[thewave46]

I never really understood internet pissing matches.

Chicago's a great city, and yes, has a much longer and deeper history. This follows it being one of the major nodes of development in the history of a superpower. It also has its problems too, but I don't really feel the need to rehash those.

Toronto's a decent city too. It's not Chicago in its history for better or worse. Toronto's too new, too modern and too bland a history to really compare. It actually weirdly reflects Anglo-Canada in that sense. The highs are less high, but the lows are less low.

Montreal and Chicago might have a decent shot at being comparable, but then again it's hard to compare the development of cities in isolation outside of the country they represent. Chicago's story will always be part of the development of a superpower, something Canada will probably never be.

If Toronto has a flaw, it's definitely that some think it's bigger than its britches. As much as it's a decent city, it's only really important within the context of Canada. Which - as much as it pains me to admit this - doesn't really count for shit on a global scale. Nobody in London cares about Toronto or Canada particularly. Nor Tokyo, or Los Angeles, or Beijing.

So, even if Toronto passes whatever numeric metric, it'll always be smaller than the numbers say, just by being part of Canada.

Which - again - doesn't make it a bad city. Ultimately, accepting what it is may be key to its greatness. Greatness doesn't come from trying to ape someone else, but doing one's own thing. C'est la vie.