A Tale of Two Cities: Toronto – London UK

Well, here I am at my Toronto base after having spent unfair, but unforgettable amounts of time at my London [UK] base.  Nowadays I always add the UK after London, because there’s a London in Ontario – about 2 hours’ drive from Toronto, so confusion may arise easily for those who are aware of this.  Since there’re also 4 Torontos in various states of the USA, strictly I should be adding Canada after Toronto, yet somehow know that my [Ontarian] Toronto rules, so feel there’s no need to do so.  

So hey, what’s better about life in Canada than life in London UK?  Many people ask me this question, so now that my website is finally enjoying its new face after years of mess and now that I’m motivated to blog again, I’m inspired to share my insights.  My answer starts here: there’s better and there’s worse in each country, so I’ll reframe this common question to what’s different about living in Canada from living in the UK.

The first diff is condo living.  If you live downtown anywhere in north America, you’re bound to live in a condo or at least in close proximity to those who live in condos.  Condo [short for condominium]  high-rise buildings remind somewhat of hotels with their long twisted corridors [that could at times do with convex mirrors to enable one to see around the corner] and many doors with unit numbers.   The hotel resemblance is completed by a lobby with a reception desk where there’s a concierge [also called a security guard] who is there to generally oversee the comings and goings of visitors, as well as to perform many and varied functions in assistance to the building’s residents and staff.   The term condo and the term apartment are not interchangeable as are the terms flat and apartment in the UK.   The term flat is not used in Canada at all, while the term apartment denotes a unit in a building which, as against a condo building, does not have a recreation centre, usually at either the top or bottom of the building, with facilities to be enjoyed by the residents such as a gym, sauna, steam room, jacuzzi or hot tub, a room with tables, chairs, and a bar area that you can rent for a party, and in some buildings even a pool.  Apartment buildings do not have these facilities while condo buildings do.  Another useful difference is resulting from this fact: condo living is more expensive – the maintenance of the facilities in the recreation centres is reflected in the condo fees [or service charge in the UK].

The second diff is not my favorite: if you live in a condo, everyone will know your real name AND your unit number.  If you happen to entertain guests at your unit, you must report to the concierge the fact that you’re expecting someone called [guest's name] at or around such’n'such time.  If your guest is arriving by car, you’ll need to inform your guest in advance that s/he will need to request a visitor’s parking permit from the concierge in order to be able to park [for free] at the parking lot under your building.   And then, of course, everything is on camera – for safety reasons.  And if your guest gives the concierge the wrong name for your unit number, the concierge – if doing his/her job efficiently – will call your cell phone number and ask you whether you’re expecting [guest's name].  So there goes part of discretion – and there certainly is no room for pseudonyms!  But, to be fair, the concierge service does – again, if done efficiently – both protect us all from the uninvited and, indirectly, keep the value of our properties high and easily sellable.

The next diff – did I tell you about the facilities contained in the recreation centers of condo buildings?  If you’re reading this in a country where, like in the UK, people have to pay hefty memberships for the healthy privileges of attending the gym, sauna, jacuzzi or hot tub, you’ll know how awesomely you’d feel if all you had to do was to take the elevator / lift to the top or ground floor and have it all there from 6a.m. til 11p.m. for your mostly sole use 7 days a week!   These facilities are ones I [and my guests] always gladly and generously help myself to here in TO, but greatly miss when in London.  There I’m not willing to pay the hefty memberships to make the rich richer, plsu the traveling time and costs, so I opt for home gym and alternative forms of sport and recreation.  I just find it totally striking how some of my fellow Torontonians take these facilities so much for granted that they don’t bother using them at all!  Ah well, that’s what happens when things are made toooooooooooo easy for some people, I suppose!

And the next diff I’ll cover in this entry is in traveling.  Any Brit who has been to, let alone lived in London will be gobsmacked to learn that s/he can get from any side of the city [city = downtown] to the airport for as little as $2.50 if taking the public transit!   That diff will certainly be notable!   Just imagine how much it’d cost you to get from anywhere in London to Heathrow or Gatwick!  I’m sure I needn’t labor the point.

Well, I’ll write more later… there’s enough to digest here already.  Stay inspired.