Comparing Toronto to Washington DC

Both Toronto and Washington DC are nice cities with plenty of good restaurants and scenic urban areas to check out. DC has a lot more government buildings and monuments, and from a Toronto perspective you feel a bit uneasy about the amount of armed police officers and high level security all over the place. It is an initial surprise but you get accustomed to that.

Service-wise in restaurants and other service-based industries, Washington has a higher level of quality in this regard. You notice that they are on the whole much more concerned about he customer experience and satisfaction levels. There is fair amount of up-selling, but overall the level of customer is pretty high. I've had a couple workers go out of their way to help even with their cell phones for issues not pertaining to their job. They actually go out of their scope of their roles at times to help customers.

If you're from Toronto and visit Washington you would notice that the amounts of black people in lower paying positions such as at fast-food restaurants is monumentally higher than in Toronto. Yes the amounts of black people in Washington and the States as a whole is much higher, but it is way more clear of a race divide in Washington as you notice most of the lower paying positions are held by blacks. In Toronto, you don't see that divide very clearly at all. Again, population wise Toronto has less black people, but the lower paying positions in Toronto are massive amounts of white people
in addition to other ethnicities. Say for instance you went to Starbucks in Toronto, there is a good chance that it will be a white person who will serve you. But in Washington as in many other United States cities, it is more often than not a black person serving you coffee.

Diversity-wise, it is mostly white and black people who you will see in Washington, but there are other ethnicities which are sprinkled out throughout the city. However, Toronto definitely does feel more diverse in their population base. Walking in the downtown core of Toronto you will notice a fairly eclectic mix of folks, but in DC it is for the most part a white and black population base you will encounter.

Washington doesn't have massive skyscrapers, and Toronto as well isn't overwhelmed with large buildings other than a handful deep into downtown. As a tourist you have a lot of museums to check out in Washington and there's a lot of American historical sites to visit. Washington is some of a blend of a very historical old metropolis combined with a very hip and modern urban landscape. If you remove all the historical and governmental building, the two cities have a similar feel, especially downtown.