Little perks of your city

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Garbagemen in Moncton are authorized to refuse pick-up of bags containing improperly sorted material, and to leave notes explaining why, but, this has never happened to me (I do try to sort as best as I can).

I once had a job as a garbageman. They don't give you any training for the job, you just have to pick it up as you go along.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

I dunno. I flew into Bogota (Colombia) a few years back, and from the air, the view was greenhouses....for fucking miles on end (Colombia supplies most of the cut flowers for North America)

Can confirm. In Niagara there are a ton of greenhouses for growing plants and flowers in addition to food and I've heard this. Colombia has some of the best biodiversity on the planet so they grow tons of varieties of flowers and Niagara greenhouses import a lot of them direct from Colombia.

I've probably stated this a few times before, but I know a Colombian guy and his wife that reside in St. Catharines.
They import coffee directly from his wife's cousin's farm in the highlands not too distant from Medellín (where the couple is originally from).
Their coffee is literally the best I've ever tried. With Westonianflation in Canada the past few years, they've had to raise their prices quite a bit.

My friend told me they've had their coffee analyzed by the official international coffee certification org and it's in rated something like in the top 20% in the world. If you try it, you understand why.
Also, you are supporting a fair trade family business that controls the entire process, not some Billion dollar corporate conglomerate and worker abuses.
I don't receive a penny, but if you're a coffee aficionado that wants the best, this is the best. I've purchased the medium roast before and have given away bags to relatives for Christmas. Right now they have 10% off.
https://deliciousalldaycoffee.com/co...s/best-sellers
socials:
https://www.instagram.com/deliciousalldaycoffee/
https://www.facebook.com/deliciousalldaycoffee

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

And a good deal of the cocaine too.

Can you grow coca plants in greenhouses???

lol
because they can grow pretty much everything in Colombia, the downside is that cocaine is still an export. But my friend in St. Catharines from Medellín and one in Bogotá both tell me things are a lot better in 2023 than the Escobar Cartel days for Medellín and Colombia as a whole.

Venezuela went from 1980s boom country to their money being so worthless you could wallpaper your house with it. My friend in Bogotá told me 4 million plus Venezuelans have fled to Colombia because life in Venezuela is awful, one of the worst countries in all Latin/South America right now.

The TVO program Life Sized City did a nice city doc on Medellín. A city rising from the terrible times of the Escobar era. Not without its share of problems, but it's apparently much much safer than 20-40 years ago.
I really like this series and host Mikael Colville-Andersen a Canuck with Danish roots that lives in Copenhagen.

• Video Link

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by flar

Still tons of tomatoes grown in Leamington, Blenheim and Wallaceburg areas. There's also a tomato canning plant in Dresden, and used to be one in Wallaceburg. The tomato growing area extends up into south Lambton county around Port Lambton.

Fun fact: field tomatoes yield over 40 tons per acre in SW Ontario
...
I also forgot to mention sugar beets are another big crop in Chatham-Kent, they are refined into white sugar in Michigan (years ago there was a sugar plant in Wallaceburg)

That's impressive! As I've matured and now help my Dad with a small backyard garden, I've really appreciated the bounty we can grow in southern Ontario, from Niagara West to Windsor and Sarnia up to Georgian bay and East to the Ottawa Valley. It irritates me to hear fellow Canucks that say "who cares if you pave over farmland we can just get what we need from California and Mexico" )

Originally Posted by niwell

I can't see myself ever living in the GTA suburbs but if I had to it would likely be Burlington...

Of all the places in the GTA, Burlington seems to offer the highest quality of life (much less traffic than Brampton/Mississauga and the other huge suburban communities) and is noticeably less expensive than adjacent Oakville. It's interesting that many of us have come to the same conclusion even if we might never live in the GTA suburbs.

Originally Posted by Acajack

It's weird when I go to visit people in other places and they just dump everything in green garbage bags and it all still goes to the landfill.

I agree!
In Niagara, Pelham, Ontario was one of the first communities in Canada to initiate a recycling program...in the 1980s!
We have grey/blue/green bin recycling which is picked up weekly while garbage is only picked up every other week to encourage more recycling.

I know a lot of people say "why bother" but if you've been to a landfill you understand recycling ANY amount is better than everything just being tossed on mountains of garbage or worse incinerated causing pollution. I wish Canada would reduce plastics overall. What a waste one-time use plastics are!

[LightingGuy]

Originally Posted by megadude

For Oakville, there's just a tremendous number of wooded trails, often running alongside creeks. I would not be surprised if Oakville had the highest number of trails or combined trail length per capita in Canada. I live in the middle of the city, so I'm not by the lake, but there's one wooded creek trail a two minute walk to the east with another that runs along the top of the river valley a five minute walk to the west that includes a boardwalk.

Growing up in Oakville, I spent many many hours biking those trails around 16 Mile Creek. Well maintained, good climb to get back on top. There used to be some "home made" dirt ramps that someone made to jump bikes, which me and some other neighbourhood kids used regularly. That was fun. Ah the 90s. Haven't been there in a while though since my parents moved down to the Bronte Village area (which is also nice).

[Harrison]

Some perks of Edmonton:

- Affordable (beating a dead horse I know but it's true)
- Access to nature with the North Saskatchewan River Valley and various ravines winding through the city, let alone the human-made City parks.
- Ease of transportation due to a general lack of traffic compared to other major Canadian cities, as well as a decent bike infrastructure network and growing rapid transit system
- Proximity to National Parks that can be visited in a day, with Elk Island a half hour's drive from Downtown and Jasper a 3-4 hour drive
- The food scene here is great and is always improving
- Shopping is amazing, if you're into that sort of thing (West Edmonton Mall anyone?)
- It's sunny more often than not, which is amazing in summer when it doesn't set until 10:30 PM
- Relatively mild climate compared to similar latitudes in Canada (we actually only get a handful of below -30 days each winter and never -40 days, regardless of what you hear)
- We have a great system of City-funded and operated reecreation centres

Some not so good items:

- The freeze-thaw climate in winter does a number on our infrastructure, roads especially
- Even though we are the Provincial Capital, we rarely hold the balance of power politically and have to fight for every last dollar from the ruling party in government (save for the single Alberta NDP term)
- Our crime rate is higher than the average for major Canadian cities but it's still a safe place. The higher ranking definitley gives us a worse perception nationally, which isn't great.
- Being more remote than other major Canadian centres gives us less connections internationally, especially as Calgary has the larger airport in the province
- I like having all four seasons, but our shoulder seasons, spring and fall, are too short
- There are no freeways within the city centre, which is a blessing and curse. No neighbourhoods were demolished to make way for freeways, however it's also more circuitous and slow to get Downtown from other parts of the city as a result.

Overall, Edmonton definitely has more going for it than not.

[Architype]

Vancouver made another list, "The World's Greatest Places of 2023". They highlighted our eclectic cuisine among other things. The other Canadian city mentioned was Churchill.

https://time.com/collection/worlds-g...648/vancouver/

[TownGuy]

As was being discussed a couple pages ago. The countryside of this area is actually one of it's perks vs being a detraction. Rolling hills interacting farm fields, forested areas, old farms houses/villages, etc. It's fun to just aimlessly explore the backroads.





Northumberland Forest

[Kilgore Trout]

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

Montreal's little perks, something I can't believe we don't have in our other Canadian cities (outside Quebec): the ability to leave your flat, cross the street, hop into a Dep and buy some beer.

Yup.

Aside from being able to buy beer (good beer and a large selection of it!) at a million places around the city, some of the other small perks of living in Montreal:

- Tons of grocery stores, butchers, greengrocers, etc. that are affordable and high-quality, meaning there's usually a lot of options to buy fresh food within walking distance

- Good restaurants that are still relatively affordable and accessible compared to the rest of Canada

- Close access not just to nature but to "cottage country" (ie being able to find a house on a lake within 60 minutes of downtown)

- Generally quite a social and outgoing city, which is to say the bars and restaurants are busy all the time and people like to hang out

- Tons of cultural activities all year round

- Apartment living is the norm and not seen as strange or something you put up with only if you're young or poor

- It's nice to be somewhere that is linguistically and culturally different to the rest of North America

- Mount Royal, which offers the natural experience of Fish Creek with the accessibility of Central Park

[SignalHillHiker]

We have that here as well, but they're called superettes and the only alcohol you can buy is beer. No wine or hard liquor in them. Also, very few have deli foods that are actually made on site. It's mostly the same mass-produced, plastic-wrapped ones you'd get at a gas station - which, relevantly, also sell beer here. Even singles

[Kilgore Trout]

Yeah, Quebec dépanneurs/gas stations/grocery stores can sell wine in addition to beer, but only if it's locally bottled. Which means it's either Quebec wine (which ranges from bad to actually quite good) or wine that is imported by the SAQ in tankers and then bottled in Quebec. That stuff is generally plonk but sometimes okay as basic table wine.

No spirits allowed. There was talk a few years ago about allowing local distilleries to sell their products outside the SAQ but nothing has come of it.

[LightingGuy]

Originally Posted by Harrison

Some perks of Edmonton:

- Affordable (beating a dead horse I know but it's true)
- Access to nature with the North Saskatchewan River Valley and various ravines winding through the city, let alone the human-made City parks.
- Ease of transportation due to a general lack of traffic compared to other major Canadian cities, as well as a decent bike infrastructure network and growing rapid transit system
- Proximity to National Parks that can be visited in a day, with Elk Island a half hour's drive from Downtown and Jasper a 3-4 hour drive
- The food scene here is great and is always improving
- Shopping is amazing, if you're into that sort of thing (West Edmonton Mall anyone?)
- It's sunny more often than not, which is amazing in summer when it doesn't set until 10:30 PM
- Relatively mild climate compared to similar latitudes in Canada (we actually only get a handful of below -30 days each winter and never -40 days, regardless of what you hear)
- We have a great system of City-funded and operated reecreation centres

For Edmonton I would also add that it's the concert capital of Western Canada. It's usually the first to get the big names. Not sure why (possibly due to Rexall having good acoustics when it was still in use??), but people in Edmonton are very proud of this lol.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Kilgore Trout

Yup.

Aside from being able to buy beer (good beer and a large selection of it!) at a million places around the city, some of the other small perks of living in Montreal:

- Tons of grocery stores, butchers, greengrocers, etc. that are affordable and high-quality, meaning there's usually a lot of options to buy fresh food within walking distance

- Good restaurants that are still relatively affordable and accessible compared to the rest of Canada

- Close access not just to nature but to "cottage country" (ie being able to find a house on a lake within 60 minutes of downtown)

- Generally quite a social and outgoing city, which is to say the bars and restaurants are busy all the time and people like to hang out

- Tons of cultural activities all year round

- Apartment living is the norm and not seen as strange or something you put up with only if you're young or poor

- It's nice to be somewhere that is linguistically and culturally different to the rest of North America

- Mount Royal, which offers the natural experience of Fish Creek with the accessibility of Central Park

I'm yearning to return to my hometown.

[niwell]

At this point I can finally walk to any number of places to get beer/wine as many local shops sell it plus bars are allowed off-sale. Only issue is I can't get cheap stuff easily - the shops still buy it at LCBO rates which means most places focus on high end or craft products you can't actually get in the liquor store (you can import specialty products at quite low rates). Big grocery stores do sell at LCBO rates however. No convenience store sales yet but a world of difference from even 5 years ago.


For me personally the biggest plus of where I am is the large number of greengrocers, butchers, bakeries and other specialty food stores. Rarely go to the big grocery store anymore which is great because I've always hated the weekly "big shop". Though I suppose this is more of a big city thing in general.

For more Toronto specific things I appreciate the breadth of neighbourhoods across the city - while I spend most of the time locally it's nice to be able to take a day and feel on vacation out in the East End or wherever. While they can be frustrating as a business owner I enjoy our narrow storefronts which both create a high amount of streetfront diversity but also lend themselves to more intimate venues. It's nice having multiple "locals" where I can go for a quick pint at the bar and know the people working plus at least some of the patrons.

A major trope but the variety of food available across the city ranging from high end to cheap hole in the wall stuff is a big plus. And sure there's next level ethnic stuff in the suburbs if you want to drive but still the variety of locally available food is impressive. When I lived in Parkdale it was pretty much cheaper to eat out (as a single guy) on a variety of Roti and Tibetan food.

[Kilgore Trout]

Toronto definitely has the best variety of food in Canada, probably even in North America. I'd argue that at the high end (ie chef-driven places) Montreal is better in terms of value and accessibility, but when it comes to affordable, family-run "ethnic" restaurants, Toronto is so good.

[MonkeyRonin]

One of the little things I appreciate about Toronto is how much of a cinephile city it is. Just in the downtown core there are several major theatres and several smaller independent ones, and there's pretty much always a film festival or two happening at any given time. You can literally go out every night of the week and see a great film (new release, cult classic, independent, blockbuster, foreign, whatever) each time.

In Vancouver, this time of year especially I'm reminded of just how nice the air feels. It's fresh, salty, smells good, and just feels rejuvenating. No wonder everyone here looks so youthful. There's also something special & soft about the light. Whether it's sunny, overcast, or something in between, it's always nice. No depressingly monotone, washed out grey skies here.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

One of the little things I appreciate about Toronto is how much of a cinephile city it is. Just in the downtown core there are several major theatres and several smaller independent ones, and there's pretty much always a film festival or two happening at any given time. You can literally go out every night of the week and see a great film (new release, cult classic, independent, blockbuster, foreign, whatever) each time.

That's a good one too. We have stuff like the TIFF lightbox which plays pretty much any newer arthouse film you want, but also the small independent theatres. I mostly go to the Revue on Roncy these days to see older movies and for the weekend "Drunken Cinema" showings where they play lots of cult/horror/action classics, often with themed cocktails. I know lots of big cities have this as well but it does feel very accessible in Toronto.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by niwell

That's a good one too. We have stuff like the TIFF lightbox which plays pretty much any newer arthouse film you want, but also the small independent theatres. I mostly go to the Revue on Roncy these days to see older movies and for the weekend "Drunken Cinema" showings where they play lots of cult/horror/action classics, often with themed cocktails. I know lots of big cities have this as well but it does feel very accessible in Toronto.

Revue and Fox do a great job of cornering the independent market and TIFF will cover a lot of the international and arthouse scene. Combine that with various offerings at the chains and Toronto is a very good cinephile city. Ottawa does this really well too, with two great independent theatres which give the ones in Toronto a good run for their money.

A dream of mine is to start up an independent theatre in my hometown. Maybe someday.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

One of the little things I appreciate about Toronto is how much of a cinephile city it is. Just in the downtown core there are several major theatres and several smaller independent ones, and there's pretty much always a film festival or two happening at any given time. You can literally go out every night of the week and see a great film (new release, cult classic, independent, blockbuster, foreign, whatever) each time.

There aren't a lot of things about living in Toronto that I find myself missing in a day-to-day way, but this is one, and it's not just a big city vs. small city thing--even among large cities, Toronto is unusually well-endowed with neighbourhood cinemas.

[MonkeyRonin]

After spending a wet, drizzly week of Vancouver-style winter weather in Toronto, I noticed that I was really missing Vancouver's awnings. You can find them on buildings new & old, and they're really a smart, simple response to the local climate. Whether tattered old canvas ones on an old retail strip or a snazzy glass one on a new tower, they just make sense:






And I think it might have been mentioned already, but Vancouver's ubiquitous green grocers really are a great feature. Every city has these of course, but I've never seen as many of them as I do here (they used to be a lot more common in Toronto, but it seems like many have been gentrified out of existence in recent years). Aside from being a convenient place to get good, local produce (and usually at a cheaper price than the major grocers), the way they spill out onto the sidewalks create nice little urban vignettes:




The local tradition of lighting up cranes at Christmas time is also a nice little thing that adds a festive touch to the skyline this time of year:

[zoomer]

Isn’t Christmas lights on construction cranes common in all cities? I know it’s a thing here in Victoria as well, and the lights are more spectacular at 15 to 20 storeys vs. 40 to 60!

As for the awnings, funny enough it’s one of the things I dislike most about Vancouver! Good for you for seeing the bright side (grey rainy side?) of things! Personally I find so many in Vancouver are covered in filth or mold and are tattered, faded and poorly maintained. They also make it hard to get a sense of the buildings around you and makes that first floor feel very short. It’s like walking under a string of broken leaking umbrellas for blocks on end in some parts of Vancouver. But yes, they do make sense especially for the markets in the rain and summer heat.