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rfmcdonald"‘It's like I entered the twilight zone:’ Toronto couple thought they were being punked when they moved to Hamilton" is the title of Tess Kalinowski's Toronto Star article. Hamilton's moment, I think, is fast coming.
Buy real estate now.
The day after they moved to Hamilton, a neighbour stopped by Ralph Benmergui and wife Cortney Pasternak's home with a gift of strawberry marshmallows from a local bakery.
Benmergui says he remembers looking around to see if he was being punked.
A little over a year later, the marshmallow woman's kids and his boys, 10 and 7, play at one another's houses. A retired couple bring over butter tarts for the children.
"It's like I entered the twilight zone. . . the way you think you should live your life," says the former broadcaster, now executive director of strategic initiatives and partnerships at Sheridan College in Oakville.
"With Hamilton a lot of people come up the east side and it looks like Blade Runner," said Benmergui.
But there are visually stunning neighbourhoods, natural areas and landmarks wrapped around a lot of heart in the city of 500,000.
"There's a combination of grit and kindness I really enjoy, a hard-earned work ethic that comes from being what it was, a good working town that also has a really good art gallery."
Buy real estate now.
