The days we spend in Toronto on boat vacation are always a highlight and tend to run into each other. Was it Saturday we had that incredible butter chicken roti or was it Sunday? I know we haven’t gone to bed before 1:30 am any of the nights here, but was it Monday or Sunday when we sat around the fire playing guitar and singing? And that day we walked 18 kilometres just wandering around, was that just yesterday or a couple of days ago?
Last night was our fourth here at National Yacht Club and it has been so much fun. Magnus and Stella were with us all weekend and we shared some great meals in and out, cockpit happy hours, watched the final World Cup game in a crowd of hundreds at St. Lawrence Market (the winner predicted by Swimbappe, the prophetic goldfish), explored life and destiny during late night chats, and they even invited some of their friends to spend time at the boat. Other Newport buddies arrived over the weekend – Daryl, Lydia, Zach, Greg, and Sharon, and then our friends Dave and Kira, filling out the dream team. It’s been a busy, crazy, fun, few days in the big city.
Ana and I sometimes think we’d like to have a place in Toronto. We’ve thought of buying a condo that Magnus could rent from us, subject to us having exclusive use of the hide-a-bed when in town. The Toronto condo market is in a trough currently so there are some reasonable deals to be had, but still, they are very expensive and would not be cash flow positive. Additionally, Toronto has clamped down on Air B&B’s so you cannot legally rent a place you don’t live in permanently.
Compare that to being in Toronto on a boat. We have reciprocal deals with all the yacht clubs, which means we can either stay for free or cheap. There are also a few free anchorages nearby. Or even if we have to pay full price at a marina, it is still less than a hundred bucks per night, which is a fraction of what you would pay for a hotel. So, considering the greatest time to be in Toronto is during the summer, it seems wise to spend our time here on our boat instead of paying for a year-round condo.
Magnus and I had a great discussion on cities when he was here.
“What city do you like better, Toronto or Montreal?” I asked him.
“I love them both. They are amazing in different ways. But I would say that when I’ve been in Montreal, there’s always been a feeling that it’s a club you can visit but never be a real member of. It’s not like that in Toronto. Once you’re here, you’re in the club.”
I don’t feel like we’ve spent enough time in Montreal to really understand the city, but I would say his assessment of Toronto is spot on. It is a cultural jambalaya, a festival of colours, a place where you see one of everything and not too much of any one thing. There’s no majorities. There’s no minorities. Everybody is a participant. And people are nice. I don’t think anywhere else in Canada is like this. I don’t know if anywhere else in the world is like this.
Would I want to live in Toronto permanently? Probably not. We love our home in Paris. But the close proximity (by car, train, bus, or boat) to such an incredible, world class city is something I would not want to give up.
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