Commuter towns west of YYZ

[everythingiscavok]

Anyone here live west of YYZ? I live in the Milton area right now and will be purchasing a new house within the next year or two but the prices here are skyrocketing and I'm less than impressed with Mattamy as a builder, who almost seems to be exclusive to Milton. The commute isn't bad on the 401, but I was wondering what people think of various towns around here. Looking for a commute that's an hour or less (I'm usually not driving during peak rush hour).

Right now Guelph, Grimsby, and Ancaster are on my radar. Anyone who lives around here, post away

[dune]

Dundas!

45mins to YYZ via the 407.

[Phlyer]

I commuted from Guelph for 7 years. Great town.
Driving the 401 took its toll though.

[JohnnyHotRocks]

Kitchener....the drive on the 401 sucks. It always stands still at Milton in the morning. Some days i get to the airport in 55mins, some days it is two hours!
Our housing prices are also insane!

[Rookie50]

I would vote for anything with 407 access if it was me.

[Changes in Latitudes]

A lot of people are heading out towards Grimsby, Beamsville and even Niagara. The housing prices are still reasonable, and just as you hit the nasty traffic around Hamilton/Oakville, the 407 saves your bacon.

[wowie_kazowie]

Anyone to the northwest? Caledon, Bolton, orangeville areas?

[cossack]

I'm rural Caledon (35 minutes 10 of it on the 410) and there are a few controllers in Orangeville (45 minutes). I'm sure there are some pilot types up here too.

[Redneck_pilot86]

I grew up farther north of Orangeville, never have and never will work in Toronto, but commutes down the 410 were always pretty easy, ran into the odd slow down due to wrecks but the volume is not near what you would see on the 401 or 400.

[Inverted2]

Driving the 401 in from the west is terrible. It will take years off your life. Too many large trucks on the road now.

[everythingiscavok]

The trucks are starting to drain on me. They take up the left two lanes so really it's a one-lane road. And they're on the roads at all hours so it's just always busy. The home prices are so reasonable down by Grimsby/Beamsville. The 403 is a drag though, but the 407 does help though that could get expensive fast. Any experiences living down there?

[flyincanuck]

Stoney Creek (Hamilton). 45 mins driveway-parking garage @ 120. 407 access ... but don't use it all the time. If commuting during rush...sometimes as long as 1:15 (unless a drunk dump truck driver takes out the Burlington Skyway bridge). Constant morning rush hour traffic stretches from Grimsby east now (never used to be a few years ago).

I'm looking at Burlington. Real Estate a little more expensive, but lower taxes. Hamilton has high taxes...we like supporting the welfare-class.

[JohnnyHotRocks]

Sounds like anywhere within 100km of yyz sucks your time and your wallet
I was looking at woodstock...alot more for the money but taxes are high, you add another 30min to the commute and apparently there is a huge meth problem...

[cdnpilot77]

Kitchener....the drive on the 401 sucks. It always stands still at Milton in the morning. Some days i get to the airport in 55mins, some days it is two hours!
Our housing prices are also insane!

I used to live 2 minutes from Johnny and agree with above. I now live close to the 401 in kitchener and can be 40mins or 2hrs. Once recently took me over 4hrs. Luckily I paid attention to the traffic reports and weather and left the house in plenty of time to get the airplane ready and depart. I always plan on it being a 2hr drive and if I make it there in an hour then I put the seat in the car back and have a snooze before I hurry up and wait for the pax.

[bob99]

Brantford is 100km. Housing is CHEAP compared to just about anything else mentioned here. The commute sucks, but driving through the GTA sucks in general.

[JohnnyHotRocks]

I also give myself two hours to get to work. Fortunately it is only a couple trips per month.
Also looked at Brantford. Quite a bit cheaper than Kitchener.

[skypirate88]

Sounds like anywhere within 100km of yyz sucks your time and your wallet
I was looking at woodstock...alot more for the money but taxes are high, you add another 30min to the commute and apparently there is a huge meth problem...

I live in Woodstock now and love it. I don't work in YYZ though so can't comment much on the commute.
It's a smaller town but has everything you need.

To be clear, the Meth problem is methadone, which is used apparently to treat opioid addiction....it's not methamphetamine. There's a clinic here where addicts go to receive their prescribed methadone.

[JohnnyHotRocks]

Lol so it isnt meth addicts...its opium addicts

[JohnnyHotRocks]

Woodstock is still an option for us, but I really dont want to make the commute worse!....but I really want that three car garage!

[BingBong]

I love Guelph...everything you need , drive is 45 min on a good day. I avoid checking in after 8am and checking out before 6 pm anyway. Housing is cheap

[Meddler]

I love being very far from Toronto...

[Inverted2]

Woodstock is still an option for us, but I really dont want to make the commute worse!....but I really want that three car garage!

Once you're west of Kitchener it's smooth sailing on the 401. There are lots of small towns in the area where you can get a nice big house with a large lot and avoid the big city prices. No way around the shitty drive really. I know a guy who takes the 407 all the time and some months his bill is $300!

[iflyforpie]

I love being very far from Toronto...

Me too. Five minutes to work by car or 15 by bike... I even walk some days!

[airbournesailor]

Drove Bolton to YYZ a couple times last week in under 25 min both times.

[Liquid Charlie]

I have a house in "old" Brampton for sale -- -- Main and Clarence area -- very easy commute