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Toronto Neighbourhood Expertise Needed

D

Darren

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Hi UrbanToronto

My wife and I will be looking to buy a townhouse, semi or detached home in Toronto within the next two years. We currently own a condo and Yonge and Finch but both grew up in the burbs and therefore don't know Toronto's neighbourhoods as well as we would like.

What neighbourhoods in Toronto do you think meet the following criteria?:

1. Not right downtown (west of Dufferin, north of Bloor, etc)
2. Within 1 km of Subway/streetcar/SRT or future transit city line. GO doesn't count
3. Walkable, mixed use area with street life, streetside retail nearby - no strip or shopping malls

So far we're considering anywhere around Yonge from Finch down to Bloor, Eglinton from Laird to Bathurst, Bayview & Sheppard, the Danforth from Broadview to Vic Park.

What are we missing?
 
Bloor West Village is a great area (along Bloor, between Jane and High Park). The Beach is another one (Queen St. east of Woodbine).

There are more great pockets in the city, those are just two that come to mind that aren't on your list.
 
Your perfect nabe would be around Humberside and Medland. That means you're less than 10 minutes walk to the Keele subway station (or 2 minutes to the Keele St bus, which comes every 5 minutes or so) and less than 10 minutes walk to the (becoming) trendy Junction strip along Dundas West. You're also 5 minutes walk to High Park, 20 minutes walk to Roncevalles (@Howard Park, where the cool stuff begins), and 15 minutes walk to Bloor West Village. Buy in late 2009/2010 when the bottom of the real estate market hits, say in the $350-$450k range?
 
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Great response thanks - I figured there were some hidden gems in the west part of the city that I wasn't aware of.

Anyone other ideas??
 
Parliament & wellesly is an interesting area, close to downtown & subway, nice views, lotsa culture
 
Darren said:
Hi UrbanToronto

My wife and I will be looking to buy a townhouse, semi or detached home in Toronto within the next two years. We currently own a condo and Yonge and Finch but both grew up in the burbs and therefore don't know Toronto's neighbourhoods as well as we would like.

What neighbourhoods in Toronto do you think meet the following criteria?:

1. Not right downtown (west of Dufferin, north of Bloor, etc)
2. Within 1 km of Subway/streetcar/SRT or future transit city line. GO doesn't count
3. Walkable, mixed use area with street life, streetside retail nearby - no strip or shopping malls

So far we're considering anywhere around Yonge from Finch down to Bloor, Eglinton from Laird to Bathurst, Bayview & Sheppard, the Danforth from Broadview to Vic Park.

What are we missing?
Click to expand...


What is your price range??? That will have a huge impact on what neighbourhood.
 
Up to 700k

But please don't use that to filter your ideas....you can find a deal in almost any neighbourhood, and areas that meet the above criteria but are considered 'up and coming' don't scare me off either.

For ex I've been working lately in the Weston and old city of York area which interests me, especially if/when the Eglinton crosstown goes through there whether underground or on the surface. Locals have been telling me "Weston isn't what it used to be" and "don't come here at night" But I'm not too concerned with safety anywhere in Toronto

Another ex still I have friends who rented at Yonge and Lawrence - one is a teacher and one a lawyer. They bought a house in pickering because "NO ONE can afford to buy at Yonge and Lawrence" but currently MLS® C1517461 is a 3 bedroom looks to be a semi at 88 Woburn for $559k. They would have seen the 999k price tag of the other listings and given up
 
Darren said:
Up to 700k

But please don't use that to filter your ideas....you can find a deal in almost any neighbourhood, and areas that meet the above criteria but are considered 'up and coming' don't scare me off either.

For ex I've been working lately in the Weston and old city of York area which interests me, especially if/when the Eglinton crosstown goes through there whether underground or on the surface. Locals have been telling me "Weston isn't what it used to be" and "don't come here at night" But I'm not too concerned with safety anywhere in Toronto

Another ex still I have friends who rented at Yonge and Lawrence - one is a teacher and one a lawyer. They bought a house in pickering because "NO ONE can afford to buy at Yonge and Lawrence" but currently MLS® C1517461 is a 3 bedroom looks to be a semi at 88 Woburn for $559k. They would have seen the 999k price tag of the other listings and given up
Click to expand...

Yonge and Lawrence is nice from a schools perspective. If you will soon have a family: the youngsters can attend John Wanless jk to grade 6 then Glenview grade 7 and 8, then Lawrence Park C.I. All are within 6 blocks of each other. Some of the semis on Woburn, Glengarry and Douglas are tiny. But they were built with 3 bedrooms. The smallest bedroom in these houses requires scaled down furniture.
 
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