ehlow
Senior Member
I personally wouldn't want to work from home all the time and stay home during the day. I like going out and being around other people.
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Toronto Urban Sprawl Compared to Other Cities
- Thread starter middeljohn
- Start date
I personally wouldn't want to work from home all the time and stay home during the day. I like going out and being around other people.
Tewder
Senior Member
Ok? Point is, there are options. You don't have to work downtown Toronto anymore. You don't have to commute. You don't have to stay at home 24/7 either.
ehlow
Senior Member
I guess it depends on the nature of the work. If you have the freedom to work from anywhere, that's cool. In the tech industry (especially the younger tech culture) they often want teams of people that work together to physically be in the same place, at least most of the time.
Tewder
Senior Member
Yes, it's probably different from industry to industry... but once upon a time we all schlepped ourselves to work daily. Now i know so many who work from home full time or part time or who have shared communal office/work spaces. Even if not self-employed a lot of companies would rather their workers be productive at home than sitting in traffic and stressed for 3 hours a day. Of course, some companies couldn't give a crap, but then again they're probably not the more desirable places to work for younger sought-after workers.
freshcutgrass
Senior Member
A lot of the suburbs require you to commute just to get a loaf of bread. Sprawl doesn't have a lot of options at all. And there's more to life than going to, and coming back from work.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
Worse is that many destinations are not located in the same place and require a car to jump around. Park in one parking lot (IE fast food restaurant), but if you go next door (doctor's office), the car could get towed away. They force you to move the car.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
no they don't. Technically you are supposed to, but nobody will stop you from parking halfway and walking over.. they will have no idea if your car is an actual paying customer or someone over in the plaza next-door.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
It happens. That is why I always go into the establishment first, then go next door. Got a parking ticket at one time for using the LCBO parking lot and then going into a next door real estate office. Towing has happened to others that I know.
junctionist
Senior Member
New suburban strip plazas are so big and sprawling that people will drive from the bank or doctor's office to the grocery store in the same plaza.
freshcutgrass
Senior Member
With these super mailboxes, do people drive to get their mail too?
And it isn't just the driving around to places in the burbs...it's the fact that many places just don't exist in the burbs. What if I feel like browsing for some vintage vinyl? What if I'm interested in something more cultural than the mall has to offer?
And it isn't just the driving around to places in the burbs...it's the fact that many places just don't exist in the burbs. What if I feel like browsing for some vintage vinyl? What if I'm interested in something more cultural than the mall has to offer?
diminutive
Active Member
That's not really related to urban form though. Specialty stores and venues draw customers from a very large area. The limited demand for vinyl vintages or high price sex toys or fedoras wouldn't support a store on every corner, so you tend to get a small handful per metro area. There are lots of specialty store in the 'burbs you can't find downtown. George's Trains used to be somewhat urban but moved out to Markham a few years back. The only unicycle shop in Toronto is in a suburban warehouse. Most magic shops are in the 'burbs...
And in more suburban settings you also see lots of different cultural institutions. Think about the Getty Centre in LA. Or even the Science Centre in Toronto. There are lots of amenities you probably don't even view as cultural, like the mandir out at Hwy 427, but are for some people.
Tons of minority communities' religious-cultural centers of gravity are in more or less suburban locations in Toronto.
I get people opposing complete auto-dependence and some of the banal architecture you tend to see in the 'burbs, but we should be careful about painting them as these culture-less backwaters where the only thing to do is "go to the mall."
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ehlow
Senior Member
Suburban malls and strip malls can have interesting retail & really great food. Both correspond to the fact that immigrants are overwhelmingly settling in the suburbs, and they bring a lot of cultural things from their origin country.
For some, the suburbs is exactly what they wanted when they came to Canada: a relatively large house (especially compared to many places where immigrants come from), good schools for their kids, good quality air (a big deal for those from places with polluted air), parks, community centres, a car, and a quiet life. Many don't care about things such as vintage vinyl.
However for people in other situations, like the young & single, or young families who enjoy urban amenities, I'd personally say downtown and the areas around downtown near transit are probably the ideal place for many.
For some, the suburbs is exactly what they wanted when they came to Canada: a relatively large house (especially compared to many places where immigrants come from), good schools for their kids, good quality air (a big deal for those from places with polluted air), parks, community centres, a car, and a quiet life. Many don't care about things such as vintage vinyl.
However for people in other situations, like the young & single, or young families who enjoy urban amenities, I'd personally say downtown and the areas around downtown near transit are probably the ideal place for many.
freshcutgrass
Senior Member
Like the density comparison, you are cherry picking. I fully understand the attraction to cheaper rent, but let's not kid ourselves about the major difference between what sprawl has to offer and what urban Toronto has to offer. One is responsible for about 99% of what I'm talking about...guess which one?
Religious cults are one phenomena that infiltrates any environment. As a person who does not believe in the supernatural, there's nothing positive about it.
Even if that is true, it's hardly a walk down Queen West or Ped Sunday in Kensington, or Yorkville if you like upscale.
And these are the same people who wear their pyjamas to go shopping at Walmart. That's the "Canadian Dream" you are alluding to that the majority of our fabulous immigrants are coming here to experience. If life consists of procreating, feeding and clothing your offspring, and practising some sort of supernatural worship...KILL ME NOW!!!
Johnny Au
Senior Member
There is also the difference between the likes of Chinatown and the likes of Markham.
What place is better for Chinese shoppers?
What place is better for Chinese shoppers?
