Is Toronto unfriendly?

I ran into a lady over the weekend who grew up in Canada, lived New York for around 7 years doing entertainment law, but recently moved back to Toronto. I asked her if she missed New York and she emphatically said, "yes." One of her big grievances was that Toronto was really unfriendly. She said people walk around here with a lot of cockiness and arrogance. "Toronto is trying to act like it's New York but it's not", was something along the lines of what she said. In the past I would hear people saying New York is an unfriendly city, and that Toronto was much better in that area. These days I tend to hear the opposite. A friend of mine who spent over 20 years here and around 4 in New York, also indicated that Toronto is not as friendly as New York, and you're much more likely to get into a conversation with a stranger in "The Big Apple" then you are here. I've also heard the opinion that Toronto may be more polite than other towns, but not as friendly.

A lot of people here tend to have their guard up often, and it can be difficult at times to get into conversations. If you do start up a conversation with a stranger, there is sometimes an initial "are you going to kill me?" look that some of them will give you because it's so unusual to strike up a conversation with someone you don't know here. But after that initial awkwardness you do definitely get your share of friendly people. But I couldn't make an accurate comparison because I haven't spent enough time in New York. I visited a few years back and didn't really chat with any strangers. The only interesting interaction I had was when we very quickly into the visit. I found a cell phone lying on the street, I picked it up, tried to call the home number of the individual but got no answer. He called shortly afterwards drove by in his truck by the diner we were in to pick up his cell phone. He thanked me perfusely and gave me $20. I refused it but he insisted I take it. It was a pretty cool interaction right off the bat when I got there, but of course not enough to base a whole city on.

But whether or not Toronto is a friendly city is an interesting question to ponder. A few summers ago I spoke with a gentleman trying to loosen up Toronto, and he received a large amount of support. So maybe there's something to this notion.

TAGS:

( Add your comments )

Recent Entries:
· Ontario Place makeover, major renovation on the way
· NFL in Toronto: Bills vs. Jets December 3rd
· 43rd Annual Cavalcade of Lights kicks off

[ READER COMMENTS ]

1

Man fron the Moon said:

Agree with the article 100 percent. I have visited New York and Boston and Seattle, and had many more friendly interactions (with strangers) than I ever did working and living Toronto.Its so true Toronto is pretentous, it knows it can never be a 2nd New York, because it lacks the creative buzz and energy, vibe, diversity that make that place tick. Seemingly having 10 months of coldness, has made people cold and unimaginative in this city, with so many so many ethic groups here, its highly surprising too see how little interaction there is between them, and how much so Toronto reflects more of a little provincial mentality of 5 million rather than a global cosmopolitan one like London (UK), New York or Paris. Toronto has A LOT TO LEARN FROM THE OTHERS, before it can claim to be a "best place" to live. Place marketing shouldnt be a charade.

Posted at 11:14 AM, on July 5 2009

Is Toronto unfriendly?

Add your comments...

We kindly ask that you keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Abusive or inappropriate comments or comments that are specifically promotional in nature may be removed.