Hello, This is the 3rd year…

Hello, This is the 3rd year my husband and myself have lived in downtown Toronto. Growing up in the suburbs, it was a huge adjustment. However, we chose to make this move as it would significantly reduce our commute times to work. Both of us are fortunate enough to have good educations and well-paying jobs. Since then, we have welcomed a baby and are also expecting a second child. Contrary to what many of our peers have done, we will be staying in our rented condo in the heart of the city. The "choice" to do this did not come easy, but it is a pragmatic one. The rental/housing market has become horrifically unaffordable (to find a space that gives us an additional 200sqft will add $1K to our rent), commute times have gotten worse (moving to the suburbs will balloon our commutes to over an hour), and childcare is so hard to come by (we were on the waitlist for 1.5years for a spot). Speaking to young families who find themselves raising little ones in the city, we feel stuck in a system that is highly unfriendly to families while trapping us here with few options to choose from. Also, as renters, we already feel like second-class citizens. We do not need more discrimination just because we have children now. Downtown Toronto is not just for businesses. Families live here. We already put up with incessant noise pollution, bad air quality, a lack of green space, etc. We love the city because of its diversity, but our patience is not limitless. We hope to see Toronto evolve into a forward-thinking city that prioritizes its citizens. Sometimes this means doing politically unpopular things such as raising taxes or fighting NIMBYism. But we hope that there are new and courageous leaders who can bring everyone together to build a bright future. TOcore outlines many paradigm shifts from what many people are used to. But we need this vision to propel us forward in response to the changing needs of Downtown Toronto.