Anyone live on the Georgian Bay Ontario....
We are looking to move in the direction of the Georgian Bay area.
Any suggestions of nice rural areas not to far from local towns and job opportunities.
Any suggestions on where to look for a job in this area too.

All info most welcome

Cheers

I got married on Georgian Bay and go camping/sailing there a bit but not much up on living there. The main towns I know there are Midland and Penetanguishene which are both nice. Not sure about work either, probably helps to be indipendantly wealthy then you can live in a cottage on one of the islands or get a year round cottage on the lake. There is the penetentiary in Penetang if you are prison guard inclined. Probably lots of sailing/marina type jobs in the summer. You could conceivably commute to Barrie from there or surrounding area. Could start your own business up that way, not sure what is in demand out of season etc. Nice place though, definately I would live there if I didn't need to work in the city to live.

You could possible live close to London or Sarina or Kitchener/Waterloo....Umm I think London would have more employment opportunities. Very Cheap to buy in Sarnia....So....you almost their..A short Canadian drive....Hey u could by a cottage and go up there for weekends....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London,_Ontario

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarnia,_Ontario Parts of Sarnia are Poo tho...but the rest of the town is very nice..if a bit a sleepy....

http://www.realtor.ca/propertySearch.aspx

One of my kids scraped a living through high school and university summers sailing various tall ships around Georgian Bay and along the North Shore. Very nice, I'm sure. I suggest anyone wanting to spend time there should get an indulgent parent.

Hi i live in wasaga beach, it is very rural area. Barrie is the busiest local town for work, and gives you access to the 400 for toronto, fairly long commute though. Meaford and thornbury very pretty although further from the 400. Midland pentang and tiny very nice and right side for 400/Barrie.

What do you do? That might narrow down areas for work

Regards

Steve

I'm in Owen Sound, which is further along Highway 26 from Steve in the last post. It's a small town about 22,000 or so, but a fine community. It's the urban centre of the Grey and Bruce Counties area and is obviously right by Georgian Bay and Lake Huron (which you pay for in snow during the winter!). Barrie is about 1hr 30min drive, Toronto and Kitchener two hours.

I'm not too sure about job opportunities (depends what you're doing or interested in doing), but the leisure options are very good in this area. PM me if you have more specific questions!

I think it really depends on what type of work you are looking for. I teach (college students) and love Collingwood but there's no work for me there, so we're moving to Barrie as it has a large college and easier access to Toronto. Friends in Collingwood did well with holiday rentals over the last 5 years but this business has now dried up.....no bookings for this summer! Barrie also has a large hospital with a new oncology department being built if this is an area you work in.
Can you give us a bit more info?

In the last 2 years Midland has closed 2 big plants. So good jobs are sparse, if you don't mind retail then there are jobs but you are talking minimum wage. You will also be fighting for jobs with the house builders who usually take a break in winter and work in the factories. On the up side if you don't mind a commute then Barrie and Orillia are about 40 minutes away.

Don't know if you have kids but the schools are not up to much around this area. There is a lot of bullying in the high school (even though the school says that it is a safe and bully free school). The better schools are the Catholic schools(if you can get in).

Collingwood and Wasaga Beach are both nice also. We had friends who lived in Wasaga Beach and they did say come summer the roads were so heavily congested that they never went out in their car.

We lived in Victoria Harbour about 15 minutes from Midland. It was a lovely little place with a big Marina, living across from the lake was fantastic. I would say on our street 75% of the home were cottages so it was really quiet.

Like previous posters said it would help if we knew what work you were in.

Sharon

I'm from Gravenhurst/Bracebridge area. I've been lucky. Every time I go there I manage to secure office work, but I'm Canadian which helps. Having said that, its a beautiful area, but work is sparse and you could be very, very dependant on keeping that job. I've often pondered living there again, but think I'm so used to living with a buzz, that I would be better off it nearer TO where theres a bit more to do, but can drive up north when it suits me. I've lived in Barrie and it is very nice and has tons of stuff to do