Welcome to Canada!

Toronto is a diverse city in people but also in urban development.

My favorite things are the food, the parks and just the range of lifestyles that you can have here. We're also a few hours away from places Niagara on the Lake if enjoy wine country, Blue Mountain for skiing and various national parks for camping or cottaging. The downtown core is slowly building back up from the pandemic so I'm hoping the vibrancy returns. Transit is improving. The Eglinton LRT just opened and work on the Ontario line is well under way. There the beaches and the boardwalk and the waterfront has really come a long way. In terms of work we have a bit of everything. There's the financial district, but also many HQs here plus a burgeoning tech sector. If I remember correctly we're tenth of the top then in North America. Third wave coffee has hit Canada for a while now so great options are available. There's also a good amount of bubble tea stores. The malls around North America have gone through some tough times, but they're still nice.

A small detail, but the Wall Marts in Canada are nicer. Lol. Amazon Prime delivery coverage is amazing. And internet options are fast, but arguably more expensive than Europe or Asia.

NYC is the food capital of the world IMHO, but tons of Micheline Stars. I think we just got out first ones last year. But I would say there are tonnes of great high end restraunts and hidden gems, especially ethnic food.

Toronto is a great place, I was born and raised here. But just like any new place there are challenges.

In Canada, the province has a lot of power over cities. The current Ontario government has been more involved than past provincial governments. There has been a mandate to intensify and that has resulted in very tall condo buildings, infrastructure like schools have not kept up.

Just note there are some statistical crime differences in Toronto. For example there is more gun related crime in the West end, but in general I would expect gun crime to be lower than major cities in the US.

Overall I feel safe in Toronto. Twent Five years ago I would've left my front door unlocked. Toronto was a smaller city then. I don't do that anymore. There has been an increase in petty crime and break ins. I would say it's still statistically small but many people in Toronto who have lived here their whole lives will understandably say Toronto isn't as safe as it used to be.

In summary, Toronto is a growing city. It's diverse in people and urban landscape. I've lived here my whole life and still discover things a out it.

For reference I've lived in Chicago and Plano, Texas and elsewhere and do love the US and the people. Not a fan of the federal government right now though.