# Advice on settling in Ontario (London, Missassauga ?)



## jumomo (Feb 27, 2011)

Hi All,
Instead of reading the posts I finally joined and decided to be more involved as it seems we may well be heading to Canada in the next 12 months.
We have visited and researched a lot, and we are narrowing down to London or Missassauga area in our search to settle there ( think positive !!!!) 
I am a Head Chef/Senior Catering Manager and looking for any comments/suggestions/advice on the London or Missassauga areas. Obviously we have looked at lots of threads and info', but it would be great to hear peoples personal experiences or helpful information.
My husband and I have 2 children...a 10 year old boy and a 6 year old girl !!
Thanks in advance !!


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## PatrickB (Feb 21, 2011)

jumomo said:


> Hi All,
> Instead of reading the posts I finally joined and decided to be more involved as it seems we may well be heading to Canada in the next 12 months.
> We have visited and researched a lot, and we are narrowing down to London or Missassauga area in our search to settle there ( think positive !!!!)
> I am a Head Chef/Senior Catering Manager and looking for any comments/suggestions/advice on the London or Missassauga areas. Obviously we have looked at lots of threads and info', but it would be great to hear peoples personal experiences or helpful information.
> ...


London and Mississauga are about 2 hours drive apart, and really, the experience is quite different.

Mississauga is essentially a suburb of Toronto (Canada's largest city), so it's a very, very urban environment. The major airport is there, and you would have access to pretty much any and all facilities, shops, etc in the Mississauga area. From an employment perspective, you probably have more options available to you living in Mississauga (about 40 mins to downtown Toronto....a little more in rush-hour). You're also relatively close to Lake Ontario (though it's not someplace I'd care to go swimming...both due to the cold, and perpetual pollution problems).

London is a decent little city in it's own right. Generally cheaper than Mississauga, but fewer opportunities overall for employment, etc. London has a small, regional airport, but any flights overseas will require a 2+ hour drive into Pearson airport in Toronto. The 401 highway between London and Toronto is generally pretty good (4 lanes), but in winter it can get downright lousy at times, so if you need something specific from the "big city", going from London to Toronto may not be the most enjoyable choice.

London is more like a small, rural city, so if that's your preference, then it's a good choice (I've always liked London, and contemplated living there myself for awhile). Mississauga, on the other hand, is a suburban city close to a metropolis, so it's great for getting the best (and occasionally the worst) of both worlds. It's very suburban in terms of housing (ie, more single family homes, and fewer apartment buildings), but you get a lot of commuter traffic going downtown Toronto for work every day. 

You'll get more sporting events in Mississauga (ie, Toronto Maple Leafs hockey, Toronto Argonauts football, Toronto Football Club, and Toronto Bluejays baseball) than you would in London, though the London Knights junior hockey team is pretty good.



Patrick


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## FidgeFodge (Jun 22, 2010)

jumomo said:


> Hi All,
> Instead of reading the posts I finally joined and decided to be more involved as it seems we may well be heading to Canada in the next 12 months.
> We have visited and researched a lot, and we are narrowing down to London or Missassauga area in our search to settle there ( think positive !!!!)
> I am a Head Chef/Senior Catering Manager and looking for any comments/suggestions/advice on the London or Missassauga areas. Obviously we have looked at lots of threads and info', but it would be great to hear peoples personal experiences or helpful information.
> ...


Hi,

I am Canadian who grew up in Toronto. About a year ago I moved to Hamilton, ON (about a 40 min. drive from Toronto). There are many factors in determining where to settle down within Ontario.

For work, especially since you work in food services I would suggest living closer to Toronto, mainly because of the population density but also the abundance of restaurants and events. However, as someone else mentioned, it is quite expensive to live in Toronto, one of the reasons I'm now in Hamilton!

Mississauga is a suburb and if you don't have a car, it can be quite annoying to get around. They do have public transportation (buses) but in terms of walking, it's not a walkable city. Most of the streets are like one big neverending highway extension. There is a large mall, and then clumps of housing that looks exactly the same. In terms of diversity, there isn't much.

I've personally never lived in London but it's definitely improving and more of an interesting city than Mississauga.

Is there any specific reason why you chose those 2 cities? There are many more desirable cities around Toronto that may be a better fit, depending on what you're looking for.


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## jumomo (Feb 27, 2011)

We are definitely not set on London and Missassauga, and would love to hear more about other smaller cities that are a good place to raise a family.
My partner and I are trying to narrow down to particular areas of Ontario that we both like. We want to visit them and decide where we want to focus our job search. We live pretty central in Zone 2 of London, U.K at the moment.
Basically we want to be be in an area which is not too urban and a small city like London, Ontario appeals. I am an outdoorsy person, but my partner is not so much !
We would like to be in an area where the education is good for the kids.
Missassauga looks good for work, and has been recommended to us by a few people, but I find it too urban and as posted by PatrickB, the rush hour/roads are way too busy for my liking...may as well be in London, U.K. Also a little too expensive as we want to be able to stretch our money to buy a better property than we have now without a massive mortgage.
We have visited various places in Ontario as we have a few friends and accquaintances there.
I have passed through and stayed in Hamilton a few times over many years, but maybe I have not seen the appeal yet...or the areas that are the best, as my husband has said this could be a good area to focus on !?!
Decisions, Decisions. When you have to uproot children, you want to be more sure about where you settle so that you don't end up moving around too much once you are there. Any advice would be gratefully received.
I am English and my husband is from Morocco originally.


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## FidgeFodge (Jun 22, 2010)

jumomo said:


> We are definitely not set on London and Missassauga, and would love to hear more about other smaller cities that are a good place to raise a family.
> My partner and I are trying to narrow down to particular areas of Ontario that we both like. We want to visit them and decide where we want to focus our job search. We live pretty central in Zone 2 of London, U.K at the moment.
> Basically we want to be be in an area which is not too urban and a small city like London, Ontario appeals. I am an outdoorsy person, but my partner is not so much !
> We would like to be in an area where the education is good for the kids.
> ...


Oh moving to another country, especially with children is quite a change and of course doing research is this most important thing! 

Questions:

Are you looking to buy or rent a home when you get here?
Are you looking at private, public of catholic schools?
What type of neighbourhood setting are you looking for? (i.e, eclectic, more surburban)

Hamilton: I didn't like it at first, I grew up in Toronto so it was a big change, however it's growing on me. There are definitely areas that I would not suggest (east downtown) but my area downtown Hamilton West is quite nice and has a really great eclectic atmosphere. There are a lot of interesting small shops, the farmers market year round, diversity, a few schools in the neighbourhood, and housing prices (for sale) are quite reasonable (check out mls.ca to look at housing prices in Ontario) $120,000 - $300,000 depending on what you're looking for. 

There is some history here, apparently it's the "city of waterfalls", there is a lot of nice bodies of water, the bayfront which people take out their boats, there are walk/biking/blading trails there.

If you're looking for more of a suburban life you would probably move to Hamilton Mountain, the houses all sort of look the same, there are strip malls, or limeridge mall etc. 

Burlington is also not so bad and closer to Toronto (roughly 15 minutes from Hamilton, 30 from Toronto). Reasonable housing, maybe a little more expensive than Hamilton. 

I wouldn't suggest Mississauga for the reasons I mentioned before and the same ones you did. To me, it always seemed more like a city built around a highway.

I would also not go to Scarborough, as there are quite a few dangerous areas.

Oakville is also between the two points and is quite an expensive city to live in. 

If you were to move to Toronto, there are areas with definite wilderness. High Park or a little more west would be a good place to go. It would be a city life for sure, so your husband may enjoy it more, but it's a very good standing neighbourhood, there are many families and high park is a big green space with lots of trails, cycling, free theater in the summer etc. But again, it is Toronto and an area that is desirable so it can be pricey!

But for sure check out mls.ca to look for houses on sale
If you are looking for rental costs I would go to viewit.ca or kijiji.ca (enter in city)

Hope that helps!


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## jumomo (Feb 27, 2011)

FidgeFodge said:


> Oh moving to another country, especially with children is quite a change and of course doing research is this most important thing!
> 
> Questions:
> 
> ...


That's great info' thankyou !
-We will probably rent for the first year or two till more settled, then buy a place.
-Schoolwise we will go for public schooling.
-Neighbourhood...a little more eclectic, preferably !


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