The last few weeks, I've encountered a number of articles discussing the proliferation of condos in Toronto. Don and I are continously waffling about our next steps in the world of real estate, so any external validation of our current station in life is welcome. That's why I enjoyed reading that "Toronto parents are learning what New Yorkers and Parisians have long known: no backyard needed." - National Post, Saturday, January 28th, 2006
The reason? Because the City is their backyard. I couldn't agree more.
Of course this doesn't mean we're married to the idea of condo life with chilluns, but it does add some weight to the possibility...
Yes, it's true. A house is a different beast that has a few plusses over the condo. Backyards, basements, attics, cubbyholes and alcoves, front porches, street hockey, trick-or-treating... and that's all good. That's what I grew up with. And if we could afford a nice 2 story brick house in Bloor West Village or Roncesvalles Village, we'd buy it in a snap. But the truth is---if we want all that, we'd have to make sacrifices---namely in terms of location. The idea of Port Credit or Lakeshore Village (south Etobicoke) has crossed our minds more than once. But then we think about what we'd lose...
High Park a mere 3 minute walk away, the exhilaration of the "Red Rocket" whizzing into the station or streaming along Roncesvalles, the Polish bakeries, the weekend brunch culture, the glee of grabbing an Eye Weekly or NOW as you hop on the subway, the organic food market in High Park, the street festivals, the intermingling of different languages on the streets, in the restaurants, on the bus... the omnipresent CN Tower, the sound of plates smashing on a hot summer night on the Danforth, the unpredicatable nature of independent business springing up---often in a clever, new fashion using old space---breathing life into this addictive organism that doesn't stop giving...
These are things I love and would want to share with my child. I'm just not sure I'd find them in a big house at the southern tip of Mississauga...
*The pic above was taken last October. Taking a coffee break in High Park---right after we visited the High Park Zoo. Yes, it's true. We have a zoo that's a 10 minute walk from our condo.
