first of all I love this city I used to live in this city and most recently I was even
considering potentially moving back but after spending the last two months seeing the very
drastic changes that have taken place in Toronto over the last four years since I've been gone I
am sad to say that Toronto has changed and not for the better Toronto may not be on the same
scale as other major cities in the world like New York London or Tokyo but it is the biggest
and most Cosmopolitan City that Canada has to offer speaking of diversity Toronto is actually
considered to be the most Multicultural city in the world since more than 50 percent of the
population was born elsewhere it is definitely an amazing city to live in because it feels like
a Melting Pot of the world with many different cultural neighborhoods and festivals and while
it is a fast-paced city being the economic Hub of Canada it also has many beautiful
green spaces like High Park and Toronto Island it is also home to the Toronto International
National Film Festival which is one of the largest and most prestigious film festivals in the world
Toronto is actually referred to as Hollywood North because it is the main hub for film and television
in Canada which was actually my primary reason for wanting to move here in the first place so before
we get into the recent changes that have happened in Toronto and whether I think it's a good idea
for people to be moving here right now let me give you my backstory of how I came to live here
so I first fell in love with Toronto when I was 13 years old I came here on a school band trip
and because this was one of the biggest cities that I had ever been to this was before I went
to Tokyo I think I just had stars in my eyes of you know so much was going on here so many lights
you know the entertainment industry for Canada is here I was just in love it was in 2013 that I
finally made the move here I was 22 years old and had just finished a fairly successful couple of
years on and off of working in Tokyo as a model and actress I thought that I would seamlessly
be able to continue to do that here in Toronto because I had all of that experience unfortunately
that was not at all what happened even though I was signed with one of the best agencies here in
the city and I was going out for a few auditions it definitely wasn't as busy of a market as Tokyo
was I wasn't unable to sustain myself and pay the bills with the few acting and modeling jobs that
I did get so basically to survive I did have to get a part-time waitressing job and I'd pick up
any kind of promotional modeling sort of jobs as well obviously I was very disappointed that
things weren't working out as I had hoped but on the other hand I did really enjoy my life here I
did make a lot of really great friends I enjoyed you know being in this city there was so many new
things to do and thankfully at that point in time I was actually somehow honestly somehow
able to manage having my own studio apartment downtown and you know food the basics I was
able to somehow afford the basics uh just off of my part-time waitressing job which would basically
be impossible um in today's circumstances but after about seven years of being here and not
really seeing a change in things it really did start to wear on me and I wasn't honestly that
happy continuing to live here I was very grateful that I was actually seeing a fantastic therapist
who helped me through this difficult time in my life so it was actually through those sessions
that I made the decision to do my YouTube Channel full time to leave my apartment and to basically
just start a whole new life I think anytime you're going through a big life change it really helps
to have that outside professional perspective to guide you through it so that is why I am also very
happy to say that today's sponsor is better help better help is an online therapy platform that is
committed to making therapy more accessible and affordable I actually use their platform a couple
of years ago when I was in South America and was traveling around obviously I couldn't have a
in-person therapist so it was so super convenient to be able to talk to A really lovely lady who
helped me through that difficult time from the convenience of my home no matter the country that
I was in it's also really easy to sign up where you just have to fill out the simple questionnaire
kind of just stating what it is you are looking for help with and in a couple of days you are
matched with a therapist and if for whatever reason you are matched with a therapist that
isn't quite the right fit you can switch at no extra cost so if you are looking for some support
with your mental health better help is having a special promotion right now just for the viewers
of this channel you can get 10 off of your first month of therapy all you have to do is click the
link in my description betterhelp.com Alina McLeod and you will get that special discount thank you
so much to betterhelp for sponsoring today's video it's definitely a platform that I would
recommend rental prices in Toronto show no signs of cooling down the average cost of a one-bedroom
apartment is now two thousand five hundred dollars a month that is up over 20 percent year over year
the latest data from rentals.ca shows the cost of a two-bedroom apartment is now more than thirty
three hundred dollars a month Toronto Trails Only Vancouver for most expensive one-bedroom
apartments with Oakville Burlington Vaughn and Mississauga not far behind when we're talking
about how Toronto has changed the very first thing that comes up is the ridiculous cost of rent and
real estate I had mentioned to you guys that when I was living here I had an amazing deal it was an
amazing deal even then on the studio apartment that I had it was at 140 Wellesley Street I got
in 2016 I guess it would have been and at the time rent started at only 870 dollars a month
and since the building was older it was also rent controlled so every year it only went up an extra
30 40 dollars a month so by the time that I left in 2020 my rent was still only about a thousand
and eighty dollars those kinds of prices are impossible nowadays unless you have really
grandfathered a place like I have or you bought your place a really long time ago it's just not
possible anymore as housing continues to be a top issue in this city Toronto councilors
have voted to declare homelessness in Toronto an emergency this means Toronto joins Hamilton Fort
Erie and several other municipalities that have taken similar steps now declaring an emergency
though doesn't prompt any new funding from higher levels of government but the city says it needs
that support to keep up current service levels in the shelter system now the secondary issue
that has increased substantially since I lived in Toronto is crime while every city will have
a certain level of violence and some neighborhoods that just aren't safe to go into the issue that I
have with Toronto is that many of the crimes have been absolutely random to people that had nothing
to do with their attackers and also sometimes in very nice neighborhoods so in my mind that doesn't
really make a person feel safe anywhere in the city and especially on the TTC which has seen a
very large uptick in crime police are responding to reports of a man with a knife can't find him
so that orange weapon a non-lethal rifle okay these are tense times and this ends with no
real ending the man they're after has disappeared what you just saw just happened a few minutes ago
being on guard all the time has become The New Normal from schwarmings to stabbings violent
incidents on Toronto's transit system have become alarmingly common they're all distributed yet
different enough that there's no easy explanation it does point to a bigger social crisis though
that keeps Landing right here on this very public doorstep and last but not least the
other outstanding issue that I have with Toronto is a cut in Social Services of because of the High
Cost of Living many people have been pushed into homelessness even people who have full-time jobs
a roof over your head is a basic need and yet a big hurdle for many minimum wage workers a
new report from the Canadian Center for policy Alternatives examines what a rental wage would
need to be in Canadian cities we calculated it uh trying to figure out what you would have to
make in order to afford a one or two bedroom apartment in big cities across Canada without
exceeding the affordability threshold of spending 30 percent of your pre-tax income on rent yeah
so where where was the the biggest Gap you know between that minimum wage and and the rental wage
well no surprise in the big cities Toronto and Vancouver topping the list in terms of the highest
rent and therefore the biggest Gap in those cities you would have to work two full-time more than
actually a little bit more than two full-time jobs at minimum wage in order to afford a one-bedroom
apartment as you can imagine that circumstance pushes a lot of people into homelessness and
especially those who are already suffering from mental health issues even though Canada has
Universal Health Care it does not cover everything primarily Mental Health Resources about one in
five Canadians experience a mental health problem in a year and roughly seven and a half million
Canadians are living with a mental health problem or illness with the amount of people in need wait
times to see a mental health professional through the public sector are becoming a problem so how is
Canada responding but overall wait times are way too long it is not uncommon for somebody
and even a youth who shows up for who wants to get help being told they have to wait 12
to 18 months that simply isn't acceptable and and leads us to have our mental health system
very very fragmented and a huge gap between the delivery of mental health services and physical
health so not only has the quality of life gone down for the average Toronto resident but we are
also not able to fully look after the refugees and international students that we welcome into
the city advocacy groups helping refugees are still pushing for all levels of government to
find a solution to a crisis playing out on the streets of Toronto me sleeping on the streets
of Canada it means I'm not welcome I am disgusted and ashamed as a Canadian to be witnessing this
as Island Seekers have been regularly sleeping on the sidewalks outside an intake Center in the
downtown of Toronto as they seek a space in the shelter system the city started referring refugees
to Federal programs in June instead of admitting them to the municipal shelter system it wants more
funding from Ottawa to cover the increased demand for Refugee spaces it is not my intention to be
negative in this video and bring up only the bad things that are happening in Toronto obviously
there is a lot of good as well and as I stated in the beginning I genuinely love this city it
is still one of my favorite places in Canada I absolutely love coming here and I think it has so
much potential and that's why I am sad to have to make this video and also make a personal decision
about the fact that Toronto is not the right place for me personally to have as my home base since I
am able to work remote remotely if I take into account just how much more it would cost me to
live in this city and how stressful that would be at this point in time alongside all of the
other issues that the city is having it really is just not a worthwhile investment in my mind
and there are just so many other better options both in Canada and also abroad so in summary
do I recommend moving to Toronto right now not really honestly not really only under a couple
of specific circumstances would I say it's worth your while number one you are super rich and you
love Toronto and you know this is the city where you want to live you don't have to worry about
money then it's going to be fine scenario number two is if you have a job here that you can't get
anywhere else or it pays substantially more here in Toronto and you can cover your living expenses
quite easily any other scenario I would really urge you to look at other options because I can
guarantee you there are better options also for any International students I would really urge
you to look at other options that aren't having a housing crisis I do really hope that this is
going to be a transitory period for Toronto and that maybe all of this is just a post covered
Fallout but at this point in time I can definitely say that I would not feel comfortable paying the
kind of prices that they have here for what you would actually get I am very fortunate that I
can work remotely so I'm not really tied to this city as much as I do love it but let me know your
thoughts in the comments guys have you been to Toronto recently what was your impressions and
even better if you are a resident of Toronto how are you dealing with all the changes in the last
few years and do you see yourself staying here or are you planning on going somewhere else as
always thank you guys so much for tuning in I hope you found the video educational thank you
once again to betterhelp for sponsoring today's video I'm going to have that link for 10 off
in the description so you guys can check that out as always sending you so much love I hope
you're having a fantastic day and keep being your own kind of beautiful bye guys [Music]
thank you
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