What Toronto transplants really think of Hamilton is supposed to be funny. Donât get me wrong, I love the women of Baroness Von Sketch. Like so many Toronto transplants theyâve "discovered" Hamilton. But honestly, whats great about Hamilton is that it's not Toronto. Anyone who moves here and doesn't want to contribute to this city shouldn't live here. "Discovering" Hamilton and trying to make it Toronto just won't work. âDiscoveringâ Hamilton and convincing all your Toronto friends to move to Hamilton, so that you can make it more like Toronto just wonât work. Constantly comparing Hamilton to Toronto wonât work either. Itâs a largely working class blue collar city with heavy roots in manufacturing. Hamiltonâs are full of grit and work hard. Hamiltonianâs get shit done, arenât afraid to get their hands dirty, and donât do things the Toronto way. Hamilton is far more than a couple of well known streets like James N and Locke. Itâs far more than the Supercrawl. Get to know it before you move to Hamilton. Donât look at Hamilton as an opportunity to own an affordable home while actually participating in Toronto from afar. This is especially true for people in the arts industries. If you are an artist or film maker living in Hamilton, you are a Hamilton artist. Not a Toronto artist living in Hamilton. Push for galleries here. Support Hamiltonâs long standing artist run centers. Welcome actual Hamilton artists who grew up in this city in those galleries. Donât shut them out and make it a place for Toronto artists to spread out of Toronto because is too saturated. Donât look at Hamilton as a huge development opportunity for Toronto commuters. Because the condo culture and gentrification is ugly. Look at Hamilton as a community to invest your time in. Get to know the people. Contribute to it in meaningful ways. Hamilton is not a city that needs âsavingâ. Hamilton does not need Torontoâs housing problems, class divides, and desire to become a world class city. This is something Toronto transplants just donât get. Hamilton is not a satellite of Toronto. Itâs not in search of a Toronto identity. It is itâs own city. Hamiltonianâs know this. Be aware that Torontonians moving to Hamilton are contributing to a larger problem called gentrification and spreading it to a city that doesnât need itâs condos, unaffordable housing, transit problems, inequality, etc. There are people living in Hamilton who are desperately saving to buy a house for themselves in a city they grew up in, that are being priced out by Toronto transplants. Take the H out of GTHA. Hopefully this is something viewers of Baroness Von Sketch can take away from their 2 minute comedy sketch. Hopefully it doesnât become an inside joke for Toronto transplants.