What a terrible article. Literally says a bunch of stuff about affordability, then says “it’s not all about affordability”, then immediately cites an example that IS about affordability.
“I can live in my dream home and still walk to the bar” is 100% affordability. There are tons of areas of Toronto where that is possible. The problem? You can’t afford them.
People move out of the city because they can’t get what they want at a price they can afford, and they aren’t willing to concede on those things to stay. That’s it. Every other reason is a statistical aberration.
If significantly more people are leaving, it’s not because there are new reasons. It’s because more people have crossed that threshold due to delayed life starts, stagnant wages and skyrocketing housing costs.
Articles like this are a waste of column inches that could be spent on talking about why people can’t afford those things. Instead of acting like the mystery is why people are leaving, investigate the actual issue of why they can’t afford to stay.