# Areas to Live, Shopping & Schools



## movintoca (Aug 5, 2013)

Hi All,

My partner will work in York St - half-way up it - more-or-less. 

We have been told mississauga is a good place to live with a family (but have just read that it is also soulless), but it would seem the area is huge - does anyone have any preferences as to which bits are best? He would likely commute by car, so being within an easy access to the highway would be good. I would prefer to walk 5 mins to the nearest school, particularly when I will have 2 by that time and one will be new.

I have also read Oakville and Milton are good places to live - on this forum. We currently live with a view of the sea, therefore, it would be great to live with a view of, or within walking distance of a river, or lake... Using google streetview only tells a little of the story...

Does anyone know any good schools in these areas? Perhaps that run a french immersion programme? Do schools offer after-school clubs, if so what do they offer? Drama? Music? Sports? My daughter currently plays tennis and has started to get quite good at it...

Tax - wow! So many things you can get reductions on, including your kids after-school activities! What is the best way to discover all that you can apply to your situation? Financial advisor, Accountant, or go to the tax office? Does anyone have any contact details of a reputable person that can advise on this?

Finally, what do people spend on bills per month for a house with 2 kids - on average? I appreciate that winter will be an expensive few months. What does a weekly shop cost on average? I have read stats online, but would rather hear from 'real people'. Internet and Mobile bills, what is the best operator to sign-up with?

We are looking at the cost of cars now. However, we understand that insurance is expensive - can anyone recommend a good, cheap-as-possible car insurance place that we can get a quote from?

Why do you love living in Canada, even better, why Toronto?

Thanks in advance!


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## movintoca (Aug 5, 2013)

Apologies, I have just seen the tax area of the forum...will read that now - senior moment - not sure how I missed that!


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## Liam(at)Large (Sep 2, 2012)

Walking 5 mins to the nearest school is rare in North American suburbs due to the sprall and size of cachement areas. There are obviosuly houses/accommodations near schools / within walking distance, but by far there are more that are not. Most people drive.


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

movintoca said:


> I have also read Oakville and Milton are good places to live - on this forum. We currently live with a view of the sea, therefore, it would be great to live with a view of, or within walking distance of a river, or lake... Using google streetview only tells a little of the story...



You will pay a fortune for a lake view place in Oakville.






> Finally, what do people spend on bills per month for a house with 2 kids - on average?


That is impossible to answer as there are too many variables - size of house, how warm you want it to be, how many appliances are running and using electricity, how much your family eats (cost of groceries), etc. Every family is different so there is no way to answer this.





> What does a weekly shop cost on average?



Depends entirely on what you eat and how much of it you eat.






> We are looking at the cost of cars now. However, we understand that insurance is expensive - can anyone recommend a good, cheap-as-possible car insurance place that we can get a quote from?


Insurance will not be cheap as you have no Canadian driving history. Driving here is very different from what you are used to and that will factor into your insurance costs.


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

Liam(at)Large said:


> Walking 5 mins to the nearest school is rare in North American suburbs due to the sprall and size of cachement areas. There are obviosuly houses/accommodations near schools / within walking distance, but by far there are more that are not. Most people drive.



Depends entirely on the availability of houses near the schools. Every school within 5kms of me has housing right next door. Those people certainly don't have to drive to the schools. But how likely is it that any of those homes will be available for purchase and/or rent.


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## Liam(at)Large (Sep 2, 2012)

colchar said:


> Depends entirely on the availability of houses near the schools. Every school within 5kms of me has housing right next door. Those people certainly don't have to drive to the schools. But how likely is it that any of those homes will be available for purchase and/or rent.


Obviously, I stated as much. It's the exception, not the norm.


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

What is your budget to rent or buy?
What kind of food do you eat now? Lots of ground beef/pork? Vegetarian? Organic? Cheaper supermarkets or upscale supermarket? I know people (family of 3) who can easily survive with a food budget (including things like toiletpaper, cleaning and washing stuff etc) on $500/month. Our budget is at least double of that (and I don't know how people can eat health with hardly $125/week... (and no, I don't buy all my things at -often- overpriced but delicious Whole Foods).


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

Liam(at)Large said:


> Obviously, I stated as much. It's the exception, not the norm.



I would say it is the norm out in the suburbs. I live in Brampton and I would say it is the norm here. I can only think of one high school (the new version of the high school I attended) that doesn't have housing around it and even that has housing across a main street A great many schools in Mississauga have housing right on their doorstep too. And I used to live in KW and it was the norm there as well.


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## Liam(at)Large (Sep 2, 2012)

colchar said:


> I would say it is the norm out in the suburbs. I live in Brampton and I would say it is the norm here. I can only think of one high school (the new version of the high school I attended) that doesn't have housing around it and even that has housing across a main street A great many schools in Mississauga have housing right on their doorstep too. And I used to live in KW and it was the norm there as well.


So, you are suggesting that more than 50% of the schools attendees you are referring to lived within a 5 minute walk?

Well, you are wrong (and I used to write the software and data extracts that analysed this data for the MoE for Ontario).


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## luvcanada (Nov 10, 2011)

movintoca said:


> My partner will work in York St - half-way up it - more-or-less.
> 
> Finally, what do people spend on bills per month for a house with 2 kids - on average? I appreciate that winter will be an expensive few months. What does a weekly shop cost on average? I have read stats online, but would rather hear from 'real people'. Internet and Mobile bills, what is the best operator to sign-up with?
> 
> Why do you love living in Canada, even better, why Toronto?


Do you mean that your partner will be working on York Street in downtown Toronto? If he is, will he need a car because of his position or because it will be convenient?


To check the cost of groceries and similar items I suggest you look at some of the grocery store websites and check their flyers. You should be able to get a good idea of the basic costs using those. Some of the major store brands are: Sobeys, Loblaws, Metro. Others which are owned by these major brands but charge less because they have fewer options or services are Freshco, No Frills and Food Basics.

Why I love Canada / Toronto:
In reality it is safe, people are generally pleasant if not overly friendly. I like Toronto (where I lived for most of my adult life - over 35 years) because it is fairly densely populated, has lots of different neighbourhoods, lots of parks, fairly good public transit, interesting mix of ethnic groups. I have friends, work associates and neighbours from the Caribbean, France, India, UK, US, Japan, Iran, Russia, China, Italy, and more. The world is here without too many of its problems.


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