My friends and I all live in Toronto city apartments, but we’re not all in the same neighborhood.
Jimmy has a studio in Parkdale, Margaret is located in Kensington Market, while Sean and I are in the same building in Brockton Village. The extensive public transportation system in Toronto means that we’re all able to get by without cars, although Margaret owns a sedan that we all pack into from time to time. The Toronto Transit Commission offers public transportation by bus, street car, and subway. I take full advantage of Toronto’s public transportation system because I didn’t have access to this when I was living in northern Nova Scotia. It was an extremely rural environment that had to be traversed with a car. I was relieved when I arrived at the University of Toronto at 18 and discovered I could survive in this city with or without a car, although the latter is preferable. Parking spaces aren’t cheap and city traffic can be daunting when you’re trying to get to work on time. I think it’s some of Toronto’s attractions that pull me like a proverbial force, keeping me here and preventing me from moving. The CN Tower is the crown jewel of the Toronto skyline, boasting a height of 553 meters to the very tip of the spire. For 30 years, the CN Tower was the tallest free-standing structure in the world. Now it remains the tallest tower in the western hemisphere and attracts thousands of visitors every year. Because of the wide access to recreational cannabis in Toronto, it’s common to see people at the top floor with red eyes peering through the glass. The last time I went to the CN Tower with my friends, we all ate powerful weed edibles ahead of time.