6 things we love about Toronto

As you might already now, we have been to Toronto four times now—the latest vlog should be up by the time this airs (https://bit.ly/toronto2022vlog ). There are SO many reasons that we keep going back, but in an effort to keep this short, we are going to share our top 6 reasons for continuing to return to Toronto time after time.

240. 6 things we love about Toronto

(video: https://bit.ly/240toronto6vid and podcast: https://bit.ly/240toronto6pod )

Check out the episode to hear the full discussion and check out our blog post: 240toronto6blog

Here are the 6 things we love about Toronto:

1. Fitness is a cultural priority

Not only do they have a great lakefront there, but the running paths and biking paths go on for miles. The last time we were there, Bruce ran 5 miles in one direction and the paths just kept going. Along with that, we could find no “real” bakeries—in fact, Tim Hortons is what they consider a “treat”—which was appalling to us at first, but eventually we learned that we were NOT going to binge on pastries when we visit. Now, we’re cool with that. Simply put, their food is NOT decadent at all, so we have actually enjoyed healthier eating when we go.

2. Culture is similar to US, but different

Of course, one of the main similarities is that we speak the same language, but they have different currency. We notice also that it is similar in that it is cosmopolitan, but different in that the kind of ethnic diversity is different than it is in our Detroit area.

Paris Surprises: http://bit.ly/2zn7aHG

3. Feel safe ALL the time

This was really odd to realize, because I am from New York, where we are predisposed to be wary of finding one’s self a victim of a crime. But even at night and even in large, “free” crowds, and on the subway, we never felt threatened in any appreciable way. –We did wander upon some homeless camps during this last visit and into a neighborhood where some folks SEEMED not a savory, but the level of threat was NOWHERE NEAR what are USED to (which is sad, but true).

4. Dogs don’t bark

When we say that they “don’t bark,” we mean not at ALL. In fact, they act as if they DON’T care about you. After living our WHOLE lives feeling as if it is a dog’s instinct to want to rip your head off—large and small dogs ALIKE!—it was pleasantly surprised to find that, if dogs are trained differently, they can be docile and relatively friendly. The only time we saw dogs bark is when they were barking at other dogs…. But NOT at kids or at humans or at bicyclists or runners. Whereas, in our home community—which is really nice—almost ALL dogs bark and chase us, even if they are NOT dangerous. It’s like they feel as if it is their DUTY to TRY to intimidate/agitate folks. So, it is REALLY nice to see that dogs CAN be nice. (Also, we found that to be true in Paris and in London, mostly, too.) –But it stands to reason that, if the reputation for Canadians is that they are extra nice, then they would train their pets to be nice as well.

Chicago Post-Pandemic: https://bit.ly/Chicago2021blog

5. Close to home

One of the main reasons why we KEEP going back is that it’s just a few hours’ drive over the border for us. We live in Michigan and the distance between home and Toronto is similar to the distance from us to Chicago—which is one of the reasons we go to Chicago so often too. (If you want to know more about our lates trip to Chicago, click here: https://bit.ly/Chicago2021blog )

South By Southwest 2019: https://bit.ly/sxsw2019playlist

6. Great for shopping for interesting clothes

As you probably already know, we are always in the market to refresh our “Rock Star Billboard” look, which means that trips where we can find truly unique and fashion forward looks get us excited. Toronto DOESN’T disappoint, as it has quite a variety of thrift shops—ESPECIALLY in the Kensington area—but also there’s our new favorite shoe store, John Fluevog, and quite a few places that specialize in unique men’s fashions. (See our blog post to see some of the places we frequented on this last trip: https://bit.ly/toronto2022blog ) We’ve never been to a place that was so consistent in offering this level of rock star gear, so as odd as it seems, we are EXCITED to spend money when we go there, because we get to try the clothes/shoes on when we go there (even post-pandemic).

Nashville for Newbies: https://bit.ly/prejippienashvilleblog

By the way, we JUST published a blog post that details some of the places we visited and the things we did, specifically. https://bit.ly/toronto2022blog

So, we look forward to continuing to visit Toronto again and again, for all the reasons mentioned above and more.