What's more difficult than finding the perfect woman? Finding the perfect apartment.

February 21, 2006 12:52 PM

Toronto MeFites: Tell me everything and anything about Little Italy / College & Grace. I'm considering moving there. What about it sucks/rocks? Best places to shop/hang/eat/chill/ whatever. How much are tomatoes? Bananas? Other food staples? Not familiar with Little Italy? How about High Park/BWV; Kensington; Dufferin and Keele? Dunno those areas? Where should I abslolutely positively avoid?

So I'm being evicted because they're tearing the shit outta my place and putting in new pipes/wiring/everything and it's gonna take months. This sucks as I've lived here 12 years (Spadina-Bathurst/St. Clair/Casa Loma).

I'm finding it incredibly difficult to find a suitable dwelling. I was originally aiming for High Park but things keep getting rented before I can look at them. I'm investigating other areas and would appreciate any tips/leads. Am presently considering applying for a place in Little Italy, hence that area's at the forefront of the question.

I know I don't want to live in the east end as I have many times in my life and need a change so east-enders/beach dwellers, don't take offense.

I know that similar discussions have taken place in the past here on Ask (I've participated) but am asking again because, well, I need assurances and am dreading making a bad decision and the whole thing is depressing the shit out of me and stressing me out so much I can't get any good writing done.

Also, anyone who feels like helping me by sending phone numbers of non-basement rentals in any of the above hoods, please do so. I'll offer a reward to anyone who sends me details on a place that I actually get. Email me for details. I can leave anytime between now and June 1.

posted by dobbs to Home & Garden (19 answers total)

I'm partial to the High Park area myself (having lived here for 7 years). It's somewhat quiet, close enough to the subway to get around without a car, but there are a lot of local markets, pubs and amenities that, if you were inclined, you would not have to go far to find what you were looking for.

My personal tastes include The Local or the Yellow Griffin for pubs (there are a lot more to choose from). Food staples are incredibly well-priced due to the massive amount of local produce available in small markets all over the area and the 3-4 grocery stores that I can list off the top of my head. Rent can be high, but if you put in the effort you can find a really nice place for a decent cost and if you're close enough to the park, you've got the best backyard in the city.

Stay away from Parkdale (unless you need cheap rent). I've never lived in Little Italy, but having known a lot of people who have/do, and spent a lot of time there myself, it is also a nice choice based a lot of the same criteria I mentioned above. However, I've typically found that a lot of the surrounding areas can be loud at times, and a lot of the rental property is retrofitted housing as opposed to smaller apartment buildings (I'm not a fan of the larger apartment buildings) which can have some downsides.
posted by purephase at 1:16 PM on February 21, 2006

Anything east of Roncesvalles is technically Parkdale, but between Roncesvalles and Macdonell Ave is just as nice as the High Park part of the neighbourhood on the west of Roncy. East of Lansdowne should probably be avoided if you have a choice, yeah.

Otherwise, what purephase said. The part of High Park east of the park is less expensive, but just as nice, versus BWV, but I've only ever been a buyer, not a renter, so I dunno about rents.
posted by GuyZero at 1:30 PM on February 21, 2006

I used to live there!

Great pizza places. Cheap rent. try to stay AWAY from college street though - that streetcar runs 24 hours and I made the mistake of living much too close to the main street. When it passes through the zig zag it squeaks. Every 20 minutes, 24 hours a day. Yup. It grinds on your sleep.

It's actually quite inexpensive to rent a place in one of those houses. My two bedroom flat there just 4 years back was only 800 + utils. Granted, the apartment window faces the backyard patio of a restaurant, so it was really noisy. But that's the area - there's always something going on, with festivals in the summer closing off the whole street and so on. Just don't own a car. Parking is hell there. Otherwise, it's safe, and close to pretty much everything.

There's lots of places to hangout - There's a great used bookstore, a festival theatre, tons of restaurants, walk to chinatown, Kensington market. I can't recommend it enough.
posted by Sallysings at 2:22 PM on February 21, 2006

Watch for cockroaches in houses south of College St., especially near Spadina / Chinatown. Lots of leftover street grocery produce for them to munch on.

Little Italy (Shaw St. @ College) is a nice area, my sister lived there for 5 years in a basement apartment quite happily.

Well priced gelato in the supermarket frozen food section, mmmmmm.
posted by anthill at 2:36 PM on February 21, 2006

Little Italy is fabulous - streets and houses with lots of character, a good 'neighbourhoody' feel, and too many good restaurants and bars to single out. (I'm a big fan of Gato Nero, right on the corner of College and Grace, though. Right where you're thinking of moving!)

That being said, I was going to suggest the Annex, but you already live there! Its fabulous, why leave? (When i had to move, I moved exactly one block - carried my stuff from one apartment to the other. I couldn't bear to leave my lovely Annex!)
posted by Kololo at 2:42 PM on February 21, 2006

I wouldn't recommend Dufferin and Keele. It's ugly. It's only accessible by bus. It takes forever to get anywhere remotely resembling civilization. Bleh.
posted by crazycanuck at 3:21 PM on February 21, 2006

It's hard to recommend a place without really knowing you. I loved High Park because of the park. It's actually cooler in the summer, and I liked the Slavic vibe.

Little Italy is chic and young, and a lot of fun. It can seem a little cold if you are not one of the hipsters. It's also crowded with cars. I don't want to sound like a grouch, but there are too many groups of you 20 somethings for my taste.

I don't know if you're into the whole East/West identity thing. I'm not. I moved to Riverdale from High Park. It's close to down-town, has better grocery stores and a nice comfortable feel, and a few parks with really nice views of downtown. For a quiet loving urbanite who hates prefab housing, Riverdale and High Park are great.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 3:38 PM on February 21, 2006

opps, I see you're sick of the East. Still, Riverdale might be a good back up plan.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 3:40 PM on February 21, 2006

I know this goes against any number of hipster instincts, but have you thought about midtown? Like, Yonge and Eglinton? It's on the subway, clean, cheap rent with lots of stuff around.

The only downside is that you will end up spending $100 on a metropass. (If you don't have a car, at least.)
posted by generichuman at 4:01 PM on February 21, 2006

Roncey crew represent!

Seriously, High Park is an absolutely lovely place to live. My boyfriend & roommate & I are right on Roncesvalles, and absolutely everything is within five minutes' walk. Move into the neighbourhood, you won't be disappointed.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 6:06 PM on February 21, 2006

I'm at college and Euclid. Great neighbourhood, bickford park (leash free dog park) and the Linux cafe a short walk away, trendy bars / food / people watching all along college, local library, and your choice of shopping at independent grocers / bakers or the dominion. Kenny's always has cheap veggies. And Utopia (the restaurant)-- how can you loose?
posted by maxpower at 6:28 PM on February 21, 2006

I'm at Bloor and Euclid, and I recommend the College/Euclid area as well. You're close to Aunties and Uncles or Fran's for good breakfast places; there's Musa (breakfast -- breakfast is an important part of my social life) down on Dundas and Euclid, and The Magpie (also at Dundas and Euclid) is my favourite new watering hole (keep your eyes open for Monday night movie viewings). You're close to Sneaky Dee's for the Trampoline Hall lecture series, and close to Soundscapes to get tickets for Trampoline Hall. You're close to the Market (My Country Bakery has Montreal-style bagels!), so there's lots of cheap produce and tasty cheese nearby.
Also, it's easy to ride a bike around the area, and as long as you are slightly north or south of College, it's pretty quiet. Good luck!
posted by Felicity Rilke at 6:44 PM on February 21, 2006

There's also this thread from last year.
posted by GuyZero at 6:55 PM on February 21, 2006

Ack, it's the West End. The most fundamental thing to know about Toronto is that you're either a West End person or an East End person. I'm an East Ender.

My bro-in-law lives there and the crime rate is very bad compared to where I live (the Beach). He's been broken into twice in a year. Similar house, demographic. He raves about the restaurants, clubs, etc, but they are thinking of moving out.

I find the whole Mediterranean thing a bit relentless but the Easter Parade is fantastic.
posted by unSane at 7:59 PM on February 21, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks, all, for your answers. Much appreciated.
posted by dobbs at 8:30 PM on February 21, 2006

I'm a new Torontonian (16 years), but this you're an East-sider or West-sider thing is crap. There are great places on both sides of town. Okay, the west whiter, the East is more ethnically diverse, but you seem cosmopolitain enough I think you'll be fine wherevery you go.

People don't actually recognize you as an other when you cross the Don Valley. Really. I've moved back and forth and been very happy on both ends of town, and /gasp/ I've never been beaten up by locals. And I'm an immigrant!

High Park/Roncesvalles is great if you are not too far south, but Roncesvalles and Queen is certainly not prime. The Junction is also getting cool. It's educated working class. Safe, tolerant, and a lot of fun.

If you are afraid of making a real-estate mistake, talk to the closest police station before you sign a lease. But really, you can still visit other parts of town.

Have you thought about moving north a few blocks? I have friends who live at St Claire and Bathurst. It's a little ugly on first glance, but the rents are great, it's very safe, and there are loads of cool bakeries restaurants and odd little cultural centres. I love hanging out there. My friends have a beautiful two bedroom for $680 a month. They could afford to move to High Park, the Annex or even Cabbage town, but they love where they are.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 8:32 PM on February 21, 2006

Also, you didn't ask this, but T.O. is one of the last few remaining places in North America where it still makes sense to buy real estate.
posted by unSane at 9:20 PM on February 21, 2006

unSane writes "My bro-in-law lives there and the crime rate is very bad compared to where I live (the Beach). He's been broken into twice in a year. Similar house, demographic. He raves about the restaurants, clubs, etc, but they are thinking of moving out."

Where in the west-end? I've lived in all matter of neighbourhoods (even north-west like etobicoke and north york) and the crime rate has never been an issue at all. I've walked through High Park at midnight, travelled from Jane and Steeles to Bloor and the Woodbine racetrack and I have yet to ever experience any problems at all (in 7 years of doing so).

I'm just curious as to what west-end area your brother-in-law lives in.
posted by purephase at 9:54 PM on February 21, 2006

Response by poster: gesamtkunstwerk, I currently live 2 doors south of St. Clair between Spadina and Bathurst. I know the area well and every year it gets worse--been here since 1994. (Every summer I see cops arresting more and more people in the park outside my house (and I live in the "good" part of B/SC!)). I only pay $850 for a floor of a house but, frankly, I'm sick of the idiots with pit bulls, the partying assholes, and being unable to walk two blocks without being hit up for change, literally, 10 times, by people who only come out with the sun.

SE of me is quiet and nice, but it's too expensive--I go one block east or south and the rent almost doubles.

I'll miss it a bit (and my own dog will miss the ravine), but I'm hoping to go to a new area and get a fresh start.

As for Yonge and Eg and other parts north, I've already lived up there and also have worked there for many years and it doesn't feel very me.

Again, thanks everyone for the answers. I'm gonna make a bid on a place at College and Grace. I doubt they'll bite but I've got nothing to lose.
posted by dobbs at 10:28 PM on February 21, 2006