Toronto, Ontario
Fans say that Toronto is what New York would be like if it were run by the Swiss. But clean streets, a low crime rate, and a splendidly efficient system of subways and streetcars are only part of the lure of this Lake Ontario metropolis. Toronto’s great achievement has been to remain a city of neighborhoods, and to have seamlessly integrated public, private, and commercial spaces.

Is Toronto a true coastal city? One look from the top of the CN Tower, the world’s tallest freestanding structure, and you’ll know the answer is “yes.” The views of Lake Ontario are expansive and awe-inspiring, and the nearest large city, Rochester, New York, is miles across the lake and all but invisible. Need further proof? If you keep your boat at a downtown marina or in the nearby Toronto Islands, it’s easy to access the St. Lawrence Seaway, which connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.

Like other big cities that grew up along the Lakes, Toronto put its waterfront to work, eventually isolating a drab, utilitarian shoreline from the rest of downtown with elevated expressways. Happily, this central district has been reclaimed and now sparkles with luxury residential high-rises. But the real attraction, for Torontonians who want to be close to the water, is a neighborhood called the Beach, a onetime weekend cottage colony that the city reached eastward to embrace. It’s a leafy residential quarter tucked between the shops and bistros of lively Queen Street and the boardwalk that hugs an apron of parkland along Lake Ontario. Six hundred lucky souls also live out on the islands, a 20-minute ferry ride from downtown, but don’t count on landing one of those coveted 99-year leases.

Now Canada’s largest city, Toronto hosts the Canadian Opera Company, the National Ballet of Canada, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Ontario Museum, one of the world’s great troves of fine arts and antiquities. They’re all just a short ride from the Beach, on a shiny red streetcar.

what the locals know
Longtime Toronto resident and guidebook author Helen Lovekin looks forward each spring to the opening of the Riverdale Farmers’ Market, an urban agricultural oasis tucked into the former site of the Toronto Zoo in the city’s compact Victorian Cabbagetown neighborhood. “This is the place to buy the best vegetables, preserves, cheeses, honey, even bread from local bakers,” says Helen. “It’s all organic, and all produced within 100 kilometers [62 miles] of downtown. Some produce is even grown on site. And kids love to visit the farm animals.” The market is open Tuesdays, May through October.

Population: 2.6 million
Median Home Price: $299,000 Canadian; about $250,000 US
For More Info: toronto.ca

New Orleans, Louisiana
Move to a new city and the neighbors might stop over with a plate of cookies or banana bread. But it isn’t every day that you’re greeted with a hug.

That’s the reaction reported by at least one recent arrival in New Orleans. Because many more people have left the city than relocated here since Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, locals value and appreciate each and every transplant. And while a lot of the newcomers have family or other connections in the Big Easy, a new brand of urban pioneer is arriving solely to take part in the rebuilding process—what one resident calls “a great time to be here.”

The Crescent City, as it’s known, is coastal to the core. Because it’s bordered by the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, the sounds of foghorns and boat engines saturate the air. So much of New Orleans’ history and culture comes from the water that even neighborhoods are defined by their proximity to waterways. You may live in Uptown (up river), West Bank, Lakeshore, or Riverside.

On dry land, time-honored attractions still draw newcomers: music, food, and a unique street culture in an atmosphere that—at least for the time being—resembles a compact collection of neighborhoods, rather than the once and future subtropical metropolis. New Orleans may not have bounced all the way back from Hurricane Katrina, but the comeback has definitely begun.

what the locals know
Native New Orleanian Kim Sunée recommends taking a nap on Thursdays, then staying up late and heading to Vaughan’s Lounge (800 Lesseps Street) in the historic Bywater district. The location may require street smarts, but the journey’s definitely worth it. At 11 p.m., Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers perform their signature brand of New Orleans Jazz whenever they’re in town. Don’t head home before the end of the first set—that’s when Vaughan’s gives away red beans and rice to satisfy any appetite.

Population: 155,000 (485,000 pre-Katrina)
Median Home Price: $215,000
For More Info: neworleansonline.com