| What you loved and loathed last month

2018-09-01 - Please email your comments to letters@torontolife.com. They may be edited for accuracy, length and clarity.

Home Truths “The Young Buyers Club,” our roundup of 20-somethings who scrimped to buy a house in this near-impenetrable market, inspired some readers and annoyed others. In that order…

“Respect! Good for them!” —julian_valentino, Instagram

“Smart kids, I salute them. Also, I don’t consider living rent-free as a handout from Mom and Dad, as it has zero financial liability on the parents yet it allows the kids to save for a down payment—it’s a win-win if the kids are willing to sacrifice. Big achievements often require sacrifice.”

—Karl Itos, Facebook

“This is the way. They made the sacrifices needed. I did it, my parents did it, and my grandparents did it. It can be done. Life is not easy. Never has been, and it is foolhardy to believe otherwise. I applaud these young people.”

—Cori Gould, Facebook

“I know many young people living in Toronto. What most of them have in common: 1) they are originally from outside the GTA and had to move where the jobs reportedly were; 2) therefore they couldn’t live at home while they saved up; 3) most are in shared rental spaces working full-time or more than one job; 4) they’re educated. I discovered the hard way that one has to have either money or deep roots in the GTA to get ahead at all now. Instead of cheering on the exceptions, let’s acknowledge there is a problem and do something about it. Going ‘home’ is not an option.”

—Laura Beeby, Facebook

“It’s unrealistic to expect to buy a nice starter home in the core of a major city like Toronto is now becoming. If you make a middleclass salary, you should expect to make sacrifices to your budget for several years (limit vacations, live with roommates, do your own cooking, etc.). That might get you a decent starter home a 45-minute commute from the core. Not everything on your wish list, but you’re on the property ladder. If you don’t have the conviction to save, not going to happen.”

—Larry Patrick Zolob, Facebook

“They didn’t beat the market. They entered it at the right time, were fortunate enough to have well-above-average-paying jobs right out of school, or lived rentfree with Mom and Dad for many, many years. They were 1) lucky and 2) resourceful. In that order.”

—Teresa Harris, Facebook “I don’t hate you because you own your own house in Toronto, I hate that anyone would need to work 100 hours a week to be able to afford to buy a home .... ”

—assaultonaudio, Reddit

“The reality of what is being suggested here is hilarious: work two jobs, live at home, lose all your friends because you don’t see them for six(!) months, borrow from your RRSP for a down payment. All this sacrifice and what do you get? A $450k pre-construction townhouse in STONEY CREEK! Don’t hate us because we paid half a million dollars for a half-built townhouse 20 minutes from Hamilton. This article really highlights the madness of the housing market.”

—ComradeCaveman, Reddit

“How exactly is living rent-free at home not equal to help from the Bank of Mom and Dad?!”

—Alicia D’Aguiar, Facebook

Many readers (rightly) complained about the dearth of women in the package—particularly single women who own their own houses.

“Literally no single women on this list; what’s up with that? (Not an accusatory statement, @torontolife, but I’m genuinely curious why you don’t have any. Is it because single

men are more driven to buy? Or because women make less money? Or was it an oversight?)”

—@LaurenPelley, Twitter

“7:2 male to female ratio! Wow.” —Melissa Dorgan, Facebook

“As a young woman I was interested in ‘The Young Buyers Club.’ However, when I came to the end, I realized every homeowner was a man except the two young women who co-owned with their male partners. Is it really only young men who are independently successful? Is your article a reflection of the sexism inherent in our society? I am confident there are plenty of young, successful women who own homes, because I know them. Does Toronto Life strive to represent the diversity of Toronto? If so, this article failed to hit that mark.”

—Zoë Negru

“Hey, are we not trying to find a woman who owns a home? I’m over here. And not only did I have zero help from the Bank of Mom and Dad, I moved out when I was 20. I went to university for four years, graduated with honours. I was 26 when my home was being built, 27 when I moved in. I also have a toddler. And a car. And student debt. It’s possible, but it takes serious discipline, and sticking in one job for 2+ years in order to qualify for a mortgage. Nobody needs the latest Yeezys, expensive avocado toast, daily Starbucks.”

—adventurousray, Instagram

Death in the Family

“House of Horrors,” Michael Lista’s true-crime piece about the brutal and systematic murders of Bill, Bridget and Caleb Harrison over a four-year period, had readers in a state.

“Such a sad story—and the true victims are the kids.” —Get back to work people, torontolife.com

“Here is a truly extraordinary/ unbelievable/extreme case of murder arising from a custody/access dispute. The amazing thing is that the killers seem to have thought they were somehow protecting their kids! Shows how skewed perception can be.”

—@sheardlaw, Twitter

“A very sad story. Michael Lista really knows how to capture a story and hold the reader. I look forward to all his articles.”

—Donna Rae, Facebook

“‘The co-worker kept repeating Caleb’s name, putting his fingers to his friend’s neck. It was as cold as clay.’ Really excellent crime writing by @michaellista over at @torontolife.”

—@JasonGuriel, Twitter

“One has to wonder how incredibly narcissistic, stupid, ignorant people have to be to think that murdering someone is the answer.”

—@MVantroy, torontolife.com

The Life Aquatic

In “Waterworld,” Jonathan Forani profiled five families who live in the so-called “float homes” of Scarborough, a quirky hidden community of, well, floating homes, in Bluffer’s Park Marina at the foot of Brimley Road. The piece garnered a cultish following, with comments like “How cool are these?” and “I want one!!” and…

“Can we move here with our dogs??” —cathydawson, Instagram

“I’ll just swim over to your place!” —lindzcava, Instagram

“Very cool, not so secret now though :D”

—Peter Kalpakis, Facebook

“Wish I could live here.” —Momtaz Baluch, Facebook

“What?! I’ve been in the city more than 15 years and where the heck did these come from?”

—matt_hy, Instagram

“When you live in #Toronto your whole life and you’re still learning new things.”

—@ElainaFalcone, Twitter

Coneheads

Our collection of over-the-top soft serve in the city had Torontonians compiling bucket lists and expats pining for home:

“So many to try!” —Rita Keehan, Facebook