The Greater Toronto Area is among the most preferred choices for newcomers wishing to settle in Canada. It is a vast region full of vibrancy and part of Ontario, including Toronto. The GTA consists of a total population of 6.7 million individuals and is one of the most populated regions in North America.
This place is a prominent place to live, work and settle, with a diverse range of options for housing and high-rise apartments. Besides, the GTA also offers abundant job opportunities within numerous industries and a robust economy. Besides this, individuals can access trendy shops and restaurants in Downtown Toronto.
Typically, there are four regional municipalities: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. Since several suburban towns surround it, it might take a hell lot of time to determine which area or community would prove the best for you and your family:
Brampton
Brampton is an example of an early settlement in the 1800s and is well-known as the “Flower City.” This is a community growing at a faster pace and is an amalgamation of the luxuries of big cities as well as a family-oriented community. It also consists of 170 varied cultures, with residents speaking more than 70 languages.
Availability of public transit in Brampton
Brampton also offers public transit to individuals covering the entire city. The Brampton Transit connects to Mississauga, York, Downtown Toronto, and the Toronto Transit Commission via the Georgetown service of Go’s Transit. Besides this, it offers both regular and rapid bus services.
Interestingly, the buses in the Brampton Transit consist of a bike rack, making it convenient for travelers to ride the bike to reach places. Alternatively, there are recreational cycling trails available in Brampton covering a considerable distance of 33km. Additionally, the driving distance from Brampton to Toronto is just 40 minutes without traffic; however, with traffic, it might take a bit longer. The transport system in this suburban area is quite good, making it less essential for people to own a car.
Leisure and entertainment
Downtown Brampton is full of amazing things, like the Rose Theatre, comprising music, dance, arts, comedy, performing arts, and cultural events. Apart from this, people can access outdoor skating to ziplining. For peace lovers, there are a plethora of lakes and rivers available, and so there are a lot of things people can do, like fishing, sailing, paddle-boating, canoeing, etc. People who seek a touch of city life can also navigate the massive mall called Bramalea City Centre with more than 250 stores and restaurants. Also, for shopaholics, Downtown Brampton is full of boutiques and restaurants.
Greater Toronto Area- a glance at the schools in Brampton
The Peel District School Board lies in Brampton with around 220 schools catering to more than 140,000 students between Kindergarten to Grade Twelve. Another school board in Brampton is the Dufferin-Peel Catholic, along with Sheridan College Davis Campus, with over 12,000 post-secondary students under various study programs, such as applied health, community service programs, engineering, and technology.
Explore Brampton’s rent
According to Zumper’s data, Brampton’s Studio apartment is worth $1,539, along with one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments costing around $1,625 CAD and $1,911 CAD, every month.
The crime rate in Brampton
Brampton is a part of the Peel region and therefore, according to Crime Severity Index, the crime rate here is positioned at the 50th rank. Surprisingly, this rate is less than Canada’s average crime rate of 75.01.
Exploring the suburbs of the Greater Toronto Area- Burlington
In 2019, Maclean’s magazine ranked Burlington as the top Canadian community to grow your family and it lies between Toronto and Hamilton, against Lake Ontario.
The prominent characteristics of Burlington include the Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington Performing Arts Centre, and Lake Ontario. This place is home to several unique cafes, restaurants, and boutique shopping. Additionally, the Niagara Escarpment promotes a community that is family-friendly, with more than 50 percent of the city consumed by rural space.
Burlington’s Public Transit
Burlington provides access to GO Train services, and the three chief GO stations are Burlington GO, Aldershot GO Station, and Appleby Go. Typically, the trains arrive twice in one hour, leaving for both directions, providing a regular service during the peak hours. Moreover, it is easier to access bus connections using Burlington Transit. Also, GO stations offer free parking. Like Brampton Transit, they also provide cyclists’ bike racks. The primary bus route of Burlington expands to Dundas Street from Lakeshore. Hence, it won’t be necessary to get a car. Moreover, this region is one for bike lovers and is highly bike-friendly, with the availability of biking and cycling trails of 48 km.
Rejuvenation and shopping
Visiting Burlington can make you open to numerous rejuvenation activities, such as outdoor skating, neighborhood rinks, pools, and community centers. The town has numerous parks, bike lanes, and cycling trails for all sorts of leisure and fun outdoor activities. For shopping addicts, Mapleview Mall is a popular shopping spot with space for around 165 retailers, two restaurants, and one food court.
Educational institutes in Burlington
Burlington’s education is a part of the Halton District School Board, which is responsible for more than 64,000 students between Kindergarten and Grade Twelve. Additionally, the Fraser Institute highlights several Catholic and public schools in Burlington as they have a superior ranking due to their excellent academic standards.
The rental part in Burlington
Burlington’s Studio Apartment would cost around $1,450 CAD, while the one-bedroom apartment would be around $1,703 CAD, and the two-bedroom apartment would cost $1,979 CAD (per Zumper).
The crime rate in Burlington
Burlington is a part of the Halton region, with a crime rate of 27 per area (according to the Crime Severity Index). However, this region’s crime rate is relatively lower than Canada’s average crime rate of 75.01.
Markham
Markham comprises a population of more than 353,000 individuals and is prominent for its high technology. It is located in York’s municipality, near Downtown Toronto (30 km northeast). The population in Markham is mostly Chinese, South Asian, and Black communities. It is renowned for its amazing Chinese restaurants, located in Pacific Mall (the largest indoor Asian mall). Apart from this, the village is full of local businesses, historic houses, and beautiful parks. Visitors can also visit Canadian oldest County Fairs, like the Markham Fair, which occurs in October for four days.
The Public Transit scene in Markham
Markham provides GO Transit services based on the Stouffville line, as well as Toronto Transit Commission and York Travel Region. Also, travelers can visit Downtown Toronto via Markham GO either using a train or GO bus. Mostly, Markham residents prefer driving even though cars aren’t a necessity in Markham. People should choose to reside within walking distance of Highway 7. This city also offers biking paths and trails on roads for fun activities like cycling.
Fun activities in Markham
Markham has a tourist attraction of over 150,000 individuals every year. The Taste of Asia Festival is the largest Asian festival in Canada, holding many events. This city also hosts recreational festivals like the Markham Jazz Festival and Markham Ribfest. Not just this, the city also consists of extensive pathways of 22 km for walking and cycling. Markham offers a unique Canadian urban park called Rouge Urban National Park and Milne Dam Conservation Park. Moreover, wetlands and forests make an intrinsic part of this city.
Recently, the CF Markham Mal underwent a huge transformation due to its renovation and now it offers more than 160 retailers.
Education in Markham
Markham provides education to students from kindergarten level to Grade 12, under the York Region District School Board. Another one is the York Catholic District School Board. Additionally, the city provides education through a number of private schools on both elementary and secondary levels.
Average rent in the city
A studio apartment in Markham would cost nearly $1,599 CAD. On the other hand, the rental cost for a one-bedroom apartment would be $1,865 CAD, and a two-bedroom apartment costs around $2,213 CAD every month.
The Crime rate in Markham
The crime rate in Markham is lower than the Canadian average crime rate of 75.01. According to the Crime Severity Index, the city ranks in the 40th position.
Greater Toronto Area- exploring Mississauga to the core
Mississauga consists of a population of around 800,000 and is a large city holding the sixth position in Canada (according to its size). This city also comprises the Toronto Pearson International Airport and is home to several big headquarters of well-established Canadian and international companies.
Chief attributes of Mississauga
Mississauga is renowned for its five unique neighborhoods, including Downtown, Streetsville, Clarkson, Meadowvale, and Port Credit. This city also offers a diverse range of museums, art, and cultural events. Interestingly, the city is also very famous for its art gallery called the Art Gallery of Mississauga as it represents global artists. Apart from this, Blues and Jazz festivals occur annually in September. The most breathtaking entertainment space is the Celebration Square offering winter skating rinks, splash pads, free cultural events, and much more.
Theatre lovers can visit The Living Arts Centre for mind-boggling concerts and performances. It also provides camps for children and several art classes.
The public transportation system in Mississauga
The local transportation system in Mississauga is called the MiWay, providing 96 bus routes for people and connecting them to the GO Transit Services and Square One. Now, the GO Transit links Mississauga to Toronto. On the other hand, Lakeshore West Line comprises two stops in Port Credit and Clarkson, respectively. It is easier to catch these GO trains during peak hours. There are primarily two lines: the Kitchener and the Milton line. The Kitchener line consists of a stop in Malton, while the Milton line provides more than one stop in the city.
With the easy availability of bikes and buses, it is not a necessity to own a car in this city. However, several residents in this city do drive a car. Additionally, the cycling network in this city offers multiple trails stretching up to 500 km, with increased paths for bikes and buses across the city.
The fun part in the city of villages
There are abundant outdoor activities available in Mississauga for entertainment purposes. These activities include axe throwing, rock climbing, roller skating, bowling, indoor trampoline park, and alpine indoor skiing. This ‘city of villages’ also conducts frequent recreational programs annually and there are more than 500 parks available here.
Canada’s largest mall called the Square Mall is located in this city. This mall offers not just high brands but also more than 20 artisan food merchants. Examples of other prominent malls are the Heartland Town Centre and Erin Mills Town Centre.
Besides this, villages like Port Credit and Streetsville also offer several businesses owned by locals in the areas.
Education
The Peel District School Board is held responsible for education in this city. This school board caters to more than 140,000 students, with 220 schools looking after their education. The education structure in the city is similar to others between kindergarten to Grade 12. Apart from this, there is the Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board. Several public schools (with higher ranks), as well as Catholic Schools, possess expertise in Montessori, IB, and other programs. Additionally, Sheridan College has one campus in this city (in Square One) where study courses in Architectural Technology, Marketing, Interior Designing, and Advertising are available.
The rental costs
The rental costs prevalent in Mississauga is worth $1,612 CAD. On the other hand, a one-bedroom apartment will be around $1,773 CAD and a two-bedroom apartment would cost about $2,150 CAD each month.
Crime rate prevailing in Mississauga
Well, the crime rate in this city has the 50th rank per the Crime Severity Index. However, this position is lower than the usual average of Canada’s crime rate at 75.01.
Greater Toronto Area- Oakville
Oakville consists of more than 200,000 individuals. Interestingly, this place was ranked as the top city for residing in Canada in 2018. And, so it is essential to include it in the list of the best suburbs in the Greater Toronto Area.
Its best features
Oakville originated as a village in 1857 on Lake Ontario’s shores. Individuals can stick to several art performances like music and dance and hence, the Oakville Centre is famous for all this. This place is also renowned for its Glen Abbey Golf. This Golf course is specifically popular for hosting the Canadian Open.
Public Transportation
The Oakville Transit offers buses across the entire community and further connects them to GO station, Sheridan College, and carpool destinations nearby the significant highways. This place also provides extensive pathways for cycling (both on and off-road), stretching to 193 km. There are primarily two GO stations in the Lakeshore West Corridor.
Shopping and entertainment
Oakville lets families rejoice in fun activities in the form of community centers, public libraries, over 200 parks, community pools, and neighborhood rinks. During summers, Oakville is full of visitors because of the Midnight Madness and Jazz festivals. Besides this, Oakville Place is the town’s largest mall for shopping.
The education system in Oakville
The Halton District School Board caters to more than 64,000 students from kindergarten to Grade 12 level. Another school board is the Halton Catholic District School Board. This place is prominent for its private schools like the Dearcroft Montessori School, St. Mildreds, and Appleby College. The Trafalgar campus of Sheridan College is well-established and is reputed for its animation program. The college also introduced some Academy Award Nominees.
The campus at Oakville comprises at least 9,500 post-secondary students under the Animation Faculty, of Arts and Design.
Other features- crime and rental cost
Oakville’s Studio Apartment would cost around $1,600 CAD and one-and two-bedroom apartments would cost around $1,850 CAD and $2,685 CAD, respectively.
Not just this, the average crime rate in the city ranks at the 27th position per the Crime Severity Index.
Richmond Hill- the final best suburb in the Greater Toronto Area
Richmond Hill is extremely worthy for its art and culture with places like the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts and the Richmond Hill Heritage Centre displaying the history of this place. Boynton House Art Exhibition Space is another example of interesting performing art. Moreover, the place also offers a variety of festivals like the Ribfest, Moonlight Movies, and a Canada Day Celebration. Interestingly, the Greater Toronto Area has only one indoor wave pool, and it exists in Richmond Hill only.
The Public Transportation system present in Richmond Hill
Talking of public transportation, there are GO stations along with five TTC bus pathways functional between Toronto and the York region. The GO transit exists on the line of Richmond Hill. Moreover, with the availability of public transit, cars aren’t essential. The place also offers 150 km for trails and 90 km only for biking routes (including bike lanes and other lanes).
Outdoor and fun activities
Richmond Hill provides walking, cycling, and hiking trails stretching to 150 km and around 147 parks. During winter, people can go ahead with the trails, snowshoe, ski, and ice skating on Richmond’s Green Skate Trail. For the shopaholics out there, Hillcrest Mall is there in the center of the town, offering almost a hundred stores and services. Interestingly, Richmond Hill also consists of a number of fishing places as well.
Education
The York Region District School Board is prevalent in Richmond Hill, with a schooling structure from kindergarten to Grade 12. Besides this, the York Catholic District School Board also exists here. Students at the elementary and secondary levels can also access several private schools.
The average rental cost
A Studio Apartment in Richmond Hill would have a rental cost of $1,439 CAD. On the other hand, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments will cost around $1,700 CAD and $2,400 CAD each month.
The crime rate
According to the Crime Severity Index, the crime rate in the York region has the 40th ranking. However, this is lower than the average crime rate of 75.01 percent in Canada.
Conclusion
Newcomers should consider all factors when determining whether to set in the Greater Toronto Area. The significant factors you must consider include rental costs, education, public transportation, and safety.
