Where to live in/around GTA?
Oct 17th 2013, 8:51 pm
#16
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Re: Where to live in/around GTA?
Looking for good scenery, {this is the GTA, not on your doorstep}good local amenities and restaurants, hiking, cycling, near skiing a big bonus, ice skating near plus good cinema within a 15 min drive would be good! Nice children's play parks and toddler/mum meet up/groups culture would be very good. Would prefer detached or semi detached and needs to have good space for when family come to stay-3/4 bedrooms plus a finished basement would be best. {all perfectly possible here. except skiing without driving somewhere first}
Oct 17th 2013, 9:35 pm
#17
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Re: Where to live in/around GTA?
If anyone know any of these places well would love to hear your knowledge and comparisons of the areas. We are deciding where to visit and which to cross off the list for an upcoming brief recce.
Oakville, Burlington
Orangeville, Milton
Newmarket, Aurora
Richmond Hill?
We are a young family with one toddler and another on the way. OH will be working full time on a reasonable wage and I will return to work in a couple of years. We will start off renting at around 1,500 - 1,900 per month. Looking for good scenery, good local amenities and restaurants, hiking, cycling, near skiing a big bonus, ice skating near plus good cinema within a 15 min drive would be good! Nice children's play parks and toddler/mum meet up/groups culture would be very good. Would prefer detached or semi detached and needs to have good space for when family come to stay-3/4 bedrooms plus a finished basement would be best. Getting to understand we would get a lot less house for our money in Oakville- Is it worth the extra money- how does lifestyle compare in Oakville say to Newmarket/Aurora? Is there not much to do in Orangeville and Milton? I hear Newmarket downtown has been improved recently, anyone know what it's like?
We currently live in a small town in England in Surrey so are surrounded by rolling hills and greenery but in a very overpopulated, too many people in too little space type feeling for us! We only have one children's play park and a small but beautiful pond nearby and not many great shops. However, we only need to drive 25 mins to get to great shops and amenities. We live in a small 3 bed house with a small back garden and are over looked by loads of neighbours- which I hate!
I would love to visit some locations that will offer us bigger space for better value but in a location with great scenery and walks plus fun things to do outdoors and in all year in all seasons. We love winter sports and hiking and canoeing in the summer but rarely get to do much of these here due to the weather. We need to be in commutable distance to YYZ by around 45 mins preferably.
Is this possible!? Where do you rate and why?
Thank you
KT
Oakville, Burlington
Orangeville, Milton
Newmarket, Aurora
Richmond Hill?
We are a young family with one toddler and another on the way. OH will be working full time on a reasonable wage and I will return to work in a couple of years. We will start off renting at around 1,500 - 1,900 per month. Looking for good scenery, good local amenities and restaurants, hiking, cycling, near skiing a big bonus, ice skating near plus good cinema within a 15 min drive would be good! Nice children's play parks and toddler/mum meet up/groups culture would be very good. Would prefer detached or semi detached and needs to have good space for when family come to stay-3/4 bedrooms plus a finished basement would be best. Getting to understand we would get a lot less house for our money in Oakville- Is it worth the extra money- how does lifestyle compare in Oakville say to Newmarket/Aurora? Is there not much to do in Orangeville and Milton? I hear Newmarket downtown has been improved recently, anyone know what it's like?
We currently live in a small town in England in Surrey so are surrounded by rolling hills and greenery but in a very overpopulated, too many people in too little space type feeling for us! We only have one children's play park and a small but beautiful pond nearby and not many great shops. However, we only need to drive 25 mins to get to great shops and amenities. We live in a small 3 bed house with a small back garden and are over looked by loads of neighbours- which I hate!
I would love to visit some locations that will offer us bigger space for better value but in a location with great scenery and walks plus fun things to do outdoors and in all year in all seasons. We love winter sports and hiking and canoeing in the summer but rarely get to do much of these here due to the weather. We need to be in commutable distance to YYZ by around 45 mins preferably.
Is this possible!? Where do you rate and why?
Thank you
KT
I'm currently living in Milton. This community meets a number of the things which you are seeking. It's close to the Green Belt / Escarpment (scenery / hiking), has lots of bike paths, and also has Glen Eden ski area (although it's not a very big hill), and as it's on the west edge of the GTA, there's easy access to nature for canoeing, rock climbing etc.
However, Milton does have some similarities to your current location in the UK - it is one of the fastest growing cities in Canada. You'll find a lot of new housing (without a lot of yard), but as the community has been marketed towards young families, you'll also find playgrounds in every subdivision. With a lot of young families, you may find it a bit easier to meet others through a number of kids programs/activities.
You can use Google Streetview to do a bit of a 'virtual tour' of some of the communities you're considering, just to get a 'feel' for the housing density.
There's a small downtown with local shops, but primarily you'll find big chain stores. There is some growth in the amount of small, locally-owned businesses, we'll see how that turns out
Probably the biggest drawback for yourself would be the commute to the airport. To meet your target commute time, you'll have to take the 401. If you're working 'non-standard' hours, this will be fine. However, if you anticipate having to leave for work between 7 and 9 am, and returning between 3 and 6 pm, this will be a problem as it's the major artery into and out of Mississauga during rush hours.
As an example, current time is 5:20 pm - per Google Maps, time to get from Milton to YYZ is 30 minutes in current traffic. The time to get from YYZ to Milton is 58 minutes in current traffic.
Oct 18th 2013, 10:59 am
#18
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Re: Where to live in/around GTA?
Some great feedback, with just the kind of insights I was hoping for, thank you. Luckily will be mainly non-standard hours due to 11-12 hour shift work so hopefully should avoid the bulk of the traffic the majority of the time.
How does the Milton ski hill compare to the Caledon skiing? Would be happy with easy- intermediate runs so we can teach our little ones to begin skiing, then drive to bigger hills and mountains later.
How does the Milton ski hill compare to the Caledon skiing? Would be happy with easy- intermediate runs so we can teach our little ones to begin skiing, then drive to bigger hills and mountains later.
Oct 18th 2013, 11:38 am
#19
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Re: Where to live in/around GTA?
Some great feedback, with just the kind of insights I was hoping for, thank you. Luckily will be mainly non-standard hours due to 11-12 hour shift work so hopefully should avoid the bulk of the traffic the majority of the time.
How does the Milton ski hill compare to the Caledon skiing? Would be happy with easy- intermediate runs so we can teach our little ones to begin skiing, then drive to bigger hills and mountains later.
How does the Milton ski hill compare to the Caledon skiing? Would be happy with easy- intermediate runs so we can teach our little ones to begin skiing, then drive to bigger hills and mountains later.
Talisman isn't far and is fun for children (at least it was when I had children). I think you should face it though, if skiing is your thing, then southern England is a better location than southern Ontario; there are no cheap trips to the Alps from here.
Oct 18th 2013, 11:45 am
#20
Dichotomus tinker
Joined: Aug 2013
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 6,685
Re: Where to live in/around GTA?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caledon_Ski_Club
http://caledonskiclub.com/
http://www.discoverchicopee.com/
Last edited by not2old; Oct 18th 2013 at 12:07 pm.
Oct 18th 2013, 12:05 pm
#21
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Location: SW Ontario
Posts: 19,879
Re: Where to live in/around GTA?
Some great feedback, with just the kind of insights I was hoping for, thank you. Luckily will be mainly non-standard hours due to 11-12 hour shift work so hopefully should avoid the bulk of the traffic the majority of the time.
How does the Milton ski hill compare to the Caledon skiing? Would be happy with easy- intermediate runs so we can teach our little ones to begin skiing, then drive to bigger hills and mountains later.
How does the Milton ski hill compare to the Caledon skiing? Would be happy with easy- intermediate runs so we can teach our little ones to begin skiing, then drive to bigger hills and mountains later.
Rush hours around the GTA are approximately 6:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 6:30/7.00 p.m. Monday to Friday inclusive, so he is likely to be caught up in it unless his shifts start at a different time of day.
You can look at the traffic cams on this interactive map: http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/tra...79.459648&z=10
Edited to say, if you do decide on the Milton/Carlisle area we have 2 members who are real estate agents from that area, either of which I can recommend.
Last edited by Siouxie; Oct 18th 2013 at 12:10 pm.
Oct 18th 2013, 1:05 pm
#22
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Re: Where to live in/around GTA?
Most ski slopes I would think would be nearly 1 1/2 hours drive from Caledon - north towards Barrie/Collingwood you have Snow Valley as well as Blue Mountain. There are other smaller slopes such as Uplands in Vaughan and Dagmar/Lakeridge in Uxbridge. No they are not 'serious slopes' and you will not be mistaken for thinking you are in the Alps. However if you want your kids to learn to ski, what a great option for a day trip - not something possible from the UK. We took our kids many times to learn last winter, they had made great progress, had fun and quite frankly a couple of hours out on the slopes is enough for my 5 year olds. Which is often the problem with a week-long ski holiday that you've saved up for all year...
Oct 19th 2013, 8:31 am
#23
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Re: Where to live in/around GTA?
Great post anglaisfrancais, exactly what we will be looking for, just a few hours on a regular basis in the winter on some snow- and definitely something we can't get in England!
12 hour shifts are pretty common but not as common as the usual 9-5 of the majority heading into the City and my OH leaves at 4:45/5:00 am here on the the m25 and misses the main bulk of traffic. Inevitably he doesn't always miss every bit of traffic but makes it less of a big deal than dealing with the worst traffic twice a day.
We are under no illusion that we will be able to pop half an hour down the road to Whistler style mountains- google maps and just common knowledge tells us that! (Though that would be great!) Just some access to any slopes and some basic beginner skiing would be a huge plus within short distances to reach.
We also like the idea of ice skating being popular and readily accessible and access to child friendly cycling trails etc.
A gorgeous property just came up on a search in Innisfil on Lake Simcoe, really reasonable price, which is an hours drive to work place. Would love to live right on the lake with a bit more space around us but it looks like we would be quite a way off from many amenities? I will continue to research but if you know this or surrounding areas on lake Simcoe and what it is like there from actual experience that would be great.
12 hour shifts are pretty common but not as common as the usual 9-5 of the majority heading into the City and my OH leaves at 4:45/5:00 am here on the the m25 and misses the main bulk of traffic. Inevitably he doesn't always miss every bit of traffic but makes it less of a big deal than dealing with the worst traffic twice a day.
We are under no illusion that we will be able to pop half an hour down the road to Whistler style mountains- google maps and just common knowledge tells us that! (Though that would be great!) Just some access to any slopes and some basic beginner skiing would be a huge plus within short distances to reach.
We also like the idea of ice skating being popular and readily accessible and access to child friendly cycling trails etc.
A gorgeous property just came up on a search in Innisfil on Lake Simcoe, really reasonable price, which is an hours drive to work place. Would love to live right on the lake with a bit more space around us but it looks like we would be quite a way off from many amenities? I will continue to research but if you know this or surrounding areas on lake Simcoe and what it is like there from actual experience that would be great.
Oct 19th 2013, 3:21 pm
#24
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Joined: Nov 2012
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Re: Where to live in/around GTA?
You may have done so already, but typing the area/town into You Tube often brings up some videos people have made about their town. There are some on Milton and Oakville for example. Good for virtual recce.
Oct 19th 2013, 4:39 pm
#25
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Re: Where to live in/around GTA?
A gorgeous property just came up on a search in Innisfil on Lake Simcoe, really reasonable price, which is an hours drive to work place. Would love to live right on the lake with a bit more space around us but it looks like we would be quite a way off from many amenities? I will continue to research but if you know this or surrounding areas on lake Simcoe and what it is like there from actual experience that would be great.
Oct 19th 2013, 6:08 pm
#26
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Re: Where to live in/around GTA?
A gorgeous property just came up on a search in Innisfil on Lake Simcoe, really reasonable price, which is an hours drive to work place. Would love to live right on the lake with a bit more space around us but it looks like we would be quite a way off from many amenities? I will continue to research but if you know this or surrounding areas on lake Simcoe and what it is like there from actual experience that would be great.
Oct 19th 2013, 6:22 pm
#27
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Re: Where to live in/around GTA?
However, that is one point that should be raised for the OP - Barrie is the start of 'cottage country' in Ontario - will mean that from Easter to Thanksgiving that the drive home after work on Fridays will tend to be longer, as lots of people head north to enjoy the country.
Just something to keep in mind - just a balancing act of how much time you'll spend in traffic versus the greater natural beauty you'll find north of the city compared to the shorter drive from suburbia
Oct 19th 2013, 7:11 pm
#28
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Re: Where to live in/around GTA?
Hmm, good points, it's a tricky one. We are going in just under a week so can't wait to get a bit of a feel for each place to compare and to decide which boxes to be ticked are the most important ones for us. We will be visiting properties as well to compare what we can get in each place.
From the actual property on google maps to place of work, I was so shocked and pleased; it is only 1 hour! My OH is happy with that commute as he currently does similar and used to do 1:45hours each way. Much more that that would be a bit much but he doesn't mind driving thankfully! Good that it's near Barrie as he knows a couple who live there so we will have some familiar faces to start with.
Once we have narrowed down to our favourite places/place, we will plan a second trip to spend more time in these locations and take it from there. From the you tube videos, Oakville and Burlington do look really great places to live, couldn't see much of Milton or Orangeville, from the vids I saw they didn't appeal greatly, but will still visit to see for sure. Caledon seems like it could work for us too and then the street view in and around Innisfil look gorgeous. Also going to visit Newmarket and Aurora.
Whilst there this time, OH will do the actual commute from favourite destination to his work place to see what it's like and will aim to go in a medium traffic time for a realistic/ pessimistic idea. One good thing about rotating shifts is that sometimes for weeks in a row he will miss Fridays and therefore the busiest traffic by the sounds of it.
From the actual property on google maps to place of work, I was so shocked and pleased; it is only 1 hour! My OH is happy with that commute as he currently does similar and used to do 1:45hours each way. Much more that that would be a bit much but he doesn't mind driving thankfully! Good that it's near Barrie as he knows a couple who live there so we will have some familiar faces to start with.
Once we have narrowed down to our favourite places/place, we will plan a second trip to spend more time in these locations and take it from there. From the you tube videos, Oakville and Burlington do look really great places to live, couldn't see much of Milton or Orangeville, from the vids I saw they didn't appeal greatly, but will still visit to see for sure. Caledon seems like it could work for us too and then the street view in and around Innisfil look gorgeous. Also going to visit Newmarket and Aurora.
Whilst there this time, OH will do the actual commute from favourite destination to his work place to see what it's like and will aim to go in a medium traffic time for a realistic/ pessimistic idea. One good thing about rotating shifts is that sometimes for weeks in a row he will miss Fridays and therefore the busiest traffic by the sounds of it.
Oct 19th 2013, 10:56 pm
#29
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Re: Where to live in/around GTA?
I based the time on the comments of a colleague who commutes from a housing project on the south edge of Barrie. He drove to an office near the airport for a couple of years and his wife still does. They say an hour and a half to the airport, I allowed half an hour for the property being north of Barrie and so north of serious ploughing. Still, try it, maybe you'll like it.
Oct 19th 2013, 11:16 pm
#30
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Re: Where to live in/around GTA?
Still, try it, maybe you'll like it.