Markham is the fourth largest city within the Greater Toronto Area, after Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton, with an estimated population of just over 340,000 people. Officially changing its status from a town to a city on July 1, 2012, Markham has nearly 22% of its population working in business services with IBM being the largest employer in the city. Further there are a few multinational corporations that have their Canadian headquarters in Markham, such as Honda, Johnson & Johnson, Avaya, Motorola, Toshiba and Toyota Financial Services.
 
The city of Markham offers many events within its downtown core, and since the city prides itself on coming together to build a community most of these events are free to anyone and will be within walking distance of most downtown shops. Most of these events take place on the streets or areas where people work, live and play so they are more accessible to everyone and it makes residents feel much more included.
 
There are also over 20KM of pathways and trails running through Markham with accessibility for walkers, joggers and cyclists to take in the scenic views. There are also woodlots, ravines and valleys which are home to plant and wildlife. These areas are protected as essential spaces for the survival of animals native to the area.
 
Markham has diligently tried to retain its heritage and the historic parts of the city. There are some really fun places to visit including Markham Village and Markham Heritage Estates. There are also some theme farms just north of the city such as Galten Farms or Whittamore’s Farms. There are also numerous annual festivals that take place in various areas of the city, some even in the heritage or historic village parts.
 
The city of Markham is close enough to Toronto that you can enjoy the feeling of a large metropolitan area but yet it has retained so much of its history that it feels as though you are far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Up until the 1970s or so this area was mostly farmland and marshlands, so the city itself has tried to retain those small town roots by keeping its heritage district and by renovating the old transit station to become the Markham GO Transit stop. It’s a small town feeling nestled within the Greater Toronto Area, which is a very unique quality. It’s a great place to live as has all the benefits of a large city, and all the wonderful perks of a small community.