Affordable places to live on Southern Ontario

[Zeitgeist Spirit]

I'm interested in getting some feedback on where in Southern Ontario is a reasonable place to live. I know this may sound crazy, but I'm thinking of leaving BC for Ontario.

Currently living in Kelowna, BC. It may sound like paradise, but the place is turning into a mecca for the rich and ultra rich. The average house price is pushing over $400,000 and the costs of everything are starting to skyrocket. A lot of this is being contributed to well-off retired people moving here from other parts of the country, the states and the world. And with it, the snobbery that go's along with it.

I've been out to Ontario back in the 90's and I liked it. Been through Barrie, Kitchener, Hamilton areas, seems nice to me. At least there appears to be a middle class! Anybody have any idea what its like to live in these places?

Im guessing Toronto is expensive, but what about the outlying communities? 905 country I believe its called?

Basically, Im looking to find a city/ community that has a reasonable cost of living that won't be overrun by retiring baby-boomer millionaires. Any and all opinions will be appreciated..

 

[Jay]

You might consider London Ontario. Housing prices are reasonable.

 

[Lieutenant Governor]

London for sure. It's got all the resources of a larger city but plenty of nice park space and bike trails through the whole city. The average house price is probably somewhere between 100000 - 200000. There are a shitload of bars and several colleges and one university. You could drive accross the city in a half hour.

Overall a great place to be if you like the accessabilty of the city but not the large populace or inflated prices that come with.

 

[Zeitgeist Spirit]

London eh

Thanks for the feedback guys,

I looked at London Ontario on the internet, not bad. Can't be the only resonable place to live in the provence? can it? My GF wants to look at places that are commuting distance from Toronto. She plans on going to school there. I figure Barrie, maybe? or Hamilton. Any ideas.
Thanks

 

[Boxcar]

Check out Port Perry, small town on Lake Scugog. Nice feel about it quaint downtown, good people. east of Toronto.

 

[IMM]

Barrie is not bad at all. It's about 1 hr drive from Toronto, quite well developed. Not very much traffic. Georgian College is nearby. Lake Simcoe is very close. We mooved here 2 years ago and we really like it

 

[MikeyDB]

I lived in Barrie for a long time and am considering moving back there...(I'm in London just now)...

There is however a good deal of difference between the kind of winter you'd experience in Barrie as compared to London...

London is in the banana belt while Barrie is in the "Great White North"...

 

[McDonald]

Kitchener-Waterloo, perhaps? Cambridge?

 

[2chips]

This'll give you some idea of the house prices in those cities suggested by the posters. Happy hunting.

http://www.mls.ca/PropertySearch.aspx

The thought of 'commuting' into Toronto gives me the shudders. Never mind the cost of the gas - it's those 2 hour plus tie ups when the car just ahead has a fender bender. And then there's snow storms to contend with...good grief!

 

[kdminc]

We're thinking of relocating to London as well...

I see that there are a couple of posters in this thread that do or have lived in London, my wife and I have be scouring the mls listings etc.. but the fact is that we have 3 kids and a good neighborhood with a school is of interest, but then again we are considering building new.

Can anyone suggest which are better areas to buy in (looking to spend 270-300 thousand) on a four bedroom?

This has to be the toughest part of moving a family when you don't really know the city you are moving to. We will be looking to rent for a few months when we first get there so that we figure out the neighborhoods etc before making and final decisions but we don't really want to end up renting in an undesirable neighbourhood.

 

[annabattler]

North of Toronto,i.e. Richmond Hill,Aurora and Newmarket can be pricey...but,all are in commuting distance of Toronto. New subdivisons are springing up everywhere...but,those towns offer everything you'd want,lots of recreation,availability to open spaces,etc.
Further north(Keswick and Quuensville)are still commutable,and offer easy access to Toronto.

 

[artie4848]

This is a funny topic ! Our parents worked hard and gave the boomers the ability to secure jobs that took them for thirty years and now they are spending it . Some would say whats wrong with that well that would work out if there was going to be those thirty year jobs for the kids following them we have priced ourselves out of the large middle class to the all most none at all . And that would fine because in thirty more years those $400,000 house will be rooming house,s for the lower class. Few will be able to afford the life style that their parent s enjoyed and they always said when they went on strike it was to give their kids a future . Well lets see if they were really thinking of them .I think it shows that they educate the kids to be all about ME just as they have been . Not all but enough to make a big differnce in our life style as we know of today.

 

[kygal]

The Niagara Region

The Niagara region will offer you a little bit of everything including drivable distance from Toronto and you could even live in the country but be close to a larger city. The area is full of fruit trees and grape arbours and you can have fresh fruit all summer long, not to mention the beautiful blooms in the spring! You could find an area that's almost directly between Hamilton and St. Catharines and have access to either in just a short drive. You're also fairly close to Niagara Falls for anyone visiting. I absolutely love this area and the winters aren't nearly as harsh as what I've experienced in Collingwood and Barrie. Barrie has been blasted with snow the last few years but if you like the snow and skiing, you're right with it there. But the Niagara region is within a 2 1/2 hr. drive of all that and the best part is you get to come home to the milder climate.

Just my 2 cents worth!

Mary

 

[tipseynipsey]

I'd say either London or Niagra region for sure, a lot more reasonable than Toronto, that being said, I'm a sucker and live in Toronto haha

 

[SirJosephPorter]

I have been told that Sarnia is a very good place to live. It is a nice, quiet place, well away form the hustle and bustle of Toronto (three hours from Toronto). It is right on the shores of lake Huron, a lakefront house could be had rather cheaply. It is a reasonably big city, but not too big.

While isolated, it is connected with rest of Ontario with a highway, 402, which merges onto 401 near London. What is more, it is located right on the border, so getting into USA is fairly quick. Detroit is little more than an hour away.

We are thinking of moving to Sarnia,, in a few years, after we retire. I was told that a nice lakefront four bedroom home could be had for as little as 500,000 $. I don’t know what is the average house price, probably not more than 150,000 $(house prices fall off sharply as you move away from the lake).

The downside is that it is a very conservative place, with not much in the way of night life. So it may not be suitable for young people. However, to raise a family or for retirement, it sounds great.

There are no traffic jams, and cost of living is low and unemployment is high. Somebody I know from Sarnia told me ‘Sarnia is a well kept secret, and let us keep it that way’.

 

[sedona]

What about Cobourg or
Port Hope??

I just got back from there

now, to live there, I m not sure
how it would pan out

Im in the metro area
and hate the pollution
love it a bit further out
of the city

best on your search

Kingston is quite expensive,I believe


Sedona