Once upon a time, $2,000 per month for a rental in Toronto's competitive market would score you a spacious apartment with building amenities and utilities included. In the 1960s, you could rent a house downtown for less than $100/month; fast forward to the early '90s, and a luxury two-bedroom on Queen West rented for around $850/month.
Today, two grand is no longer considered a luxury rental but more like the average in downtown Toronto. In posh neighbourhoods like Yorkville where Pusateri's and Whole Foods are the local grocery stores, the monthly rent will score you a shoebox condo, while other less-desirable pockets of the city might be more affordable.
From micro-condos to a three-storey townhouse, here's what $2,000/month rents you in six Toronto neighbourhoods.
$1,995 at Eglinton and Allen Road
This recently renovated house in midtown looks pretty spacious, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It's only a 10 minute walk to the subway, which is a good thing, considering the new LRT construction along Eglinton is making traffic a freakin' nightmare.
$1,900 at St. Clair and Oakwood
This three-bedroom house seems like a great deal at 1,200 square feet, with a renovated kitchen and new bathroom. Be a little wary of the pumpkin on the front porch - perhaps the owners are having difficulties renting the space.
$2,000 at Bathurst and Bloor
Here's a 750 square foot one-bed plus den in the new B.streets condo at the corner of Bathurst and Bloor. The nine-storey condo was built just last year and it's one of the only new developments in the area, appealing to a young demographic with townhouses in the back for growing families. The recently-sold Honest Ed's will add new retail and development in the Annex in the next few years.
$1,995 in Yorkville
In Yorkville, one of Toronto's most expensive neighbourhoods, $2,000/month won't buy much more than a claustrophobic shoebox. This one-plus-den is 550 square feet in the Yorkville Plaza (formerly the Four Seasons Hotel), and resembles one of those new micro-condos equipped with a Murphy bed.
$2,000 at Queen and Sumach
This three-bedroom house is up for rent in the city's east end, a sweet little bungalow that appears lightly renovated and clean. The area has been redeveloped over the years, with new parks and buildings being built in anticipation for the upcoming Pan Am Games. Might want to cash in now. By the summer, the rental price for this hot little number could be doubled while the games are on.
$2,000 in the Upper Beaches
Upper Beaches or east Danforth - call it what you want, but $2,000/month goes further in this realtor-coined neighbourhood. This new townhouse near Gerrard and Danforth is 1,400 square feet with three beds and baths. It has a suburban vibe with a garage, two balconies, and an outdoor patio. Debate the neighbourhood lingo, but rents are still cheaper out here.
Are any of these places worth the rent? Let me know in the comments.
Family Day weekend events in Toronto could help you make up forgetting to make 
Housed on the fourth floor of the TIFF Bell Lightbox, 
Thomson oversees the development of the general collection executing a mandate to collect and preserve Canadian feature-length films; international theatrical release prints; and Canadian documentary, animation and short films. The FRL also houses over 
Behind-the-scenes video and audio recordings, press kits and clippings, shooting scripts and production notes allow an intimate look into the careers of 
The Film Reference Library was established in 1990 when TIFF adopted the collection of the Ontario Film Institute founded by 
The FRL shares space with the CIBC Canadian Film Gallery, which offers a rotating roster of free cinema-related exhibitions. The shows are curated by Library Director Sylvia Frank, and produced in conjunction with the Exhibition Department. 
The Gallery also exhibits touring shows that complement the work of the Film Reference Library, such as the recent 
The FRL is a closed-stacks reference library, which means items may not be borrowed or removed from the premises. However, patrons are encouraged to call or email ahead with their query and the skilled librarians will pull and hold materials to suit their requests. The library primarily services students, scholars and provides internal research services to TIFF staff, but is open to anyone looking to learn more about the art and history of Canadian film.
The Film Reference Library by the numbers
Toronto Food Events rounds up the most delicious events, festivals, pop-ups, winemaker dinners, supper clubs and other food related happenings in Toronto this week and next. You can find us here every Friday morning.
Set in a beautifully made-over house located between Casa Loma and the Toronto Archives, this new Mediterranean-inspired restaurant serves old-world comfort food your grandmother would have made if she were from Portugal, Italy, France or Côte d'Azur (with a modern update). Classics like steak frites and bacalhau are just some of the options in this white-table cloth setting, topped off with impeccable attention to detail.
The rumours are true and the wait is over: Drake's new mixtape 
Lil Wayne, PARTYNEXTDOOR, and Travi$ Scott appear alongside Drake on the tape, and you can still hear 2014's Boi-1da and Syk Sense produced "6 God" below. Drake's upcoming album Views From the 6 will drop, as expected, when Drake feels like it.
The top hardware stores in Toronto can help take the mystery out of just about any home repair or remodel. You don't have to suffer through bad info videos on the web - you can, and probably should, talk to a pro face to face. While those big box stores may have what you need, there just might be somewhere closer to home get drywall plugs, a can of paint, or a bit of friendly advice.
The best florists in Toronto are purveyors of simple pleasures, delightful surprises and mood-setting decor. With both the range of fresh flowers and the expertise and designing eye to pull it all together, these specialists go way, way beyond the bouquets at your local corner store.
The former Metropolis Factory in the Junction is once again a shrine to design thanks to Marco Pecota. The Toronto-based furniture designer overhauled the warehouselike space into a live-work zone and stocked it with design finds from Toronto and around North America, as well as his own cheerfully-industrial pieces.
As far as dorky world record attempts go, this one is, if nothing else, one of the most definitively Canadian. This coming Monday (Family Day) at the Natrel Rink at Harbourfront, 600 or so people will attempt to set a new world record for the largest-ever skating lesson. (The previous record, in case you were wondering, was 523 in January 2014 on 
For today's edition of the 
If you've been wondering what will go into 
I saw you ran a Kickstarter, how did that go?
What about your backgrounds led the two of you to D-Beatstro?
What do you have planned next?
The Toronto Nike Loft, from the outside, could be pretty much anything. From the sidewalk on the quiet stretch of Richmond St., the two-storey building looks like a series of offices, or a couple of condos (or maybe one really, really nice condo).
The space is owned and operated by the sportswear giant as a "meeting ground" for their Queen West 
Rankine estimates that they pull in about 50 people (on a really cold day) to 120 runners, who get together at the space before setting out for a jog - 4km on one night, 8km on another. "Sometimes a cold night is actually the most people, because that's when you need the motivation," she says. "You're never going to show up here, see 70 people, and then not run. It's this great motivational space."
But, lest the name and the aim conjure up images of a spartan, hollowed-out space worthy of a CrossFit gym, you'd be pleasantly surprised to see how airy and light-filled the space is - it's even got some cozy seating areas to chill out in. (Heck, you might actually want to show up there and not run.)
Modern artwork - including a poppy "416" strung with bright shoelaces and a quote from legendary runner Steve Prefontaine immortalized in neon - is contrasted with some Pinterest-y touches like modern sofas and ikat fabric. The overall aesthetic: athletic West Elm. "I've never seen a space like this," says pro track and field runner Sheila Reid, who does some training out of the space. "It really is uniquely cosmopolitan - which is appropriate for a city like Toronto."
Though similar Nike spaces exist in cities like New York and Chicago, each has their own distinct vibe - and their own local spin. Most of the art they've used, Rankine explains, is Toronto-specific, or contributed by run club members. There's even a training "menu" signed by what Rankine refers to as "the food runners" - a posse local chefs who decided to start training together to bust their unhealthy habits. 
While their calendar of running meetups is the space's raison d'etre, Nike also uses the space to do focus testing for new products like shoes and running gear, hold occasional training sessions, and even host movie nights of running-themed movies for members (complete with popcorn). Their next big project: getting everyone geared up for the 
What's open and closed on Family Day 2015 in Toronto
The top new nightclubs in Toronto are fun, fancy and fresh. While it can be hard to compete with the 
As befitting the month of the Valentine, February will see the second release from No Love, a new label that officially launched on NYE 2015, but which has a history that goes back further than some Toronto musicians have been alive. Jakob Rehlinger is re-starting the label as an accessible offshoot to 
Arachnidiscs Recordings has operated since 1999 in Canada, beginning on Vancouver Island and traveling with Rehlinger to Toronto eight years ago, shortly before he first started to put out 
Before Arachnidiscs there was No Love, a punk label Rehlinger ran from 1989-99 to release music mostly made by friends in BC. You probably don't have a No Love limited edition cassette lying around your stacks (if you do, hold onto it), but Rehlinger sensed that now is the time to bring back the label as a Toronto and Canadian-artist focused outlet for bands who are keeping the sound of '90s indie alive.
The Holy Gasp, a band making a name for itself as a must-see local jazz-influenced outfit exploring territory as strange and original as BADBADNOTGOOD, will release 
A musician himself (
A new Japanese restaurant has opened in the Junction by the intersection of Dundas and Keele. With popular fare like Green Dragon rolls and bastardized Japanese dishes like sushi pizza, this is pretty much your stereotypical Canadian sushi joint. Now 
Ramen restaurants in Toronto have multiplied at a frenetic pace in the past few years, but recently it seems the trend has come to a slow simmer. Even still, there are some notable new destinations worth checking out, including some distinguishing themselves with hand-pulled noodles and unusual seafood toppings.
