OT: Kitchner Vs Mississauga

[Mrs. M. Mouse]

We're contemplating a move from Alberta to Ontario and our choices are narrowed to kitchner or mississauga. I am looking for some of you easterners to give me pro's and con's of the area, school systems, child care, etc. My kids are 7 and 4.

thanks
allie

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

For me it would depend on where you will be working.
We are in Guelph and love it here - it's between Kitchener and Mississauga. Has a smaller town feeling then both of your 2 choices.
As for schools it depends on the area's in each city you are looking at.

 

[Ham Ham]

For me it would depend on where you will be working.
We are in Guelph and love it here - it's between Kitchener and Mississauga. Has a smaller town feeling then both of your 2 choices.
As for schools it depends on the area's in each city you are looking at.

We live in Mississauga and both work downtown in T.O.

Depending on where you & your spouse work will have a big impact on where you choose to live.

Personally I would choose to live as close to work as possible to cut down on commuting time.

As for schools etc. BitsnBearsMom said it well it depends where you choose to live. Each city has great areas to live and some neighborhoods that are not as appealing.

Guelph is a good choice lots of great areas, nice downtown, the best in my opinion of the area of Kitcherner, Waterloo & Cambridge.

With that said if I was working in the north end of Waterloo I would like to be close to work.
Just as I would not look forward to driving into Mississauga or Toronto every day from Guelph.

OP we need more info.

 

[SandraC]

I live in Mississauga and I'd love to live in Kitchener.

I really like Mississauga alot, however, if I didn't already live here, I couldn't afford to....I hope that makes sense. It's very expensive.

Mississauga as a city is extremely well run my our mayor. It's got everything you want and need.

But so does Kitchener.

I think housewise, you'd get a bigger home in Kitchener for the money.

Kitchener has lots of little towns around it for quaint day trips.

Mississauga has a lot of culture and events.

Both are awesome places! Good Luck with your plans. S

 

[Camilo]

I think it really depends on what you and your husband do for living.
I went to Cambridge once and fell in love for the city (I like smaller cities).

I ended up though buying a town-home in Mississauga (which I also like a lot), as it's 20 minutes from Toronto and the opportunities in IT (my field) are way bigger in the GTA compared to Cambridge/Kitchener/Waterloo.

I would recommend you going to www.workopolis.com or www.monster.ca and checking the current jobs in both cities (or nearby) to have an idea.

Hope this helps.

Camilo

 

[Mrs. M. Mouse]

We live in Mississauga and both work downtown in T.O.

Depending on where you & your spouse work will have a big impact on where you choose to live.

Personally I would choose to live as close to work as possible to cut down on commuting time.

As for schools etc. BitsnBearsMom said it well it depends where you choose to live. Each city has great areas to live and some neighborhoods that are not as appealing.

Guelph is a good choice lots of great areas, nice downtown, the best in my opinion of the area of Kitcherner, Waterloo & Cambridge.

With that said if I was working in the north end of Waterloo I would like to be close to work.
Just as I would not look forward to driving into Mississauga or Toronto every day from Guelph.

OP we need more info.

Okay more info. my husband has a choice of working either in mississauga OR kitchner. I would likely have options in either city as well being a nurse. For us the reason we want to move from calgary to ontario is the high cost of living for not much to look at. while I love calgary in it's own way I want something different for my kids. I grew up in a smaller town in bc and would prefer my kids get the small town feel as well growing up. I know for the school it's more critical we do this move when they are still young as once older it makes it harder to relocate.

Not sure if that's enough info or not.

 

[encinc]

If you're looking for the small town feel, then K-W (Kitchener-Waterloo) is probably the better bet. It's a smaller urban centre than Mississauga, and Mississauga is so close to Toronto that it is all one large urban centre, IMO.

K-W has some lovely small towns on the outskirts that you might look into as well. Elmira immediately comes to mind. I believe it's population is now about 12,000. Everything you'd need is there (except a hospital if you're looking to do hospital-based nursing). It's only about 15 minutes from Waterloo (and a half hour commute at most to Kitchener - maybe less depending on the area of Kitchener).

Waterloo Region schools have an excellent reputation.

Good luck with your move!

 

[Valjean13]

I live in Kitchener (moved here from Kamloops, BC 7 years ago). It definitely feels smaller than Mississauga, but not like small town BC does. There's lots of nice small areas just outside Kitchener - Baden, New Hamburg, Wellesley, Elmira - just to name a few. Only complaint I would have is that after a big snow storm, some of the roads to those places can take a while to get plowed.
I am an elementary school supply teacher, and I love getting called to the schools in those areas. The kids are great, and the schools do not have as many problems with violence/bullying/drugs. But don't worry, the schools in the city are great too!
You will also likely find a bigger house/yard here, for less money, than in Mississauga.
Good luck!

 

[Ham Ham]

Cost of living is definitely cheaper in K/W than Guelph or Mississauga.

Sound like K/W would be a better match for you as for living in Elmira you may want to research where exactly you buy a house. I believe due to the contamination of the water in Elmira all of the drinking water is piped in from K/W.
http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/esd_pet_128_e_28855.html

All areas have good and bad educational institutions and neighborhoods. Violence/bullying/drugs can happen in rural schools as well as city ones.

K/W doesn't strike me as having a small town feel. It feels like one big suburb with some older industrial areas. Big bonus is Chicopee if you are into skiing/snowboarding a real great place to spend the week-end with the kids. Definitely look outside of K/W if a small town is what you want. Stratford is gorgeous and there is a Hospital there K/W is 45 minutes away.

Guelph gets my vote is where I would live if had to move to the area. Nice areas the best downtown of over K/W and Cambridge. Big hospital and large
private treatment facility http://www.homewood.org/.
No sense to both of you having long commutes.
You can commute to either K/W 30 minutes or N/W Mississauga 30 minutes from Guelph.

Far more nursing opportunities in Mississauga than K/W but housing won't be much cheaper than Calgary and much busier traffic. Mississauga is much more diverse with lots of excellent international cuisine and shopping.
You can still find great family neighborhoods and Toronto is only 30 minutes away.

 

[Mrs. M. Mouse]

thanks for all the info so far. I am going to have dh take a look at your suggestions as well.

it's alot of planning but I think we can do it if we know where we want to be.

 

[Miandrea]

I moved to the KW area 1 1/2 years ago from the Toronto area. It was the best thing I have ever done. I don't have the stresses from the big city (traffic, pollution) and it is friendly.

School system....I've worked in the Peel board and the Waterloo board - both equally strong.

Kitchener is my choice!

Andrea

 

[NikP]

Kitchener /Waterloo gets my vote. I could never live in Mississauga. (Sorry to all who live there.) I have lived in a small town all my life. Aprox. 30 minutes south of Kitchener. My brother lived in both Kitchener and Mississauga for a time. (He finally moved back to our small town to raise his children.) We always kept our visits short when he was in Miss. because we didn't want to be stuck in traffic all evening. Traffic is most of the issue for me. I can't stand sitting in traffic! (He finally moved back to our small town to raise his children.)

My husband commutes to North Waterloo everyday. In the morning he leaves at 5:10am and it takes him 35-40 minutes (No traffic). At rush hour when he comes home at 4:30pm it takes him 45-50 minutes. His route takes him across both cities, so 10 minutes in traffic is not too bad.

Good luck on your choice!

 

[Ham Ham]

Kitchener /Waterloo gets my vote. I could never live in Mississauga. (Sorry to all who live there.) I have lived in a small town all my life. Aprox. 30 minutes south of Kitchener. My brother lived in both Kitchener and Mississauga for a time. (He finally moved back to our small town to raise his children.) We always kept our visits short when he was in Miss. because we didn't want to be stuck in traffic all evening. Traffic is most of the issue for me. I can't stand sitting in traffic! (He finally moved back to our small town to raise his children.)

My husband commutes to North Waterloo everyday. In the morning he leaves at 5:10am and it takes him 35-40 minutes (No traffic). At rush hour when he comes home at 4:30pm it takes him 45-50 minutes. His route takes him across both cities, so 10 minutes in traffic is not too bad.

Good luck on your choice!

If you think Mississauga has traffic I suggest you avoid, New York, LA and London, England.

Bonus of living in/near a small city like K/W is there isn't much traffic

Even living in a small town your DH looses 90 minutes plus to commuting each day.

That would be the one thing I would like to avoid is commuting. Just can't afford a $1,000,000 house in Leaside or the Kingsway areas of T.O.

Don't be sorry for us who live here in Mississauga we have a lot to see and do, everything I need other than my place of work is less than a 10 minute drive away. As I've said before our neighborhood is great and there's parts of Mississauga I'd rather not live in. Just as in your small town there must be folks/areas you'd rather not live near/in.

 

[Mrs. M. Mouse]

35-40 mins not bad for the commute. I have about a 30 min commute to get from my home to work at this point and my husband has a 45 min commute to get downtown calgary. all because of traffic. when there is no traffic it's a 10 min commute for me and 15 mins for him!

I think we're looking at more of the kitchner area now. Who can tell me about the school systems there? Here we are in the catholic school system but I don't know what it's like down there...also any specialized programs (dd7 is in spanish bilingual here). if you have a link or site of the school systems that would be great too.

Thanks for all the help! I knew I could count on my canadian dis buddies!

 

[encinc]

Here are links to the Waterloo Region School Boards:

http://www.wcdsb.edu.on.ca/ (catholic board)
http://www.wrdsb.on.ca/ (public board)

Both school systems are highly reputable. The public board has a French Immersion program, but I don't think it has anything in Spanish like your DD is in now.

 

[Mrs. M. Mouse]

Thank you. yes I see there is no spanish. we'll look to have her in some private lessons instead to keep up on it.

 

[mommytodarlings]

Hmm, not sure why people are bashing Cambridge, but I have been here for 9 years and think it is a great place to live.

Funny thing is the housing prices here have risen steadily with so many commuters moving here from Mississauga/Toronto area since you can get more for your money in housing.

JMHO

 

[Luhts]

Ironically, we moved to Kitchener-Waterloo from Kamloops, BC as well!
I absolutely loved living in Waterloo! I agree that if you don't want that big-city feeling you should go with K-W over Mississauga. Our next move will probably be Toronto area and I was kinda looking at Port Credit, which is Mississauga area but I need to do more research. Housing dollar would definitely go farther in the K-W area.