Where's one of the best places to live in Canada?

Question

I'm hoping to live there in the future, so any suggestions are much appreciated! I guess, i'd like to live close to the city, but I wouldn't mind living in a town either.

Answer 1

I'll elaborate on some of the Atlantic Provinces. Personally speaking, I would call it the best place to live, but I've lived here nearly all my life, so perhaps I'm biased.

Housing is quite affordable in all four provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland). Crime rates are overall lower than average, especially in Newfoundland and PEI. If you speak french as a first language, New Brunswick is definately worth looking into - 35% of the population is francophone and it's the only officially bilingual Canadian province. And there are actually a lot of job openings in the region (particularly in skilled trades and medicine/nursing), due to the aging population reaching retirement age and younger people moving out west for higher wages. The cities are smaller (Halifax is the biggest at 350,000 - on average you're looking at 40-100k in population) and there's a lot of rural life. But the freedom of wide open space and nature are quite refreshing.

Personally, my favourite cities are Charlottetown, PEI and St. John's, Newfoundland. Charlottetown's about 50000 people, St. John's is about 200000. But it's possible to live in both very cheaply, they're safe and friendly, and both are beautiful places surrounded by even more beautiful countryside.

Downsides across the board in Atlantic Canada: taxes are high, pay is low, and multiculturalism doesn't really apply - most immigrants settle in Montreal/Toronto/Vancouver. (This also works to your advantage if you're moving to Canada - the four provinces are aggressively trying to recruit immigrants. Do some research on the provincial government websites.)

Answer 2

"Best places to live" really depends on what you mean by "best". We have beautiful cities like Winnipeg, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa and Montreal but we also have some really fabulous more rural areas such as Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Brandon, Manitoba and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

If you are looking to visit a smaller city, might I suggest Charlottetown, PEI? It has everything you would need in a city but isn't so enormously huge that it would overwhelm you.

"Best" places to live also depends partly on climate. Canada has a varying climate. We have winters with rain/snow/freezing rain and times of -40C weather in the north. We have summers consisting of hot'n'humid days where you wilt on the sidewalk; hot and dry parched winds in the prairie provinces and anything in between.

I would recommend you do some research on the country. Look in Wikipedia and you will learn much about our beautiful land.

Answer 3

Seattle isn't even in Canada!! D'er.

I would say live in Saint John, New Brunswick. It's a little city and a little town rolled into one.

Answer 4

Can't compete with or disagree with Kevin M, but for general interest I'd go with Halifax and the nearby South Shore of NS.

Answer 5

Vancouver, great climate, ocean and mountain view, lots of nature, great shopping.

Answer 6

I live in the Province of Québec (French speaking province). Living in Quebec City is very much like living in Europe (more relaxed, and it has a "latin" feel). Canada has also great cities to live in (Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal,  Calgary). .... And Seattle is definitely NOT in the US !

Answer 7

Canada is 3,000 miles wide, so there's a lot of diversity. Choosing a good place to live will depend on what's important to you personally. Here are some of the best and worst-performing cities in various ways:

VIOLENT CRIME RATES

Lowest:  Ottawa, St. Catharines/Niagara, Kitchener, Quebec City, Windsor

Highest: Vancouver, Winnipeg, Halifax, Regina, Saskatoon

WELL-EDUCATED POPULATION

Best: Ottawa, Toronto, Halifax, Vancouver, Quebec City

Worst: Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton, St. Catharines/Niagara, Sudbury

ABILITY TO GET TO WORK BY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Most likely to use public transportation:Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary

Least likely: Saskatoon, Kitchener, Windsor, St. John's, St. Catharines/Niagara

ABILITY TO WALK OR RIDE A BIKE TO WORK

Most likely: Victoria, Halifax, Ottawa, Vancouver, Quebec City

Least likely: Hamilton, St. Catharines/Niagara, Edmonton, Windsor, Toronto

AFFORDABILITY OF HOME OWNERSHIP

Most Affordable: Windsor, Regina, St. John's , Quebec City, Winnipeg

Least Affordable: Toronto,  Edmonton, Calgary, Victoria, Vancouver

SHORT COMMUTES TO/FROM WORK

Shortest Commutes: Sudbury, St. John's, Saskatoon, Regina, St. Catharines/Niagara

Longest Commutes: Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto

SUNNIEST CITIES

Most Sunshine: Calgary, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton

Least Sunshine: Halifax, Vancouver, Quebec City, London, St. John's

MILDEST WINTERS

Mildest: Victoria, Vancouver, St. Catharines/Niagara, Toronto, Halifax

Coldest: Quebec City, Sudbury, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg

LEAST EXTREME CLIMATES

Least variation in temperature between January, July: Victoria, Vancouver, St. John's, Halifax, Calgary

Most variation: Quebec City, Sudbury, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg

UNEMPLOYMENT RATES

Lowest: Calgary, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria

Highest: St. John's, Trois-Rivieres, Windsor, Saguenay, Niagara Falls

Answer 8

Orangeville,Ontario which is about 80 km away from Toronto

Answer 9

Seattle

Answer 10

I have lived all over Canada.  Each place is unique and has it's pros and cons.  BC and Alberta  is very expensive but  naturally beautiful.  Saskatchewan  and Nova Scotia are  quite beautiful too, they have wonderful people, and you can buy a home in a small town for very cheap.  Overall, I think that Ottawa is the best place to live - there are lots of jobs, the streets roll up early (government employees are in bed early), lots of free stuff on parliament hill almost every weekend in the summer, housing is reasonable for a city, loads of ethnic diversity, the transit system is cheap and well planned, and you do not have to go far to get into the country (about 20 minutes or less from the centre of the city).