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I've lived in Toronto for almost 20 years, and I can't wait to get out. The plan is to move somewhere else in the spring, just figuring out where. Toronto now breaks my heart-- you see people seriously struggling everywhere, and it's hard to see it in contrast with the opulent wealth that much of the city has. We're lucky to be in a rent-controlled apartment and we've been here for over a decade, and there's no way we'd find anything even remotely similar here now (the apartment we live in would go up at least $1000 if we leave). The safety is also an issue- I live in a fairly busy area that used to be extremely safe (I used to walk home alone at midnight in high school) and now I rarely leave my apartment after dark. There's very angry, erratic people, many on substances, and I've had some rough encounters already. And don't get me started on public transport.... My sister saw someone almost get randomly pushed into the subway tracks yesterday, and obviously that doesn't get reported. It's worse than people think, and it's only gonna get more horrible once winter hits.

I stay in Toronto because of my kids who are teenagers. Aside from enjoying singing in my choir and living in the Beaches area… I’d leave in a heart beat. I loathe driving into the city! You basically can’t anymore as the roads are taken over with bike lanes… There is constant construction everywhere and they removed the Gardiner heading east so everyone has to take Lakeshore in! That road is a nightmare due to construction everywhere. There are many more homeless people and long lines to food banks I’ve never seen in the 35 years I’ve been here! Rent is insane as mentioned with no one doing anything about it!

I used to live maybe a block away from where you used to live in Toronto, I moved to a different city around the time that Rob Ford became mayor I can’t remember what year that was. We couldn’t afford to stay in Toronto after our landlord sold our unit and the new owners wanted to live there, so we moved to a more affordable city. I was really shocked at the massive increase in the number of homeless people in the city that weren’t able to find space at a shelter, I had to ask my sister if I had missed news of a reanimated occupy Wall Street movement, because that was the last time that I had seen that overwhelming a volume of displaced people camping in the parks. I hope that some sort of solution can be found to massively increase the quantity of safe warm and free to the occupant shelters in Toronto before winter.

I landed in Toronto in 1984, it was clean, safe and affordable. I was able to support myself going to university in the early 90’s working part-time as a waitress. Tuition was much cheaper back then and of top of that I was able to get a grant from the government (which was scrapped I believe). I used to walk down Yonge Street late at night with friends until we reached College Street to go have breakfast at the Golden Griddle on Carton Street. I miss the Maple Leaf Gardens and the CNE Grandstand. There were no shootings at nightclubs when I went dancing. Then things started getting really bad, the cost of living and the violence skyrocketed so I decided to move to Quebec City at the end of 2014. I worked hard on my French and now I am a civil servant for the Quebec Government. I have no regrets. I am lucky to have known Toronto The Good. If you want to reminisce about the streets of Toronto in the 1980’s look for the Night Ride videos here on YouTube. Cheers ??

Toronto is only a tourist location now and for those who wants to stay in Airbnb for few days for tourism purposes. As for living, it's best to live away from these cities where you have 1/3rd the cost for a studio room rent.

I was raised in New Orleans, and lived in Toronto from 2015 to 2021. As a game developer, my income and affordability are no setbacks; but the increasing crime rate was fairly on par with NYC and LA in 2021 (I'm sure must be the same now). Yeah, free healthcare n no guns yada yada yada (always take a heat for that) but that insane level of theft n break ins like WTAF man! Yup, free healthcare too but good luck accessing it! My income purchasing power was quite low compared with many major cities in the US (exc. NYC but similar to LA). Add the forever construction, harsh weather, that influx of migration from a specific country (hush-hush) with no desire to integrate n assimilate, I decided enough was enough, packed my bags n moved to Irvine CA. Never been happier!

When I moved to Montreal in 2006 from Ontario, a lot of people were coming here for school, then moving to Toronto for higher paying jobs. Now, the economy here is doing very well and the cost of living is about half of what Toronto costs. I meet people every day who are leaving Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa for Montreal. Costs have gone up here too but not nearly to the same extent.

I guess because Toronto is so huge and because I stayed in the main touristy areas I only noticed a few homeless people during my trip. They were more noticeable to me in Calgary in the spring. But the worst I've seen is Portland, Oregon and Seattle, WA and in 2021 Washington DC was pretty bad off...though the encampments I saw then had been cleared out by DC when I returned in 2023.\n\nI really really enjoyed my stay in Toronto over Labor Day weekend, my first time ever to visit. But just looking around me I got the same sense I did in NYC...it's a beautiful place to visit but living here would be ungodly expensive. The luxury apartments across the street from my hotel seemed to have rather low occupancy, from what I could see from my hotel room window at night. A lot of rental real-estate are speculative investments and any thought of addressing housing needs, keeping occupancy rates high, etc. are purely secondary concerns...zombie buildings with unaffordable rents that remain sparsely occupied while the need(s) are so dire is morally offensive and government should step in with rent controls and occupancy requirements and tax those owners more heavily who have occupancy below a minimum threshold. The increase in crime is a completely expected outcome of economic desperation. The US answer is usually more police & harsher penalties but I hope Canada is more rational and humane in addressing these societal ills.

it's really not better anywhere else. i lived in australia for 10 years before moving back to toronto and i definitely prefer it over here. grass isn't always greener

Born and raised in Toronto… My dad used to live on Toronto Islands..I lived St Clair & Mt Pleasant, St Joseph’s High School, Ryerson… used to be “Toronto the Good” I’m 71.. left in 2006… went back in 2018 and was HORRIFIED . Street fights on Yonge St… FILTH… I realized that things were going south.. when Ryerson wouldn’t allow it’s workers to say “ Merry Christmas’ SO HEARTBREAKING. Now in Ottawa… what can I say ??????

Sadly everything you shared is pretty accurate. I got got followed to my work place by a stranger I met in the TTC streetcar. He proceeded with attempted to assault me in the building of my workplace. This left me traumatized for months, thank goodness I overcame my fear of riding the TTC. On the question of rent, it’s insane it actually may force some people to stay in bad situations just so they can maintain the living conditions they are accustomed to like staying in toxic relationships or terrible roommate situations…etc. I did get very lucky, moving in 2022 from living with a roommate to living on my own in a bachelor same area and really nice area in Mimico by the Lake for a rent of only $1400. Simply because my landlords are an old couple not greedy at all who prioritize having a good tenant over making extra cash but having to deal with different tenants every few months just because people cannot sustain the increase of living in Toronto plus paying their bills and rent. So there is hope, if you can find a landlord that has these values you won the lottery. I’m hoping things change for the better in Toronto, there’s no reason why the city cannot tackle all these issues in a more efficient way. But like sometimes I think of moving to a smaller city and if it weren’t for my current rent which is very low for the time we’re in, I would have moved to a cheaper province a long time ago. Thanks for posting your experience, wishing you all the best with where you decide to move to!

I moved to London, England, 5 years ago from Toronto. There's a lot of the same issues here, but I'd rather be in London than Toronto as there's just so much more to do here. Toronto is expensive but boring. At least in London you get what you pay for. I'm a city girl through and through so I couldn't imagine not living in one.

I've lived in and out of Toronto for most of my 50yrs. It always seemed to be a city that was never able to live up to its potential. So much mismanagement of funds for starters. The list of problems is to tiring to go over.

Torontois no good.crime is worst and is very dirty.I grow up Toronto i use too love city.\nBut iam not toronto still feel like iam living in a third world country.

I have lived in Ottawa for over 30 years, and we have many of the same problems outlined as in Toronto, especially when it comes to housing prices, and heating and air conditioning and gas and groceries....I have a very good job, but can't imagine maintaining any quality of life here post retirement. Personally, I am looking to spend my twilight years in Colombia where life is better for a fraction of the price.

Toronto not only remains stuck in time, infrastructure wise, it's also facing a huge cost of living issue. EVERYTHING is going up in price.

I am from Toronto and it's really changed for the worst as of my recent visit, my family all wish they could move , I currently live in Halifax due to work for the past 5 years and it's also bad with similar issues . Canada ?? has really changed for the bad .

We lived in Toronto for 30 years and moved to Calgary 6 years ago because of a good job offer, and the hope for a less congested, polluted, dangerous, expensive environment. Here in Calgary, we are living in the inner core and can enjoy sitting in the back garden without hearing the drone of traffic or airplanes. Toronto was fabulous from 1994 to 2014. All our friends and family who still live there are unhappy with the decline of the city.

We live in Barrie Ontario, but have lived much closer to Toronto before. We are both in our mid to late 50’s and are planning on semi retiring in 3 years to New Brunswick. It’s very affordable and easy to retire there. As Ontario is extremely expensive, I can definitely see people moving out east in Canada as well as companies relocating there for the simple reason of affordable building rents or to build a new building for their business and offer jobs at a place where their employees can afford to live. I am also predicting that the populations in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia will see huge growth in the coming years.

Toronto is no different than any other large metropolitan city. The problem is peoole want to live beyond their means then complain because they're not at that level to live that lifestyle. ?

Downtown Toronto always expensive. Better to look for apartment in suburbs. I used to live in Toronto many years ago and am now in Nova Scotia. Halifax has many of the same problems now.

Due to Trudeau's policies the standard of living for a LOT of people has rocketed downwards...his gas tax has made food and gas unaffordable, his mass printing of Canadian currency plus his massive deficits from year to year have cause rampant inflation, we have a massive housing shortage due to his policies coupled with the lack of proper infrastructure in this country (Canada is the ONLY G7 nation with high speed rail, plus we have no plans to build that)...as a result rents in cities like Toronto and Vancouver are ridiculously unaffordable...there is a massive crime wave happening in the country because of Trudeau's policies to release criminals from jails, coupled with his policies to use taxpayer funds to provide drugs (like cocaine, and meth) to users...stay away from Toronto, it has been ruined by the policies of the government run by Justin Trudeau and backed by Jagmeet Singh. :(

If money wasn't an issue Toronto would be the last place I'd live.

Toronto is insanely expensive without a sense, for that money you could live in Switzerland, Norway or Monaco!!!!

Hi Alina! I agree with many of your points.\nWhere do you currently live or planning to live instead of Toronto?

Toronto is a shithole. Lived in or around it my entire life. Watched the decline happen in front of my face. Sad.

Yes Toronto is laid back and also overhyped \nThere certainly are better places to live in

Unless you have a net worth of over $100 M and an additional annual income of at least $5M, don’t even consider moving to Toronto (in which case, why would you want to live there in the first place?) — except, of course, for the fine year-round weather, the bracing mountain air, the breathtaking sea views, and the plethora of Old World antiquities, all of which are truly lovely...

Why do people like living in a concrete/glass cage called Toronto?

Grew up an hour away from Toronto, and lived there between 2018-2020 while attending grad school. It was expensive then, and has only gotten worse. My friends that remain are afraid to taoe the TTC, and as you touched on even the nice neighborhoods no longer feel as safe given all the random crime. I work in community services, and so much of what we are seeing could be mitigated or outight eliminated with better funding for social services. It's been almost three years since I moved across the province, and although I love to visit, I could never move back eith the way things are now.

I'm live here in Vancouver.. I love its locations where there are waters and mountains, even if its a bit pricey than Toronto..❤❤❤

livelong resident of Toronto but I did live in Japan once and loved that too. I'm lucky I'm in a rent controlled basement otherwise there's no way I could afford to live here. Just got laid off today from a remote gig and have to stay for benefits etc. I could see myself living in Japan in the future though. If I'm paid remotely then cost of living seems a bit more stable.

I was born in Toronto and have only lived here my entire life (Im in my mid 40s). The disaster here in Toronto over the past 8 years is thanks to Trudeau. Theres no way anyone can argue that.

As a Montrealer, Toronto to me was pretty much like any big charmless American city but cheaper, cleaner and safer. So I understood that American visitors, at least, would like it. But no more. What hasn't changed is that it remains a physically unattractive city, replete with highways and strip malls, especially near and north of the 401, where most people I know live, as it's cheaper. Great for business, but Montreal is far better in almost every other way. Even friends who've moved to TO 25 or 30 years ago admit that.

Born in Montreal but lived the last 40 years of my life in Toronto… and as others have said… it’s not what it was. Trudeau has destroyed this country. It remains to be seen if the damage is reversible. \n\nIf I were you I would suggest checking out Budapest. It’s an amazing city and the country is run by a PM who actually gives a damn about his people and their culture.\n\nSouthern Brazil is also quite nice (as you know) and SÉ Asia is attractive if you don’t mind the distance. \n\nGood luck!

I spent a lot of time in Toronto going to college then university and working in the summer. I love certain pockets of Toronto, the diversity, the opportunity and the uniqueness it holds however I would never move to Toronto. I do live in the GTA with my family and we were fortunate to buy a house pre housing market increase in prices and thank God we did! If I were a young person starting off now I would 100% relocate to a smaller city up north if I could get work there or to another province in need be. It is not worth all the stress and unhappiness that the trying to survive in the rat race that Toronto has become.

Finally someone speaking the truth about Toronto! After having lived in Ottawa the last 4 years, agree with everything you just said?!

Ex=Toronto, living in a 2000 sq. ft luxury condo with pool, gym, sauna, internet, concierge service, security overlooking the Pacific and seconds away from a beautiful beach from which you can watch the sun set into a golden dusk for USD$1000 in Manta, Ecuador, working remotely! If you have a college or university degree you can stay here for 4 years tax-free. And the food is always super fresh, seafood galore, and the people are wonderful.

Yes actually I do have a comment or two. I think that Toronto has become the victim of either its own success as a multicultural, diverse and growing metropolis or the perceived idea that Toronto is the place to be. And what that brings with it? Yes, people who are interested in living the life and those who can afford it pay it. You said it very well, the city has become unaffordable to most people but the wealthy or at least those who are getting paid the best salaries and those who bank on real estate take advantage of this, be it the hype or reality since also, most job opportunities are still there. So to me the problem is with the lack of contro of the real estate market. And people who cant pay but for whatever reason live there just have to pay the price. The refugee situation is not surprising to me at all. We are struggling with affordable housing for crying out loud but we are also advertising to the world that we are that welcoming and peaceful society that those people can be part of. But at what cost. Toronto cannot continue like this if it will still be considered as a city for the people and not the wealthy and chronically increasing poor. No wonder they chose a progressive for a mayor and not a conservative or hard line liberal because people want change but not radically. People want to live in the best city they can having all necessary services and in peace and safety. So, there are so maby layers to pill here but again, the main reason why things have gotten the way they are is because they let real estate run unleashed. All the best, Alina.

While I identify and agree with the overall sentiment of this video, here is the problem Alina. As a somewhat successful tech person who came from nothing, I refuse to move out of a city to a culturally or globally lacking city due to “budget”. I tried spending time in BC and Nova Scotia in the capital cities. I could not spend more than a week in Saskatchewan. I can assure you that someone with decent skills and lifestyle would not be able to sustain their social and personal life, and mental health anywhere in Canada other than Toronto. If I spoke decent French, I’d say Montreal is a decent option. Vancouver is too lopsided as an international real estate haven, even though beautiful. So the problem is that Toronto is honestly the only city someone like me (and most my friends) would consider living in Canada, and we are all unfortunately being forced to move to the US. We are in our very early 30s so it’s still not too late to have a big move but none of us wanted to try out NYC or SFO much later than now. I hope things improve and we are able to move back to Toronto. But right now, unless you make $300k+, it’s impossible. And we are only able to make that money in the US (most of us). Cheers and keep it up.

Crime has actually decreased as a proportion of population in Toronto (except for COVID years). And everywhere in the world is facing inflation and a tight housing market. It is true that Toronto has the housing market worse, but the other costs of living are quite cheaper than other countries in the world. Toronto didn't even make it to the 100 most expensive of 2023. You have to realize this is a worldwide issue. Not unique to Toronto. \n\nThe social services issue is definitely more specific to Toronto. They are not dealing with these issues properly.

Hi Alina can you tell us where to live in Canada and elsewhere that's better. I've been living in a Bachelor apartment for 12 years now in midtown Toronto I pay 966$ a month, now the same apartment is priced at 1600$ a month this is insane :( the new generation has no chance only those who built there wealth before 2012 are having it good.

Thank you for bringing Toronto’s issues to light. If my Mother wasn’t living in Little Italy and loved the area so much, I would have moved to a different province by now.

Thanks for sharing your observations Alina. p.s. I lived in T.O. for a year and enjoyed it. Now it surely will be a place I only visit. I, too, once thought of moving to Toronto. And having read some comments from viewers... consolidated my future plans. ?

I used to love living in Toronto. Now I don't even like visiting.

Yep, I emigrated to Canada (Toronto) in 1994 and lived there for seven years. The property prices were out of reach even then, so we moved east and bought a house in Pickering. We then moved to Calgary in 2002 and started a business. Now retired, own properties, and grateful to help others find reasonably priced accommodation. I speak often with my fellow immigrants, and many are returning home. Canada has become too expensive for them - and increasingly unsafe.

Toronto is a great city to live. If you enjoy the quality of life Toronto provides. The nature, the parks, the diverse population and culture, and the beautiful people. Toronto is place for you. If you come to Toronto looking for social welfare, free benefit, free food and government handouts, then Toronto is not a place for you.

I'm a cosmetic surgeon living in Sydney Australia. I'll be totally honest. You can delete my post or you can except the truth.\nI've been too & have friend & colleagues who have migrated to Toronto from Sydney. Toronto is very similar to Sydney. It has some of the most exspensive housing in the world. Canada & Australia's economy is based on economic growth through mass immigration. The cost of this policy, means you also need to restrict development & zoning regulations to artificially keep properties high. Governments need make your population continually, working as slaves, to pay for basic costs, of a largely welfare dependent society. While your a debt slave, you don't spend your money on foreign products, as you have very little in the way of exsports, to pay for imports. The upside to this, you have many slaves to pay for the never ending welfare, as you have a policy of supporting refugees, single parents & the disabled, over self reliance & responsibility. Mental health issues are largly created by society, they are very rarely genetic. The high cost of living, means, you cant afford families. No strong family ties means, poor mental health issues. When you outsource, what familes once did, like help the the elderly, support your unemployed brother & have children. Replace all what families did with government welfare, instead of families helping each other, replace reproduction with mass immigration. You end up creating enormous problems in society. Problems with mental health & crime.\nNow for your modelling career. In Japan, your a novelty, as you have a different look to the Japanese. However in Canada, for your age what are your best features. You only have one. You have very good skin. However your face shape, is slightly disproportionate, basically, meaning your just an average shape face. You could also work on going to the gym, as your not toned. So basically as a whole, for your age group, your slightly above average, say a 6 out of 10, which is not all that good as 60% of Canada's population are overweight. Now as a model, you need to compete with people who are younger & better proportioned 7,8 & 9's. No such thing as a 10.

I have been living at that building you did your closing comments from right on the lake since 1997. Everything you said about Toronto is true and it is totally gone downhill. I am watching this video from my condo and Playa Del Carmen and I just never want to come back. Even if you can affotd it life is just easier and better elsewhere.

All of those condos springing up in Toronto are IMMEDIATELY scooped up by investors for rental or just sit empty for investment. Maybe only 10% are purchased by owners who actually live in them. This is just ONE of the problems going on. Furthermore, many condos are scooped by foreign or corporate investment or their extended family to get around rules.