Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

as both a graduate of Loughborough and somebody whom, I fear, you may have classified amongst the "Toronto haters," I feel I have been somewhat slighted by this remark. However, nowhere have I said that I hate Toronto - it's just that I don't think it's as great a city as some of its proponents try to make it out.

I think, in comparison with the other cities the Loughborough gang have it ranked alongside, their position in the mid-teens is probably appropriate. I haven't looked in detail at their criteria, but they seem to be based on the presence of offices of multinational service companies. I suspect that this gives unfair weighting to Toronto as the acknowledged commercial capital of Canada; if headquarters rather than regional branch offices were the key, it would probably drop down to the "alpha minus" list, where it ought to be IMHO. Dublin, Amsterdam, Mexico City, LA, etc seems a more obvious peer group than Madrid, Moscow, Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur et al.

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Something milliemillie might want to look at that she probably doesn't do where she is now, is this:

http://www.torontobrigantine.org/

you can get there on the streetcar so you don't need a driving license or parental chauffering. One of my daughters started sailing there, got hooked, and it would be fair to say that sailing has shaped her life since.

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Toronto 'area'? Could you be more specific -are you by any chance talking of the Greater Toronto Area, places such as Oakville, Pickering, Mississuagua?

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

You totally misinterpreted my post regarding Loughborough. No slight meant on Loughborough at all - I know quite a few people who graduated from there and I have the greatest respect for that university. My point was that I have much more respect for their opinion (or anyone's for that matter) than the Toronto haters who will go to any length to put the city down - including ignoring or vilifying its many good points.

The fact is that Toronto is a world class city. It's the economic engine of Canada. It has many world class facilities (e.g. the university, hospitals, etc) and it's one of the most liveable cities in the world. It's a major international destination for tourists and immigrants - and for good reason. I don't care where you put it on the list of world class cities (or global cities or whatever other term anyone wants to use) - but it's most definitely on the 'A' list.

And you've got to be kidding if you think Toronto ranks alongside Dublin. I know both cities very well. I lived in Toronto for 7 years. I'm originally from Ireland and I know Dublin very well. I like Dublin - but Toronto is in a different class.

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

So - just like every other world class city then!

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

No doubt, personally, I think you are better off somewhere such as Waterloo which is a nice area to live, has plenty (or enough) facilities, and is close to some very pleasant countryside. You can only visit the Harbourfront, CN Tower, and Casa Loma so many times.

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Again, I'm not sure what "world class" means but, looking at cities of a similar size, I'd say that Houston has better road infrastructure but worse transit. Amsterdam has better transit and worse roads, that's probably true for everywhere in Europe so I won't list them all. I have the impression that Brisbane has better roads but I don't know about the transit. I understand that the only roads that compare to the 401 for congestion are one in Mexico City that's worse and one in LA that's a little better. I suppose the road that had the 26 mile jam in China was worse on that day.

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

But you can visit the St. Lawrence Market every day. Living next to that suited me well in some ways. No grass though, Toronto's not very green.

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

You can only visit the Harbourfront, CN Tower, and Casa Loma so many times.

Now that IS a silly statement. If that's your understanding of Toronto I would suggest you've never visited it or if you have you were wearing blinkers.

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Why is it silly? Toronto is just a city. Bits of it are nice to live in but there is nothing special about it.

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

COuld say that about London, NewYork, or any of the indisputably "world class" cities I expect.

The whole debate is silly if you ask me. People who think any place is "the best place in the world" will inevitably have a higher opinion of it than people who dont:confused: Arguing about rankings is mindless. Whats important is facilities, livability, safety, and gut feel as much as any of the rest of it.

There is no argument that there is lots to do in Toronto, there are worse places to get moved to as a teen.

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Oh yes. It's just a place. I wonder how many cradle Torontonians have ever visited the CN Tower or Casa Loma?

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

I think the only point I'd take issue with in what you say here is that Toronto is a major international tourist destination. I don't have figures to hand, but - to use as an example the workforce of my former employer, most of whom are from India - people come to Toronto because it's a convenient international airport for Niagara Falls, or because they have some other reason to be here; it is not a destination in its own right. There was a running joke amongst the Indian expats that the photos they emailed home or posted on Facebook had to be able to impress "Mrs Patel down the road from my mum" (I guess the BE equivalent would be to impress Oink's nan...) - Niagara certainly, the CN tower perhaps, but nothing else in Toronto would cut it. Those posted to this region took a road trip to Montreal or Quebec, or south of the border somewhere, if they wanted to rack up the Patel Points.

However, so much semantics. We're straying a long way from the point, and from milliemillie's original question. There is plenty to do in Toronto. It's a great city to live in, or near. I forgot all about TIFF, which is definitely a world-class film festival. There's plenty of other high-culture stuff, plenty of music venues, plenty of sports, plenty of community events, plenty of shopping, plenty of everything you would expect to find in a large multicultural metropolis.

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Huh? Look at the Satellite view at Google Maps.

Of course, there are areas with no grass - that's true of any city or it wouldn't be a "city". However, Toronto is a definitely a green city.

http://www.seetorontonow.com/Visitor...reen-City.aspx

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

I believe it was a comment in regard to the last argument about a "world class" canadian city, in particular the amount of open space and parks it has. For the sake of my sanity perhaps we could all just ignore it:D