gjack

Hi All
I've had a good search but may have missed it so apologies in advance as this questions may have been asked a dozen times. My family and I (OH and two children 5 & 3) are landing in Toronto in August for a 3 week recce. Staying in Greektown and would like to speak with/meet up with other british families to pick brains about where to start....which area to live (the usual, good schools, safe area, easy commute to central toronto but also not looking for too upmarket) We have a few ideas, York, Rosedale, Oakville, Burlington, but would love to hear from people who've actually made the move.....we'll be renting initially and not buying if that makes a difference.
Any and all advice really welcome!!
Many thanks.

Oakvillian

yes, it has been asked before, but always in a slightly different way

THe answer always boils down to a consideration of the factors that you think most important. Whereabouts downtown is work likely to be? Is it walkable from Union station? If not, living out in Oakville or Burlington is likely to lead to a very tedious drive or a longish commute by train, with a change from GO to TTC and all the additional hassle that involves.

Aside from that, what's important to you? Good schools are available anywhere. In the 'burbs, by and large you tend to get more property (larger lot, if not bigger house) for your money than you do downtown. You may pay for that, though, in terms of the character of the neighbourhood - many identikit subdivisions with few mature trees and not too many other amenities, although there are significant exceptions to that generalization.

If you're into culture - pop culture or high culture - then downtown is obviously better served for music venues, museums, clubs, galleries, etc, than the 905. There are hundreds upon hundreds of activities for the kids anywhere you end up - Oakville, for example, has a very proactive parks & recreation dept that puts on summer camps and programmes for all ages, plus there are heavily-subscribed clubs for hockey, soccer, rugby, baseball, tennis, etc etc etc. THere's access to country walks and parks within a short drive of anywhere but the core of downtown TO.

Give us an idea of where your interests lie and where your work will be, then sit back and watch the fireworks fly as the debate strikes up again...

DWUK

Hi GJack - very similar position, however wife and I did the rec trip in April and are now due to land in August with 3yr old in tow.

My job will more then likely be based downtown in the financial district, but as an opening shot, we have decided to rent downtown first.
We like you have an idea where we want to settle, but for ease we felt renting downtown first would be a more prudent idea.
We have been told time and again this is the best solution.

As for the 3yr old we are planning a pre-kindergarten full day school, we have narrowed it down, but there are plenty to choose from.

I'm sure everything will be clear when you do your rec trip in August.

Be sure to check out North York, Bayview, as well.......and if you want to venture further Richmond Hill is definitely worth a trip, and the houses there are better value

Good luck!!!

Novocastrian

As Oakvillian said, let the debate begin (again).

Much as I like living in Richmond Hill, I would hesitate to recommend it to someone whose job is in the financial district.

dbd33

Find Kew Gardens. The nearer to that you can get the better off you are. If you can run to living on the absurdly named street "Alfresco Lawn" that's as good as it gets.

DWUK

Completely agree about the commute into the city - but if your job was not downtown, the houses and area of Richmond Hill is lovely. Plus there are some big employers out there IBM, Amex, TD, Sun Micro, AMD, Motorola come to mind.
I have heard some major horror stories about the commute into downtown when the snow hits and the GO train does not also "go" as it stops I believe relatively early in the evening stranding folk who miss the last train

dbd33

That's the problem with the northern suburbs. If you're going to commute by GO train then, unless you have a job with fixed hours, you have to live along the Lakeshore line. Snow isn't much of a problem though, it's drizzle that buggers the traffic completely.

DWUK

That and standing waiting for the Go train on a freezing and drizzly platform and then trying to squeeze onto one of those packed trains........
But still love the area though!!! But the commute you are right would drive me crazy

Simon Legree

I commuted from Clarkson to Union for about 30 years. Serious problems were few and far between. The trains were usually on time, reasonably comfortable and clean quite unlike those in the UK. I have to agree that commuting from the north is more difficult than from east or west. I'm just glad that I don't have to commute any more !!!!

el_richo

You do realise the steam train has been out of mainstream use for quite some time now


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Simon Legree

Oh bugger. I always loved the steam !!

el_richo

And they look so much more appealing than the modern ones. You can't beat a steam train ride through the North Yorkshire Moors to Whitby.


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Bill_S

I was born & raised in Toronto FWIW. I wouldn't consider Oakville or Burlington "easy" commutes to central Toronto. It's certainly done by many people every day, but can be more time-consuming than you think depending where your home and office are located relative to the transit termini. Rosedale would be a terrific location for someone working downtown, but accomodation there likely will be very expensive. Rosedale is home to Toronto's old-money wealthy set. Some of the usual choices for residential areas are The Beach, Leaside, Don Mills, Yonge/Lawrence, Yonge/Eglinton.

gjack

Thanks for this everyone. Oakvillian, we really like the sound of Oakville, but like DWUK my husband is likely going to be commuting to Financial district and we would dearly love to cut down on commute time, given his commute is presently 100 miles daily in UK! DWUK I'd be really interested to hear how you get on Downtown, would you mind sharing any top tips for the full time kindergardens you've discovered? We also like the idea of Rosedale but agree that it's probably out of our budget, are there areas close by worth looking at? We prefer areas with more architecturally appealing buildings as opposed to newer suburbs, but imagine this costs more as with UK? Most important to us though is a fun, active, safe area for our children to grow up-we'd like to make our choice and stick to it to avoid moving schools again so this decision is really key for us...thanks again for the advice

dbd33

The Beach, Leaside.