St. Catharines vs. Niagara Falls for new immigrant from U.S. (sales, real estate)
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We have explored the areas of St. Catharines and Niagara Falls, for our upcoming move to Ontario, as possible places to live. What are the pros and cons of these two cities? Which one offers the best educational opportunities for children (both primary and secondary schools)? Both seem to have nice areas with good neighbourhoods full of children playing outside and plenty of parks, but Niagara Falls seems slightly more affordable. Are the bad influences on children more prevalent in these smaller towns than in larger cities like Hamilton or Toronto? In the states it's usually the smaller cities where you see more widespread drug use and social issues. These things seemed less visible to us in the Niagara region, overall it seemed like a healthy place to raise kids. Any thoughts or information would be appreciated... most people seem to focus on the GTA area when relocating but we like the scenic beauty of the Niagara region and the affordability.
My wife and I moved away from the Niagara region 8 years ago. First we lived in Simcoe down on Lake Erie and then for the last 3 years in Kitchener. We decided a while back that although nice, neither of these areas were even close to Niagara in so many ways. We Lived in St. Catherines when we were lived in Niagara and we started looking for a house there about 6 months ago. After looking at 40 plus houses we bought one in Niagara falls. We are very familiar with the entire region and NF is just as good a place to live as St. Kitts anyday and housing prices are quite a bit less.
NF is different in that there is a very large tourist influence in the city which of course changes the employment situation somewhat from SC.
Education in Canada is pretty constant within a school board. SC and NF are both in the District of Niagara school board and so therefore you can expect to see a similar level no matter where you are in the region. There is also a Catholic school board that has good schools in both cities.
I'm moving to NF on Nov. 12 and I'm really looking forward to it. We have 3 kids that live in St. Catherines so I imagine we will be over there a fair bit. It's just 10 minutes down the QEW so it's no big deal.
You can't go wrong moving to Niagara. It's the best place in all of Ontario in my opinion and I have lived all over the south of this Province.
None of my kids got caught up in the drugs and other social issues that you are concerned about. Of course they exist but not like the big cities. Keep the kids occupied in sports, outdoor activities like hiking or fishing, church activities etc. That is what keeps kids away from bad influences more than anything else.
Finally, though you are not here yet,I welcome you here to Canada and especially to the beautiful Niagara region.
Lucknow, thanks for the insight. Coming from the U.S. it's easy to be skeptical of areas with lower housing prices, as usually the school quality drops significantly. It's good to know that things are fairly constant within the Niagara School District. We honestly would not mind living in NF even if we'd be driving 10 minutes to St. Catharines for most of our shopping... 10 minutes is nothing.
Do you have any insight on how life in Hamilton (Mountain Area or Dundas/Ancaster) compares to Niagara? I know it's not quite as affordable, but it offers better access to job markets in Toronto. We are professionals certified to work in the U.S. and will be working on getting our Canadian qualifications, in the meantime working in the U.S. would be an option for me, but eventually I would like to work only in Canada (cross-border commuting doesn't seem fun). Wherever we decide to settle we want to choose a place where we will likely stay for the next 20 years as we raise the kids, so we want to choose carefully. We like the homes & the scenery in both Niagara & Hamilton, and the tradeoff is being closer to the U.S. in Niagara, or being closer to Toronto in Hamilton. So we're kind of torn between Hamilton/Dundas/Ancaster vs. Niagara region.
Lucknow, thanks for the insight. Coming from the U.S. it's easy to be skeptical of areas with lower housing prices, as usually the school quality drops significantly. It's good to know that things are fairly constant within the Niagara School District. We honestly would not mind living in NF even if we'd be driving 10 minutes to St. Catharines for most of our shopping... 10 minutes is nothing.
Do you have any insight on how life in Hamilton (Mountain Area or Dundas/Ancaster) compares to Niagara? I know it's not quite as affordable, but it offers better access to job markets in Toronto. We are professionals certified to work in the U.S. and will be working on getting our Canadian qualifications, in the meantime working in the U.S. would be an option for me, but eventually I would like to work only in Canada (cross-border commuting doesn't seem fun). Wherever we decide to settle we want to choose a place where we will likely stay for the next 20 years as we raise the kids, so we want to choose carefully. We like the homes & the scenery in both Niagara & Hamilton, and the tradeoff is being closer to the U.S. in Niagara, or being closer to Toronto in Hamilton. So we're kind of torn between Hamilton/Dundas/Ancaster vs. Niagara region.
The pace of life picks up considerably the closer you get to Toronto and things get progressively more "urban", though none of the places in the wide area you are looking at could be considered especially dangerous by any stretch of the imagination.
Lucknow, thanks for the insight. Coming from the U.S. it's easy to be skeptical of areas with lower housing prices, as usually the school quality drops significantly. It's good to know that things are fairly constant within the Niagara School District. We honestly would not mind living in NF even if we'd be driving 10 minutes to St. Catharines for most of our shopping... 10 minutes is nothing.
Do you have any insight on how life in Hamilton (Mountain Area or Dundas/Ancaster) compares to Niagara? I know it's not quite as affordable, but it offers better access to job markets in Toronto. We are professionals certified to work in the U.S. and will be working on getting our Canadian qualifications, in the meantime working in the U.S. would be an option for me, but eventually I would like to work only in Canada (cross-border commuting doesn't seem fun). Wherever we decide to settle we want to choose a place where we will likely stay for the next 20 years as we raise the kids, so we want to choose carefully. We like the homes & the scenery in both Niagara & Hamilton, and the tradeoff is being closer to the U.S. in Niagara, or being closer to Toronto in Hamilton. So we're kind of torn between Hamilton/Dundas/Ancaster vs. Niagara region.
The shopping in NF is just as good as that in St. Catherines. Now about the Hamilton region. Forget commuting from the Hamilton region to Toronto. There is a real lack of highway access for the number of cars going into Toronto. It's a traffic nightmare. My wife and I are long distance truckers and that particular gridlock is the worst on the continent. Well it's about tied with NY city. My wife is actually a mechanical engineer and worked at Siemans in Hamilton for years. We stayed in St. Kitts because we just never found an Equal or better house. We loved some of the areas in Hamilton and put in a few offers that didn't pan out. I just love the old victorian homes around Heximer st. near the hospital. You can get a totally upgraded one for under $300k.
When you live in NF it's just no sweat at all crossing the border. We used to shop in Lewiston about once a week. Cross border commuting also is no sweat if you have a pass. My wife and I have fast cards and we just whizz through. The thing I love about Niagara is that it has every single ammenity that a big city does but it still feels like a small town. Life is a lot more laid back, people are way friendlier, there are NO traffic jams LOL I hate sitting in traffic jams. If you really want to send your kids to a great school look into Ridley college in St. Catherines. It's about at the same level as Groton in the USA. My sister in law's kids went there and they were accepted into just about any USA university on full scholarships. One is a Dr. now, one is a Master of business admin. and the other is a real estate agent in Palm Beach Florida.
If I may ask what profession are you and your wife?
PS, There is a day program for local students at Ridley.
I'll be a lawyer (still in law school here in the states, planning to take the NY bar) and my wife is studying accounting. I previously owned a technology consulting business. Living in Niagara it would be easy for me to work on the U.S. side until I can get the Canadian credentials. On the other hand, living in Hamilton would allow me to, once I get Canadian credentials, ultimately set up office in an area with a huge client base (like Oakville or Mississauga) and if I set up my own law firm, I wouldn't always have to commute in rush hour traffic... I could take my first appointments at 10:30 AM or so. We also love ethnic food and prefer to shop at international groceries, not sure how much of that we will find in Niagara, though I heard Buffalo has some. Of course we can adapt, and I like the fact that living in Niagara we can pop over to Lewiston so quickly, we would probably save big on groceries and other essentials by just shopping at stores like Aldi on the U.S. side. In Canada we found the only good deals on groceries to be at the ethnic supermarkets in Toronto. Places like Loblaws and Sobeys were VERY expensive. We need to keep expenses to a minimum as I will be starting out a new career. My wife will continue her studies in Canada so we'll be living off one income.
I'll be a lawyer (still in law school here in the states, planning to take the NY bar) and my wife is studying accounting. I previously owned a technology consulting business. Living in Niagara it would be easy for me to work on the U.S. side until I can get the Canadian credentials. On the other hand, living in Hamilton would allow me to, once I get Canadian credentials, ultimately set up office in an area with a huge client base (like Oakville or Mississauga) and if I set up my own law firm, I wouldn't always have to commute in rush hour traffic... I could take my first appointments at 10:30 AM or so. We also love ethnic food and prefer to shop at international groceries, not sure how much of that we will find in Niagara, though I heard Buffalo has some. Of course we can adapt, and I like the fact that living in Niagara we can pop over to Lewiston so quickly, we would probably save big on groceries and other essentials by just shopping at stores like Aldi on the U.S. side. In Canada we found the only good deals on groceries to be at the ethnic supermarkets in Toronto. Places like Loblaws and Sobeys were VERY expensive. We need to keep expenses to a minimum as I will be starting out a new career. My wife will continue her studies in Canada so we'll be living off one income.
There are lots of Asian food stores in St. Catherines. Lots of other ethnic food shopping too. Polish, German, Indian, Italian and others. I think all the Canadians shopping for food "over the river" {that's what going to the USA is Called in Niagara} shop at tops. My second oldest son is in his 2nd year of law school at UBC. His wife is a Chartered accountant. Very similar to you and your wife. Are you going to rent for the first while or buy a place right away?
Very cool about your son & his wife! UBC is a great school. We want to buy, hopefully a fixer upper if we can find one. Seems like $200k will buy us a great house in Niagara. It'd be more like $300k in Hamilton. Maybe a little less for a fixer. We don't want to have to move again for a long time.
I just bought a really nice house in a great neighbourhood in Niagara falls. There is not one thing that needs to be done to the house. It's only 20 years old but the people have upgraded everything. All new HW and ceramic floors. All new windows. new kitchen and 2 new bathrooms. The entire yard is a beautiful garden with a nice pond. I paid $204 for it. For $200 you don't need to buy a fixer upper. Having looked at so many places I think fixer uppers are a bad deal in the market we have right now. There is not enough difference in price to justify buying a house that needs a lot of work. The secret to buying a place is to just wait until the right place comes along. That might be harder for you being in the USA but that is why it could be a good idea to rent in the area where you want to buy and wait for that great deal on the house you really want.
I have noticed that most fixer uppers in Canada are priced too high considering the amount of work that needs to be done. It also seems that they are few and far between compared to the situation down here... perhaps Canadians tend to take better care of their homes? Definitely very few foreclosures/power of sales there compared to here in the U.S. There are so many foreclosures down here and properties that need TLC... great deals are to be had. The house we live in now cost us $155k and we put about $25k into it... similar houses in this neighborhood go for $250k and up, and we have an in-ground pool too. I doubt we'll find a deal like that in Canada, but maybe it's for the better, as I'll have my hands full studying for the bar exam, and probably shouldn't be hanging drywall sheets and putting in light fixtures!
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