this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2025
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Toronto

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Hi all, I'm a Vancouverite currently. I'm curious about Toronto neighbourhoods that are similar to Vancouver's Kitsilano or Fairview. These are neighbourhoods that are:

  1. outside of downtown
  2. but close to downtown, by its fringes
  3. walkable, lots of shops and cafes

Does Toronto have stuff like this? I hear Toronto is very car centric unfortunately.

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[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

Yes, though specifics depend on how close to downtown you want to be, what methods of transportation you want to use, how dense a neighbourhood you want to be in, and what exactly you consider downtown tbh.

Part of the problem with Toronto, is that basically at its core, right downtown around bay or so, it's the financial district, and it's the densest / most downtown, and it's quite frankly soulless and not worth worrying about getting to. But at the same time it's still nicer to be near to it because it's so big that getting to the other side of it is annoying.

I would guess that right now the neighbourhoods that most closely match Kits / Fairview from a geography standpoint would be:

  • Little Italy
  • Christie Pitts / Korea Town
  • The Annex
  • Cabbagetown

But these neighbourhoods are all denser and more expensive than Kits / Fairview by a decent chunk.

Spiralling out a little farther, and you have neighbourhoods like:

  • Bloorcourt
  • Parkdale
  • Dufferin Grove
  • Riverdale
  • Leslieville

These all fit the bill in terms of being a little closer in density and character to kits / Fairview, though are all a little farther, and a little denser.

Then spiralling out further and you have neighbourhoods like:

  • East York
  • The Beaches
  • The Junction
  • Bloor West Village

That all match Kits / Fairview a little more in terms of density and character (The Beaches is the closest to Kits imho), but are quite a bit farther (though still very accessible by subway / transit / bike!)

[–] stepan@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Thanks for the detailed answer. Toronto sounds cool.

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

It is but so is Vancouver.

When I'm in Vancouver I miss Toronto's fun culture and night life, and when I'm in a Toronto I miss Vancouver's majestic nature everywhere.