2 Cities on Divergent Paths (crime, quality of life, to live in)

[Picasso's Laughing]

I was born and raised in OKC. Most of my life it was pretty dreary, but lately it seems, it is making all the right moves. OKC seems to blossoming into someplace really special.

In the 80s, I became part of the brain drain which was denied to have been taking pace. Most everyone I knew left the state immediately after graduation in search of more fertile fields. I've lived all over the country over the years including Atlanta, Las Vegas, Dallas, and Detroit.

Last year, I moved to Toronto. What a mess this place is. Despite its glowing reputation as an urban planning utopia, it is among the worst places I've lived. The subways and streetcars are dirty, decaying, and clogged to overcapacity. There is even the beginnings of a crime problem on the subway. Meanwhile, the city and province are debating reducing subway funding.

I expected to find a beautiful waterfront similar to that of Chicago or Seattle. Not so in Toronto. The Lake Ontario shoreline is nearly completey unutilized. I could not fathom having such a potential asset sitting idle!

I see very little teamwork among civic leaders, both corporate and governmental. The fighting and backstabbing is disgusting. For a city of this size and importance, it is lacking in museums, libraries, parks, and other things that make a city great and memorable. Most civic facilities are well past their prime and have not been maintained.

Toronto is half way down the wrong path. I predict that in a few years we will all be reading about failures in urban planning with references to this city. OKC could and should study these examples as it matures. Toronto stopped moving forward 40 years ago. Its infrastructure and quality of life have been in steady decline.

The good news... I'm coming home! I can't wait to get back to a city of progress where big plans are actually beginning to come to fruition. People of OKC should feel mighty lucky to live in such a nice place.

I think it would be very interesting if people could use this forum to compare their experiences in OKC to other cities.

[Jammie]

Picasso, good for you. You sound so happy and upbeat about it and I know you'll just love being "home." AND welcome to the forum.

[Synopsis]

Picasso, that is one excellent post. OkC is definitely a city on the rise, with a positive attitude and agenda for moving forward. It's good to hear that you are coming back!

[peggydavis]

I would like to hear from people who moved away from Oklahoma in the 80s.

Glad to hear you are able to get back home, Picasso.