21 Struggles Of Living Slightly Outside Toronto

1. There are no "quick trips" into the city - it can take you a minimum of 90 minutes one-way.

2. Living just outside of the GTA means having to decide if any trip is worth paying double fare on the bus once you cross that GTA border (this is true for Markham, at least!).

3. There's always a dozen events in the city you'd like to go to but at the same time, who's really gonna mission all the way downtown just for a casual skate night at Natrel Rink?

4. You have friends who live/work downtown asking you to get together for drinks after work... but you'd never be able to make it on time.

5. You have a bucket list of Toronto restaurants or bars you want to check out but rarely ever get around to completing it.

6. Trying to go clubbing in the city is a struggle in and of itself - how will you get home? When does the subway close again? Should we book a hotel room? Does anyone have a place downtown you can crash at for the night? So many questions.

7. But it's choosing between either #6 or the nightlife in your own area (which sucks - if it even exists, that is).

8. If you're driving in/out of the city, you absolutely try to avoid the 401 around rush hour. Ugh.

9. People often asking, "Where is that, exactly?" with a confused look on their face when you tell them where you live.

10. Whether you care to admit it or not, you lowkey wouldn't be able to find your way around downtown without the help of GPS on your phone.

11. Sometimes though, you've tried to see if you could get from Point A to Point B successfully without GPS but inevitably ended up walking in the wrong direction. Oops.

12. When choosing where to go for your post secondary education, you had to choose between paying thousands of dollars more for dorms/living expenses, or staying home in suburbia but commuting several hours to school... every... single... day.

13. You probably learned to drive ASAP, because how else were you going to get around?

14. Especially during high school, the mall in your area was the hotspot to be - mainly because it was the best way you or your friends could think of to kill time.

15. Trying to meet people "halfway" never works out well - because "halfway" to your city friend might mean somewhere between Liberty Village and Yorkville, but "halfway" to you means Yorkdale or Fairview Mall.

16. You've had to flop on plans one too many times because you missed your bus or didn't have the car that night and would have never made it on time.

17. Having to get up before the sun does to get to your classes at U of T or George Brown on time. The worst.

18. Tinder, Bumble, and whatever other dating app pretty much sucks in your area and is only ever worth using if you expand the radius to include the city. Plus, do you really want your tenth grade boyfriend popping up on your Tinder? Pass.

19. Speaking of Tinder, you are definitely #5 on this list. Don't deny it.

20. Your city friends will never want to come visit you. Or the rest of your friends from the other side of the GTA. Sigh.

21. Wanting to live in the city, but then seeing the soaring prices of rent in Toronto and thinking, "hahaha yeah, no."

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