Where in Ontario would you choose to raise a family?

London

I eschewed cities and chose to live in a small village. Make sure you pick a diverse village if that’s your choice! I live in Thorndale — which is near Stratford

Barrie

Fergus , alliston

Kitchener Waterloo?

Woodstock is good. A little smaller than the big cities but big enough there is stuff to do.

Stratford
Oakville
Newmarket

I’m in Brantford. It gets a bit of a bad rap, but it really is a nice place to raise kids. The climate is noticeably milder than Barrie area and even the GTA. There’s good schools, a strong “mom” community, and lots of walking trails and outdoor space. We recently got a Costco if you’re into that sort of thing 😅

Thanks, that actually sounds like a lovely place. I appreciate the info. I have only ever heard a little about it but never spent much time there, maybe I'll look into it further.

there are downsides, like everywhere. The population is growing so traffic is getting worse and wait times at the hospital are outrageous, but still way better than Toronto or larger cities.

There also aren’t any natural beaches nearby. So if you’re used to a pretty waterfront you’ll have to settle for the grand river (which is good for tube floats!).

my #1 priority is safety, ideally a community that's not overrun with visible homelessness/drug use/violence/not high risk for trafficking etc. The larger cities are too rough for me to raise a little girl in. Also being able to get around the city using public transit is important for us, I'm not expecting an *easy* commute because transit sucks in every city, but London for example I find extremely inaccessible by transit. So something that would be manageable, with the bit of extra time and planning that using any transit system takes.

it sounds terrible, but the crime stats here are a bit inflated because of our proximity to the reserve (their stats are lumped in with ours).

The downtown and a few surrounding areas have visible homelessness and drug users but the majority of areas are family friendly and safe, particularly the north end and west Brant. Unfortunately the transit system is terrible.

Good places mentioned, I have 2 kids and it's been an issue with location for us too

What particular difficulties have you had with certain locations if you don't mind me asking?

Wasaga Beach has the most beautiful views of the water and the water is always so clear and blue and in the winter the mountains look absolutely beautiful and they have this blue mountain trail where you can go zip lining through it. Not sure if it’s available in the winter, but it’s beautiful in the summer, they also have a tour available because they have crystal caves. The community is so nice and welcoming very sweet people over there. I highly recommend if I ever had enough money to go anywhere in Canada that’s where I would go. Just do not recommend London. It is awful here a lot of violence.

Coldwater ontario!!! The downtown is like a hallmark village. It's close to big areas for shopping etc. It's perfect

Waterloo or Guelph both university towns, but still small enough to feel like community. I lived in Waterloo for 8 years and really enjoyed it. I live in Hamilton now, which is where I grew up, but it's a bit big and busy for what you're describing. Brantford is also a good alternative just next door, but like someone else said, population there is really growing.

You couldn't pay me enough to live in a big city. Even Welland is a bit on the big side for me. I'd rather live where I can sing top of my lungs without the neighbours complaining lol.

Do you find the small towns lonely? Is it harder to find friends?

nah i find big cities lonelier. No one wants to stop and chat, everyone's in too big a hurry. they keep their heads down and go about their business, ignoring everyone around them.

But in smaller towns people are more willing to stop and say hi, ask you how your day is going, and actually make conversation.

When I was living up north, if you went in to the grocery store and people knew you by name and asked how the family was, and if you'd managed to figure out why your car didn't start last week and hey by the way will we be seeing you at the potluck next week? My kids been raving about the cupcakes you made last time.

I miss that, ya know?

That sounds nice actually. Is it hard for newcomers to fit in though? Is it normally the families that have grown up together since forever?

we left the city!!! live in Lake Erie, 45 minutes to Hamilton. 45 minutes to Simcoe. we love it

I mean you have to be open to meeting people where they're at instead of some idealized form of them, but I didn't find any issue. I didn't move to the small town I live in till I was in my 20s and didn't find any trouble making friends

I'd stay out of a city go around Midwestern ontario the schools are more attentive I've found. I live just outside of Durham I've lived in cambridge guelph hanover and clifford but happiest here

So I grew up in Kitchener age 10-23. Lovely area more so in Waterloo. I'd avoid Cambridge.

But we moved just south of London to a smaller town St.Thomas. The housing market was cheaper and we are country/outside people and wanted to get away from the crazy but still have everything we needed around us. We have a walmart and Costco is just down the road 20minutes. Port Stanley is a 15 minute drive to the beach.

Moving here as a adult/mom I didn't find it too hard to find friends. Everyone seems generally friendly. ❤️ I've found a couple best friends the last 3 years.