Oakvillian

Blink and you've missed it! Where did the last seven years go? Two additional children, a couple more jobs on the resume, a slightly frustrating relationship with CIC processing the PR application (and an enforced period of "resting" from employment as a result), a whole load more grey in a whole load less hair.

Not moving anywhere else anytime soon, though. We quite like it here.

MillieF

There have been a few times when time has shot by in a second, and they have always been the happy ones! Children and jobs and lifestyle (this is I am assuming Mrs. Oakvillian) are going well...yeah you...and all that sail in you!

7 years is a big number

DandNHill

Wow, congrats... We've done 2 so far and hope we'll still be here to celebrate 7... Just might not be in Yarmouth, NS!

Oakvillian

no, this was himself... SWMBO would be mortified to find even one grey hair, let alone have it all falling out of her head

Today is another lovely day, made better by my commute. Set off early, right round the top of Toronto - this is the view of the car park from my office window

ann m

Congrats on your seven years - and your view!

BristolUK

You got off lightly then. But you made it.

iaink

Congratulations, I would have sworn it was longer than that!

Oakvillian

"slightly frustrating" was a little bit of an understatement... case was moved from Buffalo to CPP-Ottawa, was dropped down the back of a filing cabinet there (or so it seemed), moved back to Buffalo when Ottawa found it again, moved back to Ottawa when Buffalo closed, then sent to Detroit for final processing. Two interventions by our local MP, both of which resulted ("coincidentally," apparently, but I don't believe that for a nanosecond) in the case moving to the next stage within 48 hours - the second time I received COPR via email from Detroit within 15 minutes of a confirmation from my MP's office that they had asked for a status update.

In the middle of all that I'd been made redundant, so had some very frustrating conversations with potential new employers along the lines of "if you can just hang on til CIC extract digits from inappropriate orifices, I can start next week/month/year/whenever." Meanwhile we were living off a line of credit. That's where most of the grey hair came from, I reckon...

SchnookoLoly

It makes me happy to read this - I'm an Oakvillian myself, born and raised, but moved to London 5 years ago. Husband is a Brit and we are moving in about 5 weeks... so this is encouraging! What have you liked or not liked about Oakville? I know it pretty well but it will be useful to show this to Husband. My parents still live in Oakville, and we will be setting up shop there too. Husband has a job lined up in Toronto (walking distance from Union).

Oakvillian

Hmmm, what have I liked and not liked... I actually might need to think about this a bit!

Liked:

• the Town's recreation & culture department, and the variety, frequency and good value of courses they put on for adults and children. Swimming, various sports, exercise classes, summer day-camps, arts & cultural bits (drawing, photography). And there are lots of other sporting and cultural clubs and societies: between us, the various members of my family have been involved in soccer, gymnastics, choral singing, rugby, cycling, dragonboating, canoeing, art classes, scouting, guiding... never a dull moment!
• the GO train. My first job was walking distance from Union station. There was (no longer; the timetables have changed since) a train in the morning that started at Oakville and ran express to Union. Empty, warm and waiting on the platform in the morning - it took me a little less than an hour door-to-desk including the city bus to Oakville station
• my immediate neighbourhood. We really lucked-in with our house, our neighbours and the community feel of the place. We have a convenience store and a couple of other shops in a mini-mall at the end of the road, a woodlot/ravine behind the house, and a very friendly and welcoming bunch of people living nearby. Kids play out on the street without a second thought, or they're in and out of each others' yards, pools or houses.
• The downtown area and the lakefront - we live in College Park, north of the QEW, so it's a drive or a cycle rather than a stroll to the lake. Downtown Oakville has a tendency towards the twee, there are too many extra "e"s on the names of various Olde Shoppes of Various Sortes, but you can still get a decent pint or cuppa, some proper shops (including an excellent but rather pretentious butcher), and there's (mostly) reasonable access to the lake via public parks.
• Healthcare. Primary care (we found an excellent family doctor), specialist care (on the few occasions we've had referrals to a consultant) and hospital emergency care have all been universally faultless.

So-so:

• the schooling: Until recently I was hugely enthusiastic about the local school board. The start that both my elder kids got through kindergarten was excellent (child #3 starts in Sept). The French Immersion school they've attended since Gr.1 has been superb, too... until now, when some very short-sighted planning a couple of years ago by the Board seems to be coming back to bite them on the arse, with over-subscribed FI schools, no more space for portables, and a loss of art, tech, and music facilities as a result. That may change, though, as the parents are revolting . Apart from this niggle, though (and I gather from friends there are similar issues elsewhere in the Halton District board's area) the quality of schooling is high.

Disliked:

• Restaurants close ridiculously early. OK, so this is suburban North America, but I still am taken by surprise when the staff are beginning to shut up shop around you not much after 9.30 in the evening.
• There's a lot of NIMBYism. The political mess that was the power generating plant is just one example. There's something of a feeling of entitlement amongst the wealthier residents (of which there are very many). People seem to think they can throw money at a problem to make it go away, and too often they appear to be correct.
• Traffic's getting worse. OK, so having just complained about NIMBYs, I need to be careful how I put this There's a great deal of new housing development in north Oakville and west into Burlington. The main east-west arteries (the QEW and to a lesser extent Upper Middle Road and Dundas St) are getting busier, for longer, each morning and afternoon.
• Public transit, except for commuting. The bus network is designed around the two GO stations as transit hubs. It's not often easy or convenient to get across town or over the highway outside of rush hour, unless you drive. Obviously, this was not a surprise for a Canadian suburban dormitory community. But it still bugs me every now and then. My OH managed for a while (she didn't drive when we first moved here) but is very glad to have a car now there are more, and older, kids to ferry around!
• licensing laws - but that's a provincial, rather than a local, concern.

SchnookoLoly

Thanks a ton, that is really, really helpful. A lot of it is what I was hoping you would say, they're things that I've felt but it's nice to have someone else's view so I can check I'm not just being biased!

We are looking around the Bronte GO station, and I saw that they have now changed the regular Lakeshore West line to be half-hourly, even if it is the stopping service, but at least every 30 minutes is way better than hourly. Chances are we'd be driving or taking the bus to the GO Station, depending on where we end up, but the drive isn't likely to be more than about 10 minutes based on where we've been looking. So that's encouraging that you don't find the commute that bad. (I spent the first few months of my work commuting as well, then got put on a project outside of Toronto, but I still had a feel for it and I never minded it. I like that it's one train. In London it takes me about 45 minutes door to door, but that's a 10 minute walk, 3 tube stops, change, 2 tube stops, change, 2 more tube stops, exit, 10 minute walk... much prefer just sitting on one train for slightly longer.)

My mom has told me the east-west arteries are getting busier, but as you said, outside of rush hour it isn't too bad. Husband being a commuter it's alright, I suppose it's something to keep in mind while I'm job hunting though, in case I don't end up in Toronto myself!

Is the butcher the german one? I haven't been myself, but a friend goes there. He has the same things to say, if it is the same one!

This is all great information, thanks so much for sharing, I really appreciate it.

Oakvillian

The butcher I'm thinking of is "Just an Olde-Fashioned Butchery and Seafood" on Lakeshore at about Thomas. You may be referring to Denningers, a German deli and butchery on Lakeshore in Bronte village. Both are good, both a little pretentious!

I don't commute downtown any more (I drive right across Toronto to Richmond Hill, longer but manageable...). The half-hourly off-peak service would certainly make the odd early afternoon or late evening a bit easier to deal with. That was one of my minor annoyances about the train commute: an evening out after work was beholden on being back at Union just before 43 minutes past the hour. I miss the GO train now, though. That extra half hour or so of working, reading, dozing - you can't do any of those things in a car without being told off

Steve_P

Congratulations on seven and no itch.

Let's hope that all of your difficulties are well and truly behind you.

Oakvillian

Thank you Steve. I bloody well hope so - 2012 was a year I'd quite like not to have to repeat. The crowning glory was an emergency appendectomy just before Christmas: an appropriate punctuation mark on the end of a crappy twelve months. I'm glad to report that things are well and truly looking up now, though.

Hmmm - it's just started spitting with rain here. It may be a somewhat soggy homeward journey...

MillieF

Oakvillian, your car is wonderful, absolutely lovely....I am seldom of a jealous persuasion but I might make an exception with such a splendid motor