ksun
Senior Member
Three observations:
1. Many Canadians who hate Toronto in fact seem to just hate cities, and all the things that come with them, like density, congestion, etc. Most of the typical criticisms (there's nowhere to park, the rent/real estate is too expensive, the streets are overcrowded, people are too busy to chat to strangers on the street) will never be "solved" unless you turn the city into a suburb. The "cities are dirty and bad, rural is wholesome and good" dichotomy is deeply ingrained in the Canadian psyche, especially for those who grew up in the 60s and 70s when Toronto had much less to offer.
2. We Torontonians ourselves are often guilty of living in a bubble in which we imagine that all our problems are unique to us. However, when I travel to other cities, including NYC and Boston, I always make a point of flipping through local newspapers in the hotel or coffee shop. And guess what? They're also filled with people complaining about too many new condos, complaining about poor transit, complaining about city council gridlock, complaining about police funding, etc. We are not alone. What's frustrating is when we refuse to learn from solutions that other cities have already implemented successfully.
3. Some complaining is valid, because identifying a problem is the first step to solving it. However, there's a definite tendency in Toronto harp endlessly about negatives while ignoring or discounting all the positives. There are many things Toronto does great, and there are many benefits to living here, which is why the city is constantly growing and changing. If Toronto was half as terrible as the naysayers make it out to be, why are millions of people choosing to live, work and visit it?
I agree with all points except the last sentence - not a good argument.
There are far more people in Mexico City, or Mumbai, or Dhaka. A city's quality and attractiveness is not defined by its population (or even visitors - consider Las Vegas or Bangkok).