Wich Canadians Metro Areas (over 100 000) are offering the best quality of life ? - Page 11

rousseau · #**201** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 12:13 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

My boyfriend at the time made me take a walk for almost half an hour... I honestly felt like I was going to die. (He got quite a mouthful from me later!)

Ahem. I'm assuming you meant "earful" here, but if not, then...carry on.

Nouvellecosse · #**202** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 12:26 AM**

Regardless I'm sure the boyfriend got exactly what was coming to him.

kwoldtimer · #**203** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 12:32 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rousseau

To answer the question in the OP:

1. Toronto: It feels massive and inexhaustible. It never fails to surprise you, which is a hallmark of great cities. Transit and/or biking will get you everywhere worth going. It's never quite quaint enough, it doesn't have any impressive Victorian mightiness due its smaller size 150 years ago, it often looks ramshackle, and people can be too reserved in the stereotypical Canadian manner, but if you want a Canadian metropolis, this is it. If you don't, or if you don't think Toronto does the country justice as its metropolis, well, sorry, that's all we got.

2. Montreal: All the stereotypes. Joie de vivre, je ne sais quoi, à la recherche du temps perdu...I lost a lot of time trying to figure out that last one. Time that I'll never get back. I love Montreal, and am totally sympathetic to the ingrained animus toward or utter disregard of Toronto that some anglophones and francophones have. It's easy to forget anything west of Montreal matters, and it's easy to orient yourself in the direction of New York, Europe and Latin America for inspiration and vacations. Search kool maudit's posts with "Montreal" as the search term for some good insight into why Montreal is so special and compelling.

Though I do wish they'd clean the ice off the sidewalks in the winter.

3. Guelph: Laid back, kinda funky, great stone architecture, a university, and not too far from Toronto.

4. Kitchener-Waterloo: Nothing to look at. It's mostly either dreary or downright ugly, but there's an unmistakable energy and vibe in the air from all the IT stuff. And it's not too far from Toronto either.

5. Victoria: I could list a dozen reasons why I don't like the place, but I recognize that that has more to do with my own personal biases than anything approaching a realistic assessment. I did enjoy my one visit there to see friends. It's probably sizeable enough for lots of people, and it really doesn't get as cold as the rest of the country in the winter, which might trump the lack of heat in the summer (not for me, but maybe for lots of people). I'm quite certain that it would have to rank fairly high on anyone's list of the most appealing larger cities in Canada.

And, at the risk of sounding boosterish, an above-the-Canadian-average quality of life that would surprise people not familiar with the Region. Even without the easy access to Toronto, although that is a huge bonus.

rousseau · #**204** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 12:34 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

Regardless I'm sure the boyfriend got exactly what was coming to him.

I'm hoping that I never let myself get to the point where I try to make puns about this sort of thing.

Touch wood.

kwoldtimer · #**205** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 12:36 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rousseau

I'm hoping that I never let myself get to the point where I try to make puns about this sort of thing.

Touch wood.

Oh you didn't!

I wouldn't have touched it with a ten-foot pole.

Prometheus · #**206** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 1:26 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rousseau

That's a nice view. The only problems I can see are that it's 19 degrees in June...

Just purely for the record, it was in fact hotter in Vancouver last June than in Toronto, not to mention much sunnier and drier. Just purely for the record.

JHikka · #**207** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 2:12 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

My boyfriend at the time made me take a walk for almost half an hour... I honestly felt like I was going to die. (He got quite a mouthful from me later!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

Regardless I'm sure the boyfriend got exactly what was coming to him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rousseau

I'm hoping that I never let myself get to the point where I try to make puns about this sort of thing.

Touch wood.

-----

Halifax/Ottawa get my vote in this category. Cities that feel big without being too big.

rousseau · #**208** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 3:03 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prometheus

Just purely for the record, it was in fact hotter in Vancouver last June than in Toronto, not to mention much sunnier and drier. Just purely for the record.

Okay, we're getting into classic SSP territory here, because, reading this, I not only thought to myself that there's no way that could possibly be true, but I actually took it upon myself to check.

So, without further adieu:

Vancouver, June 2015 average high: 22.3 (unseasonably warm, I was told by a relative living there)
http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climateData...6-13|2015-12-16&Year=2015&Month=6&Day=01

Toronto, June 2015 average high: 22.4 (below average)
http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climateData...6-13|2015-12-16&Year=2015&Month=6&Day=01

So more or less the same, though there was a lot more rain in Toronto than Vancouver, with Toronto getting almost three times more than normal precipitation.

Wild claims! Duelling statistical references! It's showtime at SSP!

rousseau · #**209** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 3:36 AM**

In the meantime, during the Raptors game tonight against the Hornets one of the members of the Charlotte broadcast team decided to wax lyrical about Toronto.

"Toronto, Ontario, is one of the most spectacular cities of the world. Very cosmopolitan are the people of Toronto. If you can stand the weather!"
"We're going to be there New Year's Eve."
"You know that used to be your town, Del. You can show us all the great spots for some poutine."

I'm sure that there are Quebeckers out there spitting up blood every time an American identifies poutine with Toronto. And whether a basketball announcer from Charlotte is a competent judge of "spectacular cities" is up for debate. But it really is fascinating how Toronto's profile has risen so, erm, spectacularly in the past twenty years among NBA players, coaches and media hangers-on. Where once there were whispers of players not wanting to play there, these days the place gets nothing but glowing reviews and is a favourite for visiting teams. I think the gushing I hear with every broadcast is mainly due to a lingering but still startling realization by Americans that it isn't bland and anonymous the way they stereotypically expect Canada to be (that Simpsons episode "The Bart Wants What It Wants" really was unforgivable for that, but then, Americans always get non-American things wrong--and yeah, I know, some of the writers of the episode trafficking in those hoary, spoon-fed cliches were actually Canadian, which is sad, and, of course, typical).

Prometheus · #**210** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 3:46 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rousseau

Okay, we're getting into classic SSP territory here, because, reading this, I not only thought to myself that there's no way that could possibly be true, but I actually took it upon myself to check.

So, without further adieu:

Vancouver, June 2015 average high: 22.3 (unseasonably warm, I was told by a relative living there)
http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climateData...6-13|2015-12-16&Year=2015&Month=6&Day=01

Toronto, June 2015 average high: 22.4 (below average)
http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climateData...6-13|2015-12-16&Year=2015&Month=6&Day=01

So more or less the same, though there was a lot more rain in Toronto than Vancouver, with Toronto getting almost three times more than normal precipitation.

Wild claims! Duelling statistical references! It's showtime at SSP!

Vancouver in June 2015 was hotter than the historical average. That is why I said "purely for the record."

That said, your numbers are incorrect, in the sense that you are using numbers from the wrong weather stations. You are comparing Toronto International, which is inland and hotter than downtown Toronto, with Vancouver International, which sits on the coast of the Salish Sea and is colder than downtown Vancouver, which lies within the protective confines of Burrard Inlet.

If you compare downtown to downtown, the actual monthly average maximum temperatures for June 2015 were:

Toronto City Centre: 20.4

Vancouver Harbour: 23.6

And the monthly extreme maximum for each downtown was:

Toronto: 28.4

Vancouver: 30.6

Prometheus · #**211** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 4:05 AM**

In the meantime, I also see that Vancouver surpassed Toronto in July too.

Toronto City Centre:

Average max: 24.9
Extreme max: 30.1

Source

Vancouver Harbour:

Average max: 25
Extreme max: 31.5

Source

MonkeyRonin · #**212** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 4:35 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prometheus

In the meantime, I also see that Vancouver surpassed Toronto in July too.

Toronto City Centre:

Average max: 24.9
Extreme max: 30.1

Source

Vancouver Harbour:

Average max: 25
Extreme max: 31.5

Source

I'm really glad I have this information.

rousseau · #**213** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 4:58 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prometheus

That said, your numbers are incorrect, in the sense that you are using numbers from the wrong weather stations. You are comparing Toronto International, which is inland and hotter than downtown Toronto, with Vancouver International, which sits on the coast of the Salish Sea and is colder than downtown Vancouver, which lies within the protective confines of Burrard Inlet.

If you compare downtown to downtown, the actual monthly average maximum temperatures for June 2015 were:

Toronto City Centre: 20.4

Vancouver Harbour: 23.6

I see what you're getting at, but just a point of clarification: that Toronto temp reading is from Billy Bishop Airport, not downtown. So the apt comparison would be 20.4 at Billy Bishop and 22.3 at Vancouver airport.

And...by sitting here arguing over 1.3 degrees with someone playing oneupmanship by comparing an extraordinary month in Vancouver to a below average month in Toronto, instead of doing something meaningful or useful with my evening I have officially crossed over into Pathetic Land. I will now proceed to defend Toronto's peameal bacon sandwich to the death and argue incessantly over something Peter Ustinov once said (which really was a compliment, all you counter-intuitive naysayers are just jealous and stuff).

hipster duck · #**214** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 5:10 AM**

Every city has its "breaking point" month. The month where people's patience with the longest, most interminable season runs out.

In Ontario, it's April.

In Vancouver, it's June, aka "June-uary". Yes, an endless spring is better than an endless winter, but by June every other part of the country has above 20 temps while we have daytime highs of 17, with nights chilling down to around 10.

I usually go back to visit family and friends in Ontario in early June, because I'm usually guaranteed to have better weather and the flights are still cheap.

Last year was an anomaly.

Loco101 · #**215** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 5:36 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Every city has its "breaking point" month. The month where people's patience with the longest, most interminable season runs out.

In Ontario, it's April.

In Vancouver, it's June, aka "June-uary". Yes, an endless spring is better than an endless winter, but by June every other part of the country has above 20 temps while we have daytime highs of 17, with nights chilling down to around 10.

I usually go back to visit family and friends in Ontario in early June, because I'm usually guaranteed to have better weather and the flights are still cheap.

Last year was an anomaly.

Not every other part of the country always has nice June weather. Northern Ontario isn't always nice in June. Neither is St. John's, NL. And the same likely goes for some other Atlantic cities.

someone123 · #**216** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 6:00 AM**

I like the June weather. Vancouver and Halifax have virtually identical June weather; Vancouver's not uniquely terrible or anything. Contrary to what people say it's not really that cloudy normally and the mild weather is great for going out and doing things.

It's funny people bring up the summer in Vancouver this year. By the time we hit August I was ready for it to be done. Too warm and too long. This year had disappointingly short periods of spring and fall weather.

I do think there's a strong subjective element to this discussion. I find Ontario summers unpleasant once the novelty wears off after a couple of days. I would never take Toronto summers over east or west coast summers.

geotag277 · #**217** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 6:05 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Every city has its "breaking point" month. The month where people's patience with the longest, most interminable season runs out.

In Ontario, it's April.

In Vancouver, it's June, aka "June-uary". Yes, an endless spring is better than an endless winter, but by June every other part of the country has above 20 temps while we have daytime highs of 17, with nights chilling down to around 10.

I usually go back to visit family and friends in Ontario in early June, because I'm usually guaranteed to have better weather and the flights are still cheap.

Last year was an anomaly.

I would definitely say it's March in Vancouver, owing to the constant drizzle and general relapse into cloudy grey as it is usually more rainy and cloudy than even February.

someone123 · #**218** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 6:11 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by geotag277

I would definitely say it's March in Vancouver, owing to the constant drizzle and general relapse into cloudy grey as it is usually more rainy and cloudy than even February.

I don't find this at all. I think March is great. It's warm enough that lots of plants start growing and the days are finally back to a reasonable length.

The darkness at 4:30 is what gets me at this time of year more than the rain.

giallo · #**219** Posted **Dec 18, 2015, 7:10 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rousseau

the highrises and the urban fabric are bland and depressing.

Damn. You find the West End's urban fabric depressing? It's one of my favourite neighbourhoods in Canada. You're a hard man to please, rousseau.

February was always my breaking point in Vancouver. I hate that month on the coast. By March, the days have gotten longer and brighter, and the really stormy weather off of the Pacific has turned in to a much more manageable drizzle. By April, I'm good.