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Toronto born and raised, it's really bad.. like REALLY bad.. words can do it justice. I'm looking to move out of the country soon because of this. And everywhere they go the quality drops instantly. Like work standards drop to zero, wages drop, standards for getting certified in any field drop, dollar value drops...

Born and raised in Ontario and spent most of my life in Toronto. Left permanently in 2012 and it's the best decision I ever made. Now I live in Finland. I'd never go back.

So I understand why Canadians feel they way they do. Especially the ones born and raised here. I'm 31, was born here, and I often feel the same way everyone else does. The only problem that I see is that the issues that are in Canada are also in every other Western country. I'm concerned with the future, but I also know that throughout every generation, there are ups and downs. I'm willing to stick it out. I live outside of Toronto,I love the lack of natural disasters and access to water, and I still feel very safe. Although crime is up, it is nothing compared to the U.S. \n\nI'm actually living quite comfortably. Although my costs have gone up, I have made smart decisions in my life that allow me to live well. I own my own house, don't have car or credit card debt, and I only need to earn 40k a year to cover all of my bills. Every cent extra I earn goes to paying down my mortgage, gym, and golf once a week. \n\nThe question is, is it better l elsewhere? I don't know, but I am trying to be happy with what I have instead of what I could have had by being born 30 years too late. Ultimately, I would rather stay here work within the system to change it and continue to make smart decisions that put me ahead. Starting out all over again makes my stomach sick, and I love this country, despite it's flaws and its government, it has great people and beautiful nature. \n\nBest wishes to all of you other Canadians, and let's make it the Canada we want and deserve again.

Some of the stats cited here are straight up wrong or... creatively employed, and there's a lot of contradictory information and the typical conservative 'the sky is falling' sensationalism and misattribution. That said, the bas supposition isn't wrong. The bubble we've been sitting on for 20 or so years has completely burst. As someone born and raised in the Toronto area, it's impossible for me to afford to own a house or apartment here on a teacher's salary. Even rent pushes me to the limit unless I want to live in a... less than nice area. I'm living hand to mouth and enjoying the benefits of living in a 'developed' country less. Here's why:\n\n1. Wages aren't really even close to keeping up with the cost of living. The first tick upwards a bit. The second just keeps rising on the back of housing, food, amenities, and inflation: the four horsemen.\n\n2. Our grocery cabal ruthlessly raise prices whenever we look away, and their lobbyists are all ensconced within the leadership of our three major parties, particularly the Conservatives (so if anyone thinks that electing them will help, they're in for a nasty surprise).\n\n3. We're experiencing 'labour shrinkflation': increasing duties are downloaded onto workers and more is expected: more productivity, more availability (almost 24/7 in some jobs), and higher qualifications. Meanwhile, real wages are decreasing relative to living cost, more positions are 'contract', which is basically a way for employers to not have to give you benefits, and job security is tenuous for a lot of people.\n\n4. Houses are being bought by investors and not owners. Foreign entities are money laundering. The wealthy upper crust of high population countries are moving here and buying property because Canada is (still) more safe and stable and less repressive than their home countries in most cases. \n\n5. There's a cycle beginning: as people are squeezed and forced to spend more on 'needs', they spend less on eating out, entertainment, and other 'wants'. These are significant drivers of the service economy and they're being hit hard. So, what can they do? They can let go of workers or lower product costs to remain profitable, but they their quality declines and, in a market where people are pinching every penny and looking for quality for their dollar, they're less likely to go back. They can raise their prices, of course, but then they price people out completely and their profits still tank. I went to a decent steakhouse for my dad's 60th last week. I can't remember the last time that I went to one before that. \n\n6. Our politicians and news cycles focus on the most niche and irrelevant stuff because it'll stoke anger and get tongues wagging. This carbon thing is almost a non-issue, but our conservative leader is harping on about it like it's singlehandedly the death of the Canadian economy when it's a drop in the bucket. Trudeau focuses on 'equity' measures, hoping for a bit of cheap good press, while his efforts are, for the most part, just window dressing and the issues, while meaningful, are often not of paramount importance or even applicable to the vast majority of the people who elected him. Meanwhile, the middle class is pretty much evaporating as he speaks. The NDP keep talking about this in a pretty real way, for what it's worth, but Jagmeet Singh is giving off an increasing vibe of just being another fat cat politician beneath his rhetoric these days. Also, third-party trolls and screeching conservatives try to bury him on social media whenever he speaks... a lot more than other leaders as well, oddly. I wonder why? Oh yeah, the Greens exist and there's Quebec and the conspiracy theory party.\n\n\nUltimately, what we're experiencing is the revenge of the feudal system. Instead of paying rents to your lord and doing labour on the land for him whenever commanded to, you pay rent to your landlord now and go to work even when you're sick or when work hours are over because you have no union protection or are working 'on contract'. Unless we want to live in the armpit of nowhere, 95% of us are going to be wage slaves living hand-to-mouth, not owning our own property, and working to please our corporate overlords if current trends continue unchecked. While some of Canada's problems are unique, I fear that most aren't. As for me, I'm headed to the 'armpit of nowhere' where I can at least have a ghost of a chance of affording life.

Thanks for making this video and spreading the truth of what's happening in Toronto. As someone born and raised in this city, I would sadly have to say to stay away from here now. In the past I would have said this is one of the best cities to live in. It was a great city and now it's a dead city.

Born and raised in Toronto, moved away for good about 6 years ago. \nLack of social cohesion, too expensive, too much crime, too much traffic. It's on track to becoming a wasteland. Canada is in trouble. \nRapid mass-immigration has been a complete failure due to a plethora of reasons. Some politically, some economically, and some culturally. \nDiversity to this extent is inherently and predictably destructive.

I was born and raised in Toronto and lived 57 years there. 6 months ago, I moved to Saskatchewan having never visited before. I'm ashamed of Toronto. It's not what it was. I outgrew it and although I have good memories of what it once was, it no longer is. And I will forever tell everyone it's not even worth the visit.

I was born and raised in Toronto. It's not what it used to be and it's never going to recover. I took my family and left Canada. The education is terrible now and hyper politicized, the medical system is terrible, affordability is terrible. Ask yourself if you're willing to invest in a life and property in a country that will take a minimum of 20 years to recover from trudeaus terrible economic policies.

As a 35 year old, born and raised in Toronto who never left. PLEASE STOP COMING HERE! \nAs for violence, you only think it's bad now if you didn't know early 90s Toronto.

Interesting video! Here's my perspective:\n\nI'm from Quebec City, of Chinese descent, born and raised in Montreal, where I lived for 21 years. I've also lived in Vancouver for 3 years, Toronto for 5 years, returned to Montreal for another 3 years, and have now been in Quebec City for 15 years.\n\nAs a Quebec City resident and business owner, I find the city amazing. During the pandemic, there were many programs and subsidies available. I even wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau regarding the CEBA program for businesses, suggesting some changes to the eligibility criteria. They followed through, and Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau sent a detailed response, signed by him but likely written by his staff, explaining the revised criteria and suggesting other potential programs. Provincially, my MP's staff guided me through various programs. Ultimately, I received nearly everything I needed to survive and potentially thrive through the pandemic (to be confirmed in 2024).\n\nTaxes are high, but I feel safe in Quebec City. Crime rates are low, and I've experienced little racism, possibly due to my fluency in French. Starting a business here has been easy, with minimal costs and bureaucracy.\n\nAs a gay man, I've never felt endangered. I can comfortably express affection for my spouse in public without feeling judged.\n\nHealthcare, including access to medication and doctor consultations, is extremely affordable. Super Clinics offer next-day appointments at no cost.\n\nI own a commercial condo for my business, which cost significantly less than it would have in Toronto or Vancouver. My rent for a one-bedroom apartment is CAD 755, and electricity bills are remarkably low.\n\nWith the shift to online business, I've accessed international markets while benefiting from a low-cost, safe environment. I received a CAD 2400 subsidy from the Canada Digital Adoption Program, among other government-funded programs, to expand internationally.\n\nAlthough homelessness exists in Quebec City, many supportive programs are available, and most homeless individuals here are polite, likely because they face less stigma.\n\nI believe it's crucial to explore different locations when moving to Canada. Many smaller cities offer great opportunities, which works to my advantage.\n\nRegarding the judiciary system, it's not perfect but feels less biased compared to the Supreme Court of the United States, such as in cases like Roe v. Wade.\n\nMy advice to immigrants is to learn the local language fluently for effective communication. Utilize all available federal and provincial tools, like legal aid, and don't hesitate to contact your MP. In my experience, they've been very helpful.\n\nAll the best, Febby!

As a born and raised Canadian millennial, I'm grateful to have escaped Canada almost a decade ago when even back then I could no longer tolerate the conditions of Greater Toronto. It's exponentially worse in Toronto today. I wish the best for Canada but I just can't see it improving over the coming decades. I love my life in the US too much to ever move back, but fortunately close enough to make the drive to visit friends and family.

Toronto resident here. Cost of living has become more expensive. I share an apartment with my someone and we are paying about $3,000 per month with few amenities. It requires both our incomes to be able to afford to live here and we're just getting by. I have lived in the core of the city since 2005 but was born and raised in the GTA and have never lived anywhere else. Since about 2015, costs have gone way up and now they are just plain unaffordable. I live close to Sherbourne and Queen and while I see a lot of homelessness, I do not really see much violence. The area south of Queen is much more gentrified and I am never walking in fear, no matter what time of day or night. The Transit system has been under construction for over a decade and it just doesn't seem to end. More and more historic buildings are being converted to condos and I see tons of construction everywhere. Traffic has become nightmarish with too many cars and not enough roads. We are considering a move to Montreal because of the rental costs are about $1000 per month lower, though neither of us is francophone. I am not sure how the powers that be will be addressing the housing crisis moving forward. It's a huge challenge and I may not be around to see the outcome. Having said this, it's going to be really tough to say goodbye to this city.

Like you Alina, Harriet and I lived in a city where we were born , raised and loved. Boston. What's happening in Toronto is happening in Boston. The big cities in North America are experiencing\nsimilar issues, some better than others. We still have family in Boston. We continue to go there as you do in Toronto. It's been a while since we've been to Toronto. The two cities are very\nsimilar. Harriet and I are optimists, we hope that the future of yours and our beloved cities will bring us back to a place that we remember fondly. Sending much love❤❤ from Richmond, Va. Harriet, Jim and Yuki

Born and raised in Québec City, I think it's really special but each province/city has its own places of beauty. I worked in Toronto as a student and I had a fabulous time there. Different culture to Quebec but still nice and so welcoming. I swam in Georgian Bay, it is so huge, what a beautiful place. I also visited New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and parts of Nova Scotia and I couldn't believe the scenery and how friendly the people were. Unfortunately, it's often easier and cheaper for Canadians to travel south then east-west.

I am an American born in NY, raised in VA. I also lived in Van Nuys for a year, also lived in Texas before my job industry moved me to Canada. \ni have been in Canada for 7yrs, been to Vancouver, Toronto and MTL and to be honest i like a lot of things in Canada like the health care differences and of course the lower insulin cost for my husband but i still want to go back home. If anything i would stay in Toronto because it's the closest similarity to home but where Aba and Preach live, in Montreal, it's literally been my nightmare. I feel like the tap water at least in my area has gotten worse over time. \nOne thing i feel like they didn't mention that I have to tell people from America to watch out for is the credit card vs debit card thing. \nI grew up only having debit cards because i didn't want to get into debt. when i came to Canada i continued getting a debit card and realized the hard way that not everything accepts debit cards and you NEED to also have a credit card to access certain things.\nbut overall i do feel much safer in Canada even though the crazy trump lovers are showing up here and there it's significantly less than i see when I'm back home.

It's cheaper to live in Dallas Texas than Montreal, which is one of the cheapest cities to live in Canada, so I don't know where you're getting lower cost of living (and yeah I heard you're trying to compare apples to apples, but this is impossible and honestly, wtf would someone want to live in a crime ridden city like NYC? Which btw is around the same housing cost as Vancouver..)\n\nAlso, I'm not sure if you guys pay taxes, but this is a HUGE factor; take home income in Canada is much lower, and when you consider Americans get paid the same as us but in US funds, their taxes are a joke, so their disposable income is much higher.\n\nCanada is a country where mediocrity is celebrated, it's a good country for average intelligence type people who don't or won't earn high incomes , who don't want to own businesses - yeah it's perfect for them , but I was born and raised here , and trust me seeing 60-65% of my income going to cumulative taxes is disgusting.\n\nOh and for the record, someone earning average income of $50k in Canada gives up 46% of that to cumulative taxes - this is a fact you guys seemed to have left out.\n\nFor good looking women, bro once again, Montreal born and raised, the quality has dropped severely - a lot of hairy legged far leftist anglo types taking over, it's not what it used to be....\n\nLived in both, once again, Canada celebrates its mediocrity, the US is where you go to make bank and build a business - And Toronto is the most racially self segregated city in the world....

Jesus, imagine paying many times more on tuition to come learn post secondary education from some no-name sub-par school in Toronto only to battle with many others for a low wage entry level job. What a scam! It's tough enough for born and raised young Canadians to survive on their own in Toronto. You'd have to pay me at least a quarter million Canadian pesos to make me even think about going back to the GTA from the good life I have now in the US south.

I've lived 2 years in Toronto. Plusses, it's all there, sports, theatre, music, amazing restaurants. Negatives I found the people difficult to get to know, I usually felt I wasn't breathing fast enough, and no mountains. I've lived 10 years in Calgary. Plusses, people are incredibly open and friendly, mountains, energetic without being frenetic, affordable. Minuses, very cyclic economy, everything always under construction with little sense of history or culture. I was born and raised in Victoria and returned here 34 years ago. Plusses, ocean and mountains, sense of history, laid back and friendly, amazing climate. Minuses, completely unaffordable (if I hadn't bought my house over 30 years ago I couldn't afford it today). Enjoyed them all but wouldn't voluntarily leave Victoria.