Ten years ago, I left Ontario for Prince Edward Island. A few years later, I moved again — this time to Vancouver.
I was born in Toronto (North York, technically), raised in the GTA, and spent a few years living in the city as an adult. There are plenty of things to love about Toronto, but I don’t think I ever truly felt like a Torontonian.
Which probably explains why, after leaving, I discovered there are a few things I don’t miss at all.
The traffic
I know: this one’s obvious, but it’s true. There’s something uniquely frustrating about Toronto traffic.
Yes, every major city has traffic, but as a coworker recently pointed out to me, at least when you’re stuck in traffic in Vancouver, there’s usually something beautiful to look at. Mountains. Ocean. Trees. Plus, there’s no highway cutting through the downtown core.
Toronto is a different story. Sitting bumper-to-bumper on the DVP or the 401, you’re surrounded by an endless sea of cars, concrete, and more highway. It’s monotonous, stressful, and an incredible time suck.
Everything is so spread out
One of Toronto’s greatest strengths is its distinct neighbourhoods. They’re what give the city so much character, but they’re also one of the things I don’t miss because everything is so spread out. Seeing a friend can mean taking the subway, then a streetcar, and maybe even a bus, depending on where they live. Torontonians get used to it, and it becomes part of everyday life, but I always found myself wondering: Why should it?
I don’t miss having to block off half a day just to grab coffee with someone who lives on the other side of the city.
The TTC
Speaking of public transit… yes, there are worse systems in Canada (Vancouver, I’m looking at you). But let’s be real: the TTC isn’t exactly the gold standard either.
The streetcars always seemed to be running late. The subway was perpetually packed. And the buses? Well, I avoided taking them whenever I could.
Don’t get me wrong: I appreciated having public transit that could get me almost anywhere in the city. I just don’t miss having to build “TTC delays” into my plans.
Always feeling in a rush
It’s probably just the reality of living in Canada’s largest city, but I definitely don’t miss constantly feeling like I was always in a rush.
Toronto always had this frenetic energy to me. Not just during rush hour around Union Station — which is an experience in itself — but all the time. Everyone seemed to be hurrying somewhere, and there was an underlying pressure to always be on time, always be productive, always be moving.
Maybe that’s why I was so impatient with the TTC. When a city moves that fast, every delay feels that much more frustrating.
It’s an exciting energy, and one of the reasons so many people love Toronto. But after leaving, I realized I don’t miss feeling like I was always racing the clock for a reason that still remains a mystery to me.
Weekend getaways took some effort
One thing I don’t miss is feeling like every change of scenery required a bit of a commitment.
Sure, there are plenty of places to escape to from Toronto, but they often meant a long drive. Barrie? That’s a hike. Niagara Falls? Great, but after you’ve been enough times, the novelty starts to wear off pretty quickly. Planning a trip to Muskoka is a whole other endeavour.
If I wanted a change of scenery, it often felt like I had two choices: commit to a road trip or accept that I’d probably just be looking at Lake Ontario again… only from a slightly different angle.
The winter slush
It’s not just that the slush is grey — although it is very grey. It’s that it’s a constant reminder that Toronto winters are long, cold, and wet.
The slush is everywhere. It’s on the subway platform, at the TTC stop, at the end of your driveway, pooled at every crosswalk, and somehow always finding its way into your winter boots.
I don’t miss cold, wet feet, and I definitely don’t miss bundling up in what feels like half my closet just to leave the house.
Toronto hipsters
Maybe this is showing my age, but there was a particular brand of Toronto hipster that I’ve never encountered anywhere else.
Maybe I was never cool enough. Maybe this is just my childhood insecurities resurfacing. But there was always someone working at a coffee shop or vintage store who made me feel like they were doing me a favour by serving me.
Maybe it was the perfectly curated outfit. Maybe it was the air of effortless cool. Whatever it was, I always felt like I was being silently judged for not knowing the right band, not wearing enough vintage clothing, or ordering the wrong kind of coffee.
I’m sure they weren’t all like that. But I don’t miss wondering whether my outfit would pass the vibe check before grabbing a latte.
The endless search for the next best thing
When I worked at a magazine in Toronto, I encountered this a lot. I don’t know if it has to do with Toronto having a bit of an identity crisis, but it always seemed like there was an endless search for something bigger, better, and cooler.
A new restaurant. A new bar. A new event space. A new condo building. The next neighbourhood that was suddenly the place to be.
I understand that cities adapt and evolve — that’s part of what makes them interesting. But sometimes it felt exhausting watching Toronto constantly reinvent itself in search of becoming something else, while losing pieces of the history and character that made it special in the first place.
Maybe that’s what I don’t miss: the feeling that the city was always chasing the next version of itself instead of appreciating what it already was.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.