Suburbs of Major Canadian Cities (real estate, houses, school)

[123syl]

I was wondering what some nice, kid oriented, low cost, friendly suburbs in the areas of Toronto/Hamilton, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary were. Do things cost more in the suburbs? I am assuming raising kids there would be better than raising them in the city. How important is it to know fluent French in Montreal?

[ZX14TJ]

Originally Posted by 123syl

I was wondering what some nice, kid oriented, low cost, friendly suburbs in the areas of Toronto/Hamilton, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary were. Do things cost more in the suburbs? I am assuming raising kids there would be better than raising them in the city. How important is it to know fluent French in Montreal?

I don't know aout the other cities but Calgary has no suburbs in my perception. Some would say that outside of the downtown core, Calgary is one giant integrated suburb. I can say with certainty that there is no such thing as "low cost" in Calgary

Where are you living now?

[nickjbor]

Toronto and Montreal have a nice ring of 'burbs.
Vancouver has a few. Mostly up the river valley as the rest of it is Mountains and it's hard to build on those. This area is called the "lower mainland" and it can be expensive there. Victoria can be argued to be a 'burb of Vancouver, or a city of it's own, in which case it has it's own 'burbs. Overall this is a well balanced area, but expensive.
Edmonton and Calgary are in Alberta. Calgary has yet to "fill up" and so has no real 'burbs. Edmonton has some developing ones, but their status as 'burbs is new as edmonton is just getting the size that it gets to have it's own burbs. Places like Wetaskiwin or St.Albert are adjusting to the new reality.
Regina, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg are too small to really have 'burbs
Coming in from the east, again, most atlantic cities are too small to have 'burbs, same with Quebec City for the most part, though some would argue Levis is a 'burb.

Montreal has a ring of 'burbs that are growing. Laval and Longuiel are the biggest and these are quite 'strong' in thier own right. Both, however, are very french. There are some 'burbish areas of the island of Montreal, these are areas that were 'burbs back in the 70's but now are seen as part of the city. In the west in specifically there are some very english places that maintain municipal independence for this reason. If you are looking for something clearly not-city, then these areas might not be for you as they are more of an urban 'burb.

Toronto has a semi-circle of 'burbs around it. If you discount the "inner 'burbs" from back in the 70's you end up in an area call the "905" due to it's long distance calling code. The 905 is likely what you are looking for, specifically the York Region. be warned though, everyone else wants what you want, and after 10-20 years of everyone wanting to move into this new quiet area, these areas will be cities on thier own right.

[Robynator]

Vancouver is surrounded by several dozen satellite cities which locals refer to as the suburbs, even if they do have their own unique histories and were founded as separate towns before Vancouver overshadowed them.

I'm thinking places like Richmond, Surrey, Burnaby, North Vancouver, New Westminster, Delta, Tsawwassen, White Rock, Ladner, West Vancouver, Coquitlam, Port Moody, Maple Ridge, Aldergrove, Langley, etc.

Raising children "in the city" of Vancouver is actually quite common as most of Vancouver (outside of the downtown peninsula) is low density, single family houses. It's just a very expensive and heavily-sought-after place to live. The suburbs have their own pros and cons around Vancouver.

Due to Vancouver's geography, most suburbs are disconnected from Vancouver by a series of bottlenecks (ie: bridges, tunnels, etc) and this is an important factor if you need to commute anywhere.

And the suburbs vary dramatically.

Some suburbs are at the base of the mountains (North Van, West Van). Others are located along the river flats (Maple Ridge, Richmond, Ladner). Others are located further out in the valley in more rural settings (Aldergrove, Langley). Some are known for their many hours of sunshine (White Rock, Tsawwassen). Some are known for their rain (North Van, West Van). Others are massive as to actually be physically larger than Vancouver itself (Surrey) while others are famous for their local pioneer history (New West, Richmond) or their new influx of immigrants (Richmond, Surrey).

Also, if public transit is an issue at all, know which suburbs are located along rapid transit lines (ie: Burnaby, Surrey, New West, Coquitlam, Richmond). Know which ones aren't (Aldergrove, Tsawwassen, White Rock, etc). All suburbs have public transit, but some places are serviced better than others.

In general things cost less in the suburbs, but you end up using your car more, so you'd spend more on gas living in the suburbs than you would in Vancouver (in my opinion). Of course, this really depends on where you'll be living, where you'll be working, and where your kids are going to school. Generally real estate is a bit cheaper outside of Vancouver, but nowhere around Vancouver is considered cheap. Houses in the suburbs are going for half a million these days.

[Acajack]

[SIZE=3]Re: French in Montreal…[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Although English speakers are a minority in this area, the anglo community does have a well-developed institutional and even economic network where an English-only speaker can find a good job without too many problems. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]But one thing I have heard from unilingual anglos who have lived there, however, is that beyond these “eureka”-type jobs that lure people to Montreal and require only English and pay well, your long-term opportunities are severely limited in Montreal if you cannot function reasonably well in French. Almost all of even the most anglo institutions in Montreal usually require a decent knowledge of French for most of their best positions. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Many unilingual anglos, after working and living in an English (much like they would have done in Toronto or Calgary, for example) "bubble" for a number of years, often eventually leave the city frustrated by the lack of opportunities to move up because of their non-existent French, and are dismayed at having to uproot their families from a place in which they sincerely wanted to put down roots. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Although I wouldn’t advise against moving to Montreal if one doesn’t know French, I would strongly encourage anyone with the intention of staying there long-term to learn it as quickly and as fluently as possible once they got there, in order to avoid bitter disappointments down the road.[/SIZE]

[pirate_lafitte]

I know someone who is planning to live in Mississauga.

[west_end_don]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

I know someone who is planning to live in Mississauga.

Mississauga is the crown jewel of the GTA.

Seriously.

Are you coming too?
We can appoint you honorary Canadian citizenship due to all your time spent posting in the Canada-forum.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by west_end_don

Mississauga is the crown jewel of the GTA.

Seriously.

Are you coming too?
We can appoint you honorary Canadian citizenship due to all your time spent posting in the Canada-forum.

Maybe I might actually move to Canada myself.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

Maybe I might actually move to Canada myself.

I've thought about it myself, as well. I'd probably live in SW/Southern Ontario, Nova Scotia(most likely Halifax area), Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal. All would be within no more than 5 hours from home, except for Nova Scotia.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

I've thought about it myself, as well. I'd probably live in SW/Southern Ontario, Nova Scotia(most likely Halifax area), Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal. All would be within no more than 5 hours from home, except for Nova Scotia.

When I was a teenager, I constantly considered moving to Canada. Sometimes I still think about it. Montreal and Toronto would be among the places I would choose. Vancouver as well.