Why I Love Toronto Reason #311
Forest Hill
My parents are really great together, especially in terms of raising me and my sister because they both managed to have jobs that had opposite shifts with each other which meant I would spend half my day with one parent and the other half with the other. Now of course there were some days when their jobs overlapped with each other and the industry my father worked in was not safe for children, therefore, my mom would take me to work on those days. When I was around 7 my mom worked in the Forest Hill area and I will never forget my times there because it is such a beautiful area. I remember telling my dad to work more often so I could go to the Hill.
Now one of the reasons I love Forest Hill was because of the houses – they are so beautifully constructed. Like the Bridle Path (however remember other rich people dislike the bridle path because they think they are to showy with their money) the Hill is home to some of Toronto’s wealthiest patrons. In fact a Census report says that the average income in the area is around $85,014. The name Forest Hill comes from the John Wickson summer residence which was on a hill and surrounded by forest (however we all know that there are no longer forests in Toronto). The area officially got its name in 1923, but prior to that was known as Spadina Heights after “Ishapadenah” a first nation word meaning sudden rise in land. I like Forest Hill better than Spadina Heights because the former sounds much classier. I mean look at it this way, on the income tower the people who live at Forest Hill are much higher up than you and I and what makes something high – and not that kind of high – but a hill.
The Lower Village area has some beautiful homes/ mansions which the website says are rivalled by those in Rosedale. A lot of the homes are in a simply stone and brick style with very large properties. An interesting thing to note is that building laws in the area once required all homes to be designed by an architect a well as have a tree planted at the front of each property. Today the average home is about $4,320,000. It also has some of the best schools in the country including Upper Canada College and Bishop Strachan School which is in the shape of a castle. The shops in the area are boutique shops that are very upscale. The Upper Village has smaller homes that are what many websites call more modest, however many of them are being converted into larger homes. Some of the styles of homes you can find both Forest Hill areas include: Tudor, French colonial, Georgian or English Country style. The area has also changed dramatically from predominantly Anglo-Saxon Protestants to a large Jewish community, hence why you may see a lot of Kosher shops. Some notable Canadians who have lived or still live there include Melinda Rogers, Drake, Nelly Furtado and Peter Munk.
No matter if you are in the Upper or Lower half of this village, Forest Hill is an absolutely stunning place. The homes are beautiful the boutiques are interesting and the whole feel is amazing. I will never forget my walks with my mother looking at the houses, meeting the locals and going into the shops. That is
Why I Love Toronto.
http://www.torontoneighbourhoods.net/neighbourhoods/midtown/forest-hill/shopping