Why Move to Oakville, Milton or Burlington? Halton Region Safest in Greater Toronto Region says Maclean’s Magazine
March 23rd, 2008 Categories: Burlington Beat, First Time Buyers, Halton Real Estate, Oakville Real Estate News, Why Move to Oakville?
“Halton Region is a very safe place to live” says Maclean’s Magazine.
I was doing an open house yesterday afternoon in the new area of Bronte Woods and met two families from GTA land, one from Leaside and another that owned a home in downtown Toronto, both planning to relocate to Oakville, “for lifestyle and affordability”.
This is definitely a growing trend, and not surprising, given the relatively higher price of detached homes in Toronto, high property taxes, and now the new municipal land transfer tax which has placed an added financial burden on home-buyers.
Given the many wonderful benefits of living and raising a family in Halton, we will certainly see this trend continue.
But back to the subject of this post.
I noticed an article in The Oakville Beaver last week which said that Maclean’s Magazine recently profiled Halton as the safest place to live in the Greater Toronto Area.
Maclean’s rankings were based on 2006 per capita crime rates for murder, sexual assault, aggravated assault, robbery, break and enters, and auto theft from the Canadian Centre for Justice Studies.
To read more about why Halton is so safe, click here to access the Oakville Beaver article.
The article also says that Halton is the fourth safest region in Canada. Good news for our families and for the value of real estate in Halton. Let’s keep it that way!
LOOKING TO MOVE TO OAKVILLE, BURLINGTON OR MILTON? IT’S A GOOD DECISION! CALL HILARY AT 905–599–3311 TODAY TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR DREAM HOME.
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It’s official, I heard it on the radio! 2008 Most Snowy Ontario Winter on Record
March 7th, 2008 Categories: Lighten Up, Oakville Real Estate News, Why Move to Oakville?
They announced it today. Snowflall so far this year has set an all-time record.
And winter is not over yet!
In honor of such a snowy winter, I am sharing some winter scenes as seen through the lens of my friend Ashley:
LONE TREE IN WINTER
ONTARIO SNOWY FENCELINE
FARMHOUSE AND FIELD IN WINTER
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More University Graduates Move to Oakville, Milton Grads on the Rise
March 6th, 2008 Categories: Oakville Real Estate News, Oakville Town Planning & Development, Why Move to Oakville?
A report from the 2006 census by Statistics Canada, released this week, showed that the two Ontario municipalities with the greatest proportion of university graduates were Richmond Hill and Oakville.
About 42% of residents in Richmond Hill, and 41.5% in Oakville, hold degrees at the bachelor’s level or above.
By comparison, the percentage for Toronto was 37% while the Canadian average is 23%. The city of Oshawa had the lowest percentage at 12.1%. Burlington was 30.3%
The booming Town of Milton showed the highest gain in university grads in Ontario between the censuses of 2001 and 2006, moving up from 23% to 28%.
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“Fabulous February in Downtown Oakville”, and “Brontelicious” – Fine Dining at Affordable Prices in Oakville this Month
February 15th, 2008 Categories: Fifty-five plus, Historical Oakville, Lighten Up, Oakville Events, Oakville Real Estate News, Things to Do in Oakville, Why Move to Oakville?
With our town buried in piles of snow, I think we’ll go out and sample some new restuaurants or return to some old favorites.
Our son Nathan was born on Valentine’s Day so we will be celebrating his birthday on Saturday. Which restaurant should we pick?
This is the time of year when many of our fine local restaurants offer prix fixe menus for both lunch and dinner. We have two festivals for foodies going on in town this month.
DOWNTOWN OAKVILLE
“Fabulous February Fall in Love in Downtown Oakville” is the theme of Downtown Oakville’s third annual Fabulous February dining and shopping extravaganza.
From February 15–29, 2008, over 15 first-rate restaurants will be offering prix-fixe signature lunch and dinner options. It’s a good opportunity to sample some of Oakville’s renowned gourmet cuisine. Many retailers will also be offering sales throughout the month.
Participating restaurants include Berlio Cafe, Big Papa’s | Cafe del Libros | Colossus of Oakville| Coriander Green | Jam Asian Kitchen and Wine Bar | The Griffin House | Oliver’s of Oakville | O’Finn’s Irish Temper | Paradiso | Ristorante Julia | The Painted Elephant, Thyme Restaurant and Wine Bar
Details of fixed price menus being offered and prices, which vary by restaurant, are available at www.oakvilledowntown.com
BRONTE VILLAGE
Historic Bronte Village is also hosting the first annual winter dining promotion “BRONTELICIOUS”.
This also marks the official opening of Thai Senses Restaurant in Bronte.
The promotion features Special Prix-Fixe menus for lunch and dinner (appetizer, entree, dessert), available January 28 – February 29 at
The Coach and Four, Cucci, The Firehall, Mixed Grill, Oregano Cafe, O Sushi, Thai Senses and the Twisted Fork.
You can visit www.brontevillage.net for more details.
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Oakville Home-Owners: Back to Yanking Out Weeds the Old Fashioned Way!
February 9th, 2008 Categories: Green Trends, Oakville Events, Why Move to Oakville?
This morning I got a call from our usual lawn service company. The gentleman on the line asked if we wanted to continue our lawn treatment package for 2008.
Ever since the Town passed the no-pesticide bylaw, effective January 1, 2008, I was wondering how lawncare companies would adapt to this change.
‘You can continue with the same price and package, but instead of spraying there wll be two lawn technicians who will arrive and manually remove your weeds with a special tool. Your grub control will continue with an approved grub-deterrant.”
When I inquired further as to whether or not manual weed digging would be the way of the future for lawncare, he indicated that some new eco-friendly weed-killers were being developed and have not yet received regulatory approval by the authorities in Canada. (We Canadians are always more cautious when it comes to adopting new drugs, new lending practices, you name it.)
Call Hilary for your real estate needs and for more information about Living in Oakville!
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Moving to Oakville? Compelling Reason #4 – Live, Work, Play in the Community
February 6th, 2008 Categories: Downtown Oakville, Oakville Town Planning & Development, Why Move to Oakville?
My husband and I both are fortunate to live and work in Oakville. Oakville provides the opportunity for many residents to live, work and play in the community.
Did you know that more than 400 companies have located either their national or international headquarters here in Oakville?
Why are employers attracted to Oakville? The average household income, was recently estimated at $97,550, about $18,000 higher than the average Greater Toronto Area figures.
Further, Oakville’s workforce is highly educated, more than 40 per cent of residents have a university education.
The benefits of all this economic investment to our local community are seen in everything from employment to public works and services. Since businesses pay double the tax rate or residential property owners, and use fewer sevices, a healthy commercial landscape benefits the town’s economic wealth.
You may have read in earlier posts that 250 acres of land in North Oakville (North of Dundas) are slated to welcome 55,000 new residents and provide some 35,000 jobs, primarily knowledge-based, as new pedestrian-friendly communities are built over the next ten years.
Here are a few of the corporations that provide employment in Oakville:
Ford Motor Company Ltd. – More than 50 years in Oakville, world’s second largest automaker and largest producer of trucks.
General Electric Canada Inc. – One of Canada’s largest technical, service and manufacturing companies.
Mattamy Homes – Mattamy Homes is headquartered in Oakvlle. Mattamy has created more than 80 communities across the Greater Toronto Area and is premiere homebuilder in Canada.
Tim Horton’s (TDL Group Ltd.) – a large fast food chain in Canada, with head office in Oakville. Founded in Hamilton, Ontario, this purveyor of doughnuts and coffee is now the country’s largest quick service food chain, having surpassed MacDonald’s in number of outlets. TDL empkys over 700 people at its corporate head offcice and ha staff of over 55,000 people across the chain.MOEN – A quality provider of faucets and fixtures, a number one brand in the minds of consumers, Canadian head office in Oakville. in Oakville.
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A Little Oakville (Ontario) History Lesson: Understanding Our Roots as a Community
January 29th, 2008 Categories: Books I Read, Downtown Oakville, Historical Oakville, Oakville Town Planning & Development, Why Move to Oakville?
Respecting the Past, Celebrating the Present , Embracing the Future is the Town of Oakville’s motto.
My husband Wayne (history major) is currently reading a book entitled John A., the Man who Made Us. It is a new book about Canada’s first prime minister, by Richard Gwyn, author of The Northern Magus.
Wayne has been feeding me tidbits of Ontario history such as:
Did you know that in 1820 the population of the entire province of Ontario was 200,000 people? In a few years the Town of Oakville will surpass that in number!
All this talk of Ontario history this week inspired me to write something on how the Town of Oakville evolved.
Mississauga Indians
Oakville was originally the home territory of the Mississauga Indian tribe who were hunters and fishers. The Mississauga sold their land to the Crown in 1805 but retained lands at the mouth of the three major rivers emptying into the lake – the Credit River, Sixteen Mile Creek, and Twelve Mile Creek (now called Bronte Creek).
Early Settlers Had Hard Life
As in other parts of Ontario, the New Territory was surveyed into lots. Lines and Concessions created blocks of 1000 acres each, which divided into five settler lots each of 200 acres. To acquire title to a piece of land the settler was required to clear and fence at least five acres, build a house about 16 by 20 feet, and also clear the road adjacent to his land; it was hard and laborious work as the area was densely wooded!
Willliam Chisholm Purchased Land
Land with waterways was always in demand, for drinking, fish, and for water power to drive grist mills and sawmills. By 1820, the Mississauga Indians decided to sell their reserved land at the mouth of the Twelve and Sixteen Mile Creeks. The thousand acres at the mouth of the Sixteen were bought by William Chisholm, a successful businessman and politician, for the sum of $4,116! It was Chisholm’s vision that a town and harbour at the Sixteen would be a center through which goods could flow and grain be exported from farm lands to the north.
Oakville Harbour
The mouth of the Sixteen was protected by piers and the harbour dredged; a shipbuilding yard was set up (at the north end of Navy Street); further up, the Sixteen was damned for water power and a grist mill/sawmill was built; and the village was surveyed into streets and building lots for tradesmen, mariners and workmen.
What we now know as Oakville Harbor was built with private funds, and for this William Chisholm was authorized to levy duties and tolls on goods arriving and leaving.
Timber, Wheat, and Barrels
The first “crop” produced from the forests was timber, particularly for making barrels. Staves were produced from the White Oaks of the forest. Heavier timbers were used for home building and ship building, and exported.
As settlement developed, wheat became the important export, and wheat rolled down the new ‘plank road”,the Seventh Line, (now Trafalgar Road), for shipping from the harbour.
First Mayor and Strawberries
The village prospered, and in 1857 it was designated a Town (municipality). Its first Mayor was George King Chisholm, eldest son of Oakville’s founder William Chisholm, who had died in 1842.
When a number of economic factors resulted in a glut of grain and a depletion of oak trees, farmers in the town also turned to fruit production, with strawberries a principal crop. Strawberries were introduced by John Cross at his farm located where Cross Avenue now stands. Oakville became known as the strawberry capital of the Canadas. (For more on how Oakville’s founding fathers provided names for Oakville streets click here.) Besides strawberries, other fruit orchards produced apples, pears, and plums.
Summer Visitors from Toronto, Large Estates Built Along the Lakeshore
Because of its attractive location, style, and pleasant summer weather, Oakville became the destination of summer visitors, for the most part from Toronto, many arriving by steamship. One of these, the “White Star,” would bring up to 3000 visitors on a single day, giving the Townsfolk opportunities to sell teas, and to provide overnight accommodation. It became fashionable to “summer in beautiful Oakville”. Soon the lakefront bristled with a few large estates on the lake and more modest cottages, walking distance to the lake.
Early in the 20th century, wealthy city gentlemen, who could commute to their city employment by train, developed the Lakeshore through the construction of more permanent homes, often with large grounds or estates.
Cars, Paved Highways and Ford Motor Company
The automobile reached Oakville for the first time in 1909 but could not be used for commuting until 1916 when Lakeshore Road between Toronto and Hamilton was paved – with cement – for the first time. But it was not until the Queen Elizabeth Way was opened in 1939 that “easy” commuting became possible; both ways; into Oakville from the cities of Hamilton and Toronto, and to the cities from Oakville.
An early consequence of this was the settling in Oakville of car manufacturer, The Ford Motor Company, which contributed a great deal to the economic prosperity of the Town.
Incorporating Neighboring Villages
Oakville continued to grow from a sleepy Town to the large municipality it now encompasses, incorporating neighbouring villages, Bronte, Postville, Palermo, Proudfoot’s Hollow, Merton and Sheridan.
That’s enough history for today! More History of Oakville in further posts.
Want to subscribe for this blog to receive regular updates on Oakville and real estate? click here.
LIKE THIS POST? READ ALSO:
Landmark Oakville Historic Home for Sale
Do You Remember When we Ate the Fish In Lake Ontario? New Memorial in Bronte
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Discover Enza Natural Health and Day Spa in Oakville. See Below for Oakville Buzz Discount!
January 25th, 2008 Categories: Food for Soul and Spirit, Lighten Up, Things to Do in Oakville, Why Move to Oakville?
It was like stepping out of a cold Canadian winter into an African rain forest…
Recently I spent four blissful hours at Enza Natural Health Spa in the middle of a very hectic week. It was time to “turn myself in” and allow the experts to de-stress and re-energize me.
Having chosen the “Lion Package”, my experience began with the donning of a plush African-themed bathrobe and the opportunity to warm up in the infrared dry heat sauna.
This was my first experience with a hot stone massage. It was both relaxing and reinvigorating. In a softly lit room, my South African therapist, Jenna, performed her healing magic to the enchanting strains of Chopin’s Nocturne and Ravel’s Bolero, the calming sound of water lapping against a distant shore, the occasional chatter of tropical birds.
I was being tansported to a place far, far away… when Spa Owner Judith Elaine began a hot oil scalp and shoulder massage, with an application of shea butter providing much needed nourishment to skin and hair.
In addition to being passionate about health and healing, Judith is an artist and her original paintings of South African flora and fauna adorn the tea room where I floated in, after my treatment, to enjoy several cups of hot South African rooibos tea and taro cookies.
I enjoyed my conversation in the tea room with Judith and the chance to find out more about her, her life in South Africa and how she brings so much of the wisdom and natural healing philosophy from that continent to people here. Enza is the only south African spa in Canada.
How much did this calming oasis and respite from the rigours of daily life cost me? A very reasonable price. Next time I will try the “Giraffe Package” which includes a facial.
Click here to find out how you can have an “Out of Africa” experience right here in Oakville. Write back and let me know how it goes!
As a benefit to readers of THE OAKVILLE BUZZ, Enza will provide a DISCOUNT OF 10% on your first visit. Just print off this post and present it at time of purchase. SAUBONA*!
*Zulu greeting
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News on North Oakville Development: OMB Gives Approval for Greenbelt
January 20th, 2008 Categories: Green Trends, Halton Real Estate, North Oakville Development, Oakville Town Planning & Development, Why Move to Oakville?
As an interested resident and local REALTOR, I attended some of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearings for the North Oakville Secondary Plan in October at Town Hall.
This week the OMB gave approval for the preservation of an extensive network of linked natural heritage corridors as the “first priority?. This ruling means that 900 hectares, or more than one-third of the 3,400 hectares of developable land, will be preserved as green space.
The planned system of linked open spaces, woods and wildlife corridors, along water systems such as Bronte Creek and Sixteen Mile Creek and their tributaries, preserves an area 20 per cent bigger than New York’s Central Park, bigger also than Vancouver’s Stanley Park and almost double the size of Toronto’s High Park.
The OMB ruling marks the end of a decade-long battle by town planners and environmentalists who fought to ensure the proposed development would adhere to the planning principles of “new urbanism,” particularly in being more transit- and pedestrian-friendly.
The town has won a series of successive, hard-fought victories over developers who initially tried to fight the Natural Heritage System idea of planning at the OMB a few years ago and then abandoned the battle.
Most of the developers settled with the town in August, but a handful continued to fight, asserting their right to develop lands the plan had designated for green space.
Until now, the notion of “linked natural heritage” corridors has typically been an afterthought in planning GTA developments – or at least secondary to the goal of putting in as many housing units as possible.
The OMB ruling is expected to have ramifications across the GTA, especially in other high-profile developments in the works such as the provincially planned community for about 70,000 people on the Seaton Lands in north Pickering.
Some believe it may also play a significant role in how the province’s internationally lauded Places to Grow Act is implemented. The act is an attempt to contain urban sprawl by promoting intensification and growth in already built-up urban areas in the Golden Horseshoe.
Much of the information in this post came from a longer article in The Toronto Star entitled Hard Won Green Victory for Oakville, January 17, 2008.
Should you be interested, the Town of Oakville website contains full details of the proposed North Oakville Secondary Plan including maps.
Stay posted for upcoming article: The Oakville Buzz Interviews Planning Director, North Oakville, Town of Oakville
Related Posts:
Oakville Development North of Dundas: What?s Happening?
Do You Remember When We Ate The Fish in Lake Ontario: New Memorial in Bronte
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Moving to Oakville? Compelling Reason #3 – Location! Location! Location!
September 14th, 2007 Categories: Why Move to Oakville?
Located on Lake Ontario, halfway between Hamilton and Toronto, Oakville allows for an easy commute to downtown Toronto.
The Go-Train commuter system has stops in Bronte, Central Oakville and Clarkson on the border of Mississauga. Residents can get to downtown Toronto on the express commuter train within 20 minutes.
Residents of Oakville also benefit from close proximity to Niagara Falls, the Niagara wine region, and the unique beauty of the Niagara escarpment.
For access to international travel, Oakville is 20 minutes away from Pearson International Airport and 30 minutes from Hamilton International Airport.
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