Why People Move to (and Stay in) Toronto
By: Sebastian Marquez | Tolobi
Dubbed “the 6ix” in popular culture and often listed as one of the most livable cities in the world, Toronto is regarded as Canada’s smaller but cleaner version of New York City. The city is facing rapid growth, with forecasts suggesting 3.4 million people and 1.7 million jobs being added to the urban area by 2041. Construction cranes work around the clock and are a common sight in the city, with 2019’s construction season seeing more cranes at work than Seattle, New York City, and San Francisco combined. But what, exactly, makes Toronto such an attractive place to live?
Diversity Central
Sometimes, people leave for change, to experience new things and to see what other possibilities are out there, and often they mean going to Toronto. It’s no secret that Toronto has plenty of diversity, with more than half of the residents born outside of Canada. In 2016, BBC Radio named Toronto the most diverse city in the world. And, like New York City, this diversity is hyper-plural in that over 250 ethnicities and 170 languages are represented in the city. This variety of people means a variety of places to experience. Toronto is often referred to as a “city of neighbourhoods” with some 140 neighbourhoods, many being ethnic enclaves that some locals commute to for the most authentic cuisines-Korean, Italian, Indian, Chinese, Greek, but also lesser known cuisines like Yemeni, Congolese, Uzbeki, Tibetan, Somalian, Armenian, Tanzanian-can get apart from leaving the country.
Creative Capital
Being home to a world-class university, the University of Toronto, as well as other famed institutions like York, Ryerson, OCAD, and numerous colleges, Toronto continuously pulls in new talent and ideas, giving the city’s employers a competitive edge in hiring some of the brightest and most creative minds in the world. Graduates from nearby universities in Hamilton, London, Guelph, Kingston and Waterloo also easily relocate to the city. But having all these higher education institutions isn’t just good enough for keeping people in the city. There has to be plenty of opportunity for them to put their education and skills to work!
Quality of Life
Toronto is an attractive place to live simply because the living is good here. The city performs highly in almost all the metrics that determine high standards of living. There’re always things to do in Toronto! Nightlife and dining options abound, and there are plenty of high-energy festivals year-round. In terms of access to nature, Toronto has plenty of greenspace, with some 28 square metres of parkland per person, which makes it outrank places like Vancouver, New York City, and Chicago. And despite many locals being likely to dispute the fact, the Toronto Transit Commission was named the best transit system in North America in 2017. Community amenities abound and are well-loved. The Toronto Public Library is the busiest urban library system in the world.
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
So sometimes, it all comes down to the opportunity to land the perfect job. Toronto has a diverse range of careers, ranging from the arts to that of the professional service industry, which attracts newcomers from all over the country and abroad each year. The Toronto-Waterloo Corridor has seen so much development in recent years that it now supports over 5,200 start-ups, 15,000 tech companies, and hosts some 200,000 tech workers, making it the second-largest technology cluster in North America. On the financial front, Toronto is home to five of the world’s largest banks, which also happens to have facilitated the emergence of a cybersecurity niche in the city’s economy.
The world is increasingly becoming urban, but some cities are just better places to live in than others. One of the challenges that comes with Toronto’s success as a livable city is that finding a home for a good price is hard to come by, which is why increasingly Torontonians are turning to Tolobi to find their perfect homes.
