Georgetown (Halton Hills area) is pretty nice.

Almost anywhere around Lake Erie sounds just great for you. I myself live in what was once the worlds largest fishing industry, but is now just a cute little tug town, great beach, great lake front shops, great beach viewing restaurants, great little community.

paris, woodstock, stratford, ingersoll, innerskip, kingston

Toronto isn’t so bad if you live in the right pocket, right downtown. Kensington, St. Lawerence… the Island but outskirts like Etobicoke are only 10 minutes by car, so I wouldn’t call it suburbia. The homes are nice, good for families and about 100k cheaper.

I’ve also heard that Elora, Oakvile, Kingston, Stratford, Niaagara on the Lake and Guelph are nice.

Richmond Hill is awesome here

1. Merrickville….
About an hour from downtown Ottawa – http://snipurl.com/n74c.

It’s a place I enjoy. Touristy, village, lots of craftspeople, lots of quaint little shops, nice restaurants. Located on the Rideau Canal.

=========================================================

2. Almonte
47 minutes from Ottawa – http://snipurl.com/n74f

A bit bigger than Merrickville. Quaint atmosphere, on the Mississippi River. Shops, restaurants, small businesses, artisans, agriculture.

Both of these places are near Ottawa.

Not exactly Southern Ontario, but perhaps more affordable than Southern Ontario, and particularly Toronto.

E

Hi Delibelly.

Halfway between Niagara Falls and Toronto, at the extreme western end of Lake Ontario, Dundas nestles in a valley between two arms of the Niagara Escarpment.

Lake Ontario ends at Cootes Paradise, a marshy wetlands and magnificent birding area just east of Dundas. The Peak, the escarpment’s rocky limestone outcropping stands out to the north over the town, and is an excellent spot to enjoy the view over the valley from. Beside it, Spencer’s Gorge cuts back into the rock for a kilometre or so and ends at Websters and Tews Falls. To the south west, the Dundas Valley is a rolling landscape of smaller hills and valleys formed by glacial meltwater thousands of years ago.

Kilometres of trials, including the Bruce Trail (running from Niagara Falls to Tobermory) cross the area. Each season creates its own spectacular atmosphere for anyone interested in experiencing Southern Ontario’s natural environment in its many facets. Hiking, biking, canoeing, and cross country skiing are all activites that can be enjoyed here.

All roads literally lead down into the valley. There isn’t a big-box store or major highway in sight, and the historic downtown is thriving with great shops and residential neighbourhoods.

Several residential neighbourhoods built in different eras (from the 1800s to today) feature homes in different price ranges (from the affordable to higher end) surround the town of some 25,000 people.

My family lives here and we love it.

Cheers

Travelinfrank

Look near London ontario

Obviously I am biased based on where I have lived, but i’ll give suggestions anyways. My recommendation is to find a place in or close by the Tri-cities (Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge… and Guelph is not too far away). I have lived in this area all my life with the exception of the two years I have lived in Toronto.

This area is great because it’s close to the 401 and smack dab in the middle of Southwestern Ontario so you’re closer to everything (Toronto or Windsor or Niagara).

If you don’t want to be in the city, I recommend the town of Elmira, which is only 10 minutes from Waterloo. It’s a beautiful town continuously growing. However, you’ll have to learn how to share the road with Mennonite’s on their horse and buggies. I lived in Elmira for almost eight years and enjoyed it very much. Nice and quiet, but close to the urban areas.

If not Elmira, I highly recommend Listowel, which is about twenty minutes north of Elmira up highway 86. I have never lived there but my church was there and so I was there very often. I love the town. It also is continuously growing, has good schools, Campbell Soup factory on the outskirts, and a Honda plastic making factory right beside it. I know many people who live here with jobs in the tri-cities because it’s close. It’s very much a family community, something I really missed living in toronto. As well, for it’s some 8000 people, there are something like 11 churches of different denominations in Listowel which is very high for how big the community is.

Other than that, I’d recommend coast/border towns like Owen Sound or St. Catherines. Hope this helps. let me know if you have any more questions.

St. Thomas – 15-20 mins from London, 2 hrs from TO, 2 hrs from Windsor – great place to live, and not too far from just about everything.

It might be a bit far, 4 hours from TO if you speed, but North Bay isn’t so bad. Two lakes surround it, about 60 000 people, lots of wildlife.

If you’re looking for a nice Big-Little city I’d suggest Kingston (pop 130,000 approx). 2.5 hours from either Toronto, Montreal or Ottawa. Close to the Thousand Islands, Watertown NY, etc. Loads of Provincial Parks very close by, good restaurants and plenty of night life. I’m originally from Montreal myself and live 15 minutes outside of town. I hear coyotes and cows (took a bit of getting use to) at night and my back yard seems to be directly under the Milky Way.