Observations: The Greater Toronto Area
Veer Hitesh Patel, 13 Jan. 2025
I recently relocated to Ontario, Canada. I now reside in Mississauga. I had made some observations when I had arrived, which I wanted to record.
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Observations:
- Interesting dynamic of people. It feels like mainly immigrants who have been living here for a long time, but there are people from all over the world who live a fairly good life: Palestinian, Filipino, Indian, Vietnamese, Syrian, etc. I think I get a sense of what they mean when they say Canada is an immigrant country.
- Supermarkets seem to be very quiet and move at a slower pace in comparison to ones in East London.
- Canadians like their personal space and may feel uncomfortable if you are placed close to them. Canadians give way if they see you coming from a fairly long distance away compared to the UK.
- More young females with dyed hair. Possibly the result of a more liberal society.
- Less academic culture compared to the UK (at least 1-2 years behind).
- No "roadmen".
- Higher percentage of store staff are youth.
- Nice bike trails.
- Canada doesn't feel like a "real country." It seems like mainly a backdoor country which people use to retire in after they have made money, get educated, etc.
- Patches of grass trimmed regularly. Surroundings (apart from maybe roads) are maintained.
- Youngsters raised here seem to be more approachable and non-judgmental than the UK.
- There are cicadas.
- People seem to walk slower.
- Teen males here seem to possess more feminine characteristics.
- High proportion of teen males here with key chains on their backpacks.
- Distances between humans in a queue and cars are larger than the UK.
- Quality of average supermarket grocery items such as dairy and meat seems to be lower. Differences in farming practices compared to the UK, with UK farming probably being better.
- More obese people seen in public.
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