Souvy

Here's a clue. Below are median household incomes from the last census (2006).

Canada - $53,634
Ontario - 69,159
Pickering - $85,994
Oakville - 101,675

Barring some of the tar sands towns, Oakville is probably the wealthiest place in Canada. I suspect the average to be somewhat higher than the median.

sharkus

It was asked "Why Oakville and not Pickering?". For us it was due to it being closer to my in-laws, who live in St Catherine's. Travelling down there from Toronto was not too bad, but when my father in law fell ill, it did take it's toll travelling down there and back every weekend, so closing the distance would have helped then. Since his passing, being closer means we're there for my mother in law when she needs us, and now we have our son, she's closer for us too.

It does not surprise me that the median income for Oakville is higher than other places, it's know for being a bit stuck up and wealthy, and some parts are, others are not. Part of the reason could be that quite a few C level exec's and above live in Oakville, probably because it's far enough from the core, but not too far.

Pretty Flowers

When I first moved to Canada I lived in Oakville south of the QEW. I would have hated to live north - to my mind it's a suburban wasteland where to get a pint of milk would have involved at least a five minute drive (and I didn't have a car when I first came to Canada)

I loved (and still love Oakville) it's a nice town, downtown is pretty pleasant, and it suits my abstract requirements for petty bourgeoisness.

However, it's a very expensive place to live and there isn't a great deal of stuff to do at night-time.

It's a very British and English location - there's a higher concentration of English expats in Oakville than anywhere else in Canada IIRC. So if you're looking for a home from home, it's likely the one place in Canada that can offer you that, but if you want to experience a new culture, it's not exactly the best.

These days I live in downtown Toronto, in Little Italy, so I get to experience both Canadian and Italian/ Portugese culture pretty much on a daily basis.

HTH

Oakvillian

I know you said "to your mind" but it doesn't gel with my reality. I can get a pint of milk from the convenience store about 90 seconds' walk from the front door. I can walk to two schools, a hairdresser (not that I need to...), dentist, doctor, optician, dry cleaner, a choice of about half a dozen denominations of churches, public tennis courts - all within five minutes. A 15 minute walk would net me the post office, bank, doctor, video store, two supermarkets, another three or four convenience stores, two pubs, a couple of restaurants, a chip shop, etc etc etc. My OH didn't drive for the first year we lived here, and while I would acknowledge life is easier with a car, it didn't stop her functioning even with a new baby in tow.

Oakville is not some sort of rose-tinted Utopia. Neither, however, is it the unmitigated subdivision dystopian wasteland that some posters paint it. Even (gasp) north of the highway, there are some lovely neighbourhoods, some great amenities, and some decent-looking buildings.

As to the same-ness of the architecture, I really don't get the whinge. I used to live (in a shared rental, I hasten to add) off the Fulham Palace Road in west London. Ten streets, named in alphabetical order, with identikit red-brick terraced houses lining both sides, built as a speculative development by a property company between 1890 and 1910. A lovely neighbourhood, very "des res" houses, but aesthetically speaking what's the difference, really, between that and a subdivision in a Toronto suburb?

Oakvillian

Oh yes, and while I'm on my aggressive-defensive rant, I acknowledge that proportionately Oakville has way more than its fair share of Brit (not necessarily English) expats. But again, the general doesn't translate to the specific. I'm sure I've commented before that amongst my immediate neighbours, amongst all of whom we regularly share beer and barbecues, are first generation immigrants from Sweden, Portugal, India, Trinidad, Italy and the US, as well as half a dozen cradle-Canadian families. It's not all about wealthy WASPs.

Partially discharged

And to be brutally honest, when those homes were built between 1890-1910 the residents who lived nearby in then older homes probably gasped at the vulgarity of these new homes all looking the same with no trees or grass etc. The areas that many consider as desirable in north Toronto, Leaside, High Park looked very similar to one another on an individual basis and were probably the source of scorn from those who had arrived earlier and in older homes.

magnumpi

Best thing to do is rent, and see if you like it. That way if it is not what you were looking for, move and rent again till you find the right place.

We started life in Canada in a hotel in Brampton, then rented on the east side, Rouge Hill, Scarborough, Pickering and now after 2 1/2 years have at last had an offer accepted in on a house in South Ajax.

Not sure about anyone else, but for us we settled in the east and liked it.

Tangram

Wow, Ajax looks so much like anyestate.uk, why bother moving at all ?

magnumpi

I have my reasons.

Does your nurse know you are awake and messing with a computer.

magnumpi

Have you lived in oakville for long. I dont live there but from my multiple visits to the area i found the south part, near the lake, very nice indeed.

Its a safe and clean area from what i have observed and was on our list when we moved. Im surw the op will be ok there as a starter area.

Big Bear

So where do you think is nice? I have been to Oakville before and thought it seemed very nice down by the lake, etc. I did find Toronto in general was a bit more 'industrial' looking compared to Vancouver for example but Oakville did seem to be one of the nicer areas...

We are happy with our move to Canada.

sharkus

Bottom line, if you like an area, and it offers what you are looking for, then ignore negative comments from others. Unless it's something constructive, eg; high crime area, prone to flooding, bad smell from industrial area when wind comes from a certain direction. Other comments are either due to jealousy or snobbishness.

dbd33

Or just not much liking Oakville.

HGerchikov

Thank you for the plug! I would be happy to discuss Oakville real estate with anybody and having spent many years in the nuclear industry in my previous career I could probably offer some insights into the nuclear power station at Pickering too.

dbd33

As it goes I've worked in both the Pickering nuclear power plant and the Oakville car factory. I can't see that either particularly affects local residents except in regard to traffic. Is there a particular reason why a power plant would be a worse feature than a car factory?