Random Musings About Toronto

I have been to Toronto, Windsor, Niagara Falls (and quite a few little towns between Windsor and Niagara Falls) and even Montreal and I never experienced anything negative from anyone I met. Everyone was always friendly and in Montreal quite appreciative of my attempts to converse in French (with varying degrees of success) May have something to do with the idea that I respect the fact I am a visiting guest and don't try to swagger around like I own the place. Or it may be simply that some people can spot an arrogant poltroon on the spot and react accordingly. Go figure...

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ April 19, 2005 08:18 AM: Message edited by: G L ]</font>

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Originally posted by G L:
I have been to Toronto, Windsor, Niagara Falls (and quite a few little towns between Windsor and Niagara Falls) and even Montreal and I never experienced anything negative from anyone I met. Everyone was always friendly and in Montreal quite appreciative of my attempts to converse in French (with varying degrees of success) May have something to do with the idea that I respect the fact I am a visiting guest and don't try to swagger around like I own the place. Or it may be simply that some people can spot an arrogant poltroon on the spot and react accordingly. Go figure...

<font color="#FFFFAA"><font size="1">[ April 19, 2005 08:18 AM: Message edited by: G L ]</font></font>

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I spent a week in Windsor without incident. Never been to Montreal, so that's not part of the discussion.

In Toronto, we were pretty much passive spectators, so your theory would be pretty much invalid. Besides, my travel companion is someone who pretty much everyone likes and doesn't have a mean bone in his body. And he definitely has no swagger.

One funny story. We walk into a restaurant, and a patron calls my friend "gorgeous." My friend tries to return the compliment by calling the patron "very good looking, too." The patron responds, "THAT'S NOT WHAT I SAID!" and gets upset.

The eye contact experiment was done on residential streets, where foot traffic was light. In other words, it was just us and a singular pedestrian walking in the opposite direction. At first we didn't make much of it, but then it happened again...then again...then again. Then we tried to be pleasant and say "hi."

I've always found that people I don't know (and don't want to know) tend to strike up conversations with me. So it was weird to consistently experience a number of people who feel uncomfortable making eye contact.

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ April 19, 2005 09:17 AM: Message edited by: craig. ]</font>

I wear sunglasses 99% of the time so "eye contact" isn't really an issue with me. Some people I only know casually have no idea what my eyes even look like behind the shades. [img]cool.gif[/img]

I know what you mean about people striking up conversations when you don't necessarily want to interact. Happens to me a lot too.

Ethnic Diversity. This is one area where I didn't manage to overcompensate for the advance billing. Due to a wrong turn on the freeway and the inability to reenter, I drove on side streets from the western suburbs to downtown.

It seems Toronto is uniformly diverse throughout. Middle Eastern, Indian, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese - you name it, it's there - and lot's of it. (Well, wait a minute - there aren't many black people.) If there's one thing that impressed me about Toronto is variety of the people. Which is why I was surprised the physical appearance of the city seemed so bland.

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ April 20, 2005 02:02 PM: Message edited by: craig. ]</font>

Toronto is so clean. I'd heard this so many times, I probably overcompensated by thinking you could eat off the sidewalks. Let's just say that due to the reputation, when there was litter - I spotted it.

I will say the Gartiner Freeway out of downtown was lined with garbage, and lots of it.

No billboards! It's true! No billboards! I hate billboards, but y'know, they come in handy when you're stuck in traffic, the gas gauge is hovering just above "E" and you want to know if there's a gas station nearby.

Those blue highway signs that indicate the proximity of gas and food tended to be placed only at the exit, not before it.

Never thought I'd miss billboards and tall, unsightly signs.

I think they use Toronto for the city scenes for Metropolis in SmallVille.

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Originally posted by G L:
I think they use Toronto for the city scenes for Metropolis in SmallVille.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I was told Ontario gives the film industry big subsidies. Not sure how big, but Toronto has become a hotbed for film production.

Started with the X-Files, that was filmed in Canada. SmallVille is filmed in Canada for all the outdoor shots. Production costs are lower and they can utilize just about any landscape they need for outdoor shots. (well nothing tropical) Ontario is more like an extension of US culture than any other part of Canada I have found. Go to Montreal and you have no doubt you are in a foreign country..

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Ontario is more like an extension of US culture than any other part of Canada

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I always heard the the western plains provinces were more like the US than Ontario.