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I looked for any information in the forums regarding Markham, Ontario; but was unable to spot anything. I would appreciate comments/suggestions/feedback on the following. I will be moving to Toronto for a job transfer in August of this year. Like many others, I am not familiar with the area. My job site will be in Markham, and I do not want to have a car for commuting. How accessible is Markham to/from Toronto or from other decent areas to live via public transporation? Is Markham a nice area/suburb to live, or it is a boring suburban setting? Is it a safe area? Thanks in advance.
Markham is very nice, very suburban. It's considered a suburb of Scarborough, which used to be a considered a suburb of Toronto (but now they've amalgamated so Scarborough IS Toronto, and a thriving city in its own right). Real estate prices in Markham have shot up in the past 7 or so years and there's lots of new development. All in all a nice place to raise your kids.
As Jennybean has said, Markham is a very desireable suburb of Toronto. It's the sort of place people move to in order to "get out of the city".
Bring lots of $$$ for real estate purchases.
Markham started its existence as a small village north of Toronto, the rapid expansion of the city over the last 40 years has turned Markham, and other similar villages, into bedroom communities for the big city. Toronto can easily be accessed by using the train service GO Transit. It is also easily accessed by automobile.
A Google search of Markham, Ontario will yield you plenty of sites offering all sorts of useful information.
Cornerguy1, you mention that Markham-Toronto are accessible via GO Transit. In that case, what are some good not-so suburban areas to live? From what I have read and Googled, Markham looks a lot like a Chicago suburb I used to live (Oak Park, Illinois), but it is still not quite the city.
Markham is a lovely suburb, governed well with good schools. It attracts high-tech companies such as IBM and ATI.
Services are excellent and a wide range of housing is available. The southern strip of Markham, abutting the City of Toronto, is much like any other NA suburb, with strip malls, congestion, etc.
It should be noted that Markham has, at the corner of Steeles and Kennedy, the largest Chinese shopping mall in North America. This is because Markham has a concentration of Chinese immigrants. These people are industrial, resourceful and are doing very well. Also, no doubt, Markham has the best assortment of Chinese cuisine and shops in North America.
Markham has its charming areas, too. The town of Unionville is a perfect place for afternoon shopping or a summer evening's stroll. If you live in Markham you are only minutes from rural Ontario--beautiful any time of the year.
Note, though, that a typical four-bedroom house in Markham will cost at least $450,000-$500,000, and the Canadian dollar is almost on par with the American dollar. Property taxes will be about $4000 per year.
I assume you are asking about areas closer to the heart of the city?
Toronto itself is a very large city encompassing neighbourhoods of every imaginable description. Choices range from 100-year-old areas very near downtown with their narrower lots and older brick houses to 1970's era developments with larger lots and less central locations.
It's very hard to be specific without more criteria.
If your question was meant to inquire about working in Markham while living in a more rural setting, there are plenty of both new and existing real estate opportunities available within a 15-mile drive to the north and/or east.
Cornerguy1, yes, areas closer to the city is what I meant. Since I am not familiar with that metro area, having some idea as to what city quarters are safer than others and with other information I am gathering, eventually make a decision as to where to look for a place.
Markham sounds like a nice suburb. One thing I was particularly concerned is public transportation accessibility, as to be able to get around without the need of a vehicle. Some metro areas in the U.S. are completely isolated from the downtown districts and you cannot even go down the street to buy a liter of milk without having to jump in your car. I do not like that.
Toronto has a great subway and bus system and Markham has a good bus system also. I used to live and commute from Markham to Toronto. Compare to many cities in the USA, Toronto is consider a relatively safe city for its size. I live in Memphis right now and am trying to move back to Toronto, possibly the Markham area!
There are many great neighborhoods in Toronto (avoid Jane/Finch area) -- hard to help you in this area without more information e.g., do you have children? The one thing I wanted to mention about living in Toronto and working in Markham is that you would have to take the TTC (Toronto Transit System) north to Finch Station, which is the last subway stop. From there you would need to pay a separate fare for the Markham Transit. Average travelling time by bus to Markham would be about 20 or 30 minutes from there. Depending where you live in Toronto, this might be more commute time than you would like.
Depending on where you live in Markham, taking the bus might not be that convenient (you may have to walk a way to the bus stop and so forth). Of course you could choose your house with distance from the bus route in mind.
Hello. Like irgendworauf, I'm going to be transferring to a job in Markham, and I'm interested in living in a not-so-boring place. From what I've read, Markham isn't boring, but I think I'd like to live closer to downtown. I want to be able to be within walking distance of restaurants/stores/movie theaters. At the same time, I don't want a long commute to work every day.
One option someone told me was to live in North York, around the Yonge & Finch area or the Yonge & Sheppard area. Is that a lively area? From what szeyamo said about the bus from the Finch station to Markham, I'm guessing the commute (via bus or driving) from there is 20 to 30 mins? Is that the estimated time during rush hour? I heard it gets especially congested at Yonge & Finch/401-404. How long is the subway ride from there to downtown? 20mins?
What about Yonge & Eglinton? How is that area/commute to Markham/subway ride to downtown?
How about in downtown itself, but near DVP?
I'm also thinking the driving commute might not be as bad since most people are driving into the city, not out for work, right?
(I hope you don't mind me butting into your thread, irgendworauf. I can create my own if you'd like. I just figured since we're kind of in the same boat, might as well stay in the same thread)
With respect to "lively areas", I think you'll find Toronto is more or less composed of various smaller neighbourhoods and communities which each have their own set of restaurants, stores, malls, etc.
Some of those neighbourhoods are built on the remains of small villages which have been engulfed by Toronto. Thornhill, in the Yonge-Steeles area would be an example. There is quite a large mall in the vicinity, as well as a selection of smaller plazas. The houses tend to be on larger lots and command a higher than average price.
Other communities have evolved within the city based on ethnic settlement. An example would be Greektown along Danforth Avenue. The area is heavily influenced by a vast number of Greek stores and restaurants.
In the downtown core, the Theatre District combines new, high-rise condos with a wide varirty of upscale restaurants, and, of course, theatres.
The nice thing is that all neighbourhoods are accessable via TTC subway.
By living in the city and communting to Markham, you would definately be going against the flow, but you'll still feel the effects of rush hour.
The north-south Don Valley Parkway was a transportation marvel in the late 60's, but it has long reached its saturation point. There is a good reason why it is known locally as the Don Valley Parking Lot.
A subway ride from Yonge-Finch to right downtown is 20 minutes.
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