More wierd things about Canada

1) Canada's economic strength is based on their money being less valuable than the U.S.
We watched a show on (public) TVO on the economic future of Canada. It wasn't surprising that much of the consensus hinged on the U.S. economy; it was surprising that the Canadian dollar being lower than the U.S. would be an economic advantage, since the U.S. (and also other countries) would then import more from Canada. 

2) "Buy online... with debit!"
One of my favorite laughs these days is the "Buy online with Visa debit" commercial. "How to buy online with debit", the announcer says, and various antics ensue with carrot cake ingredients, before an Amazon.com page is shown, with someone entering their debit card information to buy a cookbook. This is a classic example of the 10-year Canadian delay. Whereas debit cards have been equivalent to credit cards in the U.S. since roughly 2004 (according to my memory), Canada is apparently just catching up to the trend.

3) Polar vortex non-sensation
My sample size is small - about half a dozen Toronto friends - but their reaction to the Polar Vortex of early January, with temperatures nearing -40 C/F (when temps get that low, we're the same), was pretty nonplussed. Sure, it was cold, but nothing to check the news about. This surprised me, since Toronto is on the warm side for Canada. I chalk it up to most Torontonians having lived in Ottawa, Winnepeg, or some other cold-as-balls city earlier in their lives. According to a friend, some Toronto schools shut down, but many remained open. Compared to Northeast Ohio, where every public school, several government offices, and a handful of private companies closed preemptively for two whole days, and it would appear Toronto folks are pretty cold-hardy.

Oh, and we still have milk in bags. That's all for now folks!

The Holiday Edition

Lots of people ask me about holidays in Canada, particularly when it comes to non-religious holidays that vary from country to country. So I thought I'd take a few minutes on this day, American Thanksgiving, to address some of those questions which I know are burning in your mind, alongside thoughts of Black Friday and pumpkin pie.

Holidays we have in common: 
Christmas, New Year's, Easter, Good Friday, Labor Day

U.S. Holidays that don't exist here: 
Martin Luther King Day, President's Day, July 4

Holidays we have in Canada that you don't have in the States: 
Family Day: 3rd Monday of February. This was always a great excuse for me and Sean to get together around Valentine's Day.

Victoria Day: Monday on or before May 24 (Queen Victoria's Birthday) to celebrate the reigning monarch.

Canada Day: July 1, anniversary of the confederation of Canada into a single country, rather than as colonies of England; Quebec was also formed on this day. This is our equivalent to July 4.

Civic Day: 1st Monday in August. Just, like, a random day off.

Boxing Day: Dec. 26. As a popular piece of Canadian trivia, Boxing Day enjoys fame completely disproportionate to our knowledge of what it means. The best I can come up with is this: according to Wikipedia, Boxing Day was when employers would give out a "Christmas Box" to employees; or, it named for the "Alms box" in a church to collect money for the poor. As Christmas is a time of "social inversion" - when the poor are once a year entitled to some of the comforts of the rich - these explanations make sense. Of course, the way most of us celebrate is by hitting the after-Christmas sales, showing solidarity with our U.S. neighbors through the rite of bargain-hunting.

And the oddball
Thanksgiving: 2nd Monday in October.  Yes, we eat turkey, and I can confirm, through my attendance at a friend's Thanksgiving dinner, that Canadians also eat cranberries and pumpkin pie on this day. Since nothing happens here on the 3rd Thursday of November, "black Friday" doesn't exist (except as a day for some Canadian retailers to attempt to curtail cross-border shopping). I don't miss Black Friday, but I do miss the four-day weekend and the general Christmas anticipation that a November Thanksgiving builds up.
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So there you have it - my guide to Canadian holidays! Not so different, really. By the way, thanks to everyone who has shown cultural sensitivity by wishing me Happy Thanksgiving in October... and just so you know, I'm not opposed to Thanksgiving wishes more than once in a year! 

American Standards

Let me make one thing clear: I'm from Northeast Ohio, and in the rust belt, you just don't pay much for anything. In Akron, a post-industrial rubber town, it's possible to have a decent middle-class life (including house and car) for $70,000 a year. I know a couple who bought a home for $60,000 and are living quite happily as musicians with a single full-time income. Fairlawn now seems like a magical land to me, because you can get discount groceries at Marc's and in 5 minutes be at the Mustard Seed picking out a bunch of organic kale - which would take all day in the city. Or, on a Saturday, jog up Smith Road to Akron-Peninsula and hit the Farmers' Market. You can get high-quality jeans at TJ Max and in 15 minutes be at the Village Thrift snatching up Summit County's best vintage sweaters for $3 a piece. I never realized how truly amazing this was until I moved to Toronto.

Don't get me wrong, Toronto is amazing. But living here challenges my American "standards" as a consumer. And I'm not alone - Canadians cross the border frequently to buy clothes, electronics and even food in the U.S.. Even though they have to pay duty when crossing the border, they still find it cheaper to shop Stateside. Here are some examples of sticker shock I've had since moving here:

Organic Eggs: $7.59/doz ($3.99 at the Mustard Seed Market in Akron)
House: $503,094 ($155,681 in NEO, according to this article)
1-bedroom apartment: $905/month ($450-600 in NEO)
Auto insurance: $1231/year

By these figures you can start to see that being middle class in Toronto might not look the same as it does in Akron, Kent or Cleveland. This is especially so considering that the median income for Toronto is lower than in surrounding suburbs like Brampton or Peterboro. Sean and I don't expect to buy a house here for awhile, if ever. Not that I'm complaining. I feel quite happy being with my sweetie in a world-class city. I'm just tripping on all the little differences in standard of living. 

This is all pretty tongue-in-cheek though, since I know full well that cheap goods come at a price, ethically. And I recognize that I grew up in a time when interest on credit was at an all-time low. I walked into freshman orientation in 1999 and was literally handed a credit card application. So to me, it's quite normal to be able to have what I want, when I want it. Sean, on the other hand, cringes when he has to "charge it". And for good reason: interest rates in Canada are around 19.9%. Shocking? Perhaps, but Canadians seem to view debt in a healthier way because of it.

The un-availability of media is also surprising. Again, I came of age in a time when digital entertainment was becoming more and more available. Napster, bit torrent, and finally iTunes, allowed cheap or free access to music. I'm used to Hulu, Netflix, Spotify, Amazon instant downloads, the plummeting cost of books and magazine subscriptions - non of which, mind you, is a sign of economic health. But I still feel a little jilted by the disappointing selection on Canadian Netflix, the high cost of greeting cards, and the fact that I can't watch New Girl on demand. If you want media here, you pay.

I guess I was so busy being infuriated by right-wing politics and high-fructose corn syrup, that I failed to appreciate living in the pop culture mecca of the world. The United States has been grinding out intellectual and entertainment product for decades; one only has to listen to a news piece about the Juno Awards to confirm the U.S. is still the gold standard in entertainment. And since the U.S. have the sole right to screw over its own recording artists and print media, sometimes it's free!

On the other hand, my American (read middle-class suburban) standards are being blown away in good ways, too. There's a much higher concentration of everything, including farm markets, good restaurants, and locally-owned businesses. Investigative journalism seems a bit less like a thing of the past. And of course, Canada is known (so far) for having more sensible priorities and a more humanitarian climate than the U.S., which I hope won't be changing too soon.

While I get over the sticker shock of living in Canada, I'm fortunate to have a supportive husband, a few low-budget hobbies like writing and yoga, and a good head for money. But really, there's much more to standard of living than the cheap prices, and that's what makes Toronto worthwhile.

Adventures in Public Transportation

My relationship with the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) is kind of a love-hate one. I’ll be waiting for a “frequent service” (5-10 minute) bus for 20 minutes, ready to rip the driver’s head off, but when I get on the subway, it’s all OK again. The Toronto subway is safe, clean, and efficient. And overall, the staff is polite and helpful, always willing to answer silly questions for visitors or new immigrants such as myself (“Can I go in now? Oh, ok...”). The downside is, navigating public transportation takes up a significant part of my day, sometimes 3 hours, and until recently, a big chunk of brain-space. My first few weeks of riding the subway were full of surprises, map-checks, and mishaps. Here are two of my favorites:

1. The “Bloor Street” incident
It was my first time on the Bloor subway and I was disoriented, and running late. I hadn’t yet figured out how to follow the markings inside the station directing you to either the main street or the cross street. So, I asked another young lady to point me toward Bloor. She said, “oh, for that, I think you need to get back on the subway”. We went back and forth a few times, but she was certain that Bloor St. was nowhere nearby. After commiserating about us both being newcomers, I departed and found Bloor street in about 10 paces.  

2. “Always stay in the system” … but if you don’t, eh, it’s OK.
Riding the subway is kind of a nervous system overload for me. Even though the TTC took great care to make it a self-explanatory process, there has been much to learn –the order of the streets, how and when to obtain a transfer, how to tell which way is West or East when you exit, and where to catch the bus. I’ve slowly learned these basics, but one was taught to me in an embarrassing fashion. I was coming home from one of my first long trips, and I was a little dazed. I exited the subway and walked upstairs to catch the bus, going across a large intersection to the only bus stop in sight. The girl waiting there told me that my bus stopped underground and I would probably have to pay to get back into the “system”. I walked back and started explaining myself to the worker at the booth. I figured I should have a lengthy story in order to prove I wasn’t lying. The worker kept asking, “where did you come from?” I said, “well, I got on the 506 Carlton at College Street, then the subway, and now I’m here.” He just said, “So you came from the subway?” I blinked and said yes… was that all he wanted? “Go ahead,” he waved me through the gate.

My relationship with TTC works because we both value reducing our carbon footprint, and that’s really the glue that holds us together. But, things change, and there may come a day when I must leave the TTC for a fuel-efficient hatchback. The TTC is far from perfect; it’s more expensive and less efficient than people here would like, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle a 90-minute round-trip commute (the minimum for me to get downtown) once I start working. For now, I’m thankful to have a break from the hassles of car ownership, and a spacious enough life to enjoy it.