bathexpats

Hi All

My wife are soon to receive our PR visas and will be looking to land in Canada this summer. We are in a fortunate position to be able to take our time and go exploring across the country to try a few places before settling somewhere.

I have always really liked Ontario, and have recently been trying to learn a lot more about Windsor and the surrounding areas (Tecumseh, Leamington, Kingsville, etc).

At present we live in a village just outside Bath, England and commute to Bristol about an hour away every day for work, which we don't mind.

I was wondering if anyone could give me some opinions on the Windsor area as we love some of the housing in that area, affordable for us, close to the American border which is ideal, waterfront views in some places.

But other than finding a 'VICE' article describing the place as one of the worst on earth I can't find much about the area in general. As well as a few very old posts on here, I can't see much info on the area. We certainly won't mind a long drive to get somewhere more central for work. I will be looking at the police force (have been told by Windsor PD they have open recruitment at the moment), and my wife really isn't fussed. We have no children, just a small whippet.

Our main priority is a nice house with a scenic view like we have here overlooking a valley.

Any opinions and info would be much appreciated. Apologies for the essay.

scilly

You're lucky if Windsor police have open recruitment ....... most police forces seem to be insisting on Canadian citizens or permanent residents with several years of residency.


I've been to Windsor once for about a week, wasn't too impressed ..... and the economy there has got much worse in the intervening years as the car plants have closed or moved. The dire economic situation in Detroit (which is across the river) also seems to have affected Windsor due to lost jobs

daveincolchester

Canadian unemployment rate = 6.5%

Windsor unemployment rate = 4.9%

Major investments by car manufacturers.

Detroit is undergoing major gentrification.

The above statement may have been true several years ago, but not today.

Siouxie

Welcome to BE!

I'm not sure if we have any members from around that area but here are a few pointers that I gleaned from online research.

Air pollution can get quite bad there, due to the industrial pollutants from Detroit.
Thousands of tonnes of U.S. air pollution created on Windsor's doorstep - Windsor - CBC News

There's a tendency to have harsh winters (lots of snow) and bad storms
Sunday’s storm sets snowfall record in Windsor | Windsor Star
'Very small possibility' tornado could hit Windsor, says Environment Canada - Windsor - CBC News

It's part of Canada's "Tornado Alley"
Canada’s ‘Tornado Alley’ runs through Windsor and Essex County | Windsor Star
Windsor Tornado: Storm rips through Windsor, LaSalle | Windsor Star

There appears to be a fair bit of crime

I can't give you an opinion on the actual City as I haven't been there, sorry!

Where else are you considering? What type of area are you looking for - City, beaches, countryside? I'm not sure you will get a 'valley view' in Windsor - unless you live outside of the City.

You might find this forum (for police officers) helpful in your search for employment - and we also have a sub forum for police officers on BE - http://britishexpats.com/forum/police-79/

MarylandNed

I know Detroit and I agree to a certain extent. Downtown and Midtown Detroit are definitely on the up - but from a pretty grim low. There's still an eerie lack of pedestrians and traffic in the downtown core. The new Q-Line streetcar and the ongoing development of "District Detroit" (including the new arena for ice hockey, basketball, concerts etc) are possibly steps in the right direction but let's not pretend that the city overall is in good shape. It's also debatable how much a new 3.3 mile streetcar that runs along Woodward every 20-25 mins will actually impact Motor City. There are lots of pretty bad areas with some of the most shocking urban blight in America - and that's saying something. The population decline has been ongoing since the 1950s and it still hasn't stopped. There is much to see and do in Detroit but you need to know where you're going and where you shouldn't be going. You'll see levels of urban blight in Detroit and some other US cities that you just don't see in Canada or the UK.

BristolUK

I don't recall the name but there used to be a prolific poster in Windsor.

Siouxie

Had a quick word with my sister, she said you might like the Leamington area, it's just under an hour away from Windsor.

You have a national park on your doorstep (good for birding, she says) and beaches. House prices seem reasonable, but it would depend on what you are looking for. It's a small town, so there won't be the facilities for a wild nightlife, but it might suit you.

Collie

We know Leamington quite well (visit a friend who lives there) and find it just OK... a typical small town, set in the middle of some of the most boring countryside in Ontario (flat, so you won't find a valley for your house to look over - and lots of tomatoes: the drive down from London is excruciatingly boring). The Heinz factory (the main employer) closed a couple of years ago, and though it's re-opened I gather it's a smaller operation, so the town is not really prospering. Pelee island is a short boat trip away, but I wasn't a great fan of that either... though the wine is OK! We also stayed for a week in Ridgetown (to the East of Leamington) and explored the area, thnking that Rondeau provincial park might make the area worth considering as our destination. We crossed both off the list pretty quickly!

Novocastrian

That was our ex-moderator Biiiiink.

Novocastrian

@the OP: I always liked the extreme SW part of Ontario, especially the small towns on the Erie coast and even the Detroit River. Nice little places if you don't need any but the most basic of facilities.

Windsor itself might provide a job but I certainly wouldn't choose to live there. Oh, and you can forget views over valleys. There aren't any.

bathexpats

Thank you for your input everyone.

As I said in my original post we are looking at ideally somewhere like Leamington to live and are happy to commute as that's what our current setup is.

Not sure where it says I am looking for a Valley view though Merely stated our current view is of a Valley and therefore what we see out our window is fairly important. Waterfront properties in Leamington or around Lake Eerie look spectacular and with Windsor only an hour away it prompted my question.

We definitely aren't party people and prefer the comforts of home opposed to nights out on the town. We live in a village and a quiet home life is ideal. Definitely not looking to live in a central location, but within 45 mins to hours commute.

geoff52

Why leave all that behind. The grass is not always greener on the other side.
I don't have a lot to write about Windsor because I live in the greater Toronto area. I have been to Windsor and did not find it attractive. The economy of Windsor is linked to car sales.
Have you been to Windsor?

Collie

If being near the US bnorder is what matters to you, the Niagara region or Kingston are much more pleasant areas IMHO!

BristolUK

It was a bloke I was thinking of. Possibly G77.

daveincolchester

As someone who lives near Windsor, I was astonished at the misinformation provided by some posters.
Windsor is the most southerly major city in Canada.
It is on a latitude south of many US states.
Often called the "Sun Parlor" or the "Banana Belt" it has temperatures that regularly are higher than anywhere in Canada.
As far as snowfall is concerned, it gets much less than most other major cities.
Google its crime rate and compare it to any other major city in Canada and judge for yourself.
I live a half hour drive from Windsor and have farm fields on one side, a wood lot on another side, a vineyard on the third side and Lake Erie on the fourth side.
Look deeper into this area before you make a decision.