Top 5 Neighbourhoods in Toronto to Buy a Property
We’ll skip over the “typical” popular core areas of Toronto such as Downtown and the Entertainment District where all the major tourist attractions are found, such as the CN Tower, Ripley’s Aquarium, and Yonge street with its shopping, restaurants, Yonge-Dundas Square and more.
In no particular order, here are some of the areas that may want to buy a property if you are living or investing in Toronto:
Roncesvalles
Roncesvalles Village, is the heart of the Polish community and famous for its large number of small restaurants, bakeries, cafés, delis and specialty cuisine shops along the length of Roncesvalles Avenue. After trying out all the culinary delights, take the tram all the way to High Park – the “Central Park” of Toronto. It is the largest park in the area, 400 acres of green space, with playgrounds, ponds, a small zoo(!), baseball fields, outdoor swimming pools, soccer fields and tennis courts.
Riverdale
Riverdale is located just east of Toronto’s downtown core made up primarily of Victorian and Edwardian style homes, from the 19th century made for the working-class. Recently, local housing values have increased significantly with many homes being redeveloped for young families and young professionals. Several art galleries are also located along Queen Street East. Toronto’s second largest Chinatown (aka East Chinatown) is found at Broadview & Gerrard.
The Beaches
The main attractions are the plentiful little shops to visit, parks cafes and restaurants… the Beaches is filled with vintage shops, independent cafes, and lots of specialty stores. And of course, the nearby boardwalk and beach along the lake. It has an extremely low crime rate and is nearby lots of schools and parks. Fun fact: Famous actors such as Keanu Reeves, Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland, and John Candy all attended school in the Beaches area while they were growing up.
Bloor West Village
Bloor West Village is one of Toronto’s most unique and friendly neighbourhoods with more than 400 shops, restaurants, services, grocery stores, specialty clothing stores, book stores, and cafes; the charm of the neighbourhood lies in its many locally owned businesses. For a small neighbourhood, the restaurants, pubs, and bars of Bloor West Village are numerous. Several festivals are put on in the area throughout the year with \the Annual Ukrainian Festival being a highlight taking over Bloor Street West where visitors can enjoy Ukrainian foods, music, and crafts.
Located right next to High Park, makes it a popular place for young professionals and families. High Park is one of Toronto’s largest parks, with a large number of facilities and services like day camps, skating, as well as many park amenities you’d expect.
Runnymede Subway Station (267 Runnymede Road) and Jane Subway Station (2440 Bloor Street W) both service the neighbourhood providing direct access to Toronto’s downtown core.
Humber Bay Shores
The Humber Bay Shores lakeshore, waterfront trails and greenspaces make it a popular destination for locals. Don’t be surprised to see Canada Geese, white swans and ducks swimming in the area!
You can enjoy the Toronto skyline from the lakeshore, and thanks to it’s close proximity to downtown you can hop in a car and be there in a quick 10-minute drive or even take a 30-min bicycle ride to downtown Toronto along the scenic lakeshore.
Its location also means that Bloor West Village and High Park are just a 7-min drive away. In the immediate area you have the nearby Westlake shopping area (3-min walk) where you can shop for groceries at Metro, get a Starbucks coffee, or browse the Shopper’s Drug Mart, LCBO, TD bank and more. For those who work in Mississauga, it’s not far either, with Square One about a 20-min drive away, or Sherway Gardens shopping complex a 9-mins drive away.
