Functional Canadian city?
April 17, 2024 2:35 PM Subscribe
Contemplating leaving Toronto for another Canadian city. Taking recommendations.
Requirements
- Up to 500k people
- Functional, decent-quality hospital system and access to GPs (see it’s a hard one)
- Something pretty about it
- Centre-left politics
I already know this is impossible but hit me with something, if only to keep my hopes up.
Requirements
- Up to 500k people
- Functional, decent-quality hospital system and access to GPs (see it’s a hard one)
- Something pretty about it
- Centre-left politics
I already know this is impossible but hit me with something, if only to keep my hopes up.
Response by poster: Yes, but they want in-person visits for the most part, pretty sure funding for virtual visits is done? Amazing that yours agreed to Zoom. (I mostly blame premiers for the brokenness, which unfortunately seems to be affecting all our provinces. Which in turn speaks to the flaws of federalism but anyway.)
posted by cotton dress sock at 4:36 PM on April 17
posted by cotton dress sock at 4:36 PM on April 17
There's Victoria. It is pretty enough, the province of BC has just introduced a website to allow people to find GPs (though I don't know how well it works for that, though most of my 'visits' with my GP and a few specialists are via video or phone call these days), and the general location of the Green party's strongest support.
posted by birdsquared at 4:47 PM on April 17 [3 favorites]
posted by birdsquared at 4:47 PM on April 17 [3 favorites]
London Ontario has a large functional hospital system, with the definition of functional being that it works as well as or slightly better than any other large hospital in Ontario.
Less than 500k
I give a half point for pretty; it’s not ugly but it’s not Victoria. That said, it’s close to a lot of pretty and has a fairly long and somewhat extensive bicycle/walking path system.
It’s an hour from Kitchener, an hour to Port Huron Michigan, half an hour to Lake Erie, 45 minutes to Lake Huron, about 2 hours to Detroit and Buffalo for cheaper sports than Toronto. Lots of festivals in the summer. Quite multicultural.
Votes Liberal
The cons are that it’s still in Ontario so you know what you’re still getting. It’s not easy to find a GP. It’s not very exciting. Arts and culture are present but not very visible. There’s a damn train that blocks traffic whenever they want to.
If it were me and money wasn’t a concern then I would definitely check out Victoria and Halifax as well, although climate-wise I’m not so sure about being on the coasts.
posted by ashbury at 6:18 PM on April 17 [4 favorites]
Less than 500k
I give a half point for pretty; it’s not ugly but it’s not Victoria. That said, it’s close to a lot of pretty and has a fairly long and somewhat extensive bicycle/walking path system.
It’s an hour from Kitchener, an hour to Port Huron Michigan, half an hour to Lake Erie, 45 minutes to Lake Huron, about 2 hours to Detroit and Buffalo for cheaper sports than Toronto. Lots of festivals in the summer. Quite multicultural.
Votes Liberal
The cons are that it’s still in Ontario so you know what you’re still getting. It’s not easy to find a GP. It’s not very exciting. Arts and culture are present but not very visible. There’s a damn train that blocks traffic whenever they want to.
If it were me and money wasn’t a concern then I would definitely check out Victoria and Halifax as well, although climate-wise I’m not so sure about being on the coasts.
posted by ashbury at 6:18 PM on April 17 [4 favorites]
How small are you willing to go? If you want somewhere near 500k and centre-left-leaning, then you're pretty much looking at Victoria or Halifax, maybe one of the mid-sized cities in Ontario, depending on how you define centre-left. If you're willing to go below 200k or up to 1m or so, then you have a few more options.
posted by ssg at 7:24 PM on April 17 [3 favorites]
posted by ssg at 7:24 PM on April 17 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Oh sure, really can’t go too small! Except inasmuch as fitting in might be a problem, like if it takes three generations to be accepted, then probably not. One million, meh I guess. Some of what I’m not enjoying about Toronto now = the sky being blotted out by condos in a lot of areas, and painful commutes within/around the city. For politics honestly (especially at this point in history), ABC is fine. Also, when I say “pretty”, I guess I mean “bearing any charm whatsoever”. So, maybe, quite unlike the wider GTA for example. Edit: but really, I don’t want to have unreasonable expectations. Having good hospitals and GP access is probably sufficient.
posted by cotton dress sock at 8:19 PM on April 17
posted by cotton dress sock at 8:19 PM on April 17
I’m not sure what your budget is, but tricities area of greater Vancouver is delightful (coquitlam) with still access to lots of big city amenities.
Hamilton is charming.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 10:21 PM on April 17 [2 favorites]
Hamilton is charming.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 10:21 PM on April 17 [2 favorites]
I lived in Winnipeg from 2005-8 and enjoyed my time there. I don't know what the wait times are like for hospitals there but they had a functioning health system. It's bigger than 500k but less than a million. In a lot of ways living there would be indistinguishable from living in any of the suburbs around Toronto. There are even some walkable neighbourhoods closer to downtown.
Yes it gets cold in the winter, much colder than Toronto, but the cold also means that the winter is much sunnier as opposed to the 3 months of grey skies that is the Toronto winter.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:45 PM on April 18 [2 favorites]
Yes it gets cold in the winter, much colder than Toronto, but the cold also means that the winter is much sunnier as opposed to the 3 months of grey skies that is the Toronto winter.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:45 PM on April 18 [2 favorites]
I’ve lived in several places in Ontario, and I am familiar with a lot more I haven’t lived in. Right now I live in a small town and it is the place I have made the most friends. I can’t recommend outside Ontario, unfortunately.
The access to GPs is a no-go anywhere in Ontario. I drive four hours to see mine, but I only go a few times a year. That is just the current reality.
If you are willing to go smaller in Ontario I would look at Kingston, Georgetown, Orilla, Bayfield (no hospital) Brockville, Merrickville/Kemptville (Kemptville has the hospital but Merrickville is prettier). I would stay away from the Bible Belt in southwestern Ontario. Eastern Ontario is red Tory, lots of queer/alternative people. I have heard really good things about Picton but I believe it is pretty pricey.
posted by saucysault at 8:16 AM on April 19 [1 favorite]
The access to GPs is a no-go anywhere in Ontario. I drive four hours to see mine, but I only go a few times a year. That is just the current reality.
If you are willing to go smaller in Ontario I would look at Kingston, Georgetown, Orilla, Bayfield (no hospital) Brockville, Merrickville/Kemptville (Kemptville has the hospital but Merrickville is prettier). I would stay away from the Bible Belt in southwestern Ontario. Eastern Ontario is red Tory, lots of queer/alternative people. I have heard really good things about Picton but I believe it is pretty pricey.
posted by saucysault at 8:16 AM on April 19 [1 favorite]
« Older Adobe Acrobat Should be Free. Why Isn't it Working... | Reimbursement for canceled and delayed flights on... Newer »
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by rpophessagr at 3:32 PM on April 17 [1 favorite]