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-   -   What to do in Toronto? (https://britishexpats.com/forum/canada-56/what-do-toronto-708638/)

johnh009 Mar 10th 2011 6:44 am

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Originally Posted by iaink (Post 9230856)
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.

Of course, it is all subjective and depends on where else you have lived and what you like.

brizzle Mar 10th 2011 6:51 am

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Originally Posted by Flogger (Post 9231135)
Obviously Bournemouth is better than Vancouver due to the fact it has a pier, 2 if you include Boscombe and a world class panto every year.

Also, the retirement comment is a bit of a myth.

How so? There might not be armies of blue rinsed ladies around, but I've always had the impression, that lots of people have moved here after making their money elsewhere and are retired/semi-retired. That certainly applies to a large proportion of the massive amount of new chinese/HK families here. They certainly didn't make their money here, and the head of the household certainly isn't working in a high powered job here - they are retired or working back in china/HK.

What I mean by retirement community is that a lot of people are not here to work and make money from the local economy (real estate is the only exception). Toronto is where people do that in Canada.

Flogger Mar 10th 2011 7:06 am

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Originally Posted by brizzle (Post 9231250)
How so? There might not be armies of blue rinsed ladies around, but I've always had the impression, that lots of people have moved here after making their money elsewhere and are retired/semi-retired. That certainly applies to a large proportion of the massive amount of new chinese/HK families here. They certainly didn't make their money here, and the head of the household certainly isn't working in a high powered job here - they are retired or working back in china/HK.

What I mean by retirement community is that a lot of people are not here to work and make money from the local economy (real estate is the only exception). Toronto is where people do that in Canada.

I was talking about Bournemouth.

my knowledge of Vancouver consists of last weeks enjoyable debate on the city and my BIL quote. "um, well, it was ok, i guess".


To the OP. sorry no help regarding Toronto, but if you take your holiday down in bournemouth(and why wouldn't you) would be pleased to offer all the advise you need.

brizzle Mar 10th 2011 7:18 am

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Originally Posted by Flogger (Post 9231273)
I was talking about Bournemouth.

my knowledge of Vancouver consists of last weeks enjoyable debate on the city and my BIL quote. "um, well, it was ok, i guess".

oops, sorry. Still at least my reasoning is there for anyone else who's interested. Used to go to Bournemouth quite a bit. I suppose it's bigger and more youthful than a lot of places in the SW, but somehow the 'Bournemouth with mountains' is stuck in my head. Maybe, I am finally ready for the asylum.

lmartin999 Mar 10th 2011 7:39 am

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Originally Posted by milliemillie (Post 9231145)
Sorry, i really didn't realise how big Toronto actually was! I am talking about those areas :-)

I can't think of anything to do in Mississuagua except to pass through it and wonder how one woman could make such a mess of it. In Oakville you could visit Oakvillian and have a spin in his Morgan.

johnh009 Mar 10th 2011 8:12 am

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Originally Posted by lmartin999 (Post 9231335)
I can't think of anything to do in Mississuagua except to pass through it and wonder how one woman could make such a mess of it. In Oakville you could visit Oakvillian and have a spin in his Morgan.

I think when Joni Mitchell sang about the "tree museum" she had Mississauga in mind.

johnh009 Mar 10th 2011 8:16 am

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Originally Posted by brizzle (Post 9231250)
How so? There might not be armies of blue rinsed ladies around, but I've always had the impression, that lots of people have moved here after making their money elsewhere and are retired/semi-retired. That certainly applies to a large proportion of the massive amount of new chinese/HK families here. They certainly didn't make their money here, and the head of the household certainly isn't working in a high powered job here - they are retired or working back in china/HK.

What I mean by retirement community is that a lot of people are not here to work and make money from the local economy (real estate is the only exception). Toronto is where people do that in Canada.

May also be due to the amount of borrowed money in Vancouver:

http://vancouvercondo.info/2010/05/t...-on-earth.html

JamesM Mar 10th 2011 10:32 am

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Originally Posted by lmartin999 (Post 9231335)
I can't think of anything to do in Mississuagua except to pass through it and wonder how one woman could make such a mess of it. In Oakville you could visit Oakvillian and have a spin in his Morgan.

Mississauga is the worst place in the world. Basingstoke but with out the ingenuity of the round-about.

Toronto is quite nice to visit in the summer as a tourist. Hard work in the winter though.

Novocastrian Mar 10th 2011 10:36 am

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Originally Posted by JamesM (Post 9231647)
Mississauga is the worst place in the world.

That's well over the top. It's one of the worst places in the GTA, largely because it's completely indistinguishable from all the other shit-holes in the GTA outer suburbs.

In the World? No way.

JamesM Mar 10th 2011 10:42 am

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Originally Posted by Novocastrian (Post 9231653)
That's well over the top. It's one of the worst places in the GTA, largely because it's completely indistinguishable from all the other shit-holes in the GTA outer suburbs.

In the World? No way.

Alright I accept that maybe Harare, Tripoli, Newcastle and several other cities in the world are less appealing at this time.......

But given that Toronto is the center of the known world because it attracts the brightest immigrants into industries that are 2 to 10 years behind....the disappointment of Mississauga is overstated in my previous post........

Auld Yin Mar 10th 2011 10:44 am

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Originally Posted by Novocastrian (Post 9231653)
That's well over the top. It's one of the worst places in the GTA, largely because it's completely indistinguishable from all the other shit-holes in the GTA outer suburbs.

In the World? No way.

Richmond Hill is a shit-hole? My friends there will be disappointed to learn that.

London Mike Mar 10th 2011 11:15 am

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Originally Posted by JamesM (Post 9231666)
Alright I accept that maybe Harare, Tripoli, Newcastle and several other cities in the world are less appealing at this time.......

But given that Toronto is the center of the known world because it attracts the brightest immigrants into industries that are 2 to 10 years behind....the disappointment of Mississauga is overstated in my previous post........

Mississauga is to Toronto what Slough is to London. If you want to live Toronto, live in Toronto - but it's not the GTA. Similarly if you want to live in London, live in London but don't shoot for Slough thinking it's the same deal. It's not.

brizzle Mar 10th 2011 11:21 am

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Originally Posted by JamesM (Post 9231666)
Alright I accept that maybe Harare, Tripoli, Newcastle and several other cities in the world are less appealing at this time.......

But given that Toronto is the center of the known world because it attracts the brightest immigrants into industries that are 2 to 10 years behind....the disappointment of Mississauga is overstated in my previous post........

Due to the current political climate, I can imagine that Harare and Tripoli are not places you'd want to be at present. However, having spent a bit of time in both cities, they are not that bad to be honest. Harare has some lovely areas (and some not so great ones either). Defeinitely a place with faded glory, but I bet it was pretty decent place to live until the early/mid 1990's.

Tripoli isn't terribly exciting, but some tidying up could make it a nice Med city. Lovely roman ruins nearby. Without a nutbar in charge, there's no reason why it shouldn't rate with Tunisia/Egypt for tourism.

Now Kinshasa, DRC, that has got to be one of the worst places I've visited. Still at least it's 'lively'. Jakarta in Indonesia is pretty grim too.

Still point taken. I shall cross Mississauga off my bucket list of places to visit before I die (having also visited and been disappointed by Basingstoke)

TheCanary Mar 10th 2011 11:26 am

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Originally Posted by JamesM (Post 9231647)
Mississauga is the worst place in the world. Basingstoke but with out the ingenuity of the round-about.

Toronto is quite nice to visit in the summer as a tourist. Hard work in the winter though.

I have been to Mississauga and its a place where people live side by side, they are very friendly and very house proud. They work and come home to clean structured safe streets. If thats where someone is happy to be then live and let live. Yes its fair to say that all the streets look alike but thats true of any new town developments. There are also many lovely big green parks where children can play, so is this where you call the worst place in the world?

I hope you find an area which satisfies all your needs.

JamesM Mar 10th 2011 11:29 am

Re: What to do in Toronto?
 

Originally Posted by TheCanary (Post 9231755)
I have been to Mississauga and its a place where people live side by side, they are very friendly and very house proud. They work and come home to clean structured safe streets. If thats where someone is happy to be then live and let live. Yes its fair to say that all the streets look alike but thats true of any new town developments. There are also many lovely big green parks where children can play, so is this where you call the worst place in the world?

I hope you find an area which satisfies all your needs.

But as a tourist what do you do in Mississauga???


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