Which Two Canadian Metros Are Really In Sync With Each Other

[balletomane]

Originally Posted by Bandage

Kapuskasing and Moonbeam

If smaller cities are included than definitely add North Battleford/Battleford in Saskatchewan and Winkler/Morden in Manitoba.

[north 42]

Originally Posted by Razor

How about London and Windsor? You would think that London and Windsor would have this at some level, but I suspect it's a Mars and Venus scenario with Windsor being tied to Detroit and London being more white collar.

For London being so close to Windsor, you would think it would be on our radar more, but it's really not.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by north 42

For London being so close to Windsor, you would think it would be on our radar more, but it's really not.

K-W is even closer to London than Windsor is and, despite many similarities, I don't think of them as being especially "in sync". The main interaction seems to flow from London's regional role for specialized health care.

[north 42]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

K-W is even closer to London than Windsor is and, despite many similarities, I don't think of them as being especially "in sync". The main interaction seems to flow from London's regional role for specialized health care.

Specialized health care is also one of the reasons that Windsorites may go to London, although there's just as good a chance that we will go to a Detroit hospital instead, being that we are so close.
We also certainly don't go to London for shopping or entertainment, we have enough of that here and in Detroit.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by north 42

Specialized health care is also one of the reasons that Windsorites may go to London, although there's just as good a chance that we will go to a Detroit hospital instead, being that we are so close.
We also certainly don't go to London for shopping or entertainment, we have enough of that here and in Detroit.

My impression has always been that Windsor, London, and K-W are fairly self-contained, big enough to have their own decent amenities and each with its own local culture. The distance is a factor, but there just doesn't seem to be any need for special interaction between them. Among the "big" cities of SW Ontario, only K-W and Guelph seem closely connected to me. Perhaps followed by Hamilton and Brantford.

[north 42]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

My impression has always been that Windsor, London, and K-W are fairly self-contained, big enough to have their own decent amenities and each with its own local culture. The distance is a factor, but there just doesn't seem to be any need for special interaction between them. Among the "big" cities of SW Ontario, only K-W and Guelph seem closely connected to me. Perhaps followed by Hamilton and Brantford.

I think they are too, all are very different from each other and have their own things going on.
Chatham is really the only city that Windsor is connected with, other than Detroit.

[hipster duck]

Interestingly, Toronto-Montreal hasn't been mentioned yet, even though much of our country's history has been defined by the balance of power between these two great cities.

[Chopper]

The left wing Edmonton and the right wing Calgary.
The business vs the playground/entertainment, the public services/engineering/construction vs the headquarters/main office jobs. The cowtown vs the arts loving city.

They just feed on each other.

Other cities Regina-Saskatoon, Victoria-Vancouver?

[geotag277]

Going against the grain and picking cities which aren't close to each other.

I found Ottawa and Edmonton to really be in sync. They both initially come across as sleepy government towns with underdeveloped downtown cores. The vibe I get from both cities is very similar.

Another one that comes to mind is Montreal and Vancouver. Both are isolated from the rest of Canada (for very different reasons), but each has grown their own very unique style of culture as a result, as grown into two of Canada's biggest cities in their own way. I don't think it's a coincidence that their hockey teams are named similarly either

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by geotag277

Going against the grain and picking cities which aren't close to each other.

I found Ottawa and Edmonton to really be in sync. They both initially come across as sleepy government towns with underdeveloped downtown cores. The vibe I get from both cities is very similar.

Another one that comes to mind is Montreal and Vancouver. Both are isolated from the rest of Canada (for very different reasons), but each has grown their own very unique style of culture as a result, as grown into two of Canada's biggest cities in their own way. I don't think it's a coincidence that their hockey teams are named similarly either

I really like these examples. I've often thought of these pairings myself.

[mistercorporate]

I think Toronto and the Universe are very much in sync. The Universe is really starting to get comfortable with itself ever since it moved away from the Big Bang. and Toronto is also getting comfortable with itself as it fills the vaccum at the center of the universe. Everything is perfectly in sync

[Razor]

Originally Posted by north 42

I think that Hamilton and Niagara are pretty in sync with each other, maybe even more so than Hamilton and Toronto.

Yes..I can definitely see that..I visited a friend in Port Colbourne a few different times over the years, and it felt like a the whole Niagara region was in step with each other with Hamilton being kind of like the anchor city, and at least for my friend's wife, Saint Catherine's Penn centre being the mall. Across the border in NY was the grocery shopping.

I didn't get any sort of sense of severe competition between Welland, Port, and Saint Kitts.Maybe there are some of those dynamics that I just didn't pick up on.

There definitely is a Lot of interchange within that whole region including Hamilton. Even moving around yet keeping the same job. My friend and his wife's group of friends lived all over that region, and I sensed that people moved between the towns and cites without giving it a second thought. Moving from Welland to Saint Catherine's was almost like changing neighborhoods and not cities. They amalgamated since I believe.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by Chopper

The left wing Edmonton and the right wing Calgary.
The business vs the playground/entertainment, the public services/engineering/construction vs the headquarters/main office jobs. The cowtown vs the arts loving city.

They just feed on each other.

Mullets vs short hair.

Jogging pants vs jeans.

The Venetian vs Pointe of View

Yellow stucco vs orange brick

McJesus vs Jesus.

[wave46]

Originally Posted by Razor

Having been to both on more then a few occasions, I actually agree with this one..Don't know about Kap and Hearst though...Kap and Timmins either. They are less then two hours apart, but are wood vs rocks as far as economies go..Kapuskasing is also more Francophone.

North Bay and Sudbury?

North Bay is more southern Ontario-like and English dominated than Sudbury. It might be something close to Kingston, as it is dominated by the military, university/college students and retirees too.

Sudbury and Timmins seem more similar, despite being father apart. They both have a regional center element with a large Francophone population and have a similar economic base - mining. They both have a disjointed feel to them as well - a collection of towns that was merged together as opposed to a homogeneous city.

Sudbury and Thunder Bay strike me as most alike. They're about similar size, they're both kind of an amalgamation of formerly independent towns/cities and they're both major regional centers that are changing from being dominated by a primary industry to a service industry.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by bikegypsy

In sync, to me means 'working together and completing each other'. I think that we can exclude the 2 'real' big cities as they are their own islands, if not planets. Montreal looks favourably to Quebec City as a place for an interesting getaway... but not more. Quaint and charming, but that's it. Lord knows Toronto doesn't need anybody else. As for Ottawa and Kingston, the larger city in any given region always acts as magnet for various things... Education, employment, etc... How many people from Ottawa do you meet in Kingston? Not many save for weekend day trippers. Besides, Kingston is kind of too small to be considered seriously. So no, not in my opinion.

The obvious 2 cities are Calgary and Edmonton. Almost identical in size and quite different (but complimenting) in activity. Corporate types vs engineers and civil servants, business vs the arts, office vs playground, etc. They both treat the other like a red headed step child (as all close/rival cities do) but are basically non-identical twins forever in need of each other.

On a more serious note this is probably the best description of the two.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by Razor

Yes..I can definitely see that..I visited a friend in Port Colborne a few different times over the years, and it felt like a the whole Niagara region was in step with each other with Hamilton being kind of like the anchor city, and at least for my friend's wife, St. Catharines Penn centre being the mall. Across the border in NY was the grocery shopping.

I didn't get any sort of sense of severe competition between Welland, Port, and Saint Kitts (this one is ok).Maybe there are some of those dynamics that I just didn't pick up on.

There definitely is a Lot of interchange within that whole region including Hamilton. Even moving around yet keeping the same job. My friend and his wife's group of friends lived all over that region, and I sensed that people moved between the towns and cites without giving it a second thought. Moving from Welland to St. Catharines was almost like changing neighborhoods and not cities. They amalgamated since I believe.

fixed it for ya

As someone born and raised in Niagara, the cities in the Niagara Region are very intertwined and have been since the region was created in 1970.

St. Catharines is the "big city" at 133-140k, Niagara Falls is the tourism/service jobs city, Welland is the former industrial behemoth now sadly call center/service jobs mostly. Retail wise, The Pen Centre in St. Catharines is the anchor for everyone shopping wise, especially since the Niagara Square (NF) is almost dead and the Seaway Mall (Welland) is dying.

You're correct in that most people think nothing of moving within the region as everywhere is 20-35 minutes away with little traffic compared to larger centres.

The connections with Hamilton are increasing, mostly through health care. If you have cancer or your child is sick Hamilton is the place to go for treatment. If you want a good paying industrial job, Hamilton is also not that far of a commute.

And yes, Niagara residents think nothing of crossing the border into Buffalo/Western NY for shopping, Sabres/Bills/Bisons games, etc.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by Razor

Yes..I can definitely see that..I visited a friend in Port Colbourne a few different times over the years, and it felt like a the whole Niagara region was in step with each other with Hamilton being kind of like the anchor city, and at least for my friend's wife, Saint Catherine's Penn centre being the mall. Across the border in NY was the grocery shopping.

Hamilton is definitely not an "anchor city" for Niagara. The one-way ties between Hamilton and Toronto (one-way in that Toronto doesn't pay any attention to Hamilton) are about a hundred thousand times stronger than the ties between Hamilton and Niagara.

Which are there, for sure. But still, St. Catharines is the anchor for Niagara, not Hamilton. As Wigs says:

Originally Posted by Wigs

The connections with Hamilton are increasing, mostly through health care. If you have cancer or your child is sick Hamilton is the place to go for treatment. If you want a good paying industrial job, Hamilton is also not that far of a commute.

That essentially sums up the connections between Hamilton and Niagara. People in Niagara contemplating a move to a bigger city will generally think of St. Catharines first, and then Toronto, with Hamilton being in the vague pool of other potential cities such as Kitchener, London, Guelph etc.

The truth about Hamilton is that it's a lone wolf that isn't really in sync with anybody. Think about how fantastically unlikely it is that there is no limited access highway between Hamilton and Kitchener. And if you look at the 403, it essentially functions as an alternative route to the GTA (i.e. you wouldn't take the 401 if you were going to Burlington or Oakville) and/or Niagara.

Hamilton is an afterthought for people who live outside of it.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Hamilton is definitely not an "anchor city" for Niagara. The one-way ties between Hamilton and Toronto (one-way in that Toronto doesn't pay any attention to Hamilton) are about a hundred thousand times stronger than the ties between Hamilton and Niagara.

Which are there, for sure. But still, St. Catharines is the anchor for Niagara, not Hamilton. As Wigs says:



That essentially sums up the connections between Hamilton and Niagara. People in Niagara contemplating a move to a bigger city will generally think of St. Catharines first, and then Toronto, with Hamilton being in the vague pool of other potential cities such as Kitchener, London, Guelph etc.

The truth about Hamilton is that it's a lone wolf that isn't really in sync with anybody. Think about how fantastically unlikely it is that there is no limited access highway between Hamilton and Kitchener. And if you look at the 403, it essentially functions as an alternative route to the GTA (i.e. you wouldn't take the 401 if you were going to Burlington or Oakville) and/or Niagara.

Hamilton is an afterthought for people who live outside of it.

Imagine if they didn't have the Tiger-Cats. (Only half-joking.)

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Imagine if they didn't have the Tiger-Cats. (Only half-joking.)

Ask some people in Manitoba what the Region of Durham means, and I'd be shocked if it meant anything to more than 10% of the sample. That's not too far from the level of awareness there would be of Hamilton around here if not for the Ticats.

St. Catharines/Niagara, though... what a weird beast. It's like a good sized Canadian city, but really spread out and without the usual big downtown. The whole thing feels kind of odd.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Imagine if they didn't have the Tiger-Cats. (Only half-joking.)

Imagine if the "ambitious city" of the 1950s and 60s had continued growing like gangbusters with jobs, jobs, jobs for everyone. Imagine if the centre the city hadn't been destroyed.


http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ed#post5426177

Imagine if people in the 1960s and 70s hadn't been so desperate to live in suburban ranch houses instead of Victorian row houses.

Imagine...