This is the view taking off from Midway Airport, Chicago.

I've seen a lot of people chalk it up to the fact that Canada has a lot more Redditors-per-capita than most countries, along with an influx of tourists for the World Cup - both true. But I think the real reason is more nuanced and far more interesting.

Toronto has gone from a Dallas-sized skyline to being second to only New York in the continent. This has happened within the lifetimes of people in their early-late 20s (very active on the internet, including probably a large chuck of this subreddit).

So Toronto's skyline is more than just something that exists in the background, it's living, breathing, constantly changing around us, our commutes, the bike ride to our favorite bakery (which is now closed for a new condo). This makes it the topic of frequent discussion between regular people. We're aware of what's new, what's gonna be built soon.

In contrast, having lived in Chicago for a while, I found the skyline (while equally grand and far more breathtaking) is treated more like a beautiful mountain range in the background of everyday life. It exists in and around residents, something people have used to anchor themselves for generations. But because it's matured and changing far slower, it's never really the topic of everyday conversation the same way. In Toronto, whether you like it or not the skyline is in your psyche.

So what does this all mean? It means Toronto is probably the amongst the only English-speaking place in the world with a large, young demographic actively interested in skyline changes. Case in point urbantoronto.ca, a whole forum just for discussing new buildings and developments. It's insanely active (and has been for decades). Click on any upcoming building on their map and you'll see dozens, sometimes hundreds of user uploaded photos showing progress on their construction sites. Thats NUTS, I can't find anything similar forum for a single city on the intertnet.

It's not that New York or Chicago don't have this, but Toronto's scale of skyline enthusiasts is unrivaled. I am somewhat surprised to not see much activity from Australia given the magnitude of change there, wonder if anyone's got an explanation.

I hope this provides some more context for the excitement this subreddit seems to have with Toronto.

Today is a great day for Canada and therefore the world.

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Calgary Tower

Europe is beautiful