I think it's easy to dismiss Toronto, but the quality of life items you listed are absolutely correct, as far as I'm concerned. If only housing weren't so expensive and we had a better transit system.
Quality of life is low in Toronto IMHO. It's impossible to find a decent apartment to rent for most: not necessarily because rents are crazy high (2k/mo for a 1BR poorly built condo anyone?) but because landlords are so picky that if you don't offer more than the asking rent include a personal letter, and are luckier than the other 50 applicants, you'll never get a place to live in. The city is also overly crowded and polluted. Traffic is beyond ridiculous, cycling is a nightmare (most dangerous city to cycle in North America). People here are obsessed with money and with living to work. There aren't that many parks and green spaces but a lot of concrete, noise and pollution. A significant number of employers demand that you incorporate so they can "hire" you as a freelancer rather than an employee, and so that the tax fallout of being reclassified as an employee is all on you (because you incorporated.) Overtime is rampant, and most of my colleagues are happy to oblige. Really, Toronto is not a nice place to live. It's an interesting experience because of how diverse it is (I've never seen so many people from so many countries, and I've lived abroad a lot!), but don't come here for quality of life or to make a good living.