If you had to pick one of these cities...

[Fran101]

- Atlanta
- San Fran (not sure about this one due to very high living costs...)
- Toronto
- Austin
- Charlotte
- Dallas
- Houston

things to keep in mind
- Good public transport
- Dog friendly (for the M-dog)
- Young professional city/some kind of social night life parameters lol

so which one would you pick? and why?

 

[PWCorgi]

Write in submission: Minneapolis

 

[Fran101]

Write in submission: Minneapolis

Haha sadly it's for a fellowship that has a few locations, I'm not just picking cities or else I'd totally take suggestions!
I've always loved Seattle but it's not an option either :/

 

[xpaeanx]

First question... Do you prefer more hot climates or colder ones?

 

[Tortilla]

Well I was born and raised in Toronto and have lived here my entire life so I'm a little biased. I LOVE it here. Love, love, love this city. There is always so much to do (especially for a 'youngish' person) and lots of neat neighbourhoods to check out (Chinatown, Kensington Market, the Annex, little Italy, Liberty Village, Distillery District etc.). In my experience, places have been pretty dog-friendly. I take Seamus downtown a lot and have been able to bring him in some shops. I like to take him to the Toronto Islands and High Park when it's warmer, which is a lot of fun. The public transit is meh, but I take it every single day (bus and subway to-and-from school).

For what it's worth, I am 22 and in my final year of university and super social. I like to go out a lot and there's never a shortage of cool places to eat and drink and hangout. If you have any specific questions ask away!

 

[Fran101]

First question... Do you prefer more hot climates or colder ones?

honestly I'm open to either but lean towards warm, I live in Boston now and don't mind it but would rather not go colder than typical-new england.

 

[Ozfozz]

Toronto - primarily because I don't know much about the other cities, and am afraid to leave Canada

From what I understand, while there are complaints about the public transit system, overall it isn't entirely incompetent. There's a train to get to other cities, subway system, buses, and streetcar system.

To my knowledge, dogs are permitted on public transit (as long as they are leashed and muzzled I think, unless that's just where I live).

Toronto has a dog friendly cafe, hosts Woofstock which is a large dog celebration.

Oh! Not to mention that in Ontario a landlord cannot have "no pets" in their lease (aside from a house rental for allergy reasons). Many will write it in anyways, but with the landlord tenant act it is said to be a null point.

Overall, from what I have witnessed in my visits, it's a relatively dog friendly city....unless of course you plan to own a pit bull in the near future.

As for young professional scene. A family member of mine lives in an apartment on Young and Eglington - otherwise known as the "Young and Eligible" area. Which I assume is good

 

[Airn]

Write in submission: Minneapolis

Seems to be the place to go. Or Denver.


I've only been to Atlanta and I would not move there. There are cities in the south that are liberal/progressive but for the most part... they're not. The states continue to be conservative. If that's what you're looking for, great! But you don't seem the type

Most of these I would veto because of the state and not the city. Texas, Georgia and North Carolina aren't my cup of tea.

I would vote Toronto. Because half of Chaz is Canadian and I don't like the other options :rofl1:

Dallas is very popular to go to, in my area. It's semi close and is a large city, which there aren't many of those down here.

But, again, I'm a small town person and haven't traveled as much as I'd like.

 

[Fran101]

Well I was born and raised in Toronto and have lived here my entire life so I'm a little biased. I LOVE it here. Love, love, love this city. There is always so much to do (especially for a 'youngish' person) and lots of neat neighbourhoods to check out (Chinatown, Kensington Market, the Annex, little Italy, Liberty Village, Distillery District etc.). In my experience, places have been pretty dog-friendly. I take Seamus downtown a lot and have been able to bring him in some shops. I like to take him to the Toronto Islands and High Park when it's warmer, which is a lot of fun. The public transit is meh, but I take it every single day (bus and subway to-and-from school).

For what it's worth, I am 22 and in my final year of university and super social. I like to go out a lot and there's never a shortage of cool places to eat and drink and hangout. If you have any specific questions ask away!

Sounds awesome! I've never been other than for a bit to pick up Merlin haha

Hows the public transport? I can't have a car so it will be my only option really lol
and apartment wise... I'm a little worry about living IN the city and finding a decent apartment with Merlin. Do you know how the real estate is? Dog friendliness?

 

[Shai]

San Fran or Toronto. Partly because I like what I know of them, partly because I haven't been to either, and partly because I have been to the rest and wouldn't want to live there except for Charlotte. Charlotte seemed nice

 

[Tortilla]

Sounds awesome! I've never been other than for a bit to pick up Merlin haha

Hows the public transport? I can't have a car so it will be my only option really lol
and apartment wise... I'm a little worry about living IN the city and finding a decent apartment with Merlin. Do you know how the real estate is? Dog friendliness?

The public transit system (TTC) isn't fantastic but it's also not HORRIBLE. They allow leashed dogs on during certain times (mainly just not during rush hour because it can get pretty crammed), but I'm sure it'd be different for a service animal. If you live in the city, a lot of places are within walking distance anyway. I can't really answer about the real estate because I still live at home, but as Ozfozz said, there is some sort of thing where landlords can't outright say 'no pets' or something. I'm not really too sure on the details about that though.

If you ever want to come up and sort of scope out the city before deciding to live here I'd be more than happy to show you around! I know Toronto very well and I'm around the same age (22) so know all the fun places, haha.

 

[JessLough]

How long would you be there? Honestly, Ilove visiting Toronto, but would rather not live there long-term.

Like has been mentioned, it is illegal in Ontario for a landlord to say no pets, though if it's private (one person renting out a house they own, just privately) then yes, they can say no pets. The thing about Toronto is being aware you WIL be moving to a place with BSL. Some people have issues with that, some don't. Something to be aware of.

As far as public transportation, there are buses, a gotrain (which will take you to nneighbouring cities/areas) and subways. I find a lot of people who complain about it just don't realize how bad public transportation is in other areas

ETA: I know an issue can be if you tell people you have a dog right off the bat, they won't rent to you "for another reason". I know somebody had an issue where they were ready to just show up with dogs, as after lease is signed, they can't kick you out for having a dog (without good reason). That said, if you tell them SDiT, I don't imagine a problem.

You'll want to check Ontario SD laws if you chose Toronto, to be familiar with them. They do differ.

 

[JazzyTheSibe]

When I was younger I lived in Dallas. I hate the summers, way to hot. Too dry, too hot. The fall was fine not to hot or cold. It never got that cold(compared to where I live now), but the winters we're cool, dry, & gloomy.

I lived there for about 3ish years, & I was young, so I don't know much.


It's between San Fran, & Toronto for me

 

[RBark]

IMO, you can't beat San Francisco for big city life + variety.

From San Francisco, you literally can travel to the most incredible places right off a bus in the city. Yosemite, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, and more.

It's insanely dog friendly. There are dogs, everywhere. Youth life is amazing, you're by the ocean, About 50 miles away is a dog park that's almost 2 miles long along the ocean.

There's just a lot to do in California. Feeling like snow? Take a bus to Lake Tahoe. Wanna visit the desert? Mojave ain't far, relatively. There's always LA, SD, and so on.

'course, I'm pretty biased. I just love living in CA, since I 'm an outdoorsy person.

EDIT: Public Transport is incredible in SF. You've got buses all over the city, there's nothing outside bus+walk distance. Then you've got the BART, which can take you 50+ miles away from SF to explore.

 

[Locke]

I live in Toronto too, born and raised.

I like living here, but definitely not in love with it.

Public transportation is pretty decent as long as you're on/near a subway or streetcar line. Buses SUCK. Rush hours (7:30am-9:30am and 4:00pm-6:30pm) are INSANE in the downtown core regardless of bus, streetcar or subway. Off times are fine. Dogs are allowed on off times (only a leash is required), and service animals are allowed at all times. There are pockets of the city that are more dog friendly than others. The east end around The Beaches is very dog friendly and the west end near High Park is very dog friendly.

Rental prices really depend on where you plan on living. A 1-bedroom apartment/condo downtown is likely going to cost at least $1500 a month. Generally speaking, the closer you are to subway lines, the more expensive the rent. I think it would be really hard to find anything in the city for under $700 a month.


Where is the fellowship in Toronto?

 

[xpaeanx]

I'd prob be caught between Toronto and SF. From what I've heard they seem like more what you're looking for. I think I might be slightly more into CA if you like the warmer climates more than the colder ones.

Book a flight out to your top places and stay for a few days.

 

[Zoom]

Write in: Denver

Otherwise, Austin is pretty cool. I haven't been to any of the other places to say.

 

[AmberD]

I've heard wonderful things about Toronto and would like to check it out some day. Couldn't live there because I have this thing about pit bulls, but it'd be nice to visit. Otherwise, San Fran seems most appealing to me, even though I'm an East Coast gal at heart. Seems very dog friendly... well, just friendly in general. And amazing views.

 

[umterps97]

San Francisco!

I visited for 5 days last fall and absolutely loved it! I could totally see myself living there (even though it does seem awfully pricy for housing).

 

[Kootenay]

San Fran! OMG, I love that city and I am not a city person at all. I have family there and it is my go-to when I want a city vacation. It's AMAZING! Super dog friendly, great public transportation, amazing vibe, just the best city ever.

In fact I am hoping that Onyx and I are going to be heading there sometime in March for a little visit

Move there! Then we could meet up when I'm there!