Browsing on mls.ca (as you do) ... I've found some AMAZING () houses (huge lots, big back yards etc) in and around Kitchener which would cost well into the million+ mark closer to Toronto.

Obviously distance from the Toronto is a major factor but other than that ...are there any opinions on pros and cons of living in that area?

Is it (realistically) commutable to Toronto from there?

Would you be happy to drive an hour plus and well in excess of a hundred miles a day through the winter to get to work? Does this fit in with your desire for a better lifestyle?

If it's only possible to commute by car then No, ofcourse not ...if there's a GO train like option, that may not necessarily be a deal breaker.

There are many people who do that and more where I currently work in London.

Kitch, Loo n Stock are all situated in a snow belt area and are usually badly effected by lake effect snow.

For that reason i would say not a good winter commute in a normal winter, this winter, 2011-2012 has been above average temp, and below average snow n icycubes.

Saying all that we do have a Cousin who commutes from Woodstock to Hamilton all year round, in a Dodge Caravan.

2 trains each way morning and evening. 2 hours each to Union and likely a fortune per month.

http://www.grt.ca/en/fares/resources...inschedule.pdf

Forget it.

I say go for it. Surely a huge house is worth losing over a month, maybe month and a half, of your life each year in commuting. Plus losing the additional hours working to pay for the commute. Sounds like a no brainer to me if you want the Canadian dream

Parts of Waterloo and Kitchener are really nice. Depending on your circumstances why don't you just live AND work there?

I've driven it a few times. I certainly wouldn't want to do it every day, and definitely not in the winter. The 401 can be a deathtrap at the best of times ...

I commuted 75 miles into Toronto, not from Kitchener but along a route that joined the 401 from Hwy 10. I didn't find it too difficult in the morning, I'd get up at 5, feed the horses and arrive at the office at 7. Coming back though could be difficult, it often took two hours and, maybe once a fortnight, three hours, to reach the 401/hwy 10. Contrary to the suggestions above, the killer weather is drizzle, traffic proceeds at a crawl through drizzle, snow isn't so bad, presumably because less people go out.

The commute killed the car. After three years the dealer valued it, as a trade for another of the same brand, at $7,000. It originally cost $40,000 and change. I think if you consider the cost of petrol, insurance for commuting long distance and 33% of the value of a car each year, you'll find it's cheaper to live in Toronto.

If you don't value your time, and if you have the kind of job in which you're not wanted once you leave the office until you return, then commuting may be viable. In that case I suggest a Sirius radio, you can get the BBC and it'll be a bit like working in London and living in Eastbourne.

Be prepared to accept seeing lots of German car flags at Euro & World Cup time....

I did four months of commuting from downtown Toronto to Cambridge, and was surprised on a daily basis how shockingly people drive. Tailgating, weaving in & out of traffic, undertaking, talking on mobiles...I thought it would only be a matter of time till I ended up in a smash. Well, that's how I recall being a new driver here anyway, thrown into the deep end on the 401.
I was better off in that I was going against the traffic - the bulk was always going the other way!