Anyone live in Niagara Region in Ontario, Canada?

[blingergrrrl]

My SO and I may have an opportunity to move to the Niagara Region, and I was wondering if a local could let us know where a good place to live would be. We like the appeal of a quiet and quaint smaller town (around 15,000 people give or take) with larger city ammenities close by. We enjoy growing our own food/gardening, wine, local food markets, and are big outdoors people. We also enjoy arts and culture. We''d like to start a family in the next 5 years too. He would be employed by the Niagara Regional Police and I am a Registered Nurse but I enjoy community work rather than a hospital setting. We are looking for a lower cost of living as well, and wouldn''t mind an older home.

Any advice?

Thanks!

 

[hlmr]

Hi! I do not live in the Niagara region, but my husband just finished a job in that vicinity and fell in love with that area! It is very beautiful!

I don't have much info to offer, but do wish you the best with your move, if you choose to move there.

 

[kama_s]

Niagara-on-the-lake would be a beautiful spot, but it''s a tad bit touristy and a bit expensive. Smaller towns near-by that are lovely include: Thorold, Port Dalhousie, Fonthill and Beamville (although Beamsville might be slightly further away for you, if you''re looking for a quick car ride down to work).

I also think St. Catherines would be a good choice for you, but it''s not as small town as the ones I listed above. Definitely much more small town compared to Toronto!

Niagara Falls to Toronto would be around 1.5hr drive.

 

[blingergrrrl]

Thanks so much for responding, guys!

Kama S, do you or did you live in the area? What do you think of the current housing market?

Thanks for letting me know, I have put those towns on our short list and we will visit take a trip out sometime in November.

 

[tenfour]

wow!! i rarely check out pricescope and i am really excited to have checked this week. hope i can help your decision.
background about me: grew up in northern ontario, lived in toronto and montreal for 10+ years, and moved to the niagara region a few years ago because my husband is from here. i LOVE this region.
we lived in st. catharines for a short time. we ended up purchasing our home in niagara falls a year ago. not sure if you have researched this or not, but the median income for this region is $34K. judging by your professions, you will be able to buy a very nice home with your incomes. our home is an 80-year-old home that would run about $700K in toronto. trust me, we paid nowhere near that cost. nope.
the regional website will give information about the municipalities that make up the region. i know you enjoy very small communities, but i wouldn''t rule out niagara falls. yes, there is a very ''touristy'' element with clifton hill, etc. that area is easily avoidable. we live only one block from lundy''s lane tourist area and never hear any noise or face any tourist traffic.
a huge misconception about niagara falls is that clifton hill is the ''downtown.'' not so!! the downtown core once experienced the same sudden demise (due to ''big box'' overtakings, not unlike anywhere else in north america). two years ago a large association started revitalizing the historic downtown. i have seen the changes over the past year as i work on the main street (queen). locally run restaurants, a market dedicated to ''niagara only'' foods, and art galleries are now the focus of what was a street that once resembled a ghost town (aside from the hookers and substance abusers). it is now a wonderful street. you can do a search for the niagara review (newspaper), do another search for queen street, and there should be a bunch of articles about the new revitalization. they did a week-long special called ''the faces of queen street'' last month.
the smaller municipalities around here are all great. excellent produce, wines, and always festivals. for example, for the next week is the grape and wine festival in st. catharines.
anyway, i have rambled a bit. please don''t hesitate to ask anything about this region. i might also have answers about your lines of work (my MIL was an RN and my husband is a paramedic).

 

[tenfour]

wow. my post was long-winded and full of grammatical errors. forgive me. i indulged a bit in niagara wine tonight. oopsy.