We all have our own perspectives and backgrounds, and end up with a life path that we either enjoy or have made peace with. It is clear that the GTA and other areas have a housing problem, and that work needs to be done, but I'm not sure turning it into a battle of the haves vs. have-nots is helpful.
My path had me leave the GTA at a young age. I had an interesting career with good income living in smaller communities. That suited me; I care not for arts and culture or urban vibrancy; but that's me.
Every community has pros and cons. If I am interpreting correctly, all people like the Admiral are saying is, if it is to your advantage in terms of lifestyle, employment, income, etc. a world outside of the GTA does exist that you would be ill-advised to ignore if the alternative negatively impacts on your life. Crusade for better, but life may be passing you by waiting for 'better'. Whether you, as an individual, think that is settling for something less or giving up too much is a personal assessment.
I've lived in both Sudbury and North Bay (eons ago) and spent far too much time in Timmins, so I tend to agree with that list for the most part. Hamilton has some very cool and vibrant areas -- I've been discovering parts of it recently, and it's growing on me. Not enough to move there though.
As you well know, the northern Ontario economy is resource-based, which comes with varying degrees of boom-and-bust. It also tends to be more blue collar, where the idea of a weekend away is closer to towing the RV for an hour and go fishing than off to a resort and wine tasting. Having said that, the last time I was in Timmins, admittedly a few years ago, I saw far more fancy, high-end Euro sportscars than I was expecting.
I sometimes wonder who writes these things. I would much rather put up with a "harsh" northern winter than the damp goo that Toronto gets (or, for that matter, Ottawa; probably the dampest winter weather I have ever experienced). Yes, the crime rates are higher - the cities are social magnets for their surrounding areas much like Toronto. Most have only one, relatively compact downtown which have been hollowed out by big box stores on the outskirts. Improving downtown areas in most communities is a work in progress. Since a lot of the perpetrators and victims are indigent, they likely don't get captured by the census roles and impact the crime rate calculations (although that might also be an issue in many areas).
On that note, according to StatsCan, Windsor's Crime Severity Index is lower than Toronto's, but I agree - not anywhere on my list of places to live.
