[megadude]

I'd probably prefer Ancaster if I had to live in one or the other because of that wealth, even though those people can be snooty and arrogant. Dundas I've heard has a little bit more sketch factor. Afterall, there is a dude known for flying a confederate flag on a pole from his yard. For years. There was also an older guy walking between cars and looking through the windows yesterday at Dundas Driving Park.

My cousin got married at Ancaster Mill and there's some nice geography there, but Dundas is right up against the Escarpment so I think it actually has more interesting geography. However, I feel like Ancaster is a little bit more sophisticated having passed through there a few times and based on the credit applications I used to process back in one of my old jobs. It's the Oakville of Hamilton I guess.

However, Ancaster's Main Street is underwhelming. Every time I pass through I ask why there isn't more to this. There's nothing bad about it, and there's a handful of attractive buildings but I feel like there should be more.

When you think of the explosion of Waterdown's subdivision development, you think there's a lot of people there and so they should have a decent Main Street, but all that population is way too new so again, there's not as much going on downtown there either. A few nice elements for sure, but Dundas definitely beats both of them out.

As I'm an angler, I preferred St. Mary's riverside over Stratford's. And I liked the little quarry there. Cool to have the baseball HOF too. But Stratford has so much more substance to it. If I had to live in either it's definitely going to be Stratford.

These tiny communites you often mention are often off my radar. Never heard of them. I guess there are people moving there for affordability, but a suburban dream? I'm not sure what you mean by that. There's basically nothing to do in these places and they're surrounded by nothingness. At least they're not too far from actual cities.

I also pay attention to things like streetwalls. It's why I hate open ended stadiums where you can see the parking lot on one end and some boulevard with cars passing by on the other. It's nice to have something to close in empty gaps to create some kind of intimacy, even if it's in the distance, when it comes to being on the road. It sure would be nice to see mountains (or hills or the Escarpment) in the distance even if you're driving on a flat road with nothing but parched grass. It's also why I like wires crossing overhead in a small downtown. It encloses the space and creates some intimacy. I don't mean like 1930s New York, but some wires here and there with a couple banners too. Throw in a gateway entrance sign too on each end.

I do get why prairies people like "big sky" and vast open space. It's what they're used to and it can be beautiful when the sun is shining. But I'm not used to that and it is nice to be driving along tree or rock (Canadian Shield) lined roads when on a long road trip. So I do appreciate that about northern and eastern ON, but I do still find some interest in driving around SWO and seeing the crop fields along the way and the barn and farm house in the back.

With the price of gas right now, you might have to scale back on the kms. I almost went with an Acura MDX (used), but the need for higher octane gas spooked me.