Rural/Farm Areas Near Toronto?

[Crunchie]

If one were interested in relocating to the Toronto area, are there any rural areas nearby enough that a commute into the city is reasonable? We're contemplating a move sometime in the future, and while I farm (horses, goats, chickens) my husband would need to be close to a metropolitan area for work (IT, design-type stuff).

Any ideas? Is it possible to live in a rural area and work in Toronto? If so names of towns/neighborhoods would be appreciated!

Thanks!

[JERENAUD]

Absolutely... if you're willing to pay for the priviledge!

We have friends who farm (agriculture, not animals) in Fonthill, which would be about 1 1/2 hours from Toronto. Basically the whole area near St. Catharines is agricultural.

Guelph is a farming community, that's where the 'farm university' is. Again, you're likely looking at 1 - 1 1/2 hours from Toronto. But with both of these you could drive part of the way then take the GO right into town.

There's likely to be farmland north and east of the city too, but I'm not familiar with those areas at all.

Does he have to be in Toronto?

[Crunchie]

Thanks! I know, acreage comes at a premium no matter where you are these days....No, he doesn't have to be in Toronto--we live in the U.S., I'm just daydreaming, really--Toronto is a reasonable driving distance from where we are now (so we wouldn't be too far from family) and seems to have an agreeable climate for us (or, well, my husband, as he doesn't want to live someplace that routinely sees sub-zero temps). We could get along fine in "the middle of nowhere" if my husband didn't have to work--and seeing as his work is IT-based, unless he lucks into something telecommuting we're going to have to be near a city of some sort...Toronto sounds interesting to me. I'd love to be somewhere near a diverse area with plenty of resources. We're near Washington, D.C. now, and while we're rural we're also close to museums, historical sites, and everything else that a major city has to offer. Toronto kind of seems to be similar in that regard and possibly worth exploring if we decide to relocate at some point.

[Crunchie]

Well, actually I just discovered that Toronto (or the entire province of Ontario, for that matter) is out of the question. I didn't realize that the breed-specific legislation regarding "bully" breed dogs was so scary. I have 3 rescue dogs that probably have some pit bull in their ancestry. If I could even get them into the province at all (even though they are not pure pit bull or any bully breed, for that matter) I would live in constant fear of them being taken from me and euthanized. Apparently dog owners have no rights or recourse if an authority decides that the dog is pit bull or part bull. There's obviously no way to prove that a mutt doesn't have pit bull in it somewhere.

So sad. I was really beginning to look forward to a trip up that way to explore the area. But I can't leave my dogs behind if we move.

[hollycat]

just found this thread - im actually interested in rural areas near toronto as well.... and i have a rottweiler! they are not on the list but it doesnt seem like a friendly place for them! regardless, are the places you mention suburban agro? or are they small town agro?thanks!

[JERENAUD]

The whole Niagara corridor (Toronto along the lake to Niagara Falls) is amazingly fertile land. It`s getting to be more and more `suburban`, as people want to live in the area and commute into Toronto for work, but if you go off of the hwy (away from the lake), there are still a lot of small towns. I don`t know how many of them would show up on an mls search though, as individual towns - you`d be looking outside St. Catharines and west of Hamilton, for example. :

Erica

[BaBaBa]

DH and I both worked freelance in Toronto and bough a farm in Grey County about 4 years ago. We lived here part time when we weren't working.
It's about 1 hour 45 min drive to Toronto which isn't a feasible commute when you work long hours in the film industry, especially during the winter when the roads up here get really bad and close regularly. I've lived here full time since DD was born and if DH is working in Toronto he stays in our old condo.
I would highly recommend the area. It's somewhat 'undiscovered' in that the land is probably the cheapest you'll find 120 km from Toronto. Because it's not near cottage country the commute is also great. Traveling east/west on the 401 or north on the 400 during peak times or summer is plain awful. There's also somewhat of a 'crunchy community' in Durham (you can get raw milk) which is great because other than that it's very 'meat & potatoes'.

[hollycat]

baba - thanks. im also in the film industry, but we're moving possibly for hubby who will be a commuter. he commutes an hour in LA now, and is willing to go further, but that would be hard for me to watch him do.

[JERENAUD]

the only way you`re going to get under an hour commute is if he can have non typical work hours. On a non peak time, using the 407 (toll highway), my parents live 45 minutes from the airport (in Burlington). At a peak time, you could easily spend 1.5 hours doing the same drive. My cousins live in Hamilton and commute to Toronto. Hamilton is only about 15 minutes further along the lake than is Burlington, but they spend about 2 hours each way because they work `normal`hours.

[springmum]

I grew up in Dufferin county. The Orangeville/Caledon area is beautiful and there are a lot of commuters (although it's not a quick commute)

[Ms Apricot]

Caledon is gorgeous. I'd move there. So is Prince Edward county, if you were willing to travel that far out - not really commuting distance to Toronto, though.

You can live a fairly rural lifestyle around Toronto - I'm thinking of the escarpment north of Burlington (west of Toronto), or Claremont area near Pickering (north east of Toronto).

What about other cities - London, Kingston and Ottawa are all university cities, with good school systems, hospitals, and arts and recreation infrastructure. Ottawa has the best museums of the 3. You don't have to go too far outside these cities to be in fairly rural areas.

Oh, and I haven't heard that the pit bull legislation is a real problem on a practical level. There was a lot of media attention when it first passed. As said above, it's hard to prove pitbull lineage - unless you have papers that definitely prove the dog is a pitbull, I'm not sure it's a real problem - I haven't heard of any dogs being in trouble just on suspicion of having some pit bull lineage. It's definitey worth checking into, but I wouldn't give up without making sure first.