'bout to move to Toronto,seeking for experience shopping there
Question:
I'm moving with my husband to Toronto next month. I'm curious about the shopping there since I've never been to Canada before, and I love to shop. Are the stores mostly the same as in the US, or different? I get most of our clothes from Macy's, J.C. Penney or Old Navy. I get computer and home office supplies at Office Max. And foodwise around here it's Safeway. I also really like Pier 1 and Pottery Barn for gifts. Which of these are available in Toronto, or what cool stores are there instead? I have credit cards for Macy's and Penney, so hopefully they're around, but I'm looking forward to checking out new places. I know I could probably figure this out with an hour or two of internet research, but I thought it would be easier if I could find out from the people who live there. What are Toronto residents called, anyway? I'll be one soon.
Answer:
_People who live in Toronto are called Torontonians, if that's what you
meant.
Okay, think of the biggest state in the USA - that's Canada!
Oh, just biggest in size, but not the most populous. We are about as
populated as Califorinia, with about 31 million people. About 2.4 million
people live in the city of Toronto proper, and another 2.3 million in the
suburbs, which is called the GTA (Greater Toronto Area). But they don't like
being called Toronto's suburbs, just so ya know. Toronto's sprawl is more
east and west than it is north, but think of the drive from New York City to
New Jersey, you only know you are in another city by the signs posted at the
city limits.
Most everything that you find in the states, you can find in Toronto. If we
don't have the same retail chains, then we have similar ones. I am pretty
sure that there are no Macy's or J.C. Penny stores in Toronto. I could be
wrong, I know Macy's has shown interest in the past. We have the Bay (The
Hudson's Bay Company - oldest company in the "New World"), Sears, Wal-Mart,
Zellers, Honest Ed's, among others.
Yes, we have Old Navy. We used to have Safeway, but they seemed to have
disappeared. But for the big grocery chains, Loblaws has the best quality
and highest prices, then likely Sobey's, then Dominion's, A&P, or the
Nofrills type where overhead is lower, selection less, quality lower, but
prices very cheap, like Mr. Grocer, Food Basic, Price Chopper, Nofrills.
Some local grocery chains are good too, like Knob Hill Farms and Gallatti
Bros.
No Office Max, but I here they are coming soon. We have Office Depot, which
you guys have too.
We have Pier 1, but I don't know about Pottery Barn.
But heck if you like to shop, this is your town! You don't say where you are
moving from in the States, so unless you're from Manhatten or L.A., don't
worry, it will be better than what you are accustomed. Yuo'd likely want to
do the mall thing, so you'll have to check out the Eaton's Center, and
Yorkdale. And if you want to spend obcene amounts of money shop in
Yorkville.
And for women's clothing, you've got more places than you can ever shop if
you spent the rest of your life doing so. Get the picture. It's a shopping
Mecca, from flea markets to coutuer. You'll love it. You can use credit
cards, cash, debit cards to pay for most goods and services. But I doubt
your Macey's or J.C. Penny cards will be honoured anywhere. But, if your
credit is good, then you won't have a problem getting a strore credit card
at all your favorite chains.
Oh, I don't think you are crazy... many Canadian women like to shop a lot
too!
_What part of Toronto are you going to be moving to? (then we can even
give you closest locations) Pier 1 and Pottery Barn are both here -
there's a Pier 1 in the Beach neighbourhood (which also has other
gifty stores and clothing stores), and Pottery Barn in the Eaton
Centre and on Bay/Bloor. Old Navy is also in the Eaton Centre. No
Macy's or JC Penny here. The main department store is the Bay which is
more upscale than Sears. Winners is also here which I think is the
same as Target in the U.S. (at least the commercials are all the same)
- the main store is at Yonge/College.
Staples/Business Depot is the main place for office supplies - there's
a location at Front/Parliament.
There are Safeway stores in Canada but not in Ontario (I believe).
Loblaws and Dominion are the two main higher priced chains. Fortino's
has a few suburban locations and I believe they have the same
ownership as Loblaws. IMO Dominion is more expensive and Loblaws has
better food, so Dominion seems to have no advantages. The less
expensive chains are No Frills (owned by the Loblaws folks), Price
Chopper and Food Basics. If you are anywhere near downtown the best
places though to shop are not in the supermarkets but in the smaller
ethnic markets especially for produce - Kensington Market, Chinatown,
Roncesvalles Village, Little India etc.
The two large malls are the Eaton Centre (downtown) and Yorkdale (in
North York by the 401 - the major highway that cuts through Toronto).
IMO the most interesting shopping are in the street stores not in the
malls. For street shopping, there are a couple of main districts:
Yorkville - for ritzy upscale stuff, Queen West - used CDs, funky
clothing, the Beach - various, Danforth - various as well as Greek
restaurants - but there are smaller clusters that are interesting
scattered throughout. Yonge street is the main street through Toronto
and has shops all along its length.
You'll also find there are a lot of good non-chain stores around, so
wander around, check things out, and ask your fellow Torontonians for
their favourites
_You didn't mention where you were moving from but one important
distinction should be made with respect to shopping in Toronto: you
will have many alternatives to the behemoth multinationals you
mentioned. Sure we have most of them here too (Old Navy, Pier1,
Pottery Barn, Gap, Best Buy, WalMart, Nike Stores, etc.) but the
alternatives are what makes Toronto a cosmopolitan city. I have
traveled to the US and have found that outside New York City and maybe
Chicago (haven't seen L.A.) you pretty much had your retail choices
narrowed down to a handful of monster brands. We have lots of
independant stores and boutiques selling things you may never have
seen before and alternatives you may never have considered. Among the
American brands you're familliar with there is also quite a bit of
European influence here in terms of imports and fancy exclusive shops
(Hermes, Chanel, etc.) are available if you're in a spending mood.
Also it is important to note other significant differences in the
Toronto retail landscape. For instance, in contrast to most American
urban areas Toronto has a very vibrant and busy downtown core, full of
retail, restaurant, and residential mixed use. For this reason you can
spend most of your time among smaller stores and avoid malls and the
"box on a sea of cement" type stores if you want to and never miss
them. Also for this reason many of our busiest shopping districts are
alive at night and very safe. It's not uncommon to see even senior
citizens fearlessly strolling Queen Steet (a trendy downtown strip)
late into the evening. Probably what I found to be the most striking difference between
Canadian and American shopping styles is that catalogue businesses in
Canada are a bust while they are very successful in the US. I believe
this is largely due to population concentration factors but,
nevertheless, things you might be used to buying from a catalogue are
available in stores here. Eddie Bauer and Ethan Allen are two examples
that come to mind. And, of course, Sears.
As for availability of technical goods (computers etc.) there are many
independant retailers who are both knowledgeable and significantly
cheaper than the national chains.
I hope this helps you and I hope you are moving to a part of Toronto
that will afford you the opportunity to explore a new shopping
experience. Toronto is truly a city where you can buy ANYTHING if you
know where to shop. Some people accustomed to finding everything in
one place (like Walmart) get a bit frustrated sometimes but your post
seems to list a variety of tastes so if you're prepared to park your
car and walk you will be rewarded.
If you'd like I'll gladly post a list of interesting neighborhoods in
Toronto and what you can expect to find there. I'm sure other posters
in town will have suggestions for that list too.
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