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We will be relocating to Toronto soon. Neither of us is familiar with the city. We can use any help we can get in identifying neighborhoods to narrow our search as we only have a few days to explore and choose where we want to live.
We would like to be within 30 minutes or so of the downtown core, where my husband will be working. It needs to be relatively kid-friendly (we have a four year old). We would like good public transport access. Access to green space and safe places to walk and play are important to us, as is a more friendly "neighborhood" feel. We prefer places with "character" (older homes, small shops, ect.), but that isn't essential. Smaller homes are preferable. (I hate cleaning.) We enjoy farmers markets and organic-healthy-hippie/yippie-type things even though we appear more straight-laced/professional 40-something if that makes a difference.
We will be renting for the first year or so and can go up to about $3,000.
Thanks for responding. I will look into Little Italy. We are hoping to stay well under $3,000 but will sacrifice to avoid commuting. I imagine the downtown core is too intensively urban for us, but I'm open to many possibilities. We will be up there soon to check it out.
Little Italy/Little Portugal are excellent locations for your needs. Perfect blend of urbanity and child-friendly environment. There are parks everywhere. Bellwoods Park area is great and spans Little Portugal and the Queen Street West scene, and the community around Dufferin Grove Park is very family oriented and creative with a lot of community events geared towards that.
Some condos have sprung up in the past 10 years or so along Sudbury Street, which might suit you, too (they're also available to rent). The surrounding area is in flux. There are galleries there and bars, but also pockets of green, and it's close to Bellwoods Park. Sudbury curves around into a cul de sac of a community, separated from the bustle of Queen St. West.
A little cheaper and a little further afield, but still within 30 minutes by public transit, try the Danforth in the east end or the Beaches.
Thank you. That is very helpful information. I came from a Portugese-speaking area in California so might feel at home. Dufferin Grove is piquing my interest, and I had not heard of it before.
Do you want to rent a house or a condo? With 3k budget renting a whole house in a nice area might be kind of tight. Condo should be no problem.
You can also look on mls.ca and choose rent as option and get an idea what the prices are like in different areas.
That being said, High Park area is always a good bet. The commute to downtown is about half an hour and there are tons of shops along Bloor St between Jane and Runnymede. Also the area around Royal York and Bloor is good. Some people may recommend Greektown but I am more of a west-end kind of person.
I'd check out Riverdale or The Beach as both areas are very kid friendly with parks and activities, and I feel a little safer than downtown (but I have no statistics to prove that ). I was a realtor there for 18 years, and lived there for 40+ years so I know a fair bit about the city.
Rosedale and Forest Hill are amazing but probably not in your budget but I could be wrong so check them out.
If your hubby doesn't mind the subway, you could live in High Park or Bloor West Village close to a subway stop.
We are just back from a whirlwind housing exploration trip. I absolutely adore Toronto and am happy to be moving there, but I still feel just as confused about where to live. The Beach is kind of the obvious match--lovely, great school, and so kid-friendly. I really liked that the parents with young kids seemed to be on the older side, like myself. However, it reminds me very much of places we've lived before--Marin in San Francisco area and North Vancouver. Beautiful, safe and so many amenities, but maybe a little too perfect? Maybe a little boring? I feel almost bad/ungrateful for saying that I didn't love any of these places because they are really wonderful--ideal really--but. . . I am a stay-at-home mom who used to have a very intense and social job. I love being able to stay at home during my daughter's younger years, but I have to admit that it is boring. . . I need places to go, things to do. I'm sure we would be happy there, but I'm wondering if there is something similar that is a little more interesting and better connected to downtown (the streetcar took 30 mins).
Which brings me to Leslieville. I didn't get a chance to really explore this area--it only came on my radar screen when I went out on my own on the streetcar to take a second look at the Beach. It has the organic food and neat shops that I love. It seems a little more ethnically and economically diverse. It's cheaper (yay!). There were not as many kids that I noticed, but certainly seemed kid-friendly enough. And it's closer to downtown. However, the schools seem to get mixed reviews as does the neighborhood generally. I'm also a little concerned about the smokestacks & industry in the area. Don't want to be downwind of anything nasty. I might start a new thread about Leslieville to get more info, but would love to get input from those who have already helped me out. I think this might be our spot--but still have many questions. My dream is to find an urban neighborhood, like the one I came from in SF, where everyone knows each other, most shopping is done in-neighborhood, ect. Could this be it?
Danforth was OK, but didn't seem to have as much character as I would like. Can't argue with the subway access though. That is worth a lot. It is still in the running. Again, it's not like I really got to know any area very well. These are first impressions.
I didn't get a good feel for the West at all--only a drive-through tour of various neighborhoods. I didn't dislike anything I saw, but I need to go back and walk around before I could even offer first impressions. I do like the East side though, which is (obviously) where I spent most of my time. Our guide/real estate person was really pushing us toward the Beach.
I like everything, which is part of the problem. Toronto is a really special place and my new favorite city.
Did you see the Lytton Park neighbourhood? It might be a little far from downtown. But it's definitely safe, clean, lots of kids, and apparently some of the best schools in the city.
I agree with the suggestion re Lytton Park. I'd add Lawrence and Yonge area--the subway gets you downtown in 15-20 minutes or so. Good schools (John Ross Robertson and Bedford Park, depending on which side of Yonge you end up), and lots of parks nearby. Also, a public library, with lots of kid-friendly resources.
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Dufferin Grove is piquing my interest, and I had not heard of it before.
). I was a realtor there for 18 years, and lived there for 40+ years so I know a fair bit about the city.
