Excellent book! From personal experience I agree that choice of
where to live is the most important factor in one's personal
happiness.
I grew up in Canada in a Rocky Mountain town called Calgary (home
of the Calgary Stampede) north of the Montana border. When I was 16
I skipped town and ran off to Toronto. I fell in love with the city
at first sight because I felt welcome in its multicultural
inclusive atmosphere. I spent well over a decade of my life in the
urban metropolis before family obligation took me back to Calgary
in the spring of 2008. My initial impression of Toronto was that
for for everything I was told was weird about me as an ethnic kid
in Calgary ... it didn't seem to matter there. For example, I had
to remind people I was a minoroty many times because they just saw
me and not my skin color or ethnic origin. In Toronto I met people
who could speak Japanese and French but were of British descent.
The city had a global perspective that was really attractive.
People were actually interested in other cultures and religions and
weren't afraid of them or called them derogatory names. Toronto
taught me that it was OK to pursue what one wanted regardless of
where they came from. While Toronto has been accussed of thinking
itself the center of the universe and being "cold" .... to its
credit it is a tolerant city.
To be honest, Toronto and its citizens healed my heartbreak of a
childhood experiencing racial slurs in the school playground and
being called "brown girl" instead of my name into high school. That
is why location, location, location matters number one in
determining quality of life.
Being the most multicultural city in the world (by the United
Nations) is a real treat. I love the diversity of people, sectors,
and the hustle bustle vibrancy of it all. Most of the last several
years I lived in Yorkville in the heart of the city and enjoyed the
film festivals, easy public transit, Harbourfront and Toronto
Island, and just the variety of life one can live in Toronto. The
years in Toronto intertwined with sojourns in New York and San
Francisco with a foray into London for a time but I always came
home to Toronto.
Toronto is very intellectual in that Eastern way and my career has
really benefited from the polished style of business there. What I
enjoy most about Toronto is that its like New York but livable and
still safe compared to other US cities. Its a hub so travel in and
out of Canada is easy and hey, Toronto is on the map
internationally.
Toronto truly taught me that being colour blind was a good thing.
The Calgary of my childhood gave me, as a minority, a different and
far less kind experience back then. It could have been my
imagination or just adolescence because kids do act different from
adults. Nonetheless, I felt something back then that may or may not
have been true. The Calgary I came back to now has a bit of Toronto
's cosmo flavor so my experience here as an adult has been as
positive as my childhood memories were negative. I have met people
who are well-travelled, friendly, and down to earth with a very
grounded perspective of life. The city has the most sunshine in
Canada and the Rockies are really nearby. Though if you're not an
outdoors person it may not matter but once you get used to the
physical beauty of Alberta you may be lured to explore more. The
main difference to me is that Toronto is at 5.5 million people
compared to a mere 1 million and change so I feel like I am in a
small town and worried I will get bored.
PostScript Christmas 2008: I did get bored and luck came through
.... I'm now in New York City.