When you have to live there for at least 2 years for a master's degree, you have to teach yourself to like the place. The river was beautiful, exploring Michigan was loads of fun, but Windsor itself was such a sullen bedroom community lacking few if any redeeming qualities that not much could help. For the first year or so, I went home to Toronto a lot -- it was $40 one way on the VIA and coincidentally, by the end of my degree, I racked up just enough to take a free trip home. It got a lot better once I made some great friends and got into a relationship, but without meaningful supports and friendships, it would have been a nightmare.
You must have spoken to a few of my friends over at GLIER lol. Some of them are from Windsor, so they likely haven't seen the wonders beyond Windsor-Essex hehe.