where in Canada would you live? (real estate, low crime, employment)

[adventuregurl]

I'd love to hear ideas about what you think would be the best place for me.

Here's my criteria:
Single late 40's female
No employment required - I'm self employed - web based so all I need is good high speed and a phone line
I like nice weather (not big on lots of cloud and rain), being outdoors
A somewhat hip feel would be nice, some culture, things to do etc.
I love quaint places as long as they're not in the middle of nowhere
Open minded/new age kinda place would also be good
Not a huge metropolis with traffic jams but also not a tiny 1 horse town

I have spent most of my life in Toronto (it's too big and has too much traffic for me now) and 4 years in Victoria (the grey skies and drizzle are dismal for me) and now live in the US

Thanks for any help you can offer

[forthewars]

Nelson, BC is a quaint little hippie town with pretty nice weather.

[Fred Derf]

Leamington is a municipality in Essex County, Ontario and has a population of 31,113. It is located near Point Pelee. In 2006, Leamington was named Canada's best place to live by MoneySense magazine. (Standing in 14th place, as of Dec. 2007.) It has a large H. J. Heinz Company factory and is known as the 'Tomato Capital of Canada', with 4 km² of this crop in the vicinity. It also lays claim to being the 'Sun Parlour' of Canada due to its southern location.

Leamington, Ontario - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

leamington, ontario - Google Maps

[adventuregurl]

Originally Posted by forthewars

Nelson, BC is a quaint little hippie town with pretty nice weather.

Thanks forthewars, do you live in Nelson? I've heard lots about it, some good, some bad, one of the reasons I wasn't as crazy about it as it's so far from airports (as far as I know) and I know I didn't mention that but I do travel some. Do you know what the winters are like in Nelson, do they get much snow?

Thanks again

[adventuregurl]

Originally Posted by Fred Derf

Leamington is a municipality in Essex County, Ontario and has a population of 31,113. It is located near Point Pelee. In 2006, Leamington was named Canada's best place to live by MoneySense magazine. (Standing in 14th place, as of Dec. 2007.) It has a large H. J. Heinz Company factory and is known as the 'Tomato Capital of Canada', with 4 km² of this crop in the vicinity. It also lays claim to being the 'Sun Parlour' of Canada due to its southern location.

Leamington, Ontario - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

leamington, ontario - Google Maps

Thanks Fred, I had never thought of Leamington, I will look into it, does it get much snow?

[Fred Derf]

Originally Posted by adventuregurl

Thanks Fred, I had never thought of Leamington, I will look into it, does it get much snow?

Their winters are milder than Toronto by a few degrees and they get more sun than Victoria does.

'Leamington enjoys the second warmest climate in Canada, after the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Leamington lies on the 42nd Parallel, the same latitude as Chicago, Illinois, Rome, Italy, the northern border of California, and Madrid, Spain.' Leamington, Ontario - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[ajau]

Originally Posted by Fred Derf

Their winters are milder than Toronto by a few degrees and they get more sun than Victoria does.

'Leamington enjoys the second warmest climate in Canada, after the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Leamington lies on the 42nd Parallel, the same latitude as Chicago, Illinois, Rome, Italy, the northern border of California, and Madrid, Spain.' Leamington, Ontario - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You also are less than an hours drive away from a metropolis, the Metro Detroit area, without having to live there. You'd enjoy Canadian style amenities such as the health care and low crime rate while being close to a major international airport (that is far better than Toronto's), major city US shopping, etc. Detroit is also a major sports and especially music city that is a major stop for basically any musician touring the US. Leamington gets less snow than any other area in Canada outside Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.

[nuala]

Originally Posted by adventuregurl

I'd love to hear ideas about what you think would be the best place for me.

Nova Scotia:

Here's my criteria:
Single late 40's female - cool

No employment required - I'm self employed - web based so all I need is good high speed and a phone line - yes, even in rural areas

I like nice weather (not big on lots of cloud and rain), being outdoors NS is largely un-discovered: miles and miles of pristine forest. Rugged shoreline (some sand, some rocks). I lived in BC and NS has little rain in comparison. Winters are much milder than in Ontario. The winter before last it was melting all the time (0C), the last winter was a bit wintery - about -10C on average. If you google NS info, you'll find a lot of scenic outdoor activity places. Hiking, surfing (Lawrencetown beach), sail-boating, horse-riding. Lots of horse hobby farms and various other hobby farms. Apple and strawberry farms in the Valley (Bay of Fundy side).

A somewhat hip feel would be nice, some culture, things to do etc. - that's mostly in Halifax area, but Halifax is 1 or 2 hours drive from anywhere (well, except for the extremities like Yarmouth and Cape Breton).

I love quaint places as long as they're not in the middle of nowhere - Mostly quaint places, Halifax is the only larger city. Windsor, Kentville, Bridgewater, Liverpool, - any town on the Bay of Fundy shore or on the South Shore practically. The whole province has under 1 million people, Halifax is about 300,000 people - the rest are in towns and rural areas.

Open minded/new age kinda place would also be good - well, this is not the West Coast. Some new age could be found in Halifax. But the nature/ocean satisfies zen cravings.

Not a huge metropolis with traffic jams but also not a tiny 1 horse town - population is mentioned above.

I have spent most of my life in Toronto (it's too big and has too much traffic for me now) and 4 years in Victoria (the grey skies and drizzle are dismal for me) and now live in the US

Thanks for any help you can offer

I lived in BC (Greater Vancouver) and in the States, and visited Montreal (though not Toronto) - and can truly say I've found my paradise and a quiet harbor here in NS. I can relate to the desire of removing oneself from crowds (already!). Peaceful and perfect place for someone who's business doesn't depend on location (because jobs are always tough to find in NS). But, the real estate prices are correspondingly minuscule comparing to the metro areas.

[allenk893]

Originally Posted by adventuregurl

I'd love to hear ideas about what you think would be the best place for me.

Here's my criteria:
Single late 40's female
No employment required - I'm self employed - web based so all I need is good high speed and a phone line
I like nice weather (not big on lots of cloud and rain), being outdoors
A somewhat hip feel would be nice, some culture, things to do etc.
I love quaint places as long as they're not in the middle of nowhere
Open minded/new age kinda place would also be good
Not a huge metropolis with traffic jams but also not a tiny 1 horse town

I have spent most of my life in Toronto (it's too big and has too much traffic for me now) and 4 years in Victoria (the grey skies and drizzle are dismal for me) and now live in the US

Thanks for any help you can offer

Well I don't know what would be best for you but I would live in Toronto. I had the unfortunate experience of living in boring Montreal. Ugh.

[Future Trooper]

I would suggest Quebec City. Not a huge metropolis plagued by bad traffic. Definelty has lots of culture to it. From the pictures I've seen Quebec City is very beautiful.