The love/hate thread for Toronto got closed down, and I'm not trying to start that rigmarole up again, but this is somewhat relevant, I think. A tribute to the food scene in Toronto by a writer for the NY Times is the 8th most emailed story on the site today.
Quote:
When I tell my friends in Toronto how much I love their city, they often say, “Really?” I always assume they imagine I’m just trying to be gracious, or perhaps — with characteristic Canadian modesty — they’re reluctant to acknowledge how easy their city is to love.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/tr...me&ref=general
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I don't actually live in Toronto, I'm about two hours west of it, but I confess to feeling the same way as the "lovers" who proceed to gush further in the comments section, so this is essentially a "homer" post. I admit it.
But beyond that, I think that these kinds of articles are signposts on the journey Toronto is on toward maturing into a true national alpha city that, like it or not, will become Canada's signature city for outsiders. It may not actually get all the way there, but it's certainly moving in that direction.
It's an evolution I find fascinating. I suppose it helps that I like the place. I freely admit that this whole phenomenon would be irritating to me if I were living elsewhere in the country and honestly never took a shine to the city. As many on this forum have stated. I personally like to think that the growing ability of Torontonians to take criticism in stride is a sign of the maturation of our national conversation generally. It's healthy when the sincere inability to see the appeal of Toronto is met with a shrug instead of pettiness borne of insecurity.
This is a coming of age story.