ergyngfeld

I really like the Concession Street area just up the Mountain. People bemoan it for being a bit blue-collar but, well, they're just snobs :P The houses are well cheap and extremely homely. There's also quite a community feel to it - I'm only there a few weekends a month but I'm still apparently enough of a familiar face for people to say hello to me. Some hilarious second-hand shops there too, I once picked up a 100-year-old accordion for $50. Oh and there's a great Scottish butchers / UK food shop. Only downside is the relative dearth of decent pubs.

There's a garage on Concession Street called Bittners, which specialises in old VWs. I've seen many a gorgeous done-up mk1/2 Golf or Scirocco outside. Sometimes you see them for sale too. I'm definitely snapping one up sometime!

rdashmore

ALSO KNOWN AS "TONY CREEK", LOTS OF LOVELY ITALIAN FAMILIES IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. THEN AGAIN IT COULD JUST BE A STEREOTYPE BECAUSE WE ARE ALL HAPPY MOSAIC OF EVERYTHING.

Joolschweetie

Depends on where you are...downtown Stoney Creek is a little rundown but with some nice older houses, and it's a bit cheaper. Just stay away from Eastgate Square Mall area...unless you don't mind being harassed by crazies. Lol.

Stoney Creek mountain is starting to get pricey now all the new builds are popping up but is an ok place to live IMO (in-laws live up on the edge of SC out towards Binbrook).

Oh and if you're renting around the Hamilton/SC area I would highly recommend NOT going with any apartment building run by a company called Timbercreek - they own lots of property around here and are absolutely shocking!

Novocastrian

Not very accurate actually. Only about 18% of the residents self-identify as Catholics (I assume this would include Italians for the most part).

And lose the caps lock please.

Dave n Ailsa

Italians? awesome! I love italian food, so I just need to make friends with all the neighbours and I'm set.... and fat.

Denhamgirl

My husband and I bought our first house in the Stoney Creek mountain (Heritage Green) area when we first arrived. We managed to buy a bungalow in need of some modernisation for about $180K and for that we got a three bedroom house with a fully finished basement which had a HUGE family room and another bedroom and a laundry room. The back garden was easily 100ft and the homes in that area all had lots of garden which you don't get with the newer homes. There is a lot of soulless new development in the area, but there are still bargains to be had if you don't mind an older house (1970's) that might need a little TLC.
In that area, there were lots of trails to walk our dog on, and a very short drive away there was the Bruce trail and the rail trails not to mention the Eramosa Karst area which was a 10 minute walk from the house. There are also lots of (quite modern) schools in the area and it's very safe for kids to walk around and play outside, there is also a community centre with a swimming pool and gym and several playing fields behind it. When we lived there, they had only just started the new shopping area, but it now has several restaurants, a cinema, home depot, starbucks - that kind of thing, and all walkable from the house. The majority of residents in the area were young working families and older/retired couples. If you want to take a look on streetview, start with the Gordon Drumond Ave area and go from there; you'll see how the ages and styles of the houses change.
I would conclude by saying that I think the area is very family-friendly, affordable, has good motorway access to Niagara and Toronto and you could do worse as a place to start your life in Canada. My husband and I eventually moved from the area because we wanted to live somewhere with a bit more activity bar and restaurant-wise (we don't have kids) but since your priorities are likely to be different, I think it's an area worth considering.

Dave n Ailsa

Thanks Denhams, really appreciate you taking the time to write all that. I'll google the places you mentioned.

teacher1000

i'm from hamilton, lived there all my life (aside from the last 4 years in uk) and would say that stoney creek mountain is quite nice. You can get a very nice semi detached property built there for about £250,000 + any extras...that's a decent price. Also, they have built up the area nearest rymal road towards valley park and so, there is lots to do, it's close to hamilton mountain obviously, and ancaster. There is valley park swim/skate rec center and a new theatre to watch flicks in. Also, there are a few more resturants than previously they had etc. It's a growing area, like binbrook, just not as out of the way as binbrook. We would def look at living either in Binbrook, Stoney Creek, Hamilton mountain, or Caledonia (because we like the country plus highway 6 takes you back into hamilton in like 10 min)

So in conclusion, I think stoney creek is a good place to put down roots. on the mountain though.