A Tale of Two Cities, Toronto and Buffalo

[Ohiogal]

TORONTO – The city announces itself through traffic long before the heightened skyline glints into view, an early hint to northbound drivers that they’re approaching one of the fastest-growing cities in North America.

Construction cranes cast jagged shadows over Queen Elizabeth Way. New downtown condos loom 60 stories high, reflecting an ocean of teals, jades and blues. North of the city, once-sleepy, Presbyterian suburbs bulge and grow, sprouting Chinese shopping malls and Afghan supermarkets.

“I don’t think most Americans understand the scale of what’s going on in Toronto,” said Frank Clayton, a senior research fellow at Ryerson University who in May calculated Toronto’s population growth eclipsed that of every other U.S. and Canadian city. Even less is understood about how that growth, past and future, affects Western New York – a region that has long courted Canadian investors and tourists.

Economists blame U.S. federal policies and a poor exchange rate for hampering ongoing efforts to attract Torontonians to a region that needs their tourism dollars and investment. Meanwhile, Ontario is expanding at such a fast clip that one Bloomberg pundit joked, in 2017, that Buffalo should secede and attempt to join it.

https://buffalonews.com/2019/07/19/toronto-keeps-growing-whats-that-mean-for-buffalo/?te=1&nl=paul-krugman&emc=edit_pk_20190730?campaign_id=116&instance_id=11271&segment_id=15684&user_id=a9aa4f5d6050c1b2fa535a7ed5551a5b

[Dennis Donovan]

1. Buffalo! The Dallas of 1901...

Before Oswald, there was Czolgosz

22 yrs ago, my company, in the midst of expansion, needed hardware techs into areas we served. I was given a choice of Albany or Buffalo to relocate to. I, jokingly, exclaimed, "I'm not going to McKinley's Dallas!"

Met with blind stares. I told them I'd go to Albany.

If only Michael Beschloss was my boss. He would've gotten the joke.

[democratisphere]

2. Great idea to secede. Where do they sign to make it happen?

[wasupaloopa]

3. Spent a week in Toronto last year. We got an airbnb

condo in one of those 60 story towers. The area had many of these towers.

It was by the harbor. We arrived on Canada Day and the area had thousands of people having a good time.

There were mass transit lanes and bicycle lanes to cross when you cross the street.

The condos seemed to have a young clientele.

They walk to the train station and ride to work. When they get home they jog or walk their dogs.

There are free concerts on week nights. The Blue Jay stadium is right there and you can walk to the game.

There was lot’s of diversity. We walked 14 miles one day visiting the tower and Toronto University,

It was a nice place to visit and possibly live.

The area around the high rise condos is designed for that life style. You can walk to the grocery or the restaurants.

[greatauntoftriplets]

4. I've been to both.

Of the two, I'd take Toronto. I don't quite see the two as comparable, though. Toronto has in the neighborhood of 2.8 million people, while Buffalo only has fewer than 300,000.

Even so, I'd prefer Montreal over Toronto, given the choice.