Right neighborhood to buy house in Toronto

December 9, 2011 6:31 AM

We are searching for a neighborhood in Toronto to buy a house for our family. As we are new in Toronto, we are not sure what areas will meet the following criteria.

Criteria

1. Within walking distance from a subway or GO station (both of us work downtown) and a commute of 30-45 min (one way).

2. Good schools and a decent neighborhood to raise a family

3. Close to amenities and cultural centers

4. We plan to spend approximately $500,000 on a three bedroom house.


Also, are there any good websites/resources which can help us in this process?

Thank you.

posted by musicgold to home & garden (9 answers total)

I'm going to suggest my neighbourhood, Kennedy Park. 22 minute GO train ride, 45-50 (ish; depending if the Warden switches feel like working) on the subway.
posted by scruss at 6:51 AM on December 9, 2011

East York meets your criteria. Here's a link to get you started.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 6:52 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

Toronto Life's real estate site and the City of Toronto's neighbourhood profies will both help.
posted by wdenton at 7:19 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

A real estate agent will help too. They know neighbourhoods!

And here's another neighbourhood profile thingy, from an agent, and another from another. We used both of those lots when narrowing our choices down (we ended up in the Junction, love it here, but our needs and price range are different than yours) even though neither of those people were our agent.
posted by mendel at 8:17 AM on December 9, 2011

Agreed on East York. E.g., there is really good value around Danforth and Coxwell. You are very close to the city center (15 minutes on the subway), and near to Greektown, Leslieville and the Beach.
posted by SNACKeR at 8:38 AM on December 9, 2011

The only thing in your set of criteria that's going to eliminate options within the city is your budget. (ie. there are lots of options near transit, not far from downtown, close to amenities. But its tough to buy a three bedroom house for $500k.)

I'd recommend looking into East York, The Junction, and various areas along the Danforth. I'll also second the recommendation for the Toronto Life real estate pages.
posted by Kololo at 9:26 AM on December 9, 2011

An easy way to get started may be to look at the map views on Toronto Life - that way you can start with neighbourhoods that have accessible housing prices, and then read the profiles from there. (Keep in mind that downtown neighbourhoods with low average housing prices are likely to have low prices only because they're filled with condos/apartments, not houses.)
posted by Kololo at 9:29 AM on December 9, 2011

Think about Mimico. Up and coming area, gorgeous parks, nice houses by the water, close to downtown toronto. Check it out.
posted by evadery at 6:02 PM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

Thanks a lot folks. Appreciate it.
posted by musicgold at 8:34 PM on January 10, 2012