Caitilin

hi,

I've moved 10 times in 10 years. Not all of them voluntary i'd like to add!
It has however, given me a fine appreciation for some fo the things I want/need in a place.

Here's my list

1) kitchen with plenty of counter space and a deep sink. Sink drainer does not count as counter space! (currently all I have)
2) large shower cell or bath with a shower in it (shower a must, but my current shower is..well, i need to be careful not to knock my elbows!)
3) non drafty. I hate drafts. Aka well insulated.
4) tiles or lino in kitchen and bathroom.
5) either large window sills and balcony, or a small garden.
6) no mice or cockroaches.
7) not open plan (i like to keep heat in some area's and not others).
8) light or light-able. I do not stand dimmness well!

What does anyone else want?

live to ski

- Good powerful shower. I hate that feeling of not having got all the shampoo out of your hair

- Ability to make the bedroom as dark as possible

- Wipeable / mopable floor in bathroom and kitchen

- Gas hob

YYZlover

Bath tub. It has to have a bath tub.

I'm all for lino/wood/tile flooring all out.

Good kitchen appliances and cupboards.

Wardrobes.

Washer/dryer.

bazzz

What they call "in-suite laundry". In other words, your own washing machine.

Reasonable sound-proofing.

daft batty

Windows, big ones, so the light comes in and houseplants dont die

At least one of those windows should overlook the garden

The house shouldnt be in a street that feels "closed in". it shouldnt be in the city

Heating that works

In Ontario, air conditioning in at least one room

A washing machine on the main floor.

A bath tub

A loo on the same floor as the bedroom

destinationnovascotia

Location, location, location. You can change flooring, bathroooms, kitchens etc. You can even move walls, make it more or less open plan and extend depending on how much work you want to do.

The one thing you can't do it move the house. It needs to be in the right place, facing the right way and with the right local facilities.

Oh, and good neighbours help too

YYZlover

Ah. That is true.

I'll have that condo on wellington looking out over the dome and the lake so I can just veg out on the sofa watch the lift go up and down CN tower or sit on the roof top or be on the treadmil at the rooftop gym looking out over the lake.

Oh craks. I'm depressed now.

GET ME OUT OF HERE!!

bandit

Mine are:

Powerful Shower - don't take baths so can live without a tub!

If apartment - then very good soundproofing

Gas Cooker

Garden or somewhere to keep plants!

Parking

As I'm goign to be renting when I first arrive in Canada, I will need to find out the things I find annoying / like about the way thier properties are layed out! I now live in a 3 bed house with a drive way - but will move to a 1 bed or studio for at least first 12 months!!!

Bandit!

Caitilin

yep, i'll be renting too initially
not going to be able to afford anything else either. and probalby end up getting a handyman..*groans*

dbd33

One of the things I dislike about Canadian houses is that they don't usually have draining boards (part of the sink that stretches over the counter and drains into it). The only kitchen I know of in Canada that's properly set up for washing dishes is my exes and she had one of our children carry the sinks on a plane from Europe. I guess what's important to me in a kitchen out here is space to replace the sink. What's important in a property in general is space for the animals.

ireland2canada

I have had the misfortune of living in some of the cr@p-iest rental properties my wee country has to offer
Now that I own my own house, I would quite like to pick it up & transplant it on Canadian soil.
Should this not be possible, the wish list is as follows......

A front door that closes
No damp/mould
Heating
No mural/graffiti on said property
Neighbours who are not drug dealers, thieves or fans of deafening music

Not asking too much I hope

Caitilin

Ireland...has an interesting take on property, thats' for sure.

I complained about the rodent infestation and was told by the landlord 'every house in ireland has a mouse' .....

hopefully though, if i live somewhere with snow i wont' ahve balls kicked against hte house all day and night by neighbourhood brats playing football? (we had a window that was a prime target in the uk. )

Caitilin

Oh, intersting.

happened wiht the advent of dishwashers, you think?

or was that like that pre-dishwasher era?

edite to add: that was about the drainers.

dbd33

I don't know but a couple of factors may be:

- There's not much of a tradition of interest in food here (except among the recent immigrants) and TV dinners don't dirty much cookware so there may not have been much need for drainers since, say, the fifties.

- The houses are poorly made and don't last long so there are few left from a time when the local people would have had to cook. They may have been better equipped in the past.

btw, every house I've lived in in Canada has had a mouse. Some also had cockroaches or earwigs. I know of houses with rabbits and raccoons.

daft batty

we dont have a dishwasher, the house we live in was built in 1946 and so predishwasher, with a single sink without an overflow! I reckon its because Canadians have no imagination for design or improvement, so if what they have works then they wont even think of trying to improve it.