njc1982

Hello Everyone,

Moving to Toronto in early June with my wife and 2 young daughters. I have been looking at so many different places to live and finding it very difficult to pick somewhere that ticks all our boxes in terms of location, affordability etc.
I would be working at an office near Downsview Airport in North Toronto, and have been looking at places in Mississauga as it seems to be only place where it seems like you can get a decent 3 bed house for a reasonable budget ($1500 a month). My only concern is the drive from this area to Toronto, can anyone say if its a reasonably easy commute?

If not, can any recommend any other area of Toronto that might be a suitable location?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

JonBeaches

Have you considered Thornhill at all, this is the area just north and east of Downsview airport, you can find 3 bed houses for around $1500 per month here.

Try looking at www.realtor.ca

Use the map to look for downsview airport and use the filter parameters change to rental first and then change the price to $1600 (this is the only option closest to $1500) and bedrooms to 3 or more.

Or you can try a little further north into Richmond Hill which is just north of the 407 Highway.

Let me know if you need any more help.

Zap0ne

Yes, the commute across the 401 from Mississauga can be a bit of a trial somedays. Thornhill and the Vaughan area would be a good choice. The average for a three bed is a little higher then in Mississauga. I think that generally the average tends to be around the $1,800 mark for Thornhill.

As a generalization you would need to be North of Rutherford to get a lower lease rate. Furthermore there tends to be fewer places on the market in this area to choose from.

A bit further to the East into Richmond Hill tends to have more properties on the market and many would be comparable to the lease rates in Mississauga. Although a bit further away, this can be a better commute to work then tackling the 401 in commuter traffic.

As a tip, make sure that you get yourself references and credit report before you leave the UK as in a lot of cases your potential landlord would like to see them.

Hope that this helps

club_biscuit

Good work! it is worthwhile being prepared and certainly getting a credit check before you start shutting down accounts is the way to go.

DaveLovesDee

Here is just a realtor.ca search around Downsview Airport using 3 bedrooms and $1200 to $1600 per month rent. Play around with the settings and map to see more.

On the upper left of the map you'll see the intersection of Jane St and Finch Ave W. This is an area with a bad reputation, most of which is deserved, but prices will be cheaper.

sharkus

You could always look at using Go Transit. They have a Bus and Train corridor in Missisauga. Have a look here. This is their Milton line, which covers Mississauga.

So you get to one of the Go stations (possibly by Go bus) and then take the train into Union Station where you could then take the TTC Subway on the Younge-Univeristy-Spadina line up to Downsview station.

Zap0ne

[QUOTE=sharkus;8291454]You could always look at using Go Transit. They have a Bus and Train corridor in Missisauga. Have a look here. This is their Milton line, which covers Mississauga.

So you get to one of the Go stations (possibly by Go bus) and then take the train into Union Station where you could then take the TTC Subway on the Younge-Univeristy-Spadina line up to Downsview station.[/QUOTE

So you get to the GO in Mississauga...say 10 minutes from your new rental.....spend 40 min to get to Union...then a further 40 minutes to get to Downsview on the subway (assuming that they leave the subway train at the platform next to the Go train just for you getting off the GO at Union so that you do not have to wait or walk) then get on the bus at Downsview to take you to work (this assumes that you do not work in the used car shop across the road from the Subway station or Idomo so you can walk) ......sounds like a real bargain if you are used to spending 4 hours commuting daily. I think that I would rather take my chances on the 401 on a bicycle.

Easier to just rent a place a little closer.

lmartin999

I would try and find something near to the subway. Will make your working day so much nicer. If you don't buy a car (and you don't need one if you are in the city) then the money saved on the purchase, insurance, upkeep, gas etc etc will give you a pretty large extra amount to put towards rent. I 'commute' through Downsview to work - not much around there, will improve once the subway extension is completed I suspect.
The commute from Hazeltown would be my personal idea of hell (as would living there). Toronto is a nice city to live in, find a nice neighborhood and enjoy it.