ola

we are thinking of moving to Ontario could anyone please tell me good area for a young family that is 30-40 mins from toronto my main criteria are good schools both secondary and elementary, cosmoplitan, good public transport , multicultured and a reasonable house price say max 300,000 canadian dollars.

dbd33

I suppose it depends on where you mean by Toronto and by 30-40 minutes. I'm sitting 30-40 minutes from Union Station (by car at night) in an area that meets the other criteria. $300,000 here will buy a renovated two bedroom semi. If you mean 30-40 minutes from a distant corner of Toronto then you might do better but there really isn't much in the way of transit other than a radial pattern of railways aimed at moving people in and out. If your job is not right downtown you'd probably be better off driving.

britishvixen21

Oakville is a nice area around 35 minutes via go train from Toronto, I used to lvie there its great for families, The house prices i dont know though, il have a quick look on MLS but i would definatly bookmark www.mls.ca its a central website for every house listing in Canada, also some parts of Mississauga are nice and a little closer to the downtown core of Toronto. Here are some listings for Oakville that are not badly priced

http://www.mls.ca/PropertyResults.as...ville&st=&zip=

Hope this helps

dbd33

Last night I went to Mississauga by car. I drove up the Jarvis St. ramp at 4:00pm and left the highway at Mississauga Road at 5:15. Mississauga Rd is only two-thirds of the way to Oakville and that was a pretty good time for the trip. Yes, there are express trains that go to Oakville in 35 minutes or so but they're only any good if you work very regular hours. My rule of thumb for driving in the west end has long been an average speed of 11mph, the speed at which Kennedy travelling when he was assassinated but, lately, I haven't been able to go that fast. I'm sure there's lots to be said for Oakville but convenient it aint.

britishvixen21

You have a valid point I was a commuter mostly and only ever drove during the day and at weekends. as long as they have reg hours its a good train service most of the time.

dbd33

I know there's at least one Oakville train commuter on this board as well as someone who gave up on the daily battle and moved away, there are lots of old posts on this topic. What we really need is to know 40 minutes from where exactly.

britishvixen21

Exactly I mean 40 minutes from Downtown is a lot different from 40 minutes from Young and FInch.

I live mid town at young and st clair, i think its worth living downtown personally and this is a great area, but youd be hard pressed to find somewhere for $330k or less.

dbd33

Yonge and St Clair's nice, yes. Some friends of my daughters lived there. Four (?) sisters, parents are left over hippies, terribly English names. South of St Clair, east of Yonge, I heven't been there for a while but it was an amusingly ramshackle house. Alas, one of the sisters has a heavy habit now, I'm not sure she's even still alive.

We're in the Beach, which is nice enough in a suburban kind of way. I lived by the St Lawrence Market for years and rather miss the hustle and bustle.

britishvixen21

I love it here, theres everything well ever need and we have an amazing view, we got the deal of the century on our apartment and dont want to move ever!!! LOL.

I love the beaches we looked there when we were searching but couldnt find anything that was just right, and St lawrence Market area is awesome so close to everything. Isnt it funny how you get used to somewhere, we live in a very large studio at the moment and hb keeps saying when i get my pr we should move to a one bedroom but i dont want too, LOL i look at other apartments and just want to run home to my vosy little apartment and hide under my covers. My freinds keep saying that they could get us a 2 bed house for the rent we pay in Malvern where they live after ive laughed then puked then laughed again I say no thanks, im a forest hill snob now LOL.

dbd33

We have no view from here but we do have a backyard with space for a trampoline. I liked the market because, well, there was the market; having twenty butchers and ten fishmongers on the block was ideally convenient. Beyond that though it's real neighbourhood, there are people of all incomes, local characters and a proper pub culture. There's something of the same around here but it's more conservative, the population is older and richer. (Well, except for me, each year I get older and poorer.)

CalgaryBlade

Is the Sunset Bar and Grill/Diner still going?

Great breakfasts/brunch on a weekend morning!

dbd33

Oh yes, excellent breakfast but watch out for the freshlysqueezedorangejuice, the whole profit on the breakfast is in that glass. The Tulip or the Wexford offer better value.

britishvixen21

I found an excellent breakfast for $3.99 at bay and bloor, called the New York Delhi. there eggs benedicts are to die for! also theres the duke of Richmond on Queen and Bay, they do a good version of an english breakfast with a pint to wash it down with LOL.

dbd33

Not sure what the breakfast costs at the Tulip these days. We mainly go there because it's the place in Toronto for steaks. Eating steaks that is, Hy's or Barbarians or Ruth's Chris are good for impressing people with steaks but the Tulip is the place to get a big slab of high quality cow for a sensible price. The Duke chain is alright but just a chain, I'd as soon go here, http://www.thefeathers.com/

offwego

We spent a while touring Southern Ontario to decide if we wanted to settle there. Have a look at Kitchener. If you like skiing it even has a ski resort, which is unusual in that area of Canada. We ended up in Calgary which is great of course.