Ok, here we go…lots of questions for anyone living in Toronto. I am moving to Toronto (from Cincinnati) as I just got a job with P&G. I was looking for advice on areas to live. I am 30, single and active. I would ideally like to live someplace fun/cool where exercising (ie cycling, running etc) is still possible. Also what are the good gyms in town? Any tips would be fantastic!! Thanks.
I don’t have much practical advice for you, not having lived in Toronto since the late-70s. I have family and friends there, though, and will ask around. One quick answer for a place to live is near The Beaches, east of downtown along Queen Street and past Woodbine Race Track. This is very close to the Leslie Street spit, a fine isolated area for mid- to long-runs.
You might want to post your message on a new website - www.canadiantriathlete.ca - and see what comes up. Finally for now, maybe just phone some of the following places and ask your questions directly.
Endurosport 416-449-0432
D’Ornellas Bike Shop 416-752-3838
Gears Bike Shop 905-271-2400
Ontario Association of Triathletes 416-426-7025
Toronto is a terrific city (wee traffic problems notwithstanding…), and I’ll try to get back to you with more concrete information later.
Hey girl:-) i am jaleous!!! back to canada, how awesome is that? minus the winters of course!
Hi HotRed, based upon your description, you might want to consider the Younge & Eglinton (Y&E) area, also known as young and eligible. This is actually where I have lived for the past 10+ years, but not as young (34) anymore and no longer eligible :).
Anyways, the are lots of apartment rentals, and lots of new condo’s recently built or under construction, if you are looking to purchase. This neighborhood also has tones of restaurants, coffee shops, movie theaters, book stores, shopping, and a few clubs (but it is definitely not the club district which is further downtown in the entertainment district, see www.toronto.com).
Running is pretty good, but can be fairly hilly. If you are looking for more flat areas, there is Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. It might sound kind of creepy, but it is actually a pretty popular place to run and bike. There is a store called runningroom, that has a location about 1km north of that intersection, which has lots of various clinics for running, including Tri and Ironman. They also have free Wednesday and Sunday club runs, so it should be pretty easy to find running groups if you are interested. They have locations throughout the city, so pretty much any where you live, chances are there will be a store near by, and they all have the same clinics / club runs.
In terms of biking, I know that there are a bunch of groups for that as well, done through various LBS’s or an independent one called the Toronto Bicycling Network (http://www.tbn.ca/). I actually only got my first road bike, last Saturday, so I personally have not leveraged any of those yet (but I have done 3 clinics at the running room). Y&E is pretty much the center of the city, so depending upon the mileage you want, you can go south to the water for flat terrain, or go north towards the suburbs, or even further to cottage country, which is hillier (actually as you go north, everything is uphill, just not steep).
In terms of the gyms, there are actually two fairly popular ones, but on the pricy side close by. There is one called Eclipse, which is actually at the north east corner of the Y&E intersection in the shopping mall there. A nicer and bigger one, (which my wife is a member), is called the Dunfield Club. They are actually part of a chain called the Sports Clubs of Canada, of which you can get a membership that lets you use of all of their locations, if you are interested.
There is also a subway stop at Y&E, if that is the transportation route you are planning on leveraging, which will make your commute to work quite easy, as I believe the P&G offices are either at Younge & Shepard or Younge & Finch, which is only 3 or 4 subways stops north. If you are planning on driving, most apartments and all the condos do have parking.
Hopefully that is enough to get you started, let me know if you have any more questions.
Thanks,
David
Thanks so much I will definitely look into your suggestions. It’s nice to get a feel for a city through people who enjoy similar activities and interests. Now if you only knew some hot single guys I’d be set!! Thanks again:)
here’s my take.
yonge and eglinton. i live in this area, so know it the best (sorry for the biased review). running room 10min walk north. 3 ok bike shops close by. good restaurants / pubs. easy access to most points in the city. great, hip area. if you’re working at yonge and sheppard, you’re like a 10min subway ride to work. also definitely rideable, though you have a big hill to go up both ways. really. many apartments, expensive real estate. large group ride every sat and sun starts 5min ride east of the intesection.
yonge and sheppard. close to work. lots of condos. (slightly) more reasonable real estate. WAY up north (for those of us that live downtown)
beaches. great place to run/ride on flat trails. no subway acccess (15 min bus / 25 min streetcar ride to subway). cute, trendy area. lots of cool shop/restaurants/pubs. running room and endurosport close by.
high park. another great place to run. don’t know the area that well, but there are a couple of really good bike shops out that way. 15 min west of the central subway corridor/ downtown.
downtown - (yonge and king/queen/college/bloor) good access to amenities, but busy and tres expensive.
annex - nice university-type area. close to downtown. running room and runner’s shop (for more competitive runners) both have free running groups.
gyms - yonge and eg has already been mentioned. goodlife (goodlifefitness.com?) has about the cheapest membership in the city. membership can be used all across canada. bay/bloor location has a crappy pool, but fees are included. free access (i think) to public pools.
if you’re looking to buy, let me know (pm). i know a great real estate agent!
if you have any other questions, keep on asking. my advice is free, but you get what you pay for. =p
If I’m not mistaken, the P+G head office is at Yonge and Sheppard. Couple points about several of the suggestions made, since I’ve lived in both areas:
- Yonge and Eglinton would be great, because its a very trendy area, a lot of running groups, and a great night life ;). It would also be a quick 10 min commute to work via the TTC subway.
The downside is that it is very expensive and you will have nowhere to train on the bike during the week. Literally nowhere. The only time you’ll be able to do a decent ride is on the weekend, when the traffic is light enough to be able to ride out of the city.
- The Beaches - also can be expensive, but biking is slightly better, but not great, running is good. Unfortunately a major commute from your workplace.
…don’t do it… move to a real city like Montreal. You can work for P&G there !
i find riding in toronto traffic very helpful to my bike handling skills. there’s nothing to keep your reflexes alert like riding down yonge st at 45km/h and having dumbasses change lanes without signalling or braking for no reason!
Welcome to TO!
You have many options available to train, live, and single men, as long as I’m 1st in line!
send me a p/m and I’d love to help you out with the many choices.
Toronto is OK for a big city but I’ll suggest as soon as you get to Toronto ask for a transfer to Belleville since there’s a P & G plant there. Great bike riding routes in Prince Edward County, probably the best in Ontario.
Belleville!? Did you not hear? She’s looking for somewhere fun/exciting to live. I agree training around the County is great, but as for the social scene? Little Texas anyone?
BTW - (Sorry for the thread hijack hotred) Cerveloguy - Do you ride on Sunday’s with Doug’s Bikes?
LOL - my thoughts exactly… 
(never heard of it referred to as “Little Texas” though…)
<<You have many options available to train, live, and single men, as long as I’m 1st in line! >>
She might be lesbian. Please do not make assumptions.
She might be lesbian. Please do not make assumptions.
The lineup of single men just doubled.
Ha! LOL…as if Cincy was sunny year round
Little Texas is a hick country bar in Belleville, sorry for the inside line…
In response to her sexual persuasion…QUOTE " Now if you only new some hot single guys I’d be set…" UNQUOTE. But that’s no my bidness
Nice to see that P&G is actually sending people this way for once! I’m a former P&Ger (worked in Toronto, but was ‘encouraged’ to migrate to Cinci on more than one occasion).
Office is at Yonge and Sheppard, and if you are commuting by TTC, you’ll want to be on the main Yonge branch (otherwise it just takes too long). There are lots and lots of good running and biking options in the city. Swimming is best done at the YMCA or, if you are at Yonge and Egl, at the North toronto Community centre (there is a good masters group there).
Msg me if you have detailed questions if you like.
ccy
Sounds like I need to clear up a few things really quickly…!! For starters I am not a lesbian, though would probably be easier in this world as single women seem to outnumber single men. Secondly I’m not so sure Belleville would be for me, I grew up in Guelph and really need something more exciting, so I’m hoping Toronto might be it. I’m getting the feeling that Young and Eg is the way to go, and I’ll just have to deal with the midweek biking problem. I’m going to be up there by September (probably scope it out a bit in August). Thanks everyone for your input! Hopefully I’ll meet some cool friends as well as hot guys!
we will miss you 
.