I have recently been staying with family. I grew up in a suburb outside of Toronto, and my family has stayed in the area, so I have a chance to see it with fresh eyes. It is surprising how much I didn’t know about the place.

There are really beautiful libraries, like the Richmond Hill Central branch (reminiscent of architecture from New York City), a short drive away. My wife discovered that there were many buildings like this in the area. 

There is a local museum with a huge back lot. There are heritage houses. There are cute, little, bridges. I imagine they were built for springs and ravines that have since dried up. 

There are good coffee shops. And a lot of good restaurants.  

One of the things I learned living in New York City is if you want to attend cool events, you need to do research. It feels like homework. That rings true in the suburbs as well.

There’s interesting stuff everywhere, if you’re willing to look. The saying goes, “Only boring people get bored.” Boredom is a choice, not an excuse. You can practice being interesting.