things i will not miss

More suitable to my temperament, I will now reflect on the things I just will not miss about this city.

1. Walking down the street. I don't know what it is about people in this city but they just don't get out of the fucking way. Seriously. Just go to my left (your right). Simple rules of traffic will suffice. This is something people to whom I mention it either can't see it at all or recognize it as a fundamental part of the Toronto experience. It's maddening.

2. Rudeness. Seriously. I have not experienced this level of rudeness anywhere else. I'm from what could be described as a gruff American city. I have been to New York - and lost in New York - many times. Never, ever have I experienced the blatant coldness that permeates this city. This manifests in a number of ways. For one thing, people just don't acknowledge one another (see above). People cut in front of you in line - A LOT. The tacit norm is that one is expected to be "polite" and not mention it. Mentioning rudeness is rude. There really is just no sense of community or cooperation here. Again, I don't think this is a function of it being a "big city." My experiences in New York have been so much more congenial than they have ever been here.

3. Grey skies and long winters. In other words, the weather. I does not agree with my constitution. I like warmth. One notable difference from Baltimore is that it's oddly a little dryer here, meaning it doesn't seem *as* cold as it is. But it's cold. And what Torontonians consider hot is as laughable to me as my being in a down coat when everyone else is in a t-shirt. I know that Toronto's climate is the mildest in Canada. It's still difficult for me.

4. For it being such a big city, everything closes really early. This one's self-explanatory.

5. Veterinary costs. They are seriously prohibitive. This means that people do not spay and neuter their animals which means that the feral cat population is astronomical. It's heartbreaking. One can "fix" their animal for under $50 in Baltimore. It made animal rescue much easier.

6. Cost of living. While we're at it, everything is more expensive here. I would happily pay more money for things if I thought it was because I was absorbing externalities. But that's not the case. I'm sure there's a reason that everything costs more, but I'm not into it.

7. The Beer Store. I simply cannot stare at a wall of labels and choose a beer. That shit makes no sense to my tactile little mind.

Seriously, how is anyone supposed to understand their booze given this display?