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RELOCATING
Moving out, moving up?
Three couples weigh the costs and benefits of leaving the big city
KATHY FLAXMAN
Special to The Globe and Mail
Toronto couples who want to move to bigger, better homes are usually familiar with the debate: Move out of the city and get more house for your money; stay, and enjoy the urban perks and avoid tedious commutes to work. The argument has raged since land east of the Bloor Viaduct was considered the burbs, but today's soaring home prices are keeping buyers, especially first-time ones, out of the city neighbourhoods they prefer and preventing them from moving up.
The conundrum has vexed Brad and Meredyth Hilton, but each of them looks at it from a different vantage point. Mr. Hilton dreams of a grand and spacious new home with all the latest gadgets and goodies, on an enormous lot with a multicar garage, perhaps somewhere like Stouffville. Ms. Hilton, on the other hand, is a city person who likes to nip out to the corner deli, or take her two boys to the park -- grabbing a quick latte on the way -- any time the mood hits.
When the couple began to consider selling their mid-town Toronto home, his dream collided with her notion of an ideal lifestyle. "Our place is great, but we could use something bigger. Storage is an issue," Ms. Hilton acknowledges. "However, I told Brad I would get a divorce rather than move out of the city."
"I thought I was going to be living in a new house with all the toys; a kind of 'smart' house where the electronics could be controlled by one switch in the bedroom," Mr. Hilton sighs. "But all the driving is definitely a factor."
Mr. Hilton should talk to Tom Masters. He and his wife Lori Bowes are proud owners of a 2,200-square-foot yellow brick home in Kitchener. Built in 1910, it sits on a corner lot measuring 80 by 150 feet, and is filled with wonderful original woodwork.
But on a recent snowy day, Mr. Masters, a 42-year-old senior production artist with a company in west-end Toronto, spent three hours getting to work.
"We were renting, but when we had twins -- a boy and a girl -- 16 months ago, we decided it was time to look at buying," says Mr. Masters. "But areas [in Toronto] we liked were too expensive. Since Lori's mother lives in Kitchener, we thought we'd consider moving there.
"On a good day, the commute can take an hour and 10 minutes. The worst time I've spent commuting is four hours going home one Friday in bad weather," he says.
For Ms. Bowes, 41, a day spent corralling twins Rachel and Jack can be a long and lonely one without her friends and former colleagues in Toronto. "I pictured playing with my kids and visiting my mom," she says. "I did the head in the sand thing before we moved. The biggest surprise for me is how incredibly isolated I feel. I have to remember how fortunate we are to have this house."
Yes, there are plusses. Prior to moving the couple was paying close to $1,400 in rent. Their monthly mortgage payment now is a tidy $500.
"Our home cost $204,000," Mr. Masters says. "It's two storeys, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a partly finished basement.
We can walk to the farmers market and to downtown Kitchener. Before we met, Lori bought a Mercedes C230 two-door coupe, which I drive to work. I drive a car that's fun, even if the commute is harder than I had thought."
But Paul Downs, a division manager for PJ's Pet Centres who drives regularly from his Newmarket home to various PJ's outlets, laughs off the travelling. Yes, the home he and his family moved into this winter is bigger than the one they had lived in for years in the east end of Toronto. But their move was prompted by something else -- neighbourhood violence (a factor that makes trying to save money by buying in a B-list neighbourhood even less appealing).
"I'll tell you a story that will make things clear," says Mr. Downs, 45. "We have a cottage in Parry Sound and when we got back one Sunday night, we were wakened by gunfire at 3 a.m. In the following weeks, there were three more instances of gunfire. That same year, a young man was stabbed to death not far from my daughter's school. Ten blocks from our house, a shopping cart was found filled with body parts. That was the last straw."
Mr. Downs now talks of being able to reach the "the country in any direction" by driving two or three minutes from the family's new quarters. "We all like to be outdoors. We get a lot of snow and my daughters, Carly and Liza (14 and 12, respectively), spend time tobogganing with their friends. We also enjoy the slower pace of life. We don't miss the hyperactivity of Toronto."
On the other hand, Lydia Hardwicke, vice-president, media director at Foote Cone & Belding Toronto, who lives in Brampton with her husband and two daughters, misses the Toronto amenities. "We live in a subdivision where we cannot walk to the store," she says. "Before, we lived at St. Clair and Christie and would pop out to the stores or walk to Forest Hill Village on a Saturday."
Her husband, Geoff Hardwicke, adds: "We didn't want to be part of urban sprawl and global warming. But when we began to look at houses three years ago, we found out we could not move up; we could not for example have a fully detached house in a good neighbourhood at a price we could afford. I was working in Guelph at the time, and we made the move to Brampton and we did it with our eyes open."
The couple's subdivision home, which they share with daughters Alexandra, 5,and Savanah, 3, is 2,700 square feet, with four bedrooms and a two-car garage. "We were able to purchase a bigger home here, for the same amount as we were paying before," explains Ms. Hardwicke, 39. "The mortgage is the same, but everything else does cost more. Gas costs me about $200 a month for my commute."
The Hardwickes cope with two hectic jobs and one commute (Mr. Hardwicke now works in Brampton as brand director for Hudson's Bay Co.) by being super-organized. Ms. Hardwicke is able to work a four-day week and choose her own hours. It works. The couple says they'll not likely move back to Toronto, though they do sometimes pine for the city.
"We really miss the ability to walk outside, and be somewhere, like a Second Cup," says Mr. Hardwicke, 37. "In the first year, we were sort of shocked to find ourselves as part of the suburban plight. But the only way we would be likely to move back to Toronto is perhaps to a condominium when the girls are grown and leave home."
Meredyth and Brad Hilton are staying put for now, and trying to formulate a plan to help them deal with things such as the lack of storage space. "An accountant told me that Toronto is considered undervalued in comparison to other cities around the world, like London, England, or New York," Ms. Hilton says. "But that doesn't do anything for us in terms of selling our present home and buying a bigger one here. To have the home we would like, we would have to double our mortgage. Who can afford that?"
RELOCATING
Moving out, moving up?
Three couples weigh the costs and benefits of leaving the big city
KATHY FLAXMAN
Special to The Globe and Mail
Toronto couples who want to move to bigger, better homes are usually familiar with the debate: Move out of the city and get more house for your money; stay, and enjoy the urban perks and avoid tedious commutes to work. The argument has raged since land east of the Bloor Viaduct was considered the burbs, but today's soaring home prices are keeping buyers, especially first-time ones, out of the city neighbourhoods they prefer and preventing them from moving up.
The conundrum has vexed Brad and Meredyth Hilton, but each of them looks at it from a different vantage point. Mr. Hilton dreams of a grand and spacious new home with all the latest gadgets and goodies, on an enormous lot with a multicar garage, perhaps somewhere like Stouffville. Ms. Hilton, on the other hand, is a city person who likes to nip out to the corner deli, or take her two boys to the park -- grabbing a quick latte on the way -- any time the mood hits.
When the couple began to consider selling their mid-town Toronto home, his dream collided with her notion of an ideal lifestyle. "Our place is great, but we could use something bigger. Storage is an issue," Ms. Hilton acknowledges. "However, I told Brad I would get a divorce rather than move out of the city."
"I thought I was going to be living in a new house with all the toys; a kind of 'smart' house where the electronics could be controlled by one switch in the bedroom," Mr. Hilton sighs. "But all the driving is definitely a factor."
Mr. Hilton should talk to Tom Masters. He and his wife Lori Bowes are proud owners of a 2,200-square-foot yellow brick home in Kitchener. Built in 1910, it sits on a corner lot measuring 80 by 150 feet, and is filled with wonderful original woodwork.
But on a recent snowy day, Mr. Masters, a 42-year-old senior production artist with a company in west-end Toronto, spent three hours getting to work.
"We were renting, but when we had twins -- a boy and a girl -- 16 months ago, we decided it was time to look at buying," says Mr. Masters. "But areas [in Toronto] we liked were too expensive. Since Lori's mother lives in Kitchener, we thought we'd consider moving there.
"On a good day, the commute can take an hour and 10 minutes. The worst time I've spent commuting is four hours going home one Friday in bad weather," he says.
For Ms. Bowes, 41, a day spent corralling twins Rachel and Jack can be a long and lonely one without her friends and former colleagues in Toronto. "I pictured playing with my kids and visiting my mom," she says. "I did the head in the sand thing before we moved. The biggest surprise for me is how incredibly isolated I feel. I have to remember how fortunate we are to have this house."
Yes, there are plusses. Prior to moving the couple was paying close to $1,400 in rent. Their monthly mortgage payment now is a tidy $500.
"Our home cost $204,000," Mr. Masters says. "It's two storeys, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a partly finished basement.
We can walk to the farmers market and to downtown Kitchener. Before we met, Lori bought a Mercedes C230 two-door coupe, which I drive to work. I drive a car that's fun, even if the commute is harder than I had thought."
But Paul Downs, a division manager for PJ's Pet Centres who drives regularly from his Newmarket home to various PJ's outlets, laughs off the travelling. Yes, the home he and his family moved into this winter is bigger than the one they had lived in for years in the east end of Toronto. But their move was prompted by something else -- neighbourhood violence (a factor that makes trying to save money by buying in a B-list neighbourhood even less appealing).
"I'll tell you a story that will make things clear," says Mr. Downs, 45. "We have a cottage in Parry Sound and when we got back one Sunday night, we were wakened by gunfire at 3 a.m. In the following weeks, there were three more instances of gunfire. That same year, a young man was stabbed to death not far from my daughter's school. Ten blocks from our house, a shopping cart was found filled with body parts. That was the last straw."
Mr. Downs now talks of being able to reach the "the country in any direction" by driving two or three minutes from the family's new quarters. "We all like to be outdoors. We get a lot of snow and my daughters, Carly and Liza (14 and 12, respectively), spend time tobogganing with their friends. We also enjoy the slower pace of life. We don't miss the hyperactivity of Toronto."
On the other hand, Lydia Hardwicke, vice-president, media director at Foote Cone & Belding Toronto, who lives in Brampton with her husband and two daughters, misses the Toronto amenities. "We live in a subdivision where we cannot walk to the store," she says. "Before, we lived at St. Clair and Christie and would pop out to the stores or walk to Forest Hill Village on a Saturday."
Her husband, Geoff Hardwicke, adds: "We didn't want to be part of urban sprawl and global warming. But when we began to look at houses three years ago, we found out we could not move up; we could not for example have a fully detached house in a good neighbourhood at a price we could afford. I was working in Guelph at the time, and we made the move to Brampton and we did it with our eyes open."
The couple's subdivision home, which they share with daughters Alexandra, 5,and Savanah, 3, is 2,700 square feet, with four bedrooms and a two-car garage. "We were able to purchase a bigger home here, for the same amount as we were paying before," explains Ms. Hardwicke, 39. "The mortgage is the same, but everything else does cost more. Gas costs me about $200 a month for my commute."
The Hardwickes cope with two hectic jobs and one commute (Mr. Hardwicke now works in Brampton as brand director for Hudson's Bay Co.) by being super-organized. Ms. Hardwicke is able to work a four-day week and choose her own hours. It works. The couple says they'll not likely move back to Toronto, though they do sometimes pine for the city.
"We really miss the ability to walk outside, and be somewhere, like a Second Cup," says Mr. Hardwicke, 37. "In the first year, we were sort of shocked to find ourselves as part of the suburban plight. But the only way we would be likely to move back to Toronto is perhaps to a condominium when the girls are grown and leave home."
Meredyth and Brad Hilton are staying put for now, and trying to formulate a plan to help them deal with things such as the lack of storage space. "An accountant told me that Toronto is considered undervalued in comparison to other cities around the world, like London, England, or New York," Ms. Hilton says. "But that doesn't do anything for us in terms of selling our present home and buying a bigger one here. To have the home we would like, we would have to double our mortgage. Who can afford that?"
) earlier this week, so our plans to move back to Toronto are accelerating. My first days of unemployment haven't been too bad. Bought myself an econo set of saddle bags for the Triumph yesterday, and saw a movie yesterday with my BSA-riding mate. Today I'm off to play backgammon with another friend. With luck we'll have some excellent weather this weekend, which'll give me two full days or more on the road exploring. I spent five hours on the bike yesterday, and will spend much of today cleaning off road salt and grime.