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How real estate stagers turn every sale condo into an Ikea-filled dream home

How real estate stagers turn every sale condo into an Ikea-filled dream home

Trawl through enough real estate listings and you'll notice it: the interiors of a lot of different homes on the market all look...

Rob Ford tries 31 times to derail John Tory's budget

Rob Ford tries 31 times to derail John Tory’s budget

City council approved mayor John Tory' s first budget on Wednesday evening, but not before reckoning with a classic Rob Ford...

Memoir: my life revolves around trying to get inside my autistic daughter's head

Memoir: my life revolves around trying to get inside my autistic daughter’s head

I always considered myself a confident and capable mom. My husband, Al, and I had two daughters: Naya, born in 2006, and...

Is the Union Pearson Express cushy enough to justify its $27 ticket price? What you'll be shelling out for

Is the Union Pearson Express cushy enough to justify its $27 ticket price? What you’ll be shelling out for

If Metrolinx's fancy new Union Pearson Express works as advertised upon its expected launch later this year, its trains will whisk...

Dear Urban Diplomat: what should I do about an annoying e-biker?

Dear Urban Diplomat: what should I do about an annoying e-biker?

Dear Urban Diplomat, Every day on my commute along Eastern Avenue, this guy on an electric bike zooms past my car, sometimes in...

Inside the Latest Issue

The July issue of Toronto Life features the monster cottages of Muskoka versus the resistance. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.

Ten things Denzil Minnan-Wong can’t live without

Ten things Denzil Minnan-Wong can’t live without

The outspoken city councillor—and Toronto’s backup mayor—shares the 10 things he can’t live without

Dear Urban Diplomat: how do we get our 15-year old son to delete his porn browsing history?

Dear Urban Diplomat: how do we get our 15-year old son to delete his porn browsing history?

Dear Urban Diplomat, My son is a normal 15-year-old, so I wasn’t too disturbed to discover that he surfs porn on our...

"I'm probably going to be playing video games": how York University students are making the best of the strike

“I’m probably going to be playing video games”: how York University students are making the best of the strike

For the fourth time since 1997, York University is on strike. With all classes cancelled and 3,700 contract faculty and teaching...

Could Toronto really ever get a second NHL team?

Could Toronto really ever get a second NHL team?

THE IDEA Stop him if you’ve heard this one before. Last Thursday, mayor John Tory threw his support behind the prospect of a...

The naked ambition of National Ballet artistic director Karen Kain

The naked ambition of National Ballet artistic director Karen Kain

Beneath her poised veneer is an exacting perfectionist, a tenacious fundraiser and a total control freak. Which explains how she turned the floundering National Ballet of Canada into one of the world’s premiere arts organizations

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri, the brains behind Toronto’s most exciting team, on instilling city pride and being pals with Drake

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri, the brains behind Toronto’s most exciting team, on instilling city pride and being pals with Drake

There’s an odd sensation in the air right now—I believe they call it “not sucking.” As Raptors GM, how does it feel to be...

Rob Ford is selling his crack hoodie on eBay, too

Rob Ford is selling his crack hoodie on eBay, too

Rob Ford' s latest eBay auction is proof that the ex-mayor still knows how to push everyone's buttons. The new item, currently...

Could the Scarborough RT really become a High Line–style elevated park?

Could the Scarborough RT really become a High Line–style elevated park?

THE IDEA Last Friday at city hall, TTC CEO Andy Byford surprised city councillors by reminding them that his staff are still...

How to make and lose money, from an investment advisor and a professional poker player

How to make and lose money, from an investment advisor and a professional poker player

Anyone can work for money, but some people have ways of making money work for them, instead. Here, two very different approaches...

Someone's going to pay thousands of dollars for Rob Ford's crack-confession tie

Someone’s going to pay thousands of dollars for Rob Ford’s crack-confession tie

Rob Ford started putting all sorts of crap (sorry, "memorabilia" ) from his office on eBay last week, but it doesn't get any...

McMansion Wars: Inside the nasty neighbour-versus-neighbour feuds of Forest Hill

McMansion Wars: Inside the nasty neighbour-versus-neighbour feuds of Forest Hill

In the spring of 2009 , 212 Vesta Drive—a four-bedroom 1930s Tudor on a 40-foot-wide lot—went up for sale. It was a pretty...

Q&A: Sam Mizrahi, the developer who snagged Toronto's most coveted piece of real estate

Q&A: Sam Mizrahi, the developer who snagged Toronto’s most coveted piece of real estate

There’s not a developer in Canada who wouldn’t pay dearly for the rights to the southwest corner of Yonge and Bloor, and last...

Dear Urban Diplomat: do we have to disclose our black-mould discovery?

Dear Urban Diplomat: do we have to disclose our black-mould discovery?

Dear Urban Diplomat, My wife and I blew our budget on a detached home and during a minor reno found black mould in the...

Try as we might, we can't ignore Rob Ford—and neither should John Tory

Try as we might, we can’t ignore Rob Ford—and neither should John Tory

Promises, promises. John Tory assured us he would make city hall boring again. He even held up boredom as an ideal, the grand...

Inside the nasty, bizarro, contemptible, gobsmackingly screwed-up soap opera that is the TDSB

Inside the nasty, bizarro, contemptible, gobsmackingly screwed-up soap opera that is the TDSB

The evening of Wednesday October 29 was possibly the most absurd in the history of the Toronto District School Board. The board of...

Rob Ford gets kicked out of council chambers for (what else?) not apologizing for doing something wrong

Rob Ford gets kicked out of council chambers for (what else?) not apologizing for doing something wrong

It started as most things do with Rob Ford : with a dispute over a vanishingly small amount of money. At today's city council...

"We got our LCBO, so we're good": Liberty Villagers on their neighbourhood's bad rap

“We got our LCBO, so we’re good”: Liberty Villagers on their neighbourhood’s bad rap

Liberty Village takes a lot of flack, and it's easy to see why. It's a heavily developed condo community that's cut off from the...

Memoir: I was terrified of having my son circumcised

My son was born last spring— a jarring six weeks early, after more hours of labour than I care to remember. At six pounds, three...

Dear Urban Diplomat: how do I get my Ford-hating coworkers to stop mocking me?

Dear Urban Diplomat: how do I get my Ford-hating coworkers to stop mocking me?

Dear Urban Diplomat, I’m a supporter of the Fords. When people badmouthed them at work, I stood up for them. Now that Tory’s...

Cost of Living

These North York points enthusiasts earn $370,000 a year. How do they spend it?

These North York points enthusiasts earn $370,000 a year. How do they spend it?

“We try to maximize our rewards by using various credit cards plus PC Optimum”

This 22-year-old venture capitalist is on track to make $180,000 this year. How does he spend it?

This 22-year-old venture capitalist is on track to make $180,000 this year. How does he spend it?

“I love a good bargain, so I shop at No Frills”

This globetrotting couple earns a combined $287,000 a year. How do they spend it?

This globetrotting couple earns a combined $287,000 a year. How do they spend it?

“Groceries are our biggest monthly expense after rent”

This Doctors Without Borders marketer earns $100,000 a year. How does she spend it?

This Doctors Without Borders marketer earns $100,000 a year. How does she spend it?

Manpreet Badyal moved from Delhi to Vancouver to Toronto in search of success

How a Gen Z finance enthusiast in Forest Hill spends her money

How a Gen Z finance enthusiast in Forest Hill spends her money

Business analyst and budding TikTok investment guru Chaeeun Lee hopes to visit 50 countries before she turns 30

This policy analyst and stand-up comedian makes $83,000 a year. How does she spend it?

This policy analyst and stand-up comedian makes $83,000 a year. How does she spend it?

“Investing in mental health is important. I have an unlimited membership at Othership in Yorkville”

This entrepreneur is on track to make $23,000 this year. How does she spend it?

This entrepreneur is on track to make $23,000 this year. How does she spend it?

“It was hard to accept financial aid from my parents, but it actually brought us closer together”

Urban Diplomat

Dear Urban Diplomat: My family takes Mother’s Day more seriously than Father’s Day

Dear Urban Diplomat: My family takes Mother’s Day more seriously than Father’s Day

She gets flowers, gifts and breakfast in bed; I get a lousy grill brush. Am I wrong to feel slighted?

Dear Urban Diplomat: What’s the etiquette for EV charging?

Dear Urban Diplomat: What’s the etiquette for EV charging?

Dear Urban Diplomat , What’s the etiquette for EV charging? A few weeks ago, I finally found a spot in my neighbourhood to juice...

Dear Urban Diplomat: My husband thinks I'm a hoarder, but I'm a collector

Dear Urban Diplomat: My husband thinks I’m a hoarder, but I’m a collector

He’s started quoting Marie Kondo and insisting that I get rid of my “emotional support tchotchkes.” How can I get him to back off?

Dear Urban Diplomat: My condo building has zero tolerance for the slightest noise

Dear Urban Diplomat: My condo building has zero tolerance for the slightest noise

They’ve asked us not to shower after 11 p.m. because of “pipe whistling.” Is this normal?

Dear Urban Diplomat: My husband bought us a pass to skip the line at the ski hill. Why do I feel guilty for using it?

Dear Urban Diplomat: My husband bought us a pass to skip the line at the ski hill. Why do I feel guilty for using it?

I can’t help being embarrassed every time I sheepishly walk past the eye rollers in the regular queue

Dear Urban Diplomat: My brother is lying online about Dry January

Dear Urban Diplomat: My brother is lying online about Dry January

He’s preaching the virtues of sobriety on TikTok but still crushing six-packs every weekend, and the hypocrisy is getting on my nerves. Should I call him out?

Dear Urban Diplomat: My co-workers have forgotten how to behave in an office

Dear Urban Diplomat: My co-workers have forgotten how to behave in an office

I actually don’t mind the return-to-office mandate, but it seems like so much working from home has caused my fellow employees’ self-awareness to atrophy