For a lot of people living in the Greater Toronto Area, “the GTA” is what you say to other Ontarians when you’ve given up on describing the small town you’re from.
Ontarian: Bowmanville… it’s along the 401… east of Oshawa.
Other Ontarian: Never heard of it.
Ontarian: Yeah. Well, it’s part of the GTA.
Or saying you’re from “the GTA” to a non-Ontarian and then having to clarify that no, you don’t mean the video game Grand Theft Auto.
GTA to Toronto
Basically, it means living somewhere you can hop on the GO bus or train after work and make it to a 7:00 PM summer Blue Jays game, the Christmas market, or a concert downtown. People from the GTA have one thing in common: we love Toronto (and sometimes hate to admit it). Win or lose, we loyally cheer for the Leafs, Raptors, and Blue Jays. We love Queen Street and the Eaton Centre for shopping. We love the Ex, big concerts at Molson Amphitheatre (or the Budweiser Stage as it’s now known) and small shows at the Drake or Rebel Nightclub. We love taking pictures of the busy streets and streetcars (but we’re often too intimidated by the TTC to ride them – better take an Uber so we don’t get lost, right?).
Outside the ‘City’ in the GTA
Most people that live in the GTA enjoy the best of both worlds; we get the city and the country. Even bigger cities in the GTA offer residents tons of natural beauty like Hamilton and its waterfalls or Scarborough and the bluffs which give residents the “country” atmosphere – like smaller cities and towns such as Port Perry and Courtice. Lots of GTA cities are located right on Lake Ontario which gives us even more great views. Yet, they’re still a stone’s throw away from all the big-city action in Toronto.
What the GTA means to us
The GTA means rocky, Lake Ontario beaches, smiling when we see the CN Tower lit up at night, getting lost in Union Station, and having no plans but somehow a full day of activities in the city. It means wonderful visits, but sleeping in our own quiet bed at night.
Written by Megan Cary
Continental is proud to be a part of the GTA. Many of our locations can be found within the region, which you can see in our list of Continental Currency Exchange branches.
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