Moving to Ontario?

[asunlitrose]

I've been considering moving to Ontario...mostly so I can be close to MI (where family lives). I know I have to work out the immigration mess, etc. etc. I guess I was just wondering if there are any hippie AP areas in Ontario? OR do you kinda have to be in Vancouver for that?

What about teaching? Good school districts?

Any information would be great.

[Ms Apricot]

Windsor area is the obvious spot for proximity to Michigan. There are some really lovely towns near Windsor - Tecumseh is one. I don't think they are very hippie though.

London is a good place to raise a family (schools, recreation infra-structure, parkland), and only about 2 hours from Windsor. It's a university city, so it has good hospitals, fairly good theatre, symphony, local festivals, restaurants, and shopping. It's very conservative - not very hippy. It's large enough that you can probably find a like-minded group of people.

I think you can find some "back-to-the-earth" types in Caledon (north of Toronto) and Prince Edward County (east of Toronto), but that's a little out of the way for travel to Michigan.

If you've uncovered some info. about a particular place, and want some comment, I'll help if I can.

Good luck.

[tea4tamara]

I'd look at Guelph, too. I think it's pretty hippy-friendly. Lots of organic farms and stuff like that. I'm trying to convince my dh that we should move there, but no luck. :)

[LittlePeanut]

I'd look at Guelph, too. I think it's pretty hippy-friendly. Lots of organic farms and stuff like that. I'm trying to convince my dh that we should move there, but no luck. :)

That's what I'd suggest too. It's a farm type city... The agricultural school is in Guelph too. Very earth friendly there. I'm from London originally and it's a lovely city with lots to do and loads of parks and green space. It's not overly hippy but there are a number of BW'ers and CD'ers and other NFL parents there :)

LP

[asunlitrose]

Thanks for the suggestions! I guess I should be more specific by what I mean by "close." Right now I live 22 hours away from my parents, in Austin, TX. By close, I mean like 6 hours or less maybe. I could even do up to 10 hours, although that wouldn't be optimal.

Does that help?

[tea4tamara]

Where in Michigan to your parents live?

[Joyster]

I'm in Toronto, which is a pretty large city, there are plenty of hippy crunchy moms scattered all over the place. However Riverdale and Bloor West Village are probably good places to find concentrations of them. That said, it will cost you, both places are very expensive to live. Leslieville is an up and coming neighbourhood where you should be able to find plenty of crunchy moms and close enough to Riverdale. It's cheaper, but Toronto in general is pretty expensive. I'm in Scarborough which is the most eastern part of Toronto and my mother's group has a range of moms, from uber conventional to very crunchy.

[Ms Apricot]

Hmmm...if you are considering Toronto, then check out Mimico and New Toronto. They are right on the lake, pleasant old-fashioned suburbs, waaay less expensive real estate than almost any other place in the city but still fairly close to good schools (French Immersion, arts schools),good transportation systems into downtown (GO train, Lakeshore streetcar, Queen Elizabeth Way highway or Queensway/King St. for car travel). You'll find a range of "lifestyle" attitudes there, like any place in Toronto.

[asunlitrose]

Where in Michigan to your parents live?

They live about 15-20 minutes from the Ambassador Bridge. :)

[jtbuko]

Speaking of Ontario... Anyone know what Dwight is like? My hubby just dazzled me via chat about a job opportunity out there...

Are the Lakes nearby good for paddling a canoe or kayak? How do folks feel about folks from down here in the states living in the area? Are there local websites you'd recommend to find out more about the area?

[mamatowill]

If you are looking at teaching jobs for you you will have to stick to school boards directly around Toronto. Most school boards in Ontario are losing students and thus are not hiring new teachers. The only boards that are growing are in Toronto. Unless you teach French of course.

[Ms Apricot]

Speaking of Ontario... Anyone know what Dwight is like? My hubby just dazzled me via chat about a job opportunity out there...

Are the Lakes nearby good for paddling a canoe or kayak? How do folks feel about folks from down here in the states living in the area? Are there local websites you'd recommend to find out more about the area?

Dwight is in the beautiful Muskokas region. It's popular cottage country - and has been filled with vacationing Americans for 100s of years. (Personally, I think the Muskokas are a little overrun, and I prefer other cottage areas in the near North). I believe E.B. White (Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web) used to vacation in the area. Goldie Hawn has a cottage in the Muskokas. Huntsville is a relatively close - it's larger town with lots of trendy shops and restaurants. Dwight is outside of Algonquin Provincial Park, a HUGE park with lots of lakes and canoe/kayak outfitters right inside the park. You can canoe for days through the lakes in Algonquin. There are kids' summer camps located in the park - about 15 years ago, a Hollywood movie called Indian Summer was based on one of the camps - you can probably rent it if you want an idea of what it's like up there.

[jtbuko]

Hooray, a reply :)

I just put Indian Summer at the top of my Netflix list - thanks for the tip!

[Ms Apricot]

I don't know if the DVD will include the backstory for the film - IIRC, a couple of the characters were based on true life - the 2 founders of the Roots clothing stores. They were both Americans (from Detroit, I think), and met at the camp. The characters in the movie all wear a lot of Roots -it looks like an extended t.v. commercial.

If you Google Algonquin Provincial Park, you'll get some more info about the area. It's truly a national treasure.

[dot1]

Have you considered the area near Lake Huron/Georgian Bay around Owen Sound? (city pop probably 20-30 000 and they have a large hospital and several secondary schools and lots more elementary schools). It's not far from Saugeen Country Organic dairy farm (I believe they got in trouble a while back for trying to start a raw milk coop?!). There are lots of hippy types in the area, mixed in with redneck farmers...lots of rolling hills and pretty backwoods. Not much multicultural population, but definitely some socioeconomic diversity.

If you are into paddling then the Bruce Peninsula is nearby - google Bruce Peninsula National Park for some of the stunning scenery.

As with any small community you need to go hunting for likeminded people...but they are definitely out there in this area. Lots of artists and budding eco-tourism businesses on the Bruce Peninsula.

I believe I saw a post earlier calling for Grey Bruce mamas (Which would be that area). Maybe you could search for that post and PM that poster for the inside scoop. Grey and Bruce county are definitely some of the prettiest places in southern Ontario, and not nearly as bad air quality as the greater Toronto area.

If looking for teaching jobs (most boards are like this) you pretty much have to do subbing until you have enough seniority to post into a regular position.

[jtbuko]

Saw the Indian summer movie :)

Hubby is flying up to Dwight to talk to his people on Monday... looks like if all goes as we hope he'll work from here part-time for a while and keep the possibility of working full time on site in mind for the future. This way we can try on for size rather than jumping right into a move to the Dwight/ Huntsville area.

In the meantime, we'd love to keep collecting info on the area :)

[jtbuko]

double post

[Ms Apricot]

Saw the Indian summer movie :)

Hubby is flying up to Dwight to talk to his people on Monday... looks like if all goes as we hope he'll work from here part-time for a while and keep the possibility of working full time on site in mind for the future. This way we can try on for size rather than jumping right into a move to the Dwight/ Huntsville area.

In the meantime, we'd love to keep collecting info on the area :)

Wow - things are getting serious. Good luck!

If you like to read, there are 2 books by Roy McGregor, a columnist for the Globe and Mail (Canada's national newspaper) that you might find interesting. He grew up in the area - his father or grandfather was a park ranger.

Canoe Lake is a re-telling of the Tom Thomson story. Thomson was an artist who died mysteriously on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park in the early 20th century. McGregor had a family connection - his great aunt (or cousin - can't recall now) was engaged to Thomson.

Escape:In Search of the Natural Soul of Canada is a lovely, thoughtful tribute to the Canadian wilderness, particularly the Algonquin area and cottage country.

I can also recommend Weekender, a compilation of columns he wrote for Cottage Life magazine - in fact, a few copies of that magazine will probably give you some insight into the area too.

[jtbuko]

Thanks so much for the continued info! I'll hunt it all down and read away as soon as my crazy little life allows.