HawthorneVillager.com

if you bought in Kitchener then your forum name would no longer be valid, so think about that before you move.

It's an OK city to live in, but if it significantly lengthens your commute to work or you become very far from important people in your life, it might be better to tolerate the growth and changes here as I'm doing.

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What is the difference between ignorance and apathy? I don't know and I don't care.

Kitchener is the acton of the tri-city area.

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I thought Cambridge was.

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What is the difference between ignorance and apathy? I don't know and I don't care.

HanselMugatu
what is the relevance of your reply to the question i had asked?

As trashy as Kitchener is in spots, it does make up for it in other things. They have great restaurants and a good downtown. There is a big tech industry that has loads of employment opportunity. There are some beautiful neighbourhoods full of character (like near the Aud) and the prices on average are significantly less than Milton. But, as a previous poster mentioned you do feel secluded being that far west. But in reality in off peak, non rush hour, you can get across the 401 in about 35 mins to Milton. Rush hour can be closer to 1 hour.

The other big consideration is their new LRT. Although they are still waiting for the trains to arrive from Bombardier, it will make a huge impact to the twin cities. Current residents are expecting a huge jump in housing prices once it gets up and running. Which is looking like at least 2018.

As stated above the Teck industry is huge in Kitchener/Waterloo. K/W is now being called Silicon Valley of the North, Starting with RIM, then blackberry, A growing number of tech and engineering businesses are continuing to take root in the region. Recently added Google and I believe a second Google location, Amazon . Facebook is now expected to arrive within the next month or so. Lots of planning between LA, San Francisco, Toronto, K/W has gone into developing "Silicon Valley North". At the moment 401 is being reconstructed to handle the higher volumes that are expected in the near future.

We recently just purchased a home in Kitchener, and already have seen the prices rise considerably. We feel that we have made a great choice with our move.

Warning traffic is bad at times as there is a lot of construction, Cambridge and Kitchener both have some sketchy area's. Waterloo seems to be really nice but to far from the 401 for us. We purchased a beautiful home in one of the nicer area in Kitchener. We are very pleased with our new neighborhood, I suggest you look for housing in Sims Estate, Deer Ridge, or Hidden Valley all these area's are great area's and offer very close access to 401. (Deer Ridge being the closet)

Another downfall is the grocery stores are not as good, they seem to not stock basic items that I purchase regularly. I guess in time once that the City grows the stores will start stocking a better variety of foods for now I will just have to adjust.

Good luck in your search and Google "Silicon Valley North" see what you come up with

The last few years Kitchener has been a nightmare to get around due to the construction on some of their major arteries (ie: King St.).

If you work in the GTA, I feel that Kitchener doesn't have much housing that near the 401, in comparison to Cambridge.
What is your reason for moving out there?
If it's more house for your $, Guelph or Hespler (east Cambridge surrounding the 401) might be more viable options.
Guelph, in general, has a good quality of life and is relatively safe with all amenities.
It's also pretty close to Milton.
the downside to Guelph is much of the south end is heavily influenced by UoG students.

Cambridge is a tri-city (Hespeler, Galt, & Preston) within a tri-city (Kitchener, Waterloo & Cambridge)
Wrap your mind around that

reason is simple
need to get a detached . right now i am in a town home and the crazy home prices in milton are just out of reach
i work in mississauga and the biggest concern i have now in kitchener is the commuting
also i looked some relsale homes which have been in the market for 30- 40 days and sold less than asking
which again concerns me as well
so either way i look at things .. my decision is pending
and regarding trash areas i guess it anywere you go milton has "not so nice" areas too

You do not want to be commuting from Kitchener to Mississauga everyday. That would be hell.

If you have a town house that is a good size, then may be ok to live in Milton, but if you have a smaller one and you need a bigger house, then you may consider the move, but traveling from outskirts like this to Mississauga is a nightmare which you do not want to regret later. May be you come up with another $150k (loan?) to have a desired house you are looking for in Milton.

Maybe they work from home, but yes I agree if you are going to be commuting to Mississauga everyday yes it will be bad, but no worse then someone who commutes to Toronto or Markham from Milton. Some people don't have to go to work everyday. We work from home for 2 business 1 in Cambridge and the other in Burlington that I commute too. Burlington takes about 40 minutes. We use commute to Mississauga from Kitchen before our family sold the third business. We did find it to be a long drive, especially at 2am after a long work day.