dbd33

Then I would say that the houses here that worked best for us were around 1500 sq. ft. + basement. That's enough for five people who are out most of the time. 2,000 sq. ft. seems like it would be loads though I imagine 2,000 sq ft of housing project house in Barrie means a lawn as big as the bathroom, older houses are better proportioned to the lot.

Novocastrian

Isn't this the whole point? One can accept a tiny lot (or even none at all) if you're living in a part of a town which offers access to things, ... restaurants, pubs, libraries, Kultur, within walking distance or a short public transport ride.

Stick yourself in a soulless tract house in Barrie (or similar) with a handkerchief of land, and needing a car for each family member to go or do anything, you might as well slit your throat. (IMHO).

dbd33

I thought so but it became wearing, we moved out to the Beach to get a backyard, space for a trampoline and the like.

Yes.

Tony-the-Tigger

I agree, the size back yard in many of the properties in Barrie is laughable in comparison to the dimensions of the house. I've seen worse though. The newer developments in Vaughan for example. The houses are built so close together that I wonder if I would be able to walk between them.

Partially discharged

Like this

Lorry1

Where are the back gardens? They all join up and no fences to separate boundaries.

Tangram

Pretty much my idea of hell.

Oakvillian

and mine. But there's suburbia and suburbia. We live in a subdivision, in the archetypal 2,000 sq ft 4-bedroom house with about an additional 750 sq ft of usable space in the basement. When we were looking to buy, we saw several significantly larger houses on pocket-handkerchief lots, built right up to the lot lines and with a dozen feet or so of back yard. What we ended up with is a slightly older property, in need of cosmetic attention, on a (for a subdivision) reasonable lot around 1/5 of an acre - and enough room to swing a cat between ours and our neighbours' houses.

For a 'burb, I think we have a reasonable back yard (it helps that there's a creek behind us, it wouldn't be the same if the backs of the next street's houses were right over the fence...)

Lorry1

me too!
All new builds going up here seem to have tiny back gardens. You have to go for an older house to get land.

Our house is 4,000 sq ft. It does not have a lot of land but we fell in love with the house.

Atlantic Xpat

Fenced in backyards are a rarity here even in subdivision land. I'd say less than 50% of yards are fenced in. Mind you, that might be because of the cost - we fenced in the 1/2 acre or so back yard a few years back and it cost me the thick end of $8k!

Tangram

Always wondered why in a country with an abundance of wood it is so expensive.

Atlantic Xpat

Well, most of it was chain-link. For the wooden bit I got the fence installers to put the posts in and did the rest myself. All in all it cost around $8k though. And as I say, it's something of a rarity for other houses around here to have the same. Even those with kids/dogs.

el_richo

It's for ease of access so they can drive their old knackered beater onto the lawn to be used as a garden feature.

Lorry1

Yeah I haven't got a fence either but I have lots of trees as a divider and for privacy. Those houses had no privacy whatsoever

Lorry1