HomeDiagramsDatabaseMapsForum About
     

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > Canada


Reply

 
Thread Tools Display Modes
     
     
  #1  
Old Posted Sep 21, 2023, 5:36 PM
hipster duck's Avatar
hipster duck hipster duck is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Toronto
Posts: 4,109
How well do you know other Canadian cities?

We haven't had a new thread discussing cities in a while on here, so I thought I'd start one.

How well do you know the different Canadian cities? You can use any metric: knowledge of local issues/politics, surface area of the city you've explored, landmarks, attractions and restaurants/bars you've been to, etc.

Maybe I'll start with our largest CMAs.

---

For me, I'll do something based loosely on how much of the metro's different areas I've been to, and that I've been to fairly recently. Obviously I'm not including every street, store or service; just a "lay of the land".

Toronto: 75%. I know 100% of downtown, the inner city neighbourhoods, NYCC, etc. I live sort of in the centre of the city and a bit to the west, so I have a very good sense of everything on the City's west side from Mimico to Rexdale. Within the city, my blind spot would be a large chunk of Scarborough south of the 401, but I'm willing to make huge detours to eat at strip mall ethnic places, so this part of the map is beginning to fill out a little more. I know Vaughan and parts of Oakville and Mississauga fairly well, as well as Markham and Richmond Hill. I think I'm least familiar with a lot of Durham, Brampton and northern York region (Aurora, Newmarket, etc.). I think I've at least driven through every municipality in what's known as the GTA.

Montreal: 25%. I know downtown, the main inner city neighbourhoods up to about Jean-Talon, and south/west to NDG and St-Henri. I've been to suburbs like Brossard. My huge blind spots are Verdun, and anything east of Papineau. I'm going to have to correct this the next time I visit.

Vancouver: 75% I've covered all of the City, North Van, most of West Van and a lot of Richmond. I've been to the stuff in Burnaby that matters. I have some friends out in the Tri-Cities, so I've been to some of those places too. Surrey is my blind spot, and to some extent, New West.

Calgary: 40%? I visited Calgary most recently in 2015. Explored all of downtown, the Belt Line and Kensington. Didn't make it out to Inglewood or whatever is southwest of the Belt Line. Marda Loop? Don't know anything about the suburbs.

Ottawa: 50%. I know all of downtown and the inner city areas, although I haven't been east of King Edward in about 20 years. I passed through Old Ottawa South in a car not too long ago at night, and it looked kind of promising, but I never explored it. I've walked around Vieux-Hull, and went hiking in Gatineau Park, but I've been nowhere else in Gatineau.

Edmonton: 60% A good friend of mine moved to Edmonton for a spell, so I had 4 days to visit him with a rental car in 2016 and I covered a lot of ground. He's an urban explorer, too, and I think I saw most of what was worth seeing, including esoteric things like that little "French" corner near Bonnie Doon and "downtown" Fort Saskatchewan.

Quebec City: 33%? The old city, obviously, and then St. Jean-Baptiste (awesome) and St. Roch. Didn't see Limoilou or explore Levis beyond the little park by the ferry terminal. There are some Canadien village-like areas of QC that look worth exploring, like Charlesbourg that I'd venture to if I had more time.

Winnipeg: 0%. Never been. Would love to visit.

Hamilton: 50%?. Given that it's so close to Toronto, I end up in Hamilton about once every year, usually at the end of a bike trip or en route to somewhere else. I've been to downtown, James St. and Locke St., Dundas, downtown Burlington (if that counts) and to a few breweries. Haven't been to Ottawa street or much of the east end.

Halifax: 0%. Same as Winnipeg: never been, but would love to visit. Given the stuff to see around Nova Scotia, and the fact that I have a good friend living there now, I'll probably visit sooner rather than later, although with kids it's kind of difficult. It'll probably be as part of a bigger, family trip to the Maritimes where Halifax doesn't get the time it deserves.

Victoria: 30%? Explored downtown pretty thoroughly several years ago and walked around the Dallas road seawall, or whatever it's called. Anything else worth seeing? Oak Bay or Esquimalt?

---

The Ontario mid-sized cities are obviously not in the same league as Halifax or Victoria, but are places you pass through:

London: I ate lunch on Richmond street 10 years ago en route to somewhere else, possibly Grand Bend.

KWC: I know KWC quite well. A good friend lives here, so if he's not coming to Toronto, I visit him in Waterloo and then go to Encore records in Kitchener. Downtown Cambridge (Galt) has good bones but is a little dead.

Windsor: Just been to downtown, but there's interesting stuff around Walkerville and a couple of little neighbourhood strips. I'll try to make a stop in Walkerville if I'm driving through to the States.

---

The Canadian cities I'd most like to visit for the first time (in reverse order):

Halifax
St. John's
Winnipeg
Saskatoon
Saint John
Charlottetown
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2  
Old Posted Sep 21, 2023, 8:12 PM
MolsonExport's Avatar
MolsonExport MolsonExport is offline
The Vomit Bag.
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Otisburgh
Posts: 44,716
I am trying to think of the biggest Canadian Cities that I have NOT been to.

Drawing from this list, these are the ones I have yet to visit:
-Fort McMurray
-Saguenay
-St. John's
-Prince George
-Prince Albert
-Okotoks (yes, I know there are a number of things to do there)
-Timmins
-Rouyn-Noranda
-Val d'Or
__________________
"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."-President Lyndon B. Johnson Donald Trump is a poor man's idea of a rich man, a weak man's idea of a strong man, and a stupid man's idea of a smart man. Am I an Asseau?
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #3  
Old Posted Sep 21, 2023, 8:15 PM
thebasketballgeek's Avatar
thebasketballgeek thebasketballgeek is online now
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Rimouski, Québec
Posts: 1,642
Winnipeg 99% I am pretty confident you won’t find anyone who has explored and navigated the city like I have. I know every nook and cranny, and only reason it’s not 100% is because by the time I come back there will be new developments that I have yet to visit. It would be an insult to tell me to use a gps in Winnipeg.

Montréal: 66% lived there for a month this summer but went out of my way to explore as much of the island as I possibly could. Basically seen everything within the Metro’s radius + Ile De Souers, Laval, and Val-Royal. Don’t need a gps to travel for the most part. The places I’ve yet to visit is Montreal-Nord, anywhere east of Route 25, anywhere west of of the Loyola Campus, and South Shore.

Toronto 55% Know most of Toronto and GTA west of the Don Valley. Only really been to Danforth and Little India east of it but nothing East of Main St. Major blind spot for me is Markham. I can easily get where I need to go without a GPS in the aforementioned areas (in large part thanks to the nice grid system)

Québec City 45% Seen most of Vieux Québec, St. Jean Baptiste, Saint Roch, Laval U, and Boischatel. Also visited pockets of Sillery, Sainte-Foy, Champigny and Limoilou. Still need a GPS to get around, but I’ll be there 2 more times in the next year at least so plan to flesh it out closer to 75%.

Edmonton 20% Been there twice but it’s been a while. Stayed in DT and near Rideau Park. Visited West Ed and SEC also but don’t remember much else.

Calgary 5% Stayed in the city centre for 1 day 10 years ago.

Vancouver 1% Had a layover for a few hours and walked the Waterfront and the surrounding 2 blocks. Planning to visit next summer so I can see the city properly.

Ottawa 0% Only city > 1 mill I haven’t been to, but I don’t really have a reason to go there so maybe a few years down the line when I got nothing better to do.

Halifax 0% definitely want to visit soon.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #4  
Old Posted Sep 21, 2023, 8:16 PM
kool maudit's Avatar
kool maudit kool maudit is offline
video et taceo
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Stockholm
Posts: 13,867
Toronto, Montreal and Halifax very well, 80-90% if not more.

Then a big dropoff. Quebec at maybe 60%, Ottawa at 50%, then another cliff.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5  
Old Posted Sep 21, 2023, 8:30 PM
SignalHillHiker's Avatar
SignalHillHiker SignalHillHiker is offline
I ♣ Baby Seals
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Sin Jaaawnz, Newf'nland
Posts: 34,658
I know St. John's the best, obviously, and of the ones I've lived in I know Winnipeg (length of time meant I saw most of it) and Moncton (smaller size) best.

I know my way around Halifax, though I couldn't tell you from any point which direction Lower Sackville is, etc. I know my way around the core of Quebec City. I know a very small portion of the core of Montreal and Toronto, and their airports

I'm going through the list Molson shared.

My parents and I did a train trip "across Canada" from Halifax to Vancouver when I was a teen. So I've been to every province and most of their large cities, but in terms of actually "knowing" these places, I think that'd be a stretch to say. The ones I've never visited, or only visited that one time, are basically most of Canada:

Vancouver
Edmonton
Ottawa
Hamilton
Kitchener
London
Victoria
Oshawa
Windsor
Saskatoon
St. Catharine's
Regina
Kelowna
Barrie
Sherbrooke
Guelph
Kanata
Abbotsford
Etc.

On and on.

The next ones in that list with a caveat for me are Fredericton (52) and Saint John (53). When I was living in the Maritimes, I had friends in both cities and spent a handful of weekends in each. Still don't really know them, but more than, say, one teenage trip.

Charlottetown I've been to once (59), but in my 20s, so I got to see/do more.

Next one with a caveat is Cape Breton-Sydney (91). I've crossed on the ferry a few times, mostly as a child. I don't know if we ever went into Sydney proper or just North Sydney, onto the highway, and on to Halifax.

In this list... I'd put Galway and Dublin in the same range for me as Quebec City. All of the other places I've been were one visit only. Most recent was Malaga, Spain - I could definitely find my way anywhere from Fuengirola to the downtown core, but I obviously don't know it. Don't even speak the language.
__________________
Note to self: "The plural of anecdote is not evidence."
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #6  
Old Posted Sep 21, 2023, 10:06 PM
isaidso isaidso is offline
The New Republic
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: United Provinces of America
Posts: 10,793
I have a good understanding of the geography, population, and layout of all the cities I've listed but my familiarity with landmarks, restaurants, attractions, and issues is quite varied. In order:


Toronto
Halifax
-
Montreal
Hamilton, St. John's
Ottawa
-
Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Vancouver, Lethbridge
Calgary, Kelowna, Quebec City, Regina
London
__________________
World's First Documented Baseball Game: Beachville, Ontario, June 4th, 1838.
World's First Documented Gridiron Game: University College, Toronto, November 9th, 1861.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats since 1869 & Toronto Argonauts since 1873: North America's 2 oldest pro football teams
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7  
Old Posted Sep 21, 2023, 11:57 PM
lio45 lio45 is online now
Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Quebec
Posts: 42,021
Without SignalHillHiker I'd have put St. John's at 0.00%, but it's probably about ~5%, no kidding.
__________________
Suburbia is the worst capital sin / La soberbia es considerado el original y más serio de los pecados capitales
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #8  
Old Posted Sep 22, 2023, 12:02 AM
thurmas's Avatar
thurmas thurmas is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Winnipeg, MB
Posts: 7,595
Winnipeg 100% Regina 80% Montreal 80% Edmonton 70% Calgary 30% Vancouver 25 % Toronto 25% Ottawa 25% Halifax and Quebec and St John's on my bucket list still
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #9  
Old Posted Sep 22, 2023, 12:07 AM
lio45 lio45 is online now
Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Quebec
Posts: 42,021
I'd put Sherbrooke at 99%, I grew up there, and the city's fabric has been my playground and job for 18 years and counting now; you show me a pic of a random building, chances are I'll know exactly where it is, you name any street, I'll know exactly where it is and how to get there.

Montreal and Quebec City at 80%-90%, I'm in both regularly, very familiar with them, no need for a GPS at all there, but if you named a random street outside the core, I would likely not immediately know where it is.

Vancouver at... 50%, I'd say, for having been a few times, and lived there for a while, not that long ago. I would also not really need a GPS there but that's in part because the city is so easy to navigate.

Ottawa at 5%, for having been there not that long ago, for business. I honestly think I know St. John's better, just from this forum. I would still totally need a GPS (or a map) in Ottawa.

Calgary and Winnipeg at 1%, for having been through them once. Maple Creek at ~30%, because I've been through AND it's ridiculously small.

Toronto and London at 1%, for knowing how to pass through on the 401 and 402 towards Port Huron.
__________________
Suburbia is the worst capital sin / La soberbia es considerado el original y más serio de los pecados capitales
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #10  
Old Posted Sep 22, 2023, 1:33 AM
Xelebes's Avatar
Xelebes Xelebes is offline
Sawmill Billowtoker
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Rockin' in Edmonton
Posts: 13,829
Cities that I've actually been to:

Edmonton: 60% - spent my whole life here. I know Millwoods, Downtown, South central areas pretty well, a bit of the inner south east, JAsper Place area. There is whole sections of Castledowns, Eaux Claire, and Beverley that I don't know all that well.
Red Deer: 15% - I can piece downtown well and some of the neighborhoods there are familiar enough because I visited family there.
Calgary: 2%
Vancouver: 2%
Saskatoon: 1%
Fort McMurray: 1%
Grande Prairie: 1%
Prince George: 1%
Kamloops: 1%
Victoria: 1%
Lloydminster: 1%
North Battleford: 1%
Lacombe: 1%
__________________
The Colour Green
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #11  
Old Posted Sep 22, 2023, 2:04 AM
Architype's Avatar
Architype Architype is online now
♒︎ Empirically Canadian
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: 🍁 Canada
Posts: 11,930
I've been to most major Canadian cities, the only ones of any size I haven't seen are; Hamilton (drove by on the freeway though), London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Thunder Bay, St. Catherines, Sudbury, and Kelowna (also Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Trois-Rivières, Yellowknife, & Whitehorse as honorable mentions).

Percentage wise? Probably: Vancouver 95%, St. Johns 95%, Halifax 75%, Toronto 20%, Montreal 10%, Calgary 7%, etc. etc.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #12  
Old Posted Sep 22, 2023, 2:34 AM
casper casper is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Victoria
Posts: 9,010
The ones I have been to: Halifax, Fredericton, Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto/GTA, Hamilton, London On, Sudbury, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Edmonton, Calgary, Kelowna, Metro Vancouver, Prince George, Nanaimo and Victoria.

Do I know any of them well. Hard to say.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #13  
Old Posted Sep 22, 2023, 3:14 AM
Harrison's Avatar
Harrison Harrison is offline
A Better Place
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Edmonton
Posts: 2,775
Most familiar: Edmonton (currently live here & grew up near here)
Very familiar: Kitchener/Waterloo - Cambridge (lived here for 5 years during University) & Toronto (visit quite a bit and visited during University)
Familiar: Calgary, Vancouver & Yellowknife (visited all multiple times)
Somewhat familiar: Ottawa, Montreal, Saskatoon & Winnipeg (visited all a couple of times)
Not familiar: Regina & Quebec City (visited each once for a couple of days)
Never visited: St. John's, Halifax, Fredericton, Moncton, Charlottetown (basically all of the Maritimes)
__________________
Bingo bango bongo
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #14  
Old Posted Sep 22, 2023, 3:31 AM
Innsertnamehere's Avatar
Innsertnamehere Innsertnamehere is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Hamilton
Posts: 11,527
Toronto: 97% - grew up in the GTA - my dad grew up in Scarborough - lived downtown for 8 years. Really my “homeland” in many ways. I know more or less the entire GTA better than I really should. Through various jobs over the years I’ve been to basically every nook and cranny of the entire region multiple times, driven on basically every single arterial road at some point, from Burlington to Oshawa to Newmarket. I’ve taken university history course on the city, made 3D models of the city, spent thousands of hours walking, biking, and driving the city. I know the place.

Hamilton: 70% - I’m a relatively recent transplant here who didn’t know it too well beforehand. I’ve been here 3 years now and have been to basically every corner of it at this point - but it is nowhere near the familiarity I have with Toronto and the GTA. It’s an extension of the GTA in many ways however so it’s not too much of a stretch. Just doesn’t run in my blood in the same sense Toronto does, at least yet.

After that - it drops off a cliff.

Saint John: 40% - my mom grew up here and I grew up visiting here as a result. I know the suburbs particularly well as that’s where family lives. It’s not a particularly large place either so it’s easier to know.

Kitchener/Waterloo: 30% - i have family here, and went to a few university parties here in school. I know it, sort of, and have been enough times that I have lost count now. I don’t know it’s suburbs or every neighbourhood of the city like I do for Toronto, Hamilton, or Saint John though.

Ottawa: 20% - I have been to Ottawa probably on average every other year of my life for various reasons, but never more than a weekend at a time. I’m familiar. I’m sitting in a hotel room here right now. My knowledge is mostly about the downtown and Barrhaven though, where a friend grew up - and that’s it. I know those areas fairly well, outside of it is a mystery.

Vancouver, Calgary, London, Montreal, Quebec, Kelowna, Fredericton, Halifax: 10% - I’ve been to these places once or twice, and am familiar. Never spent more than a few days in any, and while I understand their “vibes” - I can’t say they play a big part in my life. They are just sort of “there”.

Edmonton, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Victoria, anywhere in northern Ontario, etc: 0% - never been to these places. Should probably go - just haven’t.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #15  
Old Posted Sep 22, 2023, 3:49 AM
Kilgore Trout's Avatar
Kilgore Trout Kilgore Trout is offline
菠蘿油
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: hong kong / montreal
Posts: 6,131
I think we all have different standards for knowing a place. I'm going to take this question in a more figurative way, not simply knowing your way around.

In terms of being familiar not only with the streets and topography of a place but its culture and politics — its essence — here's what I'd say:

Montreal – my home (literal and spiritual) for more than 20 years. It's a big city, always evolving, so there's always something new. And there are corners of the island and especially the metropolitan area I'm still discovering. But I'd like to think I have a very good sense of this place, its history and what makes it tick.

Vancouver – I have never technically lived there but I've spent so much time there over the years, between visiting my own family and my wife's family, I feel like it's a second home. It's one of those situations where I'm more familiar with the city than many of the people who have lived their entire lives there. That said, because I've always dipped in and out, never being a full-time resident, there are certain aspects of Vancouver I have probably missed.

Calgary – I spent my first 17 years there so it occupies a pretty profound psychic place for me. Lots of deeply entrenched memories from my formative years. But I've spent so little time there over the past two decades, and it has changed so much, that it now feels like an estranged relative. The last time I was there, right before the pandemic, it was an uncanny experience of visiting a city that felt so familiar in some ways and so foreign in others.

Toronto – I have some good friends from there and they all grew up in and live in the west end, so I have a real connection to that part of the city. But even though I've been to Toronto quite a few times, it still feels like a bit of a mystery to me. I know my way around but I still don't get what makes it tick. But then again, it seems like that's true even for lifelong Torontonians: it's a bit of an enigma.

Halifax – My dad is from there and I spent enough time there as a kid that the geography is seared into my brain. But there was a 20-year gap where I didn't visit and when I returned last year (and reconnected with my cousins who had all moved back), it felt familiar but different. A bit like how Calgary felt the last time I was there.

Quebec City, Ottawa, Victoria – I've visited these cities many times and have a good sense of them and their particularities.

Nanaimo/Parksville/Qualicum – I grew up spending part of my summers there and now my parents live there, so as far as you can consider this sprawling micro-region to be a city, I'm very familiar with it.

That's it. I've visited St. John's and Edmonton at points in the distant past, but any other major Canadian city? A mystery to me.
__________________
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #16  
Old Posted Sep 22, 2023, 3:53 AM
ssiguy ssiguy is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: White Rock BC
Posts: 10,659
I have been to every province except 2, NB and, by default, PEI.

I have at least spent at least a day in nearly all of them at some point over the last 40 years. The only major exceptions are PG, Sydney NS, and the Quebec South Shore as I travelled on the north via TR, and surprisingly, being from Ontario, Peterborough and Barrie.

Very good: Van/Vic/Nan/Abb/Chill/Win/Lon/Wind/Tor/Ott/Mon/St.John's
Good: Kam/Kel/Cal/Edm/Leth/Hal and all of SouthWest/Central Ont
Passable: Com/RD/MH/SasK/Reg/King/TR/TB/Sud/
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #17  
Old Posted Sep 22, 2023, 5:19 AM
giallo's Avatar
giallo giallo is offline
be nice to the crackheads
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 11,458
Kelowna and Vancouver - 90%+ Spent many of my formative years in both cities.

Victoria - 40% Born here, and my dad's side of the family have lived there my whole life. I haven't been back much in the last 15 years, so I'm sure it's changed a lot.

Calgary/Edmonton - 10% Lived in Calgary for a few months at 18 years old, and recently visited my sister in Edmonton.

Everywhere else I'm pretty clueless of. I mean, I know a lot about them from this forum, but that's it. I've been east of Alberta once in 1999 (Toronto/Montreal/Quebec City/Halifax).
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #18  
Old Posted Sep 22, 2023, 12:59 PM
MolsonExport's Avatar
MolsonExport MolsonExport is offline
The Vomit Bag.
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Otisburgh
Posts: 44,716
They say that there are parts of Tokyo that even veteran cabbies do not know...the metro is just so huge (just slightly less people than Canada as a whole), that it may not be possible to get to know all of it. I've been there twice, and wow...I can believe it.

We don't have any cities on that scale, but man, some of our biggest cities sprawl so much that it would be difficult to be familiar with all areas. I had a job where I drove all the time when I lived in Vancouver, so back at that time, I got to know the main arterial streets and roads very well. Montreal...my beloved hometown...I know everything on the Island, west of St. Denis street, like the back of my hand. I am fairly familar with the East end districts, as well as off Island Vaudreuil-Dorion-Hudson, Longueuil/St. Lambert/Chateauguay. Passed through Laval a zillion times but only got out of the car a couple of times. Ditto for the North Shore (where the population has expanded the most). I know the main arterial streets and neighbourhoods of Toronto reasonably well, but there are swathes of the endless suburban and exurban territory that I have yet to walk around in.

You think you know a city when you drive around it, but you can't truly know a city until you've walked its neighbourhoods. Back in my university days, almost every week, I would pick a different metro station in Montreal, surface at that station, and explore the environs. I learned so much about a city that I thought I already knew very, very well.
__________________
"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."-President Lyndon B. Johnson Donald Trump is a poor man's idea of a rich man, a weak man's idea of a strong man, and a stupid man's idea of a smart man. Am I an Asseau?
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #19  
Old Posted Sep 22, 2023, 1:08 PM
jonny24 jonny24 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Hamilton, formerly Norfolk County
Posts: 1,142
Hamilton - I've lived here longer than anywhere else (6.5 years) and was visiting friends and later my girlfriend-now-wife for ~3 years before that. Got to know the west end quite well in the uni days, then we had an apartment downtown, then bought a house in the east end. I work on the mountain and my best friend is from Stoney Creek. I'd say I know most areas of the city fairly well. I've never had to rely on transit here though.

Sarnia - My wife's family lives there, we visit pretty often, and when we do we tend to spend whole weekends or even longer. It's not a big city and it's laid out mostly in a grid, so I know all the business and a lot of the residential areas. I'm sure there are pockets I've never made it to but overall I'm very comfortable existing and navigating there almost as if I did live there.

Toronto - I've been visiting and staying with relatives since I was a little kid, mostly my aunt+cousin in Scarborough and my godmother near Bloor/Dufferin. I'd spend every March Break with my godmother and we'd travel around to museums, markets, cool pubs for lunch. So I feel like I've got the "feel" of spending time in Toronto at a young age vs just visiting anywhere else. Now I visit mostly for sports or concerts and leave right after.

Kitchener-Waterloo. Lived there for 3 years for college, although Conestoga is right on the edge of the city and I wasn't particularly adventurous. But you do get to know a city a bit differently when you have to take the bus everywhere. All my teachers were locals and quite connected to the local construction industry so that added to it. And my first job was for company that did a lot of work in KWC, especially around the universities in Waterloo. So I'd say I have a decent knowledge of the area.

London - I grew up equidistant from London, KW and Hamilton, but my mom went to uni in London so it was her choice for when we needed a "big" city for a shopping trip, plus my uncle lives there (we don't talk to him anymore but we used to visit). I've visited several time for shows, Kijiji buys, nights out with the boys, weddings, picking up / dropping off my sister-in-law at Western on our way to Sarnia, etc. But never spent any time just existing there.

Ottawa - a few family trips, then I dated a girl who was going to Carleton who I'd visit for a weekend here and there. But as broke students we didn't explore THAT much - a few nights out in Byward Market etc. Did a weekend getaway with my wife for a Ticats-Redblacks game where we did a few museums, garden/farm thing, etc.

Niagara/St Catharine's - kind of a weird one, been to the tourist areas, done lots of wine and beer focused trips, go to the odd concert in St Catharine's, it's the closest border crossing, and we end up playing rugby there almost every year. So I've visited often but always for very specific things, not to explore or spend time.

Montreal+ Quebec - visited each about 3 times, pretty familiar with the layout around the downtown of each by foot, visited some sights and museums in the touristy areas.

Halifax - visited once, walked around downtown for a day but it was deep covid so I could only look at buildings - no going inside anywhere, no interacting with locals (my MIL lived there at the time and we drove out for a working quarantine + Christmas dinner with their cousins).

Vancouver - We just stayed in a hotel by the waterfront in between flying in and getting a shuttle to Whistler.

I'm skipping over a lot of the smaller Ontario cities I've spent my whole life being in/near - Woodstock, Brantford, Simcoe, Tillsonburg, and smaller, I'm very familiar with. A few places (Guelph, Grimsby, Oakville) that I only ever go to for rugby, so I see a field, the inside of a pub, then go home.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20  
Old Posted Sep 22, 2023, 2:52 PM
giallo's Avatar
giallo giallo is offline
be nice to the crackheads
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 11,458
This is true. Most cities SOF (south of the Fraser River) I have limited knowledge of. I know Richmond pretty well as I go there constantly to eat, but Delta, Ladner, Tsawwassen, Surrey and Langley are all mysteries to me.

Maybe my Metro Vancouver knowledge isn't so great after all.


Quote:
Originally Posted by MolsonExport View Post
They say that there are parts of Tokyo that even veteran cabbies do not know...the metro is just so huge (just slightly less people than Canada as a whole), that it may not be possible to get to know all of it. I've been there twice, and wow...I can believe it.

We don't have any cities on that scale, but man, some of our biggest cities sprawl so much that it would be difficult to be familiar with all areas. I had a job where I drove all the time when I lived in Vancouver, so back at that time, I got to know the main arterial streets and roads very well. Montreal...my beloved hometown...I know everything on the Island, west of St. Denis street, like the back of my hand. I am fairly familar with the East end districts, as well as off Island Vaudreuil-Dorion-Hudson, Longueuil/St. Lambert/Chateauguay. Passed through Laval a zillion times but only got out of the car a couple of times. Ditto for the North Shore (where the population has expanded the most). I know the main arterial streets and neighbourhoods of Toronto reasonably well, but there are swathes of the endless suburban and exurban territory that I have yet to walk around in.

You think you know a city when you drive around it, but you can't truly know a city until you've walked its neighbourhoods. Back in my university days, almost every week, I would pick a different metro station in Montreal, surface at that station, and explore the environs. I learned so much about a city that I thought I already knew very, very well.
Reply With Quote
     
     
This discussion thread continues

Use the page links to the lower-right to go to the next page for additional posts
 
 
Reply

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > Canada
Forum Jump


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 12:43 AM.

     
SkyscraperPage.com - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.