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5 Reasons to Live in Midtown Toronto

January 3, 2024

Midtown, Toronto is one of the most vibrant and exciting neighborhoods in the city.

There’s a lot to love about this part of the city, including nightlife, great shopping, entertainment, dining and many other essentials. Plus, when you live in Midtown Toronto there’s always something new happening and a full calendar of festivals and events.

Here are some of the reasons why you should live in Midtown Toronto:

1. It’s Accessible Via Public Transport

When you live in Midtown, it’s easy to get anywhere else in the city relatively quickly. Eglinton Station provides you with quick transport to downtown via subway. Plus, you’ll have several easy bus connections to different areas of Toronto. Plus, the Eglinton Crosstown LRT is planned and will travel as far as Mount Dennis – so this area will become even more well-connected in the future.

2. The Shopping Malls Have a Lot to Offer

Let’s take the gargantuan Yonge and Eglinton Centre for example. Not only does it have a staggering selection of shops (featuring everything from clothing to accessories to electronics and more), it is also home to a supermarket, a food court, a Goodlife Fitness and a Cineplex cinema. Finding everything you need under one roof is pretty convenient! (Plus, the Yonge and Eglinton Centre is just one of the shopping centres in Midtown. Check out our post about shopping in Midtown for more details.)

3. There Are Plenty of Green Spaces

Midtown has plenty of pleasant parks and playgrounds where you can have a picnic, go for a walk and simply enjoy the great outdoors. Watch the squirrels leaping in the trees, listen to the birds chirping and seek out a quiet bench of your own. For example, the Beltline Trail offers a beautiful shady walking trail through Mount Pleasant Cemetery, the Moore Ravine and the Evergreen Brickworks.

4. The Main Streets Are Vibrant

Midtown Toronto has many main streets that are lined with lively local businesses, such as Eglinton and Yonge, Bayview, Spadina and Mount Pleasant. The streets aren’t just lined with the cookie-cutter brands, there are so many one-of-a-kind businesses that you won’t find anywhere else. Walking down these streets is a delight, as you’ll find friendly local cafes and eateries, quirky boutiques and other interesting shops. It’s easy to spend hours exploring – and chatting to the friendly business owners who make up the community.

5. The Food Selection Is Fantastic

Another one of the perks of living in Midtown Toronto is the food. Some evenings you might not feel like cooking. Or, you might want to treat yourself to something special. You’ll have so many great choices within walking distance. There’s the legendary brunches at Boom Breakfast, the juicy Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches at Banh Mi Boys, the handmade desserts at Caffe Demetre and much more.

If you want to live in midtown Toronto, we offer a selection of short term apartment rentals right in the heart of the action. Click here to see our Midtown properties.

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Shopping Guide to Scarborough

December 20, 2019

In the mood for a little retail therapy on your next visit to Scarborough? This area of Toronto is incredibly diverse when it comes to shopping – offering designer brands, quirky local boutiques and discounted vintage thrift shops. It also has a set of Asian-influenced mega malls to explore.

If you’re planning on going shopping in Scarborough, here’s a few ideas on where to start:

Scarborough Town Centre

This is one of the biggest malls in Scarborough and it offers a huge selection. It is the 9th largest mall in Canada, the 5th largest in Ontario and the 3rd largest in Toronto. It has been around since 1973, but was recently renovated in 2010 to be larger, brighter and more modern.

Some of the many brands you will find here include Lululemon, Adidas, Ardena, Forever 21, Bluenotes, Foot Locker, H&M, Urban Planet and Suzy Shier. A popular spot is Torrid, a women’s clothing store known for lingerie, trendy plus-size cocktail dresses and stylish footwear.

The mall also features the Scarborough Walk of Fame, which honours famous members of the Scarborough community include artist Doris McCarthy, pulmonary scientist Dr. Charles C. Macklin and Olympic hockey player Vicky Sunohara.

If you work up an appetite while shopping, you can dine at the TASTE MRKT – the large open air food court with patio-style seating underneath a bright skylight.

Plato’s Closet

Scarborough also has a great selection of thrift stores and used clothing options – and Plato’s Closet is a great example of this. This vintage consignment shop has a lot of great finds and it’s a lot of fun to hunt through the racks for treasures.

You can often find a lot of great brands and stylish options for up to 70% of the retail price. As with any second hand clothing store you never know what you’re going to get and it can take some hunting to find the right option. However, when you find a treasure you love for a deeply discounted price – there’s no better feeling.

Also, if you want to get rid of some of your old clothes you don’t wear anymore to make room for the new ones, you can sell them here. They will pay you in cash for your old clothes, as long as they are in good condition.

Splendid China Mall

Another option for shopping in Scarborough is Splendid China Mall. This Chinese mall offers a lot of practical services, including optometrists, acupuncturists, hair dressers, accounting services and even a Feng Shui consultant. It is also a great place to find beauty products, as well as electronics and accessories.

It’s located in a neighbourhood that has one of the largest residential concentrations of ethnic Chinese in Canada. Across the street you’ll also find Pacific Mall and Market Village Mall – which are also large sprawling Asian mall complexes with a wide variety of shops.

To find out more about our high quality short term furnished apartments in Scarborough, Ontario – click here.

Toronto Entertainment

Fantastic Shopping in Downtown Toronto

July 19, 2019

When you make the trip to Toronto – make sure you have extra room in your suitcase.

You’re going to want to take advantage of the amazing shopping in downtown Toronto, and you’ll likely end up with plenty of new goodies to bring home with you. Here are some of the best places to indulge in retail therapy, only steps away from your stay at the Livmore.

Dundas Square

7 minute walk from the Livmore

Dundas Square is the “Times Square” of Toronto – a bustling intersection with 100,000 people crossing per day (the busiest in Canada). Lining this popular square are several great shops, as well as restaurants, bars and cafes.

Plus – Dundas Square is known for being an outdoor hub for live entertainment – so you just might just get to enjoy a show with your shopping.

Eaton Centre

6 minute walk from the Livmore

This long-standing, glass-ceilinged, multi-level mall is a landmark in Toronto – and it is visited by more tourists than any other attraction in Toronto. It’s actually the busiest shopping mall in North America – beating out many other huge shopping complexes in the USA.

The mall has 330 stores and restaurants and you could spend hours and hours perusing them. Don’t forget to look up and admire the beautiful fibreglass sculpture “Flight Stop” by artist Michael Snow – depicting Canada geese in flight.

First Canadian Place

16 minute walk from the Livmore

This landmark skyscraper features over 100 shops, as well as restaurants, event spaces and doctor’s offices – towering 72 stories above the Financial District of downtown Toronto (It’s also home to the Toronto Stock Exchange). There are plenty of great shops to check out, including several upscale brands.

There’s also an international food court with a great patio where you can enjoy a meal outside in the summer. The options include Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Greek and mor. You can fuel up after working up an appetite from all that shopping.

Atrium

5 minute walk from the Livmore

Located right in the heart of downtown Toronto, Atrium is a shopping centre packed with some great brands. It doesn’t have the best selection, but it is less crowded than the Eaton Centre and certainly worth a look. One of the stand-out shops is “Long Tall Sally” – a retail clothing shop catering to all women.

This mall has a lot of little perks that make life easier for shoppers. For example, there are even free mobile device charging stations located in the concourse.

Kensington Market

23 minute walk from the Livmore

In this funky, walkable bohemian neighbourhood you’ll find all sorts of fascinating shops. If you are looking for vintage clothing, indie records, artisanal vegan snacks, local artwork or anything funky and homemade – this would be the place to look.

Plus, this area is also packed with trendy bars, quirky coffee shops and excellent international eateries – it’s a hangout for the creative and hip crowd.

Where do you love to shop in Toronto? Let us know in the comments below! For more tips on what to do during your stay, check out our guide to 10 Things to Do in Downtown Toronto.

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