 60's 70 nobody could plan this city then or now
Toronto is actually my hometown and it's changed quite dramatically from when I was a kid to now
Love the videos!! Can you do Winnipeg?
The Beach or Beaches new development homes are built on the former Woodbine Race Track. It was demoed, some nature, some housing and the track moved out to thr airport.
Thanks you for saying Toronno
Hi Kyle. I just found your channel and I LOVE IT!!!! After watching the first one, I subscribed!!! I am now binge watching your videos...lol!!😃 I do have a question. I didn't see one so could you do a video on the best small coastal towns to live it? Like cost of living, attractions/things to do, etc.? Thanks a bunch and I'm looking forward to watching all of your videos!!! Keep up the good work.
I knew Kyle wouldn't let us down with the album cover! I knew it was gonna be Rush!
Kyle. Love your shows. I'm a Torontonian from birth(1952). Live in Vancouver now. (common refrain). The new homes in the beaches are built on the Old Woodbine Racetrack. It was moved near YYZ airport at least 40 yrs. ago and was caught up in politics for years before redevelopment. Keep it going. Malcolm
Greenwood racetrack
@@rgobrien58 It was originally named Woodbine (being located near Woodbine Ave) and renamed Greenwood when the new Woodbine racetrack was built out by the airport.
Little fact about the song YYZ: the staccato chime at the beginning is morse code for YYZ.
It's not just the airport code. YYZ in morse code looks like || - . - - | - . - - | - - . . || which is the rhythm of the song.
Ah man you just blew my mind.
that was the number start on my license plate 033 - yyz it was super
I'm 74 and have lived in many cities in both Canada and the U.S.. I noticed right at the end of the video you said
"except those winters." Also you didn't show 1 picture of Toronto between mid-October to May. So, yes Toronto
is a great walkable beautiful city from May to October. The other SEVEN months? Depressing. Everything is dead, week
after week with low grey leaden clouds, no colour, and COLD! No pleasure walking from November to mid-late April. All
the parks and walking trails are deserted. By mid September I get SAD(seasonal affected disorder) and feel lonely,
isolated and depressed. For over 6 months I'm virtually housebound, waiting for late spring, when Toronto's colour, warmth
and the sun to reappear. If you have read this comment to it's end I thank you.
There’s more to city life than what happens outdoors. The cultural life continues during the winter and it’s hard to beat!
@@dobiefankw examples please. really interested. What? Where?
Not everyone feels like you about the colder seasons of Toronto. You are really an extreme example and most would agree there is a lot of exaggeration happening here.
The original Toronto Waterfront was Front Street. In the early 1900's, the city landfilled close to a kilometre south of Front street. The land where the CN Tower sits was Lake Ontario before that great undertaking.
St. Catharines resident here (across Lake Ontario). The majority of Rush were from St. Catharines/Niagara region. There’s footage of them performing at a battle of the bands for a local high school (Laura second ss). Lakeside park is an actual park on the beach here and is where the song got it’s name! Love the vid
Only Neil was from that area, Geddy & Alex were both from the North York area of Toronto.
There are a few cities in Canada I'd like to visit... Toronto is number one. My college roommate was from Markham, Ontario, just outside of Toronto. She had nothing but good things to say about that part of Canada.
I want to move to Canada so bad. I can't stand living in the desert 😑 I didn't know any of this about Toronto. Looks absolutely beautiful
Toronto overrated. I know I live here.
If you're sensitive to extreme weather, the winters here are brutal.
We have a friend who did just that but having problems getting established here he is 65 - gay - and financially very well off - he left Fla. where he was a prof at Tampa U - he hates the US for what it stands for now..and loves Canada - so if your young and going to move here start now...
@@frankdeturse5180 He should enjoy the taxes up here.
I really like those neighborhoods of Kensington and Queen Street. I'm big on variety and they both seem to have plenty of that. That's one of the things I miss about living in Southern California, the variety.
Glad to see that Corktown made the video!
YYZ(ed), eh?😅
My wife and I spent a few days in Toronto 7 years ago. A marvelous city, and your video brought back some good memories.
It's definitely a walking city. Auto drivers beware (I know from personal experience)!
I was in high school when there was a push to go metric in the US and Canada back in the mid '70s. Sadly, we in the US just laughed it off and we failed, while Canada succeeded with metrication for the most part.
It was during that trip that I realized we screwed up here, and ever since, I use metric whenever I can (much to my wife's consternation at times), e.g., the temperature on my phone is °C, as are the settings on my Amazon Echo devices.
Kyle, I've seen you state on several videos that we ought to go metric here. How about taking it to the next step and use km, etc. primarily in descriptions and imperial secondary in future videos?
Regardless, keep up the good work. When are you next coming to Atlanta to patronize the Buford Highway Farmers Market? It's about 11km from my home.
Do Vancouver, British Columbia next!
Thanks you seemed more than fair and very knowledgeable
When you compare Toronto and Atlanta metro populations Toronto size is significantly smaller than Atlantas. Hamilton, Niagara region and other communities like Bradford aren’t included in the GTA but still can pretty much drive downtown from those communities and not really leave an urban area. A good comparison is the Golden Horsehoe which is a Toronto’s (American) population. That puts its metro similar to Chicago’s. also. Toronto has suburban and small edge cities that have skylines similar to major American cities. Mississauga skyline is a good size and when the latest buildings are completed this year it is going to look even better. North york and Humber Bay are also good skylines. Mississauga is also the largest suburb in North America not including Mexico. Great video. Been a watcher for years and life that you did Toronto. Thanks.
I love Toronto. We have family there and have visited a few times. I adore Leslieville. If I won the lottery...
Amazing
Will there be more of these city profile videos? They’re very entertaining raining, keep it up!