Growing up I lived in so many houses, that since becoming a parent I’ve tried to make solid roots.
1971-76 - Lewisham, UK
1976-82 - House #1 Meadowvale, Mississauga
1982-86 - House #2 Meadowvale
1986-88 - House #3 Meadowvale
1988-96 - Beach(es), Toronto (Sept-May 1991-95 in Ottawa for uni)
1996-98 - Woodbine, north of Danforth, basement apartment (my first place)
1998-04 - Cabbagetown (married, bought my first house)
2004-07 - Fredericton, NB (Cabbagetown rented out)
2007---> - Cabbagetown (same house)
But my kids will be launching 2025-30 so I’ve been pondering a change. I think I’ve just grown tired of the decline of downtown Toronto, with the beggars walking up to my car, the encampments, addicts and mentally ill in the parks, the litter and graffiti, the shoddy and neglected infrastructure, the lack of enforcement of laws against public drunkenness and open drug use, and an overall sense that the city’s best days are behind it. This can’t be as good as it gets for me, I think to myself.... and maybe I want to live still in a dense area, but without all that baggage I list above. I know it’s a semi dictatorship, but I just fell in love with Singapore when I visited in 2018. But back to small towns with active main streets, I’m liking Thornbury.