Part 2: The Difference Between Small and Big Cities: Personal Experience on Living in Brantford vs. Toronto

One of the big differences between small and big cities is employment opportunities. Large cities typically attract more innovative and diverse businesses and jobs, which becomes an attractive piece to moving towards them. While this is the case, the competitive and changing environment in larger cities makes it difficult to secure a permanent career.

You gain all those experiences and skills that makes you feel pretty confident about pursuing your dream career but end up feeling like a small fish in a big ocean at times. Although in larger cities, there is competition, there are definitely more diverse employment and volunteer opportunities than in smaller cities.

In Brantford, since Wilfrid Laurier University is one of the largest sponsors in community projects, it sits on a lot of community planning committees. Students at Laurier (including myself) had more opportunities to work with the City of Brantford and other stakeholders. Furthermore, since the University is very integrated in the community, students were strongly encouraged to work or volunteer with various non profit organizations and connect with stakeholders in the community. Whether it be conducting research, helping organizations write grants, providing recommendations, participating in board meetings, it was a great opportunity to feel more connected to the community. Since Brantford is close to one of the largest First Nations reserves that hosts all six nations, providing support and working with the indigenous community is a big piece of their municipal policies. Furthermore, there is a great focus on providing community services such as addictions and mental health in Brantford, as they are seen to be one of the biggest priorities that takes up a significant amount of their annual expenditure.

In Toronto, you definitely don’t feel like there is a tight net community. Employment and volunteer opportunities range from large corporations to small non profit services. There is much more diversity in Toronto and there’s constantly change happening- whether it be new business, city projects or community services that are available. Although there are more services and supports for indigenous people in Toronto, working with the indigenous community in city planning isn’t as much of a visible presence as it is in Brantford.

-Petek