Hiya,

Could you please recommend which areas in Toronto would suit us best in terms of:

1) Proximity to good public schools - (5-10 mmin drive)
2) Proximty to work (max 10-20 minute drive)
3) 2 young kids, so safety is of primary concern
4)Parks other amenities close by.
5)Smallish place (4 bed room/ 2000 sg feet house - independent/detached) would suit us just fine.

Thanks

Well, that would depend where your job is, wouldn't it? You could be living in North York or Thornhill and work down town - 20+ minutes drive to work. Or your job could be in Mississauga and you live in Scarborough.

Be prepared to compromise. Your list is a best case scenario but may very likely not be fulfilled at any point.

Which is more important to you? The proximity to schools or proximity to your job. If the latter, what if your job changes?

Pick one important factor and go from there.

Thanks

Proximity to job (low priority) - sorry, forgot to mention - close to the financial district, as OH is a banker.

Important to be safe, close to schools, shopping, parks...?

Riverdale, Rosedale/Forest Hill (if you can afford it!) and the Beaches are pretty good areas. Any further out and your daily commute will take much longer. And the public transport is pretty good in these areas.

A friend in the Beaches has just bough a nice 1500(?) sqft house for $369,000 - it is a terrace but totally renovated inside. It takes her about 25 minutes to commute to downtown.

Financial district is right down town. Look at the Beaches area (east) or head west along the coast.

If you want a house = suburbs (mostly). If you can consider a condo = downtown.

Find a map and pick an area that looks ok to you and research it.

go to www.toronto.com and see if you can find info there.

Cheers Tiggy. Thanks, will look up the areas.

I also heard Oakville being mentioned - is that a nice area?

YYZL,
Are there good schools down town? 20-30 minute drive/commute from a suburb closeby is not a problem, if I can't find a house down town

I have done a search on mls, but find it hard to know whether the place meets my specific requirements...

We are not averse to living in an apartment (no snow to shovel), but guess the levies/charges must be quite high? Is it cheaper to live in an apartment or a house?

I have no idea about schools. I'm not actually in Toronto and I don't have kids either so my wish list excludes schools.

My preference is a condo as the amenities far outweigh living in a house. Access to gym, rec rooms, social life, all appliances, in some cases all utilities included in rent (I will rent and not purchase to start). No snow shoveling (as you said), no need for maintenance of building as that is taken care of which means more time to spend on living a life.

And if there is a starbucks or Tim Hortons at the corner - even better.

If one lives in Toronto one typically does not drive to work or school, there's public transit. If one lives in one of the godforsaken sprawling suburbs then one does typically drive to work but not to school as there are school buses.

Thanks dbd33!

Cannot seem to find Rosedale, Forest Hill on mls. Which part of Toronto do I search in?

Never mind - my oh would have to rob the bank he's working for

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosedale,_Toronto

But it's expensive with a capital X.

Another part of town that ticks many of your boxes is Bloor Village West (on and north of Bloor street between Keele and Jane).

Hi N,

Yeah, like I said before .....unless oh robs his bank

Park Lane is a good area but it might be a little pricey. Go have a look and if you find the properties to your liking you might want to see whether any on that street will be on the market in the near future, either for rent or for sale.

What is your budget?
I wouldn't call a 4-bedroom house "smallish", but maybe that's just me. A four bedroom detached house 10 minutes from the banking district is going to be very expensive.

If you OH is a banker and would be working in the financial district then anywhere near the subway, or near a GO station would fit the bill. Union Station is smack bang the direct southern edge of the financial district, and only a couple of minutes walk to any of the banks headquarters. Be aware though that all the major banks have dozens of buildings spread all over downtown. RBC alone has around 15 major buildings in addition to he Main Branch headquarters.