Ajax or whitby ?

Travel Info
my husband and i are moving to canada next year from the uk, we are set on two areas, ajax and whitby. well we think.... that is why i am here asking this question. we are not sure about the areas, schools and what facilities they have which is good for children and what the crime rate is like. i have looked on websites but its nothing like speaking to real people. can anyone give us advise. we have $200,000 can dollar to look for a property. we would like to be as near as toronto as we can without breaking the bank. all advise welcome, as this will be the biggest thing we have done with our lives. thanks so much.

Travel Tips

Hi!

I answered your other question regarding school, but thought I could provide more detail. The two areas are virtually indiscernible from each other. The schools, community centres and programming, sporting activities, - you would not be able to tell the difference from one to the other. Both towns are great for raising a child. Crime is not a factor. There are plenty of parks and green spaces, and both communities are close to the lake. I can walk to the lake in a matter of minutes, and there are over 30 kms of hiking and cycling trails along the waterfront stretching across these communities. Whitby is just a little further east, and for all intents and purposes is generally cheaper for real estate purposes. I

t is a manageable drive to Toronto on a daily basis, (I do it) but depending where you are working, there is excellent train service into downtown.

$200,000 will be tight, but possible. Here is the real estate listing web site: http://www.mls.ca/ There are also new subdivisions going up every day.

Both of these are smaller communities of about 100,000 people. There are smaller communities further east and to the north, as well as larger communities surrounding the city. The real estate web site I provided will allow you to look at other communities and their real estate. I am biased towards Whitby as I now live here, but for years I lived in downtown Toronto.

Good luck to you. I can only imagine the apprehension, but rest assured we enjoy a wonderful quality of life in Durham region, where Ajax and Whitby are.
Others

Ajax/Whitby is really all the same. It's such an urban expansion there really are no city boundaries. The only way you tell if you've landed in another town is the 'Welcome to...' sign, or another Walmart!

$200 000 CA is very low. The prices around those areas usually start around $249 000 CA. You never know you could get lucky!
The further away you are from Toronto the cheaper the housing prices become. Contrary to popular opinion not all parts of Toronto have high crime rates. I have lived now in different parts of the downtown core. I experienced no violence even when I lived in a basement apartment and left the window open at night. My current apartment is on a higher level and is in a well kept older building with affordable rents. It is however more expensive to own a home and raise a family.
In terms of commuting, if you will work in Toronto driving in can be expensive as you will have to find parking. Gridlock is something you will have to deal with as well. Many persons living along "Go Train" routes take the train for that reason. Link below gives you the Go Train schedule. You can also check fares and departure times.

http://www.gotransit.com/publicroot/sche...

TTC (Toronto's local transit)
http://www.toronto.ca/ttc/schedules/inde...

Whitby & Ajax phone numbers at bottom inside this real estate link:
http://www.homeinfoajax.com/

Schools in Canada (They changed this website a bit but you should still be able to find relevant contact information. If not, the two town web links below will have city hall contact info that can put you in touch with local school boards).
http://www.schoolsincanada.com/searchmap...

Town of Ajax
http://www.townofajax.com/site4.aspx...

Town of Whitby
http://www.town.whitby.on.ca/