Q&A: What Do You Love and Hate About T-dot?

Carlos Aguirre, University student Snow Mei/The Epoch Times

There is a lot to both love and loathe about Canada’s biggest city. The Epoch Times wanted to know what Torontonians think of their city.

Carlos Aguirre University student “I really like it, it’s a really beautiful city,” says Aguirre. “The streets, the atmosphere, the people are real nice. The TTC takes you everywhere across the town.” He appreciates the security of Toronto compared to Texas, where he lived before moving here. “This is a safer environment than where I came from. Also, what I really like is the diversity—I like to see a whole bunch of different kinds of people. It’s really new to me.” There’s nothing Aguirre particularly dislikes about Toronto. “The only thing is, when I tell people I’m American, they’re like ”Oh you’re from America,“ and they give me American change back. I’m like ‘Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?’ But it doesn’t really bother me, it’s just for laughs and stuff.”

Andy Martinez Accountant “The city life is really good. You get all the history, and all the lights and the CN Tower. I’m definitely more of a city person than a camping or farmer person,” says Martinez. However, the hustle and bustle of the city sometimes gets to him. “With the city life, we have to get used to the traffic. It’s intense; always pushing—someone’s always pushing you in the city,” he says. “It’s not that great; sometimes you need your space.”

Brian & Bonnie Rouse Semi-retired & unemployed The Rouses were born in Toronto, and both really appreciate the city’s diversity. “I enjoy our downtown, our waterfront, our variety, the things we can do,” says Bonnie. “There’s so many things you can do in Toronto. I think that’s what makes a great town—there’s always something going on,” Brian adds. They do not drive, so they largely depend on public transportation. Compared to other places, Bonnie feels the Toronto transit system is a good one. But Brian says a few aspects of the city could be improved. “They’re starting to fall behind in infrastructure when it comes to the volume of people they have in the city, like the roads, and they’re starting to affect all of the systems now. There are too many people driving and too many people in general,” he says.

Akhil Kallur Physics student Kallur finds the people of Toronto very friendly. “They’re really sociable. You can ask anybody for help and they will give you an answer.” The weather, however, is a big negative for him. “I dislike the weather—[it is] too random. The morning it’s sunny, the afternoon it’s like hailing, and at night it’s raining,” he says.

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