h35j34

Hey,

Just joined and looking for some recommendations on nice suburbs to research more into in Toronto.

We are a family of 4 and hopefully our dog will join us, we are looking to make the move around summer 2019.

When we move we will be 38, 37, 7 and 4 (dog would be 8) so we would be looking for fairly quiet living, good schools, nice area, somewhere with kids activities swimming, football, basketball and I guess hockey, close to some kind of shopping centre, and somewhere with dog walks.

Ideally as close as we can be to the city, but looking at our budget prob more likely to be approx 25miles (40km) out of city.

Would be looking for 3 or 4 bed house, garden budget would be approx £300k ($500k)

We would be renting at first then looking to buy in that area all going well.

Anyway if there are any family expats that can help or local families to name a few places and I can look more into the facilities and schools around.

Thanks so much in advance

geoff52

I was in a similar situation many years ago. Since then house prices have shot up.
I would suggest using the train for commuting rather than the car. So look for property near train stations. I live in Burlington which is on the train rout and has excellent facilities, its 40 min train ride and is 40Km from downtown Toronto. You may find something in your price range in 25 km radius of Toronto, not sure.

h35j34

Hey

sorry edited original post was meant to be 25 miles 40km, and yeah good point somewhere with good transport links.

Will have a look at Burlington

geoff52

If you need more information regarding Oakvile and Burlington, feel free to ask. Been living in this area for over two decades since moving from London UK.

h35j34

Great thanks

Just some general info would be great

1. would 500k get a 3/4 house in nice area
2. whats the schools like
3. is family life good in the area

Allie73

We moved to Ajax in 2013 and are very happy here. Our kids are 8 and 10 now and there are lots of things for them to do. There are many parks and trails, plus spash pads and indoor & ourdoor pools. Since we've been here, my kids have done swimming, language classes, football (soccer), skating, baseball and martial arts. A couple of times a year, the Parks and Recreation book comes out with classes and sports for adults and children. Most towns will have something similar. We like living close to the lake. My husband takes the Go Train into the city and it takes about 40 minutes. A 3-bedroom house here is currently in the $500-$600,000 range.

geoff52

There are not really bad areas in Burlington, its a family oriented town.
Its possible to buy 3/4 bed house but your budget is tight. There are two types of houses, firstly there is old sub divisions where houses were built before 1990 (I prefer those). Secondly there are new sub divisions where you get the newly built houses.
Schools are good. The schools are divided into non-religious schools and catholic schools. My children are grown up but they went to local schools and onto university.
There are no gun or drug problems in Burlington. Most of the people work in Toronto in the financial sector, and commute by train. Some do commute by car, but parking is limited in down town Toronto, and its tough commute in the winter.
I commuted by train for 12 years to Toronto. The trains are frequent during the rush hour. There are under ground trains in Toronto, but the network is not extensive as London (UK).

You can check house in Burlington online
Houses For Sale Between $500,000 – $600,000 in Burlington () — RE/MAX Escarpment Realty Inc.

plasticcanuck

You should be aware that the GTA housing is much overpriced at present. In the link provided above the houses shown reflect the most recent boom in housing prices. The market has gone softer in the past few weeks and prices are coming down. By the time you hopefully move in Summer, 2019 the houses shown could well be selling for much less.

Siouxie

Edited to add, the BN website has info on neighbourhoods, schools etc., which might be of use: https://burlingtonneighbourhoods.com/

+1 - Burlington was voted second in the top places to live in Canada. Canada's Best Places to Live 2016: Full Ranking

http://www.tourismburlington.com/

magnumpi

We been in Ajax 6 years and love it
Other options to look at east side are Pickering, Whitby and Oshawa

Stinkypup

Vernon ....181st ... Who the bloody hell would live there? Must be a real dump- Novo was right all along... Snoop- we moving to Chillawack - JS didn't seem that keen Dawson Creek....maybe?

North and West Van seem to do well though who can afford to live there?

dbd33

I would not say that that is a “very nice” house. It has the classic Canadian suburban architectural features: the front elevation is all garage door, the bottom half is roll on brick and the top half griege plastic siding. It’s squished next to the neighbours on a lot that is inappropriately small.

Nice floors though and I like the beer mats, if I had to guess I'd say it belongs to people who moved from Southall.

h35j34

Thanks for all the posts and info will have a read over the links, I'm sure I'll have more questions.

I am surprised that for my budget it's going to be tight especially looking so far from city, I would hope to have more but for now prob $500k is my budget.

What about the places north? Markham, Richmond hill, Vaughan?

Oakvillian

The problem with "places north" is getting to downtown. The GO train (suburban commuter service) doesn't necessarily operate trains all day - outside of peak hours, a lot of lines operate a bus service which is a bit tedious if you're trying to get home after an evening out, or get into work after a morning appointment. Currently only the Lakeshore line (East and West) offers all-day trains; the Stouffville line (to Unionville, at least, so really Markham) will start all-day trains this month, and others "by 2024."

Realistically, if you're working downtown and want a little bit of time flexibility in your commute, then the Mississauga/Oakville/Burlington stretch to the west and the Pickering/Ajax/Whitby/Oshawa stretch to the east offer the only sensible options.

And echoing others' comments about house prices: you'll need to be some distance out from downtown Toronto to find a 3-4 bed house with more than a pocket-handkerchief of backyard for less than $500k. House prices are a little bit silly around Toronto, especially in the more easily commutable areas.

Standard advice on these boards is to look to rent before you buy, to make sure you like the area. That, of course, risks being lured into a lovely neighbourhood that you then can't afford to buy in. It may be that by the summer of 2019 the long-forecast price correction will have happened and it may have turned into a buyers' market, but I wouldn't hold my breath...

Allie73

If you look on the realtor.ca, which is similar to RightMove, you can see what house prices are like now.