North York

Today, North York seems and/or is pretty ghetto, but nonetheless I still adore it. That is the very neighbourhood where I took my first steps, went to my first school and rode my first bike! I go back every year, to visit family and for holidays. It’s always a pleasant reminder of when I was a little girl. ♥

On campus at York University, that is, and I don’t think it’s as dangerous as it’s played out to be. It’s a really diverse area, from Italian to Tamil to Punjabi to black and white communities and lots of stuff in between, there are good places to get a Salvadorean breakfast and very few grocery stores without curry and plantain. I volunteer at an elementary school here through a literacy program called Frontier College and the kids really are amazing. People do reach out to their community more than they do downtown, I find. Not so much from the university, though; it’s pretty set apart even from the immediate area.

Sure, there are shootings in some areas, and there is gang violence, definitely. How I had it explained to me by someone who grew up here was that it wasn’t something universal; it depends a lot on who you hang out with and where you are. That being said, earlier this year a student from York was caught in the crossfire of two guys shooting at each other in a mall parking lot. It’s not Woodbridge or Richmond Hill. But it’s not Soweto either.

Dunno why someone else made North York sound like Compton. First of all, North York is Huge. There are poor areas, and rich areas. I live near Yonge and Sheppard and have to say this area is fantastic. 110% safe. The second downtown of Toronto with skyscrapers, shops, cafes, and parks. Nightlife isn’t great though—go downtown. But daylife is amazing.

My family lives in North York, so I often visit there. It’s developing into a new commercial district, espectially Younge & Sheppard area.

When I get tired of flat Waterloo I take a bus to North York and wonder around between skyrises. I like to hang out between Xerox towers or Mel Lastman Square.

Many of my friends live in North York. It’s developing rapidly commercially with lots of condos shooting up the sky line. Very diverse in terms of ethnicity and a lot of interesting establishments, shopping, restaurants as a result.