What's Ontario Like?

[magindat]

Weather at different times of year...

Hustle/Bustle?

Traffic?

General attitude of people?

How far from city center to 'burbs?

Typical activities (like in FL, we airboat, ATV and mud)...

How bad does the winter actually suck? For how long?

[Canucksmarauder]

What part of Ontario??

I live up North and Love it. 100's of fresh water lakes for boating. Georgian Bay is just around the corner and the 4 wheeling is second to none.

Is this for a visit??

P

[larryo340]

Toronto has alot to do and see including the Hockey Hall of Fame :D.

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/family-vacations-in-canada-5.jpg

[magindat]

Would be Toronto.

Tell me about winter.

Me likey the notion that there's 4 wheelin up there!!

[Canucksmarauder]

Toronto is a great city! You would have to head North a little for 4 wheeling but that would get you out of the rat race.

Restaurants, bars, night life, art, show's and the odd strip club:;)

P

[MichaelGarmon]

I visited Toronto for work and liked it. It is a big city (like Atlanta) but seemed to be a little cleaner. The new soccer stadium is pretty nice and there is plenty to do as far as the city goes. The people were nice enough, but traffic was pretty terrible, which is about average as far as a big city goes. I went in Early May 07 and it was nice. In the 60's I believe.

[wishfulthinkin]

Rich, are you planning a move? Let me know.

[Evasfunk]

Toronto is an awesome city...i live about 2 hours from it. As for the winters there not near as bad as people think, this past winter i dont even think we got snow till december :beer:

[freakstatus]

Come to the West Coast. We need Marauder folks here.:beer:

[RoyLPita]

Fuel is sold by the liter.

[grampaws]

Usually not that much snow in winter..
summers gat reasonably hot but the humidity
can make it uncomfortable. Racially diverse
around Toronto..We're over $5.00/gal..
Overall friendly atmosphere.

[Dr Caleb]

Ontairo smells like old people. ;)

Come to Alberta.

[scruff]

You can find pretty much anything in Toronto that you might want and i mean anything not really any different from any USA City Gas is over $5 a gallon i live 1.5hr north of Toronto and we get lots of snow and cold , great skiing just a few miles away good restaurants good people wasaga beach ohh Girls Girls

[MADRODER]

Ontario overall has alot to offer, it depends on what you are looking for.

Toronto>>>>very expensive (unless you're ok spending 275k for a townhouse)
traffic as you never seen before...

Niagara (Golden Horseshoe)>>>>>what can I say, the best part of Ontario,close to U.S for cheap car parts,housing reasonable (for now) wine,close to Toronto but far enough from the crime, great family values

Northern Ontario>>>>beautiful and a abundant amount of outdoor activities

Southwestern Ontario>>>>great area to raise a family, not much crime, largely a farming community with great people.

Eastern Ontario>>>>> never spent enough time in these part of the woods but I had a great time there whenever we stayed for a family camping trip or drove by while going to Quebec.

Oh yeah one more thing.......rural areas of Ontario tend to say EH quite a bit (I know what a shocker).....

[ckadiddle]

Sorry, Rich. You are not allowed to move out of Florida permanently. No way. ;)

[JMan]

Rich,
You know how ya get depressed after three days without the sun down here? In Toronto, you're not gonna see the sun from early October to late April on a regular basis. That's all I'm saying.

J

[Evasfunk]

Rich,
You know how ya get depressed after three days without the sun down here? In Toronto, you're not gonna see the sun from early October to late April on a regular basis. That's all I'm saying.

J
Its not that bad...as i said before we didnt see snow until december and it was gone early march, remember its Ontario not Anarctica :eek:

[MADRODER]

Its not that bad...as i said before we didnt see snow until december and it was gone early march, remember its Ontario not Anarctica :eek:

:lol:.........and we don't live in igloos.

[Master]

Jeez, by, ya gots ta come ta th' east coast, eh? Shes pretty friggin nice down here to.

[99SVT]

Ontario winters are fairly mild compared to the prairies, I lived about 45min north of Toronto for 3 winters and 1 summer on various courses for the military. The snow in Toronto isn't that bad, the heat of the city kind of keeps some of it away. The outlying areas east of the great lakes had lots of "lake effect snow". I wouldn't recommend driving the Marauder, or any car you want to keep for a long time, during the winter as they tend to put down a lot of salt on the roads. The summers are pleasant and there's lots to do in the surrounding areas. If you have a choice I'd live near Barrie, under 1hr drive to Toronto, minutes to skiing, Wasaga beach, off roading parks, etc. very nice country.

[Aren Jay]

Ontario is a big place.

It also is as far south as California and further north than any other American state other than Alaska.

Toronto is the centre of the Universe. According to the Torontonians. Toronto is an Indian word: it means pigheaded. They also call Toronto Hogtown.

Timmins is a nice place.

Actually I have never been to Timmins but I would like to go see the Museum there.

I found this Description



It's a Big Place
Even people who live in Ontario can have trouble appreciating the sheer size of this province. Ontario is Canada's second largest province, covering more than one million square kilometres (415,000 square miles) - an area larger than France and Spain combined. More than 12 million people live in Ontario. If you look at a map of Ontario (http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/map/) you will notice that the province is bounded by Quebec on the east, Manitoba on the west, Hudson Bay and James Bay on the north, and the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes on the south.
Ontario's most northerly communities are close to the same latitude as London, England and Warsaw, Poland. Ontario's southernmost point of land is Middle Island, in Lake Erie south of Point Pelee, roughly parallel to Barcelona, Spain or Rome, Italy.
<!--SS_END_ELEMENT(region1_element 1)-->




Land of Water
Ontario's quarter million lakes and countless rivers and streams hold about one-third of the world's fresh water. The rivers of southern Ontario flow into the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River system. Most northern Ontario rivers flow into James Bay and Hudson Bay.

[larryo340]

Ontario is a big place.

It also is as far south as California and further north than any other American state other than Alaska.

???????????:confused:

I don't know if it's too early in the morning, but I'm confused.

[JMan]

Its not that bad...as i said before we didnt see snow until december and it was gone early march, remember its Ontario not Anarctica :eek:

Actually, Toronto is the most beautiful big city I've ever seen. I just don't want to relinquish Rich.


???????????:confused:

I don't know if it's too early in the morning, but I'm confused.

Southern Ontario is as far South as Northern California (Same latitiude.) Look on a globe, Rome (the very south of Europe), NYC and Chicago are on the same latitude. San Francisco is just south of that parallel. That puts London and Amsterdam in the far, far North. [And more globe fun!] San Diego, CA and Charleston, SC are also on the same line of latitude.

J

[Hotrauder]

Rich, Toronto is absolutely gorgeous, you can eat off the platforms of the subway system and there is something interesting happening everywhere all the time. It is lovely, clean and people are people, still. However the Great White North is not for you, eh. You hoser. You can't go for longer than a vacation, thank you very much. Dennis:beer:....about 1800 miles north of Toronto you will find Timmons..it is just north of Santa's Reindeer barn. there you will KennyRauder and his bride, Dawn tearing up the tundra with his evil S/C Marauder. Easily holding down the title of MM.Net Official Caribou Herder. HA HA. Hi Kenny

[Blackmobile]

:laugh::laugh::laugh:


Rich, Toronto is absolutely gorgeous, you can eat off the platforms of the subway system and there is something interesting happening everywhere all the time. It is lovely, clean and people are people, still. However the Great White North is not for you, eh. You hoser. You can't go for longer than a vacation, thank you very much. Dennis:beer:....about 1800 miles north of Toronto you will find Timmons..it is just north of Santa's Reindeer barn. there you will KennyRauder and his bride, Dawn tearing up the tundra with his evil S/C Marauder. Easily holding down the title of MM.Net Official Caribou Herder. HA HA. Hi Kenny

[Aren Jay]

Weather wise it is humid and warm in the summer, humid and snowy but not too cold in the winter. Traffic is bad around Toronto, but people just can't drive, traffic is worse in London England, but people know how to drive, even if it is on the wrong side, there.

Summer is like Florida only bigger with more fresh water. Elevation isn't very high, in most places, and people are more friendly in Ontario than similar places in the States. Less of everything bad, not completely absent but less. Don't be stupid.

It is like a sophisticated British Columbia with an aire of self importance and a growing understand that they are no longer as important.

13 million people, high by Canadian standards, most everyone lives within 200 miles of the USA.

Up north there are lots of trees and lakes and a couple roads.

You would like it in summer as it is like a Florida winter. In winter it is like a NY winter, only worse. Compared to Alberta, which is very different, it is very humid and warm, more snow, less wind.

Ontario has a stable environment. It is the birthplace of your Marauder. So it can't be all that bad.

[Dr Caleb]

Ontario winters are fairly mild compared to the prairies, . . . I wouldn't recommend driving the Marauder, or any car you want to keep for a long time, during the winter as they tend to put down a lot of salt on the roads.

Another 'benefit' to the Prairies. It gets too damn cold here to use salt and sand. Salt, sand and de-icers do nothing below -13.4C. They just turn the roads to black glass.

But! I've lived here all my life, and never seen a rat or a cockroach. No poisonous spiders, few poisonous snakes. Few bugs at all, unless you visit muskeg country or some mountain valleys (deer ticks).

Get out of the cities! I can point you to the most Northern desert in the world - rolling sand dunes and everything. Alberta ranges from deep hoodoos (think Grand Canyon) to some of the tallest mountains on the continent.

http://www.virtuallydrumheller.com/tour/hoodoos.htm

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/showcase/showimage.php?i=9203&c=3&userid=953

[Tom Doan]

I was in Timmins the summer of '66, only had 1 out house, my hand still stinks.:lol:

[Canucksmarauder]

Timmins in 66! Was it the community out House:D

P

[Tom Doan]

Luke: "Hey Guy, where you from?"
Guy: "A boot Val'Dor eh."
Luke: "what'cha doon here in Toronto?"
Guy:"Me hoose was full of beeters"
Luke: "beeters?"
Guy: "Me mom beet me, me dad beet me"
Luke: "So?"
Guy: "I Heard Toronto can't beet anyone"
:lol:

[QWK SVT]

I live and work in Toronto... Having travelled around most of Canada, and a large part of the US (haven't done the Northwestern part, yet), I have to say that Toronto has a fairly "American" feel to it. We are very much influenced by American media, fashion, trends, etc. Fox, NBC, ABC and CBS dominate primetime - not as much "Canadian content" as many expect. Overall, it's a freindly place, but nowhere near as much so as smaller cities on the East Coast (like Halifax). Anyway, here are some general thoughts:

Weather - We get a little bit of everything. The summers are warm - hot (+80F), and often humid. Very rarely do we see days over 100... Maybe 3-5 a year. Winters are cool, and typically only a few days are below 15F. Snow isn't bad in the city - about 1 foot per month, on average. Usually, this comes as a 3-4 snowfalls, per winter month. I use snow tires, and would recommend them to everyone here, but (depending on the car) you may be able to get away without them.

Entertainment - From my travels, you will not find anything like it in one other city in North America. We have a franchise in every major sport (if you count the Buffalo Bills, who will start playing some games here, this year). Clubs, Theatre, Dining, Parks, etc. are all top notch, and it's the most multicultural environment you'll ever see. A China town larger than San Fransico, two "Little Italys", Greektown, Little India, and it goes on, and on.

Cleanliness - Toronto is often used for filming purposes (moreso when there was greater seperation between our dollars). Very often, we "become" New York, or Chicago. To do so, I kid you not, extra garbage is hauled in and spread around, to grimey up the location... I don't know about eating off our subway platforms, but you don't have to worry about what you're sitting in, when you get on the train;) Comparitively speaking, Toronto is far cleaner than any of the similarly sized cities to the south.

Commuting - We are very "under-highwayed" if I can make up that word. More traffic flows on the 401 (major highway running through most of the southern part of Antario) than any other in North America. While I live right in the centre of the city, and it is a straight 16-mile drive on one highway from my house to the downtowm core, I commute to/from the every day via passenger rail - it's cheaper than gas, let alone the cost of parking, and often faster.

Crime/Safety - Like any large city (Toronto has >2.5 million in the city, not including the 'burbs), there will be crime. It pales in comparison to Detroit, Chicago, NY, etc, but exists. Mostly, it's the typical stuff - theft, drugs, fights in the clubbing district. Murder rates are quite low, for the population size. For the most part though, you can walk down your street at any time of day/night, with little concern. If you're a gun owner, you're in for a VERY different situation up here... Unlike the US, Canadian cities do not tend to have large, self contained ghettos. Small pockets of ghetto are spaced across the city, as the plan is the intermingling (e.g. through the school system) will better assist the underprivildged get out of the hole.

Cost of Living - It's expensive. This is the big downside... We pay higher taxes, as you probably already know. Gas is priced higher, and is per litre. Canadian pricing on most things is slightly more than you would be used to... That's why we all go cross border shopping :D In the city, a nice +2,000sq.ft. home will easily be above $400,000, no matter what part of the city. Housing ain't cheap, and there's no sign it will take a big downturn anytime soon. On the upside, the surrounding communities are a fair bit cheaper, and the transit system (GO Transit - the passenger rail I take) to get you into the downtown core is really quite robust, and cheap.

Beer - don't call that watered down light version of piss in a canoe you have down there beer, please! :beer:

If you want to know any specifics on anything, feel free to ask...

[Aren Jay]

Federal tax in Canada is less than in the United States. I live in Alberta so we don't have a sales tax, although we do have the hated Federal sales tax.

Ontario and Alberta and parts of BC have higher than normal property prices, else where things get cheap again. Car prices are plus 35% up here. Gas prices plus 25%. Health care is generally dirty cheap or free. But there are current problems with getting a doctor or getting into a hospital up here right now. But once your in, your house car bank account will still be there when you survive your ordeal. We do have problems with some socialists up here who want to take over, luckily or naturally their numbers are very low so we can smile and ignore them.

Just to point out crime rates are lower than in the USA for instance every murder is reported in the news or on TV up here. Everyone that someone knows about.