What are good areas to live in Toronto?

Question

My parents and I live in a small city, and we like to move to Toronto. I've been told that Jane, Finch, Cabbagetown, certain areas of Downtown/ Yonge street aren't good areas. Are there other areas to stay away from? Does anyone know what are good areas? Is Richmond Hill a good area? I don't know too much about Toronto, in regards to what are good areas. The more information the better.

Answer 1

You should stay away from the areas you've mentioned, also some parts of Scarbrough are not so good.  In downtown there are some really good areas, and some really bad. Its hard to put a border, sometimes when you walk a few blocks the neighbourhood in downtown changes a lot.  In general anything north of bloor, from Bathurst to Donmills is usually very good. Ofcourse there is Post Road and Forest Hills where the most expensive mansions can be found. Richmond Hill is good too, the prices there are more reasonable than Toronto. Richmond hill is still developing, so a lot of new houses and plazas.

Answer 2

The answer above me is very good. I would just like to add that I am a former resident of both Richmond Hill and Markham (at different times in my life) and they are both very safe. As the other answer said, it is suburban but you are still close to the city so it's still pretty good. If you mean like Toronto itself, you can live on the edge of the city and it will still be more or less suburban in feel but if you want to live really downtown, then you are going to have to pay A LOT for an apartment, especially considering there are a few of you living there (at least 3 people, but I don't know if you have siblings).

Answer 3

First decide why you're moving to Toronto: what do you want to be different?  Do you want to live in the suburbs or in the city?

I'd avoid Jane/Finch, yes, but Cabbagetown isn't too bad, except for a very small part east of Sherbourne and north of Dundas.  I used to live at King and Parliament (on Trinity, a small side-street) and loved it.

For me, easy access to the subway, or possibly a good and frequent 24-hour streetcar, was a really huge consideration.  On the other hand, my partner needed somewhere for a gardan, and somewhere to park a car.  We ended up moving to Dufferin and Eglinton West, but we were too far from the subway station, and didn't go downtown as often as we had planned.  Little Italy might be a better area from that point of view, or the Beaches.

Now Magazine used to be (may still be) a good place to look for rentals, and also the Toronto Star on Saturday (and its Web site).

You should visit for a while and try and get to know some areas if you can. Saying Yonge street isn't a good area is a little silly because it's a really really long street :-) Yonge and Eglinton is well-to-do, Yonge and Bloor is near a relatively wealthy area, Yonge and Dundas isn't a tourist area with loud music blaring.  Toronto is a city where areas can change completely in a block.  We were on the edge of a  relatively low-income Jamaican area (very friendly people, though) and just beyond that a block or two was Forest Hill, with its million-dollar homes.  Then beyond that by a block an Orthodox Jewish-owned apartment building where the elevator stops on every floor on the Sabbath.

If you want to be somewhere eclectic, like Kensington Market or Queen St. West or even Danforth by Chester, or in a particularly g*y-positive area like Church + Wellesly or Danforth, or an artist area like the Gooderham development on  Front St., take that into account too.

And yes, if you want to live in the suburbs and manicure your lawn and wax your car and be half an hour to an hour from anyone real :-) then live in Markham or Mississagua or Vaughn :-)

Answer 4

I don't know much about Richmond Hill, but the best Place to live in is Markham. Markham shares a border with Toronto, but mostly suburbia. So it has less crime and and violence like some of the bad neighborhood in Toronto does. Markham is still part of GTA(Greater Toronto Area) so you still be living in the city, but in a safer and quitter neighborhood.

P.S I live in Markham

Answer 5

PEI is the place to live! we are friendly and peaceful here!

heh but in Toronto we liked  mt pleasant when we were there visiting.

Mad_CatZ

Answer 6

i think mt pleasant because its nice and very friendly. the houses arent too big or too small

Answer 7

richmond hill is where i grew up and it is an amazing town to move to. there are many small areas within richmond hill so you get that neighborly feeling. try around major mackenzie and yonge, or bathurst and elgin mills. they are two great areas

Answer 8

Oakville

that is the best toronto suburb to live in

Answer 9

If you don't mind living outside of Toronto, then Richmond Hill/Markham is very nice. Cheaper houses that are usually big and new, has typical malls and stores, and isn't THAT much of a drive to downtown Toronto

If you would rather live in Toronto, houses are amazing in any of the neighbourhoods between Finch and Bloor on the subway line. Bayview, York Mills, Leaside, Hoggs Hollow, Rosedale, Eglinton and Forest Hill. All these areas are very established, and is where most of the upper middle class families settle. A typical house though is probably between 900K to 2.5 million. A cheaper neighbourhood is Willowdale, which seems to be developing rapidly. A house is probably 600-700K I think

And in downtown, I think for the most part its safe.. Real estate there is ridiculously expensive though.