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As a tradesman I can tell you the majority of guys working in Toronto don't live there. I knows some crews that come from 2 to 3 hours away and stay in hotels Monday thru Thursday then head home for the weekend. These guys earn 6 figure incomes but with kids and other regular expenses they can't afford toronto living. As for the daily situation on the streets its a manifestation of terrible management. Fiscally toronto is broke. Yet city hall is enamored with wokism and virtue signaling while people die on the streets in random knife attacks, drug overdoses, gunfire and suicides. They look the other way and spend rheir time pandering to special interest groups and professional activists. So....after living here for 40 plus years my assessment is it's going to get worse much much worse. Arrogance and lack of guts to fix problems will lead toronto down a path similar to Baltimore, or Detroit. It'll take years but it's going that way.

Lynn, this Canada thing is a common sense thing. Same reason a Tanzanian will not come to kenya to sell tomatoes on the streets due to high competition on the field. Any country you move to it depends on what you will go to do and who will help you get on your feet. Canada is extremely beautiful and one can prosper extremely well financially compared to kenya BY FAR! But you can’t come from the village and land in Toronto and wait for a job and opportunity to come get you from the airport! Am very honest. I live abroad, in one of the richest countries in the world and believe me, I have seen even their own citizens suffering economically. Why? What are their skills and plans and expectations? I read somewhere, with all the wealth in the world, if all was to be shared equally to every one the universe, the rich will become rich and the poor poor -again. So a kenyan should first plan who they will live with for atleast a year while they get on their feet, put their hustle mood on n be willing to take any jobs, plus get out of the mentality that one must be in a big city! Other places outside cities really have low costs of life and offer more opportunities. Just saying

Same here in Montreal used to love this city still do but post C19 everything changed like everywhere housing crisis, politics, the cultural center it user to be changed maybe its just looking at it now at the start of my 30s compared to when i moved here from Europe and Central Africa at the start of my 20s. Met friends i have for life, got great professional opportunities lived in nice places great food in the city. Now everything is just super expensive now and i know toronto is must be ever crazier. Im considering moving back to France or Switzerland to be closer to my family and friends and also be close to Gabon easier to visit than here constantly taking 4 plains round trip everytime i go back home. After losing my father last year getting divorced 3 years ago i think my time here is done. 14yrs here i became an adult here had amazing experiences, became a canadian citizen but its just not the same anymore. Time for a new adventure somewhere else. We used to live well even back as a student on minimum wage, now with a better career good salary we’re struggling. Breaks my heart seeing this all over canada.

Not to mention Toronto is a very dangerous city to be living in. ??

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.

This city has gone downhill and I lived here for 50+ years. Homelessness, unaffordable housing, over priced, too many taxes and becoming very violent. Your right random crimes and not concentrated to certain areas like it used to be. Broken health care system. Complacency. People thinks it’s not as bad as other big cities which is not the right mindset! I’d those keeps up it will be just as bad.

Alberta has changed too. It's a depressing place and people are becoming more aggressive, self absorbed and careless. \nFor Edmonton being a Capital City, it is dirty, smelly and has a major increase with crime and drugs. Calgary is right behind Edmonton with crime and gangs but at least it is nicer looking city. \n\nOur family is making plans to move out of Canada because this is not the way we live our lives. We are stangers to our own country. The place we've called home since our DOB is not a home anymore. ?.

You should come and live in Quebec, “the most classic city in Canada”. It is a historic and culturally rich city. Housing would surely be more affordable. You would learn french; you should not think that it is so difficult, it would just be a step towards a richer and more fulfilled life. What do you think? We are waiting for you.

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!

Cities and affordability change. In Europe, like Paris, regular working people DON'T live in the city. They commute.

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’ve lived here for 11 years now and over the past 3 years, my perspective has changed. I am REALLLLLY looking at how I can leave, what other cities are out there for my industry/ if there are career opportunities else where. It’s sad because I love this city. I wouldn’t be who I am, if I never moved here. But things change and maybe it’s time to move forward

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.

Worse city to live in North America. Is trying to mimicking NY but is within spirit and job opportunities. Also long period of cold season is not attractive.

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.

Anyway, who in the world would want to live in a Maple Leaf city.

You haven’t seen anything yet in my opinion.\n hiring more police wont fix this but in reality will fuel the crime . \nCorrupt greedy politicians and top city staff ruined T.O .\nNever mind spin media , \n ask people on the street how they feel in public in the city now .\nAsk people driving how they feel about traffic . Ask people on TTC how they feel .\nAsk people who live along Eglinton how they feel about the EGLINTON transit project .\nAsk people how they feel about the rental and home affordability.\n Media needs to stop the spin and start getting proper people into running the city .\n Not greedy corrupt people with a history of corruption, it’s so obvious.\n Just google anyone’s conflict of interest record or corruption allegations they got away with .

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.

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. ?

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 I were rich I STILL wouldn't want to live in Toronto/GTA. I'd move immediately to Tokyo or some other part of Japan. Even if you could afford to live in the GTA why would you when there's so many nicer and more safe and peaceful places to live in? \n\nI've seen enough of Japan to know that that would be the place I'd love to live in. Somewhere where you don't have to worry about crime and violence happening in your city everyday. No shootings or stabbings or robberies or carjackings or scams etc. and where the vast majority of people are nice, kind and friendly and non-violent and non-criminal.\n\nThere's a Twitch livestreamer that I watch regularly that lives in Tokyo and he regularly leaves his $3000+ bike all over the city almost without a care in the world. All he has to do to secure his bike is to lock his bike wheel to the frame without even having to attach it to a pole or bike stand etc. so that no one steals it. That is when I knew that Japan is the place for me. When you can leave your expensive stuff alone and come back and its still there. That is the kind of society I wish to live in and be apart of.

WAke up people, the common denominator between all the shit cities in north America is liberal governments. Stop voting liberal, don't go down with the woke ideology, really think you don't believe in that shit really, its not cool anymore as its destroying your lives. just vote conservative so you can have more money and less stress and be happier.

WAke up people, the common denominator between all the shit cities in north America is liberal governments. Stop voting liberal, don't go down with the woke ideology, really think you don't believe in that shit really, its not cool anymore as its destroying your lives. just vote conservative so you can have more money and less stress and be happier.

While I appreciate the spirit of your critiques of the city, I would say that many of the problems you’ve cited are the same ones in all North American cosmopolitan cities: the cost of living is too high, and social services don’t keep up with the population. If there is a city in N.A. not afflicted with these issues, I say give it time. People will start leaving the big cities for the smaller ones which are usually less equipped in general.

Southern Ontario is ugly as F**k, I was born here and have seen all the woodlands marshes and especially small streams and creeks disappear over the past 50 years. You have to drive a fair distance north to find an appealing landscape even driving to Niagra falls is a big disappointment now that it has become a giant shi*hole of overcrowded tikky takky shops and motels.Everyone thinks Canada is this huge country with tons of beautiful spaces to live while in reality 75% of the country is uninhabitable for farming or houseing which is shown in the rates of low inhabitants living farther north. 90% of Canadians live within a 1 to 2 hour drive of the U.S border for a reason because there is very little livable places to live in Canada if you don't want to live like an Eskimo. There are vast amounts of places to visit in the north in the summer time but to visit not to live. That leads to the question of why is Canada incentivizing peoples from more tropical climates to immigrate to a nation that is frozen 6 or 7 months a year which i think can lead to a lot of immigrants dealing with depression, its hard enough for the people born here but thats never discussed for fear of imprisonment by the government The government had 2 choices to which way to go in this country, the first was to find a way to pay for all the older citizens through CPP and OAS payments in the next 25 years which ment higher taxes and less money for the elderly citizens and the 2nd was mass very mass immigration to pay for these programs and in doing so turned the country into a place where no one can find a doctor no one can find or afford a place to live,cities have become overcrowed because they were not given the time to adjust thier infrastrutures to deal with all the new people and voila you have a giant shithole of a country.

I am not racist but just stating a fact during an observation. I live in Coquitlam. a city connected to Vancouver BC by another city Burnaby. I went to my local blood clinic for testing, it was very busy with long wait times of over 6 hours but I thought I would try anyway. As I took my number and was standing against the wall waiting as their were no seats I took note that out of 38 people I was the only caucasian, the other 37 were 100 percent Asian. I could have easily thought I was in a clinic in Beijing. This is my country, born and raised here from many generations of europeans. When I was young there was more diversity of cultural backgrounds but it has changed in that one culture totally dominates . That is not cultural mix it is a takeover by one particular culture. Why is immigration Canada allowing so many of one culture compared to other cultures? As a taxpayer I expect immigration should be well thought out and to not favour one culture over another yet in Vancouver area that is happening.

The first mistake was giving up that rent controlled place. I have one now that I moved into in 2009 and compared to rent in this city it's laughably cheap.\n\nIf I didn't live here I'd be looking to move on from this country as well. I'm still thinking of doing so but I'll try to rent this place out when/if I do at a cheaper price than the market so I can come back if needed.

I moved to North York after living in downtown my whole life. Much better. If I have the means would I stay? It's hard to stay in a city that isn't allowed to have any value and controlled by other political forces. Finding a place that has balance of its own ownership and thus its own destiny makes for a liveable and safe city. People are fighting for it, and losing. I don't think that would appeal to someone who can afford to go

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.

You have to gain over 100k to afford a living here… Infrastructure is very bad with long commuting hours and transit worst in Canada. It’s very widespread and there is nothing to see in the city itself expect if you love skyscrapers… The only reason people move here is due to job and salary if you are really an indispensable professional with a career, more welcoming and open to immigrants and apart from that nothing to do there… very crowded.. unsafe.. and you don’t really experience the vibe of the city like maybe Montreal that has its own downsides as well!! But its worth a try if you have that desire for some change in your life considering those caveats above.

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.

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.

All cities suck for living the drinking water taste like clorine may as well drink from a swimming pool and a lot of places smell like a yurnal to much crime, ego and greed oh and not enough plant life way to much concrete in the cities

I wouldn't like to live in any big city right now.

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 wanna live in Koh Samui. Sick of big cities and all the drama politicians have created.

This is every major city across Canada!\n\nIt is not specific to Toronto in fact Toronto is probably ahead of the game compared to places like Edmonton and Vancouver…\n\nWith this snowflake culture we’ve created for ourselves tent cities and looking the other way has just become customary?\n\nThis was pre-Covid!\n\nSince Covid you can see small towns like Duncan high River or all across Canada and the same thing is happening!\n\nThe cost of living in Canada is out of control whether it’s the gas the food or just the price of rent…

So happy I don’t have to live in the city

I like the city of Toronto just by seeing this video, but not the living cost. Where are you from? I thought you were Canadian.

I used to live at Yonge and Gerrard for many years. Loved it. I moved away to Alberta in 2009. I am shocked at how much the city has deteriorated as well as the cost of living. \nAllan Gardens has always been no go….but my god! Just ridiculous. No excuse for this level of homelessness.

I have had a home base in Toronto for the last 20 years, traveling almost consistently for work until covid hit. While I am not a fan of the city tbh, I have stuck it out there this whole time as I have not been able to figure out where else in Canada I'd rather live. The way things have gone in the last little while however, I'm now making plans to leave Canada altogether. Even though I am unaffected by high housing costs as I've owned a home in the city, the general cost of living across Canada is now extortionate for what you get. Toronto was fine for me to use as a base for my traveling lifestyle in the past, but with crappy weather much of the year, a left leaning electorate that keeps voting ultra woke politicians at all levels of government, the now increased cost of living there is no longer worth it to me. I'm headed for the exit. All this said, I don't feel that your coverage about crime in the city was balanced. Yes the news stories you used actually did happen, but I do not feel unsafe in the city. A handful of incidents in a city with the population of Toronto - this is a blip.

Since you have travelled to so many cities in Canada, which city is the best place to live? (consider work opportunity and affordable)

I live in Regina Saskatchewan. I visited Toronto recently and I have to say I don't like it at all. Even though, I have already saved up enough money while working in Saskatchewan to buy an apartment in Toronto without mortgage, I won't consider moving to Toronto at all. The traffic drive me crazy. There are so many vehicle on Hwy 401 and all other roads even at mid night, going to work will be more or as stressful as your work. I am surprised to find out most of my friend who has better or same qualification as me only get about less than 70% as I get paid. Life quality must be terrible compare live in a more afford city like Regina Saskatchewan.