NEIL_FAMILY

Well posted last night about places to live in ontario but did not expand enough on the details of our thoughts for the move.
1 approved electrician looking for work so require good prospects
2 wife and two young children boy 6 and girl 3 at moment
3 nice area to bring up family but not stuck in the middle of no where
4 nice affordable accommodation
5 good facilities for all family
these are a few of our requirements so would appreciate anyones views on nice areas, towns or regions within ontario and what the job market may be like in these regions.
Thanks for everyones response

jenny28

We have found Peterborough a nice place to be we are a family of four two boys 7 and 5years. Been here since march. We seem to be settling ok.
Not sure about electrical jobs though.

G77

Windsor has the most affordable housing in Ontario, if not the whole of Canada. The main reason is the collapse of the car industry here, but that wouldn't affect an electrician. Could you go self employed, so you don't have to find employment but rather find opportunities?

Windsor also has the mildest winter in Ontario and a long hot summer. Close proximity to the US means you get the benefits of living in a major US city without actually living there (great shopping, cheap holidays, all four major sports etc etc).

The only downside is that it's said to be the most polluted city in Canada, with pollution from the US rust belt drifting over...

fledermaus

I thought your husband was an electrician??

FWIW. I don't like Peterborough but the surrounding area is good.

wizzard

Here is my view of Ontario

dbd33

Toronto. As central as possible. It's better for children, especially teenage children, than the boonies.

87cabby

Certainly ticks the boxes for the kids and jobs, although one of his requirements was "nice affordable accommodation". Obviously we don't know what the OP's definition of affordable is, but we do know that you can get a lot more for your money outside of the city. Maybe bang per buck is the intention?

Being an electrician, work will likely involve travel to different jobs with tools, so I don't think as central as possible in one of the worst cities for traffic congestion is the best thing for his mental well-being!

My suggestion would be the GTA, where though would be down to personal preference.

dbd33

I was thinking of the children, life in small town Canada must be hell when you're 16. Granted, getting around in a van in Toronto would be a daily nightmare.

I can't imagine anyone has a personal preference for the GTA outside of Toronto, though I concede that some make the most of being stuck in the 'burbs.

iaink

Surely it depends what you want to do as a teenage kid? If you want to hang around in a mall or video arcade then you are probably right. As the OPs kids are 6 and 3 then they probably dont have to worry about that too much.

My kids are 4 and 7, and there is plenty to keep them busy in the Quinte area. So much so that we are intentionally cutting back some on after school activities. As a parent though you have to make that commitment to ferry them around of course.

Unfortunately I also know a cradle Canadian sparky whos been looking for a job here for going on two years now....

dbd33

I think what you want to do is shaped by where you are. If you're a kid in the city then, after school, you can jump on the subway and go sailing or playing iced hockey or to your job as a lifeguard. If you're a kid in a small town then, yes, as you say, you can hang around the mall, but you're much more likely to drive out into the bush, drink, smoke, shoot things and drive back again. The city offers a choice of activities and the ability to legally get to and from those activities whereas rural life for older children is, I think, much more focussed on drink, drugs and the inevitable operation of vehicles while underage and/or intoxicated.

iaink

Surely the likelyhood that kids are going to drive off into the bush, drink, smoke, shoot things and drive back again is largely dependent on how the kids are raised and the other options that are available to them?

There are plenty of alternatives where I am, you could sail if you wanted to, there are two Ys and other local pool programs if you want to be a life guard, in the winter there is skiing and skating, not to mention a host of other options out there.

As I said, transportation (and a parental willingness to provide for that) is the main difference as I see it. Of course, out here you dont get much chance to go the see the latest bands or whatever, but I find your view of what kids can do rather myopic. Kids in cities also have just as much access to pot and alcohol, and worse.

But as the OPs kids are 3 and 6 it didnt seem particularly relevant to me anyway.

dbd33

My point is that, in small towns, the options available to them are limited and their independence is stiffled by the need for parental transportation. It might be that the children of immigrants are less likely to take up the local pastimes than the children of cradles but I'd guess that it's harder to avoid assimilation in a rural setting.

iaink

Of course, some of the options that are not available might well turn out to be less than healthy ones anyway, so that may not be a bad thing. In a small town I suspect parents are more likely to at least know what they are up to and with whom.

I dont see the need for parental transportation as particularly stifling for the kids. For the parents perhaps!

Assimilation doesnt seem to scare me as much as it does you, but them my kids are technically half canadian anyway. Probably more than half in reality. People seem to like to throw "for the kids future" out there as a reason to emmigrate, so presumably they like the way canadian kids turn out.

el_richo

I'd be surprised if many of those emigrating to Canada even know Canadian kids/adults, other than what they've read, seen on video, or witnessed during a blinkered hazed reccie.

iaink

Cant speak for them, but I know plenty of Canadian kids and teens, and they nearly all reflect upon their parents funnily enough.

Decent, involved, parents with time to support their kids seem to raise decent kids. Who would have thunk it.