A high school friend recently returned to the greater Toronto area (GTA). We met for dim sum in Markham and she brought her childhood friend. We had this conversation just before we got the bill: Friend: What is Markham known for? Me: Horrible drivers in BMWs. I curse more at drivers here and their poor driving than any other place. We all laughed. It is also true. There are plenty of incompetent drivers in this city that I call home. Markham is north of Toronto. It's considered a suburb and is a part of the GTA. I've actually had two stints in Markham. My parents and I moved from the Beaches to Markham after I had graduated from high school. Back then, Markham was a town. I moved away for nine years. I returned to Markham and it has been my home ever since. I saw the population boom. Markham has been deemed a city since 2012. I have seen a lot of change in Markham over the years. Retail and urban areas used to be between Steeles Avenue East and Major Mackenzie Drive back in the day. Farmland dominated Markham above Major Mackenzie. Urban sprawl happened when housing became ridiculously expensive in Toronto. More folks wanted to live in Markham because housing used to be cheaper and affordable. More development happened here, which has caused a lot of farmland transformed into neighbourhoods and shopping centres. Case in point: downtown Markham. It used to be nothing but vacant, vast plots of land. It's now home to condominiums, retail stores and services, and a lot more. The city does have many high tech companies and is considered Canada's high tech capital. IBM, AMD, and General Motors are some of the bigger technology players. It's cool that York University is creating a Markham campus in the downtown core. I wish that it were there when I was an undergraduate student! I like living in Markham. There are a ton of good restaurants. It has everything that I need. There are pockets of this city that still feel like a town. Every time I visit my local post office to pick up a package or parcel, everyone there knows me. When I visit my go-to pharmacy, the pharmacist knows me. It's cool and nice. I will highlight the Markham Theatre. It's a lovely place to take in a concert or musical. It's affordable in a classy venue. I have seen Jann Arden there. It was also a nice venue for a Yelp event a few years back. Mary from Markham. I love the alliteration. It's also a cool city in which to live. (137) read more