dbd33

I didn't find it edgy at all and we routinely went to bars and boozecans. My partner then was a heavy stoner and stood in numerous alleys with other pub patrons, again with no trouble. In that era one daughter was a lifeguard and worked at Greenwood Pool, the pool one at Main and Danforth, one opposite the Welfare Mall, numerous other ones nearby. Note that she was able to get to and from the couple of dozen pools she worked at on her own; in the exurbs someone would have had to drive her. The only ones where she saw trouble were the Olympic one on the beach and the one in Riverdale. I liked Leslieville, there's good tram service as far as Greenwood and the subway isn't far. There was also good access to the lake before the Jack Layton Parkway was run through the neighbourhood. Above all, The Tulip is in Leslieville, offering a chance to eat steak with Vagabonds. We only moved to the Beach so as to have a big enough lawn for a full sized trampoline.

Of course, the point is likely moot now, Leslieville is no longer cheap so unless the OP is very well off it's not an option.

Pizzawheel

Assume you weren't born here since you had to do the whole PR & Immigration dance. A mate of mind had the reverse and ended up becoming a citizen to do a two week vacation lol.

I think if you've lived anywhere you'd struggle to find edginess in Canada, especially in Toronto. I've lived in East York (just north of the Danforth) and the current pad (Inner Scarberia). I do miss that connectivity that living just 1 west would bring, going home on Monday after downtown aperitifs was a miserable mix of streetcars, a walk up a hill and a bus. I did need that walk off that pie mind....

I've still never been to the Tulip? Recommended?

Hurlabrick

No, I was born and raised in Scarborough and I am Canadian, it is my wife that I sponsored. Lived in the UK since early teens, so quite a hybrid accent.

dbd33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pizzawheel

I've still never been to the Tulip? Recommended?

I love the Tulip. I'd either go for breakfast or for a steak but those who eat desert pies like the desert pies there. It's a rowdy diner with good food and not to be mistaken for anything else. Customers are all sorts. That's where my autistic daughter escaped from our table and found two of her dream things; unguarded bread rolls and men with breads to pull. Reclaiming her from the table of the biker gang was an arse clenching moment for me. There are queues, of course, even since they expanded, so it’s a good place if you’re hungry at an odd time of day.

I suppose one should note that Leslieville had the Hell's Angels clubhouse while the Vagabonds were over at the top of Golfview which is, I suppose, more Upper Beach than Leslieville. One year there was a bazooka attack that blew the door into one of the clubhouses. I suppose that might be deemed edgy.

Lifeguard daughter lived on Golfview for a while and developed and almost Kray-ish regard for the Vagabonds. "No crime in our neighbourhood, they love their mums, you always have someone to turn to" kind of stuff. It seemed incongruous to me given the affluence of the surroundings.