I met my girlfriend before the two of us picked up our lives and moved to Toronto.
We lived in the nation’s capital, Ottawa, and met at the University of Ottawa.
Visually, Ottawa is a gorgeous city. However, there isn’t a strong bohemian presence in Ottawa like there is in Toronto. My parents are fairly bohemian and both went to the University of Toronto years ago when marijuana was illegal in canada. They still use marijuana to this day and were marijuana activists during their time in university. They told me stories about the West Queens West neighborhood with Trinity Bellwoods Park and the Trinity Bellwoods Farmers Market. There’s even a hockey rink during the winter season in this park, and a dog bowl as well. But one neighborhood that they were particularly fond of was Kensington Market. Between Chinatown and Little Italy, Kensington Market is a bohemian community with artists and independently owned shops, cafes, and bakeries. When my girlfriend and I visited Toronto, we got super baked in our hotel room and walked down to Kensington Market on a Saturday afternoon. There was a massive art fair on Nassau Street and we stopped to look at the booths. We were definitely higher than we expected because the jar of Skywalker OG flower buds was tested at 32% THC, which is much stronger than what either of us is used to smoking in Ottawa. Regardless, we absolutely loved our trip to Toronto and the time we spent in places like Kensington Market and West Queens West. Toronto has a lot of cultural diversity if you’re willing to take a look while you’re strolling through the city.