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Where in the world?

So many men have left Australia in the last five years that the country’s declared a national man drought. But the male exports are hardly moving in droves to Toronto.

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In London, England, an area called Earls Court is so popular with Aussies, it’s nicknamed Kangaroo Valley.

Other than a few pubs and bars, Aussies have yet to make their mark here. The French community is similarly invisible. By some estimates, there are 200,000 francophones in Toronto, but no Petit Paris or even Mini-Montreal.

So instead of waiting for these expatriates to claim a neighbourhood, here’s a repurposing of existing Toronto site:

Sydney City = the neighbourhood around the Tranzac. The Toronto Australia New Zealand Club is a natural place for Australians to congregate. Well, here and any place you can buy Tim Tams.

Little Tokyo = Yonge-Dundas Square. The flashing neon ads, mass amounts of pedestrians and the Tokyo-style scramble street crossing are a nod to Japan.

French Quarter = King West between John and Spadina. This is the small strip where supporters of France’s World Cup effort came to cheer.

United Nations Village = Kensington Market. This well-loved neighbourhood has seen so many waves of immigration that it can’t be claimed by anyone.

Germantown = Black Creek Pioneer Village. The Jane and Steeles historical reconstruction was modelled on a German immigrant’s farm village.

Little Syria = Shuter and Church. In 1897, then-journalist William Lyon Mackenzie King noted there were 60 Syrians living in this neighbourhood, which became known as Little Syria. One hundred years of developments have superseded Syrian culture here, but maybe it’s time to reclaim the area.

California Coast = the Beach. Toronto’s east end, with its beaches, boardwalk and multitude of rollerbladers, could pass for Venice Beach – if you squint in the summer, anyway.

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