Like many others who live and work in this city, we've felt the pressure to look further away for a home to purchase. Driving around the clean, quiet, neighbourhoods in Milton (!) or north Whitby (!!), my wife and I start seriously contemplating the move. Convincing ourselves that it wouldn't be so bad. Hey, it's so clean and quiet. Hey, people seem nice. Hey, the commute could be spent reading or surfing the web on the GO. It would actually be productive time. Etc. (We haven't gotten as far as Hamilton yet, but its shadow looms.)
But then we ask ourselves one simple, honest question: If price wasn't a factor, would we still want to live here?
The "investment" side of housing isn't as important to us as the overall quality of life we would obtain by choosing to live in a particular location. Yes, location, location, location. I'm 45 years old, and don't have the time, nor the patience, to wait for an area or neighbourhood to "catch up".
Nothing against those who move into up-and-coming areas and ride it out to future profits or who adapt to their new surroundings like fish to water. But I would still rather rent and live here, where I want to be, where my wife's commute is only a 20 minute subway ride, where everything we need is within a 10 minute stroll, than move to a town or city that offers us no other incentive (key word "us") than a cheaper purchase price.
We've accepted the fact that home ownership in Toronto is probably beyond our reach. But in the pie of life, it is only one slice, and the city offers us so much more that it is a fair compromise. At least for today.
