So, What Is Toronto Like?

Toronto, Ontario, Canada is situated on the north shore of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes and is easily accessed by auto and plane, as well as train within Canada.

Off the top, I must tell you that when I googled a couple of things so I would have correctness for you, I found a lot of talk about Toronto’s blandness. Well, I don’t know about that! I think my evidence for the opposition would be to tell you about some of the exports to United States. No one has ever called me “bland” but how about Howie Mandel, Jim Carey, the late Peter Jennings, Anne Murray, the late Guy Lombardo, or Mike Myers? All from Toronto!

I think most of us are partial to our hometown. Mine just happens to be Toronto which is a little bigger than a lot of places. I have mentioned before that when I was a teenager in the 50s, the population of Toronto was about 500,000 and now, the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) population is 5.5 million and it is the biggest city in Canada.

In the 50s, it was known as "Toronto the Good" and people liked to say that they rolled up the sidewalks at 11:00 p.m. No liquor was sold on Sundays – by bottle or glass. At age 21 we acquired a license to purchase liquor at government stores. There were stores to purchase liquor and wine and other stores to purchase beer. It is not so strict now, but sales are still controlled by the government in Ontario. (The Government knows how to make a buck!)

Today, Toronto is a place where there there is always something to do. There are franchises and beautiful venues for most major sports. I think I have already told you abut all the restaurants. There are lots of theaters and some productions are tried out in Toronto before going to say, New York City. Toronto has a symphony orchestra and lots of live entertainment.

It is easy for me to compare Toronto to Houston which is about 100 miles from where we live now. Both have similar ballparks with retractable roofs; both have underground systems with walkways and shops. Both have some very stylish neighborhoods and lots of traffic! Toronto gets really cold in the winter; Houston does not!

Originally, Toronto was primarily inhabited by people from the British Isles – England, Ireland and Scotland. When I was young, Canada was still part of the British Commonwealth.

Toronto now is a very diverse city with people of every nationality and many languages are spoken around town. It is now the most ethnically diverse city in the world and that includes New York City. It is common to see signs in all of Ontario which are bilingual - French and English. The Measurement system is metric. When the sign on Highway 401, going east-west across North Toronto, that means 100 kilometers, not 100 miles per hour! In the supermarkets, the metric system is used to sell meat and produce.

We once heard a comment from a friend visiting from Bogota that he thought the main pastime in Toronto was shopping! There are lots of malls, plazas and free-standing shops: no shortage of places to spend your money.

Toronto is a place to see lots of celebrities. Movie and TV production is an industry and some people call it Hollywood North. One reason for this is the large numbers of interesting locations to shoot as well as the lower dollar value to the American dollar which makes it economical.The dollars have fluctuated over the years, and when I was about 20, the Canadian dollar was higher than the U.S. dollar.

Speaking of dollars, I should tell you that the paper money is different colors for different denominations. The dollar is a coin, with a picture of a loon on the one side. So, it came to be called the "loonie". When a two dollar coin was introduced, it was automatically called a "toonie". That is exactly what you call them. (So the first paper denomination is a blue colored dollar bill.

[Just there, I almost put "coloured" and you will see some English spelling that is a little different from the American.]

The food I grew up eating was very bland by Texas standards. That would have been the English influence. Now, there are restaurants with every type of food you can imagine and all manner of ingredients are available at the supermarkets.

Toronto has a very efficient public transit system with an underground system first established in the early 50s and connecting routes above ground. There are also buses and trains to take people to their homes outside of Metropolitan Toronto.

The inner city has houses that are mostly two-storey and land is very expensive, so lots are narrow. As you drive out into the suburban areas, and towns further out, you still will not see very many one-storey (bungalow) houses. The land is too costly, so most homes are two storey or some are split level designs. In Toronto, many people live in high rise and condominium apartments and townhouses are very popular. (Condominium means the common areas are owned by the "condo corporation" and you own just the airspace between the walls. The good part is virtually no maintenance for the householder.)

The house where I grew up is still on the corner, one block from St.James Bond Church, and the frontage is only 29 feet. So, you would see Toronto and surrounding, as rather crowded, compared to Texas where we are more sprawled out.

The population of Canada is sparse by American standards: approximately 33.5 million people. When you look at a map, you see a huge amount of land, but the majority of the population (80%) lives within about 200 miles of the Canada-U.S. border. Because people have to go where the jobs are and demand is high, cities like Toronto and Vancouver are very expensive places to live.

Toronto, "People City", is still a very clean city and very pedestrian-oriented. There are lots of parks and walkways. Toronto is a very accessible city. People in wheelchairs can get virtually everywhere. That is a big plus for many people!

Texans are very friendly, saying "Hello" to most people they pass on the street of coming and going from shops and restaurants. Canadians are more reserved and a little less outgoing. (I should point out that Ontario people are perhaps more reserved than some Maritimers (especially Newfoundland and Nova Scotia) and possibly less so than some of the Western Provinces.

At this time of year, the climate in Southern Ontario will be in the 60s and pleasant, while we have already had some 80s and almost 90s weather in Texas. We will need sweaters and probably coats at night.

In addition to Rogers Centre (formerly SkyDome) and the CN Tower right downtown, there is Canada's Wonderland, a theme park, Toronto Zoo, an Art Gallery and Royal Ontario Museum along with The Hockey Hall of Fame.

Something else you might notice if you are from where I live now is that Toronto is a city laid out in straight forward north-south and east-west fashion and people do give you directions with that in mind.

There are excellent maps handed out by the TTC (Toronto Transit Commision). If you want to find your way around easily by car, you can buy a Perly's Map Book. Yes, I said "book"! But you're not surprised, because you are getting an idea of the vastness of Toronto!