Research, lovely research: Toronto and kid memories.

[icarus]

While I wait with bated breath for my betas (I sent the next scene of Out Of Bounds ten whole milliseconds ago)...

... I have been doing research on neighborhoods in Toronto.

My childhood memories of Toronto are just that: kid memories. Kids remember places. Their sights and sounds and magic... but not how they got there or how they're connected.

Here's the dismal neighborhood John once lived as a student at U of T, on Yonge Street not far from Church Street (the local gay neighborhood):
http://www.boldts.net/TorYs.shtml

This is where John's apartment was more recently (theoretically) at the Annex, and thank you to by archae_ology and meredydd_recs. It's perfect:
http://boldts.net/TorAn.shtml

According to recommendations by archae_ology, Rodney should live in the Church and Wellesley area: http://boldts.net/TorCw.shtml

But... some back story that's only mentioned once in the story: It was Rodney's grandmother, not Rodney, who picked out the house. She accepted Rodney being gay, but it's very unlikely that she would have picked the prime gay neighborhood. Also, Rodney's place is an area where the property values were lower (and boon-docky) back in the 80s and became more valuable over time. She made a good deal (I've mentioned it in OoB "Thank you, suburban sprawl"). So I'm still looking for Rodney's neighborhood. meredydd_recs recommends down by the lakeshore, though I'm waiting for more clarification:

Here's University of Toronto, where John once went to school:
http://www.boldts.net/TorB.shtml

Here's Church Street, the gay neighborhood where John and Rodney both have spent remarkably little time:
http://www.boldts.net/TorCw.shtml


Any real Canadians or persons who've been in Toronto in the last ten years (unlike me) are welcome to comment. *rolls out the red carpet*

Comments

[mklutz]

There are some cheap apartments near Spadina on the edge of Chinatown, and the College St area is full of students and student housing which might work out. An apartment in a building right by High Park station actually runs about 1500/mo (One bedroom), versus say renting part of a house (I pay 500/mo). There are also some inexpensive apartments on Ossington & Dundas that if you split between two people wind up being 500/mo each.

The Bloorcourt village definitely has a lot of families with elementary age kids-- I actually live just down the street from three grade schools and a few blocks away from two highschools. When you hit Bloor at the end of the street it's all small butchers and independent grocery stores, that kind of thing-- very good for young couples.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm reading this message second. Bloorcourt sounds like a perfect area then though a little closer to the city than I expected. (It doesn't make sense to drive from Bloorcourt unless the rink is further outside the city.) Do you happen to know what it was like in 1999? Out Of Bounds is set about ten years ago.

[mklutz]

It's more up-and-coming now than it was in 1999, but the schools and butchers and the library-- all that was already there. It seems like the schools and things were built in the mid 70s as far as I can tell, so a decade or two later it would definitely be full of young families. If you get closer to Dufferin it's a little sketchy, but closer to Ossington it's very nice. The Portugese have definitely been here for at least ten years.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

That might be perfect. Boy, I need a lot of pictures though, because I've been describing the area just north of the Beaches till now. And the driving is accurate for east end, not so much for Bloorcourt, I imagine.

I think I need to go visit my dad and cruise around the city. I've cheated till now and run on my memories of Toronto which are mostly east end, the Beaches and up, and then downtown (Yonge & Bloor, Dundas, Spidina, Church St, and I think... was my dad's little company on King Street? I don't recall).

[mklutz]

I can take some photos for you, since I live here-- that's no problem. Tell me if there are any other places in the city you'd like shots of.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's a lot to ask, isn't it?

[mklutz]

Not really, I mean, I'm going to be walking around all over the place anyway when I go places.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Okay, if this is what we settle on. I emailed my dad and he suggests Pickering. What do you think?