Moving to Hamilton?

[IronWarrior]

Originally Posted by raisethehammer

How long is that walk to the Farmers Market?

My office is in that neighbourhood...between Sherman and Gage. I love the streets around there - Balsam, Leinster, Prospect etc.....

Some beautiful homes on those streets! I love the old wood work in those homes! lots of history!

[BrianE]

Originally Posted by comadriver

Thank you all for the warm welcome and helpful suggestions!

Is Carter Rentals cheaper than Uhaul?



FairHamilton. We really liked the neighborhood between Gage Park and Ottawa St, south of Main, and ended up finding exactly what we were looking for. For the same money, we probably would not even get a decent condo in Mississauga.

Carter rentals is a little more expensive than Uhaul, but the quality of truck that you will get is far superior. Most of their trucks are only a few years old with low kms. Twice when I've rented from them the trucks were brand new with less than 1000km on them.

Good choice of area that you picked, just like FairHamilton, I'm on the other side of the park but South of Main St. Gage park is a fantastic park, I'm there almost every night walkin my dog. If you see a guy with a beagle it's probably me.

[FairHamilton]

Originally Posted by omro

What's that area like, east of Sherman? My brother has been told that the Sherman "belt" is pretty bad, but the further east you go towards Gage, things pick up again.

When we were house hunting for my Mum we didn't look further east than Wentworth.

East of Sherman and south of King is very nice.

I think one of the areas in the city with the greatest potentional for property appreciation. You can still get nice old homes for $170,000 - $180,000 with good neighbours. i.e. we live next to a teacher, across the street from a retired university professor, just over from a Dofasco manager, next to a couple of med students and a PHD student.

There are a few multi-unit rentals that aren't the greatest in the neighbourhood, but some of them have been converted back to single family. There are 4 in our little stretch of the street, and 2 were converted in 2008 (ours being 1 of them), and more to come I'm sure.

It's where King and Main 'bulge' apart (I think Barnesdale is widest between the 2), so you are off the main streets, but have easy access. We can walk to Jimmy Thompson pool for lane swimming 2 nights a week and it's like having a private pool with only 2 to 6 swimmers. I've also heard that Scott Park is going get a new arena/community centre.

The big elephant in the room is Scott Park school and what happens with it because it's empty (it's a prime worry of mine).

North of King isn't as nice, but if you can find a couple of nice homes on one of the dead end streets of Garfield N or Fairholt N.

Hope that helps.

[FairHamilton]

Originally Posted by IronWarrior

Some beautiful homes on those streets! I love the old wood work in those homes! lots of history!

Our home built in 1910. Even had gas lights on the second floor, as we have capped gas pipe sticking out of wall in upstairs hallway. We plan on covering it with a decorative sconce.

[oldcoote]

Originally Posted by comadriver

Is Carter Rentals cheaper than Uhaul?

Upfront, no.

Carter has a higher daily fee, but has 100km free, and a lower per km charge.

Uhaul is cheap as a daily, but no free km, and a very high per km charge.

Bottom line, if you moving a few blocks, use uhaul.

If you're moving cities, use Carter.

[comadriver]

It's nice to hear good local opinions about the area. My instinct is that these historic homes next to the park and at the foot of the mountain should be worth a lot more than they are now, unless something major happens with the industry... Overall, I like Hamilton's vibe. It seems there are quite a few former GTA residents who never looked back. My commute will be much longer than it is now, so I will be looking into car-pooling, GO transit etc. But I think it's still worth it in the end.

Originally Posted by oldcoote

Upfront, no.

Carter has a higher daily fee, but has 100km free, and a lower per km charge.

Uhaul is cheap as a daily, but no free km, and a very high per km charge.

Bottom line, if you moving a few blocks, use uhaul.

If you're moving cities, use Carter.

Thank you, this is good to know. I am moving 50 kms one way, so I will be calling up Carter Rentals.

[holymoly]

In the "Me and My Money" column of today's Globe and Mail (B15), the president of a media training/corporate public speaking firm and "semi-retired consultant, author and adventurer" says, under the heading Best Moves:

Downsizing his lifestyle from Toronto to Hamilton. "I think Hamilton should be declared Canada's semi-retirement capital. There are about 2.7 million boomers in the Golden Horseshoe and many could sell their large empty nests and find creative bargains in Hamilton, then invest the price difference or profit and kick-start their semi-retirement, as we did."

I'd love to do this. I have a house in the Hammer, but the plan at this point is to stay put in Toronto until the kids are older.

Also in today's Globe, Christie Blanchford mentions that her niece and niece's fiance moved back to HO from TO. I'm expecting to see more and more of these little mentions in Toronto papers.

[JT Jacobs]

We finally--repeat finally--after losing out on one deal and waiting for another, sold our house in Kelowna (and we'd just done an expensive and, if I do say so, tasteful reno); we're now moving to Hamilton, the best city in the country for real estate deals.

Our neighbourhood of choice will be Kirkendall South--the escarpment, rail trail, parks, Locke ST, Innovation Park, proximity to downtown, and easy access to the highway, all make this a vital neighbourhood that rivals any in Toronto, particularly when you compare housing prices.

Looking at the MLS lately in other parts of the 905, I'm shocked at the inventory in the suburbs (Ancaster, Burlington, Oakville, etc). It recalls what's happening here: inventory is way up and prices are falling fast. Most definitely a buyer's market.

[raisethehammer]

Originally Posted by holymoly

In the "Me and My Money" column of today's Globe and Mail (B15), the president of a media training/corporate public speaking firm and "semi-retired consultant, author and adventurer" says, under the heading Best Moves:


I'd love to do this. I have a house in the Hammer, but the plan at this point is to stay put in Toronto until the kids are older.

Also in today's Globe, Christie Blanchford mentions that her niece and niece's fiance moved back to HO from TO. I'm expecting to see more and more of these little mentions in Toronto papers.

HO??

[holymoly]

Originally Posted by raisethehammer

HO??

Wondered if anyone would notice that.

[raisethehammer]

what is it???

[Millstone]

Originally Posted by raisethehammer

what is it???

Hamilton, Ontario

[MsMe]

And here I thought he was practicing being santa.

[BCTed]

Originally Posted by Millstone

Hamilton, Ontario

H-dot.

[adam]

t dot is an abbreviation of t-dot-to-the-o-dot .. a term that surfaced from late 90's hip hop culture.

nothing to do with hamilton.

[holymoly]

Originally Posted by MsMe

And here I thought he was practicing being santa.

She.

[holymoly]

Originally Posted by adam

t dot is an abbreviation of t-dot-to-the-o-dot .. a term that surfaced from late 90's hip hop culture.

nothing to do with hamilton.

Toronto = T.O. = T-dot-O-dot.
No reason not to say H-dot-O-dot = HO = Hamilton ... if you want to.

[adam]

I wonder what sir allan macnab would say about that?

[BCTed]

Originally Posted by adam

I wonder what sir allan macnab would say about that?

He would surely disapprove and give us all a stern talking-to.

[adam]