Where to move to in Canada?
 

I've been granted my IEC and planning to move out next year. However, I have no idea where would be the best place for me to go to.
I had initially thought Vancouver but have been scared off with stories of expensive cost of living and unmanageable rent.

I'm open to other ideas of places to stay and they don't need to be one of the big cities.

I have a arts and design degree but most of my work experience has been in admin or with children. I don't like to live a lavish lifestyle but I do like to be able to go eat out and buy the odd coffee etc. I'm mostly interested in moving somewhere where I can make friends and socialise. It's important I can afford to eat good food and that my rent won't cripple me. I like to save money as well so I'm really just hoping to live hand to mouth during my time in Canada. I'd like to be somewhere a bit 'hip' and relaxed and lots of nature.

Just throw ideas at me, I'm open to anything, feeling a bit lost at the moment...

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

You claim that you don't need to be moving to one of the big cities, but I disagree. I think you will only be happiest in Canada's most urban environments. You claim you desire to be able to go out and eat out, and buy the odd coffee, and easily make friends, easily socialise, and easily eat good food, while living somewhere that's hip. You're not going to find this lifestyle easily in Canada's surburban spawl or rural communities.

My advice is to look into Montreal's Plateau neighbourhood, Toronto's Queen Street West area, Calgary's Beltline, Vancouver's Commerical Drive neighbourhood, Winnipeg's Osborne Village, or Victoria's Cook Street Village. Ottawa or Halifax may also appeal.

Edit: The request to have access to lots of nature would put Vancouver and Victoria in the forefront and Toronto at the back of the list.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

+ Connaught, Mission, Bankview, Kensington, Bridgeland, and Inglewood.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

Okay, but why does "hip" have to be the deciding factor?

The OP mentioned a number of 'desirables' one of which was avoiding crippling rent costs and another was saving money.

Swap hip for affordable rent costs and many of those recommendations likely fall by the wayside with 90% of Canada coming back into play without relying on rural or suburban sprawl.

I'd guess money was probably more important so long as there was a degree of city living involved and there are likely many places outside of Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto that would suit.

To be fair, you did mention other places too but I'm sure there are a whole lot more.

One might, of course, compromise by being in all those places where most things can be had with 'hip' being obtained by visits to Toronto instead of living there just as one could visit London without living rurally in the UK.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

Hamilton.

Simples.

Pubs, clubs, coffee shops, art crawls, live music, festivals, concerts, restaurants, parks, Royal Botanical Gardens, cycle ways, 45m-1 hr from Toronto by public transport. Uni city so lots of young people, 2 streets of just pubs (Augusta Street and Hess Village)..

Rents probably half of Toronto.

I Heart Hamilton - Be a tourist in your own city.
Home | Tourism Hamilton
www.padmapper.com

:)

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

Calgary has lots of green space and nature. People are friendly and the Rockies are only an hour away. Weather is ..... diferent and exciting are the only words I can give to describe it lol! Let's say it's not predictable. Fish Creek Park is part of Calgary so if can't travel it's there on your doorstep. And we have the best Mayor EVER😀

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

Anywhere there is a university or large college - more likely to be able to find cheaper accommodation, perhaps a room in a a shared house to kickstart making friends and learning about the area. Student areas also tend to have lots of what you've described as desirable.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

TrishP seems to be talking a lot of sense! Perhaps a town with a University which has decent transport connections to a major city, if you're not planning on getting a car? Over here in Ontario I wonder if it might be worthwhile loking at Guelph. Or Hamilton. Or perhaps Peterborough.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

I agree that sharing a place with other young people is a good idea and it's true that local amenities and night life tend to spring up in areas where there are large numbers of students. However, having thousands of university/college students and staff looking for accommodation doesn't necessarily mean lower rents If anything, it's more likely to drive rents up unless enough construction/renovation has happened to open up a large number of places to live. Basic supply and demand rules still apply. University/college towns attract real estate investors because of the steady demand and they are there to make money.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

Guelph and Hamilton have GO train/bus connections to Toronto, it's possible to commute and certainly possible to go a concert or sports event by public transit. Peterborough not so much.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

No Hamilton, stay away, its comparable to Grimsby or Luton in the UK. Burlington & Oakville however are amazing cities.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

For a young person? Granted, they're pleasant enough suburbs, if you like the suburban thing, but, good grief, if you don't have 2.4 children to Chelsea tractor to football practise, why would you live there? That's like sending a young Canadian to experience the fun of Ruislip.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

Oakville is a town, not a city. It is very nice and I loved the four years spent living there but I wouldn't describe it as amazing.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

Have you ever actually been to Hamilton (in the last decade or two)?

Burlington???? :huh: Just an expensive suburb.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

Valid point! I know that when I was in university I paid extortionate rate for a really crappy place sharing with 4 others in a not so great area. I'm a little older too so I don't really feel like living like a squatter any more!

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

Halifax.
Lots of university students, great vibe in the evening., Bars, restaurants, small enough to get round without a car but still with options. Rent shouldn't be as much as the other cities but I would def check that aspect out more as I don't and never have rented here.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

I live 15 minutes away from Hamilton :lol: go there every weekend to visit my mates, don't get me wrong its a cracking city, but its very rough around the edges, mind you if you score a place on the mountain or at the base of it around the Hospital there is lots to see and do (with very affordable rents to boot)

I'm just not a fan of Hamilton, I've been mugged there, witnessed two shootings in Hess Village in the past and find that their transit system is very confusing.

I think Burlington is great, same with Oakville, true they are not big cities and both have a small town feel, but they are more laid back, low unemployment and moderate cost of living (granted much higher than Hamilton) - Of course you're not going to have your pub district like you have in Hamilton, or such a large population. Honestly if that's what you're looking for there are only cities worth it in Ontario, Ottawa and Toronto (but I'm very cynical about the area I live in lol)

One thing I love about Hamilton is the selection of international cuisine, there's also an AMAZING international grocery store called "Nations" in Jackson Square, I have to keep away otherwise I'll blow my whole pay lol.

I suppose recommending Hamilton is better than recommending St Catharines or Niagara Falls, now those, those are the definition of s***holes :lol:

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

Rubbish. I've lived in Hamilton for going on 15 years - it's nothing like Luton! Transit isn't confusing if you live here, I use it all the time. Agreed that living 'up the hill' or in the West end is preferable, though the downtown core has improved tremedously. I would avoid the Northern side (for living), that is a little rough around the edges, but even the East end is ok.

I agree that Burlington is a nice City, however, it's VERY expensive to rent there.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

Luton might have been a bit of an exaggeration, that comparison is more suited to St Catharines :lol:

I was looking at rents in Burlington a few months ago and nearly shat myself when I saw the prices near the Lakeshore :ohmy:

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

I agree (again - seriously worried now😖). I live in Oakville, it's great, but I have 2 kids and a dog so fit the demographic described by dbd33. I am not sure I would recommend it to a young single person with a limited amount of time to experience a different country. I like the Hamilton suggestion, true it has parts that are not too pretty, but it's possible to get into Toronto via public transport, it's affordable compared to other areas and it has a lot going on in terms of concerts, places to eat etc. and some great conservation areas, parks and waterfalls for the nature side of things - also some decent beaches close by for swimming in the summer.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

Both St Catharines and Niagara Falls have some great areas to live in. Possibly less good options for the OP though as they are further away from a big city, but your description is misleading.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

St Catharines has some great areas to live in but good luck finding a job or an affordable place to live. I live in St Catharines, I know first hand what its like here. Granted I'm very cynical of the area as I despise it, its a city full of drug addicts and second generation welfare recipients, unemployment of 8% and ever increasing cost of living. Its heyday of the 1970's when you couldn't keep British expats away for all the opportunities at General Motors, TRW and Thompson Products has long since passed and has had a very hard time getting away from its Rust Belt Economy. Its consistently rated one of the worst areas in Canada to live and work, this year I believe it made the top 5.

I will say one thing though, if you're a Brock or Niagara student you will have a BLAST in Niagara, there are almost as many pubs & bars as Hamilton and the majority don't charge cover, plus heaps of international restaurants at great prices (including 10+ all you can eat sushi restaurants)

This is my opinion of this area and I know it quite well, everyone has a different perspective of things and constant cycles of being laid off, barely able to meet my cost of living and experiencing first hand what its like to live here has put me off just a bit. I'd kill to live in Hamilton over St Catharines, and I'm not even that much of a fan of Hamilton ! lol

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

I will bow to your greater knowledge. However I am a little confused how you can say Oakville and Burlington have a 'moderate cost of living' and St. Catharines is unaffordable. Average sale price for detached 4 bed home in St Catharines, approx $380k, in Oakville, approx $1.1 mi. Burlington approx $850k and Hamilton approx $500k.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

For me its about whether or not the cost of living is worth it for the city you live in. In my opinion the cost of living in Burlington & Oakville are worth paying the extra for given the area and opportunities (they're among some of the best rated cities to live and work in the country). Sure the house prices are cheap in St Kitts but where are you going to work to sustain yourself, rents are higher than Hamilton too, I pay $1000 a month for a 2 bedroom plus hydro (and this is one of the cheapest buildings in the city, nice place though)

And I really hope I'm not upsetting anyone or undermining anyone's opinion, I would just hate to see someone coming all the way over here and settling in a place like this when there are so many amazing places across this country. And again, take my feedback with a grain of salt, I'm on my way out, moving back to the UK in the next 8 months so I do have a "grass is greener" point of view at this point :lol:

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

I'm sorry. No-one suggested St. Catherines until you mentioned the place (a nice place for certain tastes IMHO).

The problem was your condemnation of Hamilton which (again IMHO) has a lot going for it these days.

Just out of curiosity, where do you plan to return to in the UK? Luton?

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

:lol:

I was initially going with Glasgow but there is more and more of the likelihood that I'll get a transfer with my current employer to Edinburgh.

My apologies to the Hamilton-ites on here, it was not my intention to offend, and granted my response was quite damning on Hamilton and in perspective they have made leaps and bounds in recent years with their city for the better.

Also the suggestion to OP re: Guelph is spot on, I have some friends that moved from the UK to Guelph for school and they loved it.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

I'm from glasgow and even though I've travelled all over the world for the last three years it really is one of my favourite places. It's an amazing city with so much to offer. If you get out and make friends eat drink etc it's a great place to live. Edinburgh is a lot more beautiful on the surface but lacks a soul which Glasgow has so much of. Also Glasgow is only a few hours away from the highlands which are amazing.

Moving to Canada but hard selling my home town here haha. Honestly though, Scotland can be wonderful.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

And there I was about to call for you. :lol:

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

I know Guelph well, we lived there for a couple of years. It has a lot of bars and restaurants for a small town but, depending on your definitions of "nature" and "hip" it likely misses out on both. All around is farmland which is fine if your idea of "nature" is horses and cows but not so good if you're looking for mountains and bears. It does have lots of young men who show the barber how their beard should be sculpted using pictures on their iphone though he's been banging out Mumford and Son lookalikes all morning and can do another hipster with his eyes shut.

Typical college town, always smells of weed, lots of bicycles, organic everything available next to one of the retro clothing shops. Avoid the sushi place opposite the station.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

The rent in Calgary has gone down recently do to the oil slump as alot of people have left and its a really nice city.There is still work although not in oil obviously.Dont go to Winnipeg!

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

Why not? Have you lived there? Winnipeg seems to get a bad rap, mostly from those who've never lived there.
It's certainly not the most picturesque of Canadian cities, but has lots of good stuff going on, the people are real and the food scene is great.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

The climate there alone would be enough for me, lol

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

It's actually not that bad, due to the generally low humidity (unusually, humidity was very high there a few weeks back, with temps hitting the high 30s/low 40s). Yes, the actual temperature in winter can be pretty low in the winter, but it's a 'skin-deep' cold and not the bone-chilling cold found in Eastern Ontario and further eastwards in Canada.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

Oooh low humidity, I like it :)

Niagara Region is like bloody well Panama when it comes to humidity, outside 5 minutes and you're hoaching with sweat.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

I hear ya, I'm in sauna city aka Ottawa ;)

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

I lived there for 5yrs and Im very happy to be now living in Calgary.I have good friends there who I visit when Im passing through but I wouldnt recommend it to anyone coming to live in Canada there are much better places.
Winnipegers would to say to me when I lived there " why did you come to Winnipeg?" says it all.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

You've still not really explained why not. One man's meat is another man's poison, so it might be more useful to give your perspective with some facts and experiences.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

Canadians asked me why I moved to Canada, some still do. Says no more than they maybe interested in the answer.

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

Well we all know about the brutal winters so dont need to explain that.In Calgary I venture downtown whenever I have a days off,in Winnipeg I never went downtown only when I absolutely needed to go there ,its full of homeless people begging for money or cigs.Calgary has a few but not on the scale of the Peg .Native gangs are a feature of Winnipeg ,drive by shooting anyone? Never seen or heard of this in Calgary.
Maybe I should have wrote it better like this "why in the name of god did you come to Winnipeg??"

Re: Where to move to in Canada?
 

Downtown is beginning to tidy up, with more clubs opening, but Osborne Village and the Forks have become the go-to/hang-out areas. I was up there a few weeks ago for a couple of weeks visiting family and was very pleasantly surprised by how vibrant the city felt, lots of patios open, people everywhere, festivals happening. Like any city anywhere in the world, there are always going to be society's drop-outs/criminal elements and Winnipeg does admittedly have more than it's fair share of native issues in comparison with other large cities in Canada, but using common sense and not exposing oneself to unnecessary risks are a fat of life as a sensible person. Drive-by shootings are now commonplace in Ottawa!