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It's the ultimate showdown between two of the continents fastest growing large metros, both with about 6.5 million people and both of which have grown nearly 20 percent in a decade! Who has the better future?
Will it be Toronto, with its growth fueled by immigration from abroad by highly skilled and educated immigrants? Whose growth in raw numbers exceeded DFWs this past year? https://www.thestar.com/news/city_ha...s-in-2019.html
Or will it be Dallas, with its growth fueled by Californians, New Yorkers, and Illinoisans looking for more conservative, low tax environments and Louisianians, Mississippians, Alabamans, and Arkansans looking for better job opportunities?
Will Toronto proper's superior safety and cleanliness continue to ensure Toronto urbanized at a much faster rate than Dallas proper ever will? Will the BLM and Antifa riots this year along with refunding the police mark the start of a years long spike in crime that will cause massive suburban flight from American Downtowns like Downtown Dallas for the suburbs?
Will Texas turning increasingly leftwards and skyrocketing home prices in DFW slow down the stream of Californians and New Yorkers coming to DFW for lower home prices and more conservative politics?
Will the high levels of Mainland Chinese real estate and other investment backfire on Toronto as Mainland Chinese withdraw from overseas investments and political tensions between China and the West increase?
Collin County vs. York Region, who would win? Which is more impressive, Downtown Markham or Plano's Legacy West? Although of course Mississauga destroys anything in the DFW suburbs.
Who is doing a better job of limiting traffic increases as population grows? Toronto might be building a ton more mass transit, but DFW seems to get along very well with its phenomenal, Singapore level good, freeway system.
And who's keeping up better with their airport? Pearson or DFW International?
The GTA has too many housing issues, and unlike the US, they don't have dozens of metro areas with huge economies for people to move to to escape the COL issues.
I don’t know enough about Toronto area but I have heard that the CoL in terms of housing is sky high. DFW isn’t really that cheap anymore either but there are still far more expensive places. In terms of economy and housing, I’m going with DFW. In terms of urban planning, I’d say they’re about equal but I will say Toronto has better transit. In terms of urbanity and density I’m definitely going with Toronto.
Overall though dollar for dollar I think DFW overall takes this though for the average person looking for a place to live.
Toronto is significantly more sustainable a city for the future. Dallas has benefited a lot of its growth off of being a cheap major city/metro in the sunbelt, but that cheap part is not going to last forever if it keeps growing at the pace it has. Toronto has grown internationally, not because it's cheap, but because it's an international, and very interesting city. In an area that is not prone to very few, if any natural disasters. It is definitely has more a core to build out from, whereas Dallas is still building its core.
Marketing your growth for a city solely off the back of it being "cheaper", is simply not sustainable in the long run if there isn't anything else redeeming/unique about that city. Once said city become unaffordable, people will then dart out for the next "cheap" city.
A city like Toronto though, that is so much more historic, urban, unique and interesting, will always be a destination for people, no matter how expensive it gets.
Though I do think Dallas has made a name for itself to the world, and it's definitely building up its own case to be considered "unique".
Last edited by CCrest182; 11-05-2020 at 08:26 PM..
It's not enough to be a corporate center, DFW needs a top tier research university to rival the coastal elite universities. If UT Austin were in Dallas it would be a major boost.
It's the ultimate showdown between two of the continents fastest growing large metros, both with about 6.5 million people and both of which have grown nearly 20 percent in a decade! Who has the better future?
one thing we should get straight is Toronto and Dallas are not the same size, not even close.
Canada and the US measure Metropolitan areas much differently.
The GTA has too many housing issues, and unlike the US, they don't have dozens of metro areas with huge economies for people to move to to escape the COL issues.
This latter point actually favours Toronto. If people don't have many other large metros to move to (as they do in the US) then more people just stay in Toronto.
This latter point actually favours Toronto. If people don't have many other large metros to move to (as they do in the US) then more people just stay in Toronto.
OP is asking about brighter future, not population growth.
GTA's affordability crisis and lack of other options for people to escape to means that the area will be full of super commuters, people living in substandard housing, increasing inequality, etc. It might grow but it won't be pretty for a huge chunk of the population.
Canada needs to either figure out a way to disperse economic opportunity throughout the country or find a way to fix the housing crisis.
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