Kaz0376

Hi
We as a family are moving to canada on a job offer as of the end of September
My husband will be based toronto but we don't want to live there
I'm looking for some advise on places close enough to live to commute but with a good walkability and schools rent no more than 2500 if poss
We have 2 kids school age 1 primary 1 high school
and we will rent to start. Problem we are finding is some areas are predominantly certain ethnic groups and whilst this is fine for our kids we would like a mix of nationailities so they don't feel isolated
we need to be able to commute within 30 minutes and we will only have 1 car to start
It potentially isn't possible to settle in one place but because of the kids ages we don't want to make the wrong decision in regards to schools then have to move them again in another year so really want to find a great place to settle for the forsee able
any help/advise much appreciated and thank you in advance xx

dbd33

30 minutes to where?

HGerchikov

Do you mean that he will be working downtown Toronto and you don't want to live right in the centre? A 30 minute commute to a downtown Toronto location is still going to be in Toronto. Traffic is dreadful so driving even small distances can take forever. We lived in Oakville on the west side of Toronto. Train ride in from there hit your 30 min target but you have to get to station at one end and to the office at the other so looking at closer to an hour even for an office close to Union Station. There are places with similar commute times to the east of the city too. Generally the east side is more affordable than the west.

Kaz0376

apologies he will be work based downtown toronto so we was looking at places 30 mins away we know it's not going to take 30 mins to get there but we wouldnt want to say move to kitchener as that's already far away ?

Kaz0376

yes sorry I tried to explain properly but didn't
we want to be able to not live to far away so having never been to toronto although some areas are 1 hour or more away that look lovely we would then expect a 3 hour journey too and from work which is obviously not doable so we was looking for somewhere to live around 30-40 minutes away that would make the commute less time
and also my husbands looking to drive downtown and park is that a no no please ?

HGerchikov

Its not a no no to drive downtown - plenty of people do it. I personally would rather stick pins in my eyes. We now live about an hour from Oakville- 90 minutes drive from downtown (if no traffic - ie. between 3 and 4 am) and, on the rare occasions OH has to go downtown for work he still drives to Oakville and gets on the train.

Edit to add: I would recommend looking at places on the Lakeshore GO line (the GO is the commuter train). Its a lot less stressful than driving, most stations have large parking lots that are free to park or if you drop him off you would have transport during the day.

BristolUK

dbd33

I drove downtown from the Beach, usually that took 30 minutes. I didn't have to pay for parking though, I suppose that's $500/month and up. Leaside to downtown could also be done in 30 minutes and that would provide a suburban feel with good schools and all of that.

Everywhere will be primarily some ethnicity or other. It's only certain locations; Markham, Riverdale, Brampton, for example, where you would be out of place for not knowing a specific non-English language. Even Little Italy, Greektown, Koreatown, while including lots of Italians, Greeks and Koreans operate primarily in English.

Lichisadave

scilly

You say you are moving END OF SEPTEMBER.

Are you aware that schools in Canada start on the day after Labour Day which is the first Monday in September?

This year Labour Day falls on Monday September 2, so schools will start on Tuesday September 3rd.

Your children are going to miss almost 1 month of schooling.

By that time classes will have been sorted out, friends made, and it may well be that your children will not be able to attend the school that is the one for the catchment area for where you can find accommodation.

Is there a reason for coming end of September, because it quite honestly could make it difficult for your children to find their feet ...... having missed all that work and trying to break into established friendships.

Children don't just enroll at a school and start there the next day .............. their previous education usually has to be assessed at the district's Assessment Centre.

It really would be much better if you could come no later than the end of August or even in July.

HGerchikov

Given that it's the middle of June now I think upping sticks and moving in July is probably a tad unrealistic. Although it probably would be ideal to come for the start of the school year I am sure it will work out whenever they get here. Also according to a guy I spoke to at Halton school district which is the one that covers both Oakville and Burlington (places suggested on this thread) it is possible to arrive and register one day and start school the next and your catchment area school has to find a place for you. Obviously they do prefer a bit more warning. It is probably about 6 years since I had that conversation but I don't think that has changed.

Pulaski

I know that it's not PC to mention such things, but in your attempt not to "offend" anyone, your post has become a pastiche of new-speak and we are left guessing as to what "certain ethnic groups" you are referring to and what you mean by, and apparently find preferable, "a mix of nationalities". If you are concerned about there being too many Russians, and would prefer more Polynesians then please would you care to be more specific? This is especially true as we don't know what your ethnicity is either. :- /

dbd33

What would be useful to know on this and similar threads is where the OP lives now. People always suggest Oakville or Burlington and I suppose that's fine it you like Milton Keynes or Tonbridge Wells. What if the OP lives in Camden Town and likes it there; they'll die in Oakville. There was a poster who had a child and worked at McVeigh's. She lived in Cabbagetown and found good schools and the area (where my children also went to school) That's 20 minutes to downtown on foot; no need of any cars day to day, join a co-op for the weekends. It doesn't follow that because someone emigrates they want to live in an "American Beauty" neighbourhood and, of course, no one wants to live in the housing projects of north Oakville (though they may be obliged to).

Pulaski

I know that it's not PC to mention such things in 2019, but in your attempt not to "offend" anyone, your post has become a pastiche of new-speak and we are left guessing as to what "certain ethnic groups" you are referring to and what you mean by, and apparently find preferable, "a mix of nationalities". If you are concerned about there being too many Russians, and would prefer more Polynesians then please would you care to be more specific? This is especially true as we don't know what your ethnicity is either.

It is not uncommon for immigrants into Canada and the US (where I live) from the UK, to be ethnic minorities in the UK, or even just white British liberals who are adverse to the locals and their obession with hockey, snowmobiling, (or guns and "football" in the US) and crap beer, and therefore have concerns about the area there move to being "too Canadian" ("too American"), and want an area with more minorities, or more new immigrants. Is that what you mean?

dbd33

At one point a daughter of mine had a flat mate, Colin, who was from Riverdale. He had a school picture in their kitchen, one of those end of year wide angle ones. He was the only non-Asian (American usage, meaning non-Chinese looking) kid in the picture. He's a ginger and the picture had been sparked up a bit to make his hair flaming. That's what you don't want, innit? It doesn't matter who all the others are, you just don't want your kid to be the only one who's not.