GSJ

Hi All,

I need some advice on where to live. My situation is as follows…

I received PR status 2 years ago however did not move due to career progression/my job in the UK. The company I’m working for has offices in Toronto and is happy for me to continue my UK/EU projects based in Canada as I can work with virtual teams (tele & video conferences etc). The majority of the time I will be working from home with occasional trips in to the Toronto office.

The plan is for me to move across in the next 2 months and then my wife and 3yr old son (who also have PR status) move across a few month later once I’m settled.

I’m not sure where would be the best place to live. For those that know the Toronto GTA area well, please could you help me by making some suggestions.

I’ll be looking at renting for the first year or so and am looking for an area with the following:

I have some family around the Brampton area and it would be nice to stay close to them during the initial settling in period;
I won’t be planning on buying a car straight away and so I will be looking for an area which has access to the go train/other public transport for when I need to get in to our Toronto office;
Looking for an area with decent nurseries (kindergarten) and primary schools for when my son comes over a few months after me.
Decent local amenities such as supermarket, gym etc.
Low crime rate.

Please could you help by suggesting some decent areas to rent in based on my requirements as at present I'm clueless.

Many thanks.

G.

Pincher

Have a real could look at previous posts as to an idea of where to go, and check the forums as often as possible. Lots of really, friendly folks to give helpful advice.

Brampton comes under Peel region: www.peelregion.ca

To get an idea of house prices, either to rent or buy, real estate site 'mls.ca' is a good place to start.

We bought a couple of maps of GTA and plotted where schools, Go stations are etc when looking at where to move to.
All the best.

dbd33

Where is the "Toronto" office?

GSJ

Thanks.

Office is downtown Toronto on Bay Street however my understanding is that rent will be cheaper if I live outside the city?

marimac

Bay Street is walkable from Union Station (can even walk underground in winter!) so I'd recommend looking at locations along the GO Train line. A map is here: http://www.gotransit.com/publicroot/...le/sysmap.aspx.

One thing to watch for with the GO service is that the trains mostly run at the commuting times, and most of the other times, it is buses. If you are not commuting into the office much, it might not matter too much to you though.

wheatsheaf

Since you will be 'tele-commuting', you will not need to go to Toronto too often? If you needed to do so, then being near a 'subway' or tube station would be important. Therefore suggest that you set your sights on buying a car as soon as you arrive. In my opinion, this is a prerequisite to a strong start in Canadian living. With a car in your plan, suggest areas such as Oakville (20 minute drive to relatives in Brampton), which has easy access to the overground train to Toronto, plus very good recreational facilities to keep the Mrs and baby happy. The lakefront is a big plus in summer in Oakville.

There's "Trafalgar Properties" in Oakville that are rental agents (google accessible).

dbd33

It might be slightly cheaper but that will be offset by the cost of commuting and the destruction of your soul consequent upon living in an exurban wasteland. Why not consider the usual suggested inner-burbs such as High Park, Beach, Leaside?

fledermaus

Doesn't that depend on which end of Bay Street??

Souvy

The OP did specify "downtown".

fledermaus

Where does that stop?? How does one define downtown??

I only ask as honorary niece used to work in Bay Street and she said it was a 35, 40 minute walk from Union. Which may be walking distance if you are young and non highheeled but every day??

dbd33

Downtown ends at Bloor.

Oakvillian

I would say it depends a lot on where you're moving from (so what your point of reference is for comparison), what you like and don't like about where you are now, and what's important to you when you get here.

If access to your relatives in Brampton is important, then a car is pretty much a necessity wherever you end up, but I'd count out anything east of downtown.

There's no shortage of good schools, pre-school/nursery, supermarkets, gyms, and all your other requirements for daily life, wherever you go in the GTA.

If you don't need to be in the Toronto office every day, the "exurbs" as dbd insists on calling them might well appeal. You generally get more living space (house + garden) for your money than you would in Toronto proper. However, there are some tradeoffs:
- you'd realistically need a car - if not for yourself straightaway, certainly when your family come over
- there's not as much "culture" as there is downtown, although that absolutely doesn't mean there's nothing to do, nor is it all an "ex-urban wasteland." Of the outer suburbs, consider anywhere along the Lakeshore West GO line. The Mississauga/Oakville border around Clarkson village; Oakville; Burlington... that gives you a reasonable journey time downtown on the GO with trains running all hours rather than off-peak buses.

If you are looking for a more urban-focused option, then the areas dbd mentions are the usual suspects - the Beach, High Park, etc. Expensive real estate, but better amenities, more convenient public transit, and so on.

You pays your money and you takes your choice....

Partially discharged

You're being generous....I would have put it at College.

GSJ

Company offices are at Bay street right next to the financial district / Yonge street area.

Ok, so it looks as if I’ll have to buy a car more or less straight away which is fine with me. I guess I can hire something for the first few weeks whilst I'm researching on where to buy.

Regarding areas to live, ideally I’ll be looking for something that is not too quiet ie in the middle of nowhere but at the same time is away from the hustle and bustle of downtown. Culture is good but I want to stay well away from the ghetto areas. Am prepared to travel further in return for more space at a better price. Driving 20-30mins to Brampton or 30-40min travel (any transport method) in to the office is no problem.

To begin with, I’ll research in to the areas suggested in the above posts.

Thanks for all your guidance and suggestions!
G.

dbd33

<snorts!>