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Bedford Park/Lawrence Park North

K

King of Kensington

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Since it was rated best neighborhood in the city. I've spent a fair amount of time in this area because I had an old family friend lived in the area. Probably the right "balance" of urban and suburban in character for many. Of course it's mostly affluent white professional homeowners, "ordinary people" in the world of Karen Stintz.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...h_residents_live_in_best_hood_in_toronto.html
 
Obviously it's a really nice place to live.

It's similar to Yonge-Eglinton in many ways, but without all the apartment/condo buildings and office buildings, which I think makes the population at Yonge-Eg more diverse than Yonge-Lawrence.

Yonge is a really nice urban main-street up there, with a good set of restaurants.
 
Agreed and is actually much nicer now then say 5 years ago ... the main street that is ... its turned into an interesting stretch for restaurants with quite a variety of all different types !

That's one thing I don't love about the retail stretch closer to Eglinton, not as many restaurants, and by far and large all the ones there are Italian. Rather this stretch is dominated by higher end shops.


I find all of Yonge fairly interesting in this regard, even the stretch from Bloor -> St. Clair has a very nice feel ... actually I'd argue this stretch is nicer then Larence park, the houses (closer to St. Clair as around Bloor they're more like mansions) have an even more urban feel, and so does the main street (i.e. Yonge).

Actually Yonge south of St. Clair is one of my favorite parts of the city, just in terms of the look and feel of the area.
 
taal said:
Agreed and is actually much nicer now then say 5 years ago ... the main street that is ... its turned into an interesting stretch for restaurants with quite a variety of all different types !

That's one thing I don't love about the retail stretch closer to Eglinton, not as many restaurants, and by far and large all the ones there are Italian. Rather this stretch is dominated by higher end shops.


I find all of Yonge fairly interesting in this regard, even the stretch from Bloor -> St. Clair has a very nice feel ... actually I'd argue this stretch is nicer then Larence park, the houses (closer to St. Clair as around Bloor they're more like mansions) have an even more urban feel, and so does the main street (i.e. Yonge).

Actually Yonge south of St. Clair is one of my favorite parts of the city, just in terms of the look and feel of the area.
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Yeah Bloor to St Clair is great. Lots of mid-rise buildings along that stretch near the Summerhill area.

I really like Yonge & St Clair as well, some nice mid-rise modern office buildings there, it feels like a mini-downtown, or a smaller version of Yonge-Eg. It's amazing how many neighbourhoods Toronto has that in many other cities in Ontario would be a great downtown, but here it's just another node along the Yonge subway.
 
ehlow said:
Yeah Bloor to St Clair is great. Lots of mid-rise buildings along that stretch near the Summerhill area.

I really like Yonge & St Clair as well, some nice mid-rise modern office buildings there, it feels like a mini-downtown, or a smaller version of Yonge-Eg. It's amazing how many neighbourhoods Toronto has that in many other cities in Ontario would be a great downtown, but here it's just another node along the Yonge subway.
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There is a ton of great architecture around Yonge and St. Clair ... as you mentioned some of the older office buildings and houses are really amazing. I think its a very under appreciated area in Toronto !
 
I've always seen Bedford Park (i.e. Yonge & Lawrence) as a more "mature" version of Yonge & Eglinton. It's slightly quieter, slightly calmer, slightly older...Definitely a nice area. Lawrence Park (Mount Pleasant, south of Lawrence) is obviously the more affluent and exclusive neighborhood but Bedford Park offers proximity to shops, parks and transportation that is the likely reason why it came out ahead of other excellent, much sought-after neighborhoods in the city.
 
James said:
I've always seen Bedford Park (i.e. Yonge & Lawrence) as a more "mature" version of Yonge & Eglinton. It's slightly quieter, slightly calmer, slightly older...Definitely a nice area. Lawrence Park (Mount Pleasant, south of Lawrence) is obviously the more affluent and exclusive neighborhood but Bedford Park offers proximity to shops, parks and transportation that is the likely reason why it came out ahead of other excellent, much sought-after neighborhoods in the city.
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Right the part that I've always found interesting is; There are 2 retail stretches, From the Loblaws down to Lawrence and the Eglinton up to sherway Gardens. The Lawrence stretch has very few high end shops, but many many more restaurants, whereas the Eglinton stretch does have some restaurants (predominantly toward Eglinton and Italian .. err ..) but many more high end shops. I always thought it should be flipped : - ) Not just because I'd prefer the restaurants to the end shops (which I never frequent) but because of your argument above regarding the demographics, which I agree with !
 
taal said:
Right the part that I've always found interesting is; There are 2 retail stretches, From the Loblaws down to Lawrence and the Eglinton up to sherway Gardens. The Lawrence stretch has very few high end shops, but many many more restaurants, whereas the Eglinton stretch does have some restaurants (predominantly toward Eglinton and Italian .. err ..) but many more high end shops. I always thought it should be flipped : - ) Not just because I'd prefer the restaurants to the end shops (which I never frequent) but because of your argument above regarding the demographics, which I agree with !
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Are you saying Yonge & Lawrence has more restaurants than Yonge & Eg?

I like the stretch of Yonge between Davisville and Eg.
 
ehlow said:
Are you saying Yonge & Lawrence has more restaurants than Yonge & Eg?

I like the stretch of Yonge between Davisville and Eg.
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Well more interesting restaurants ! Particularly in the last few years, where a lot of have opened. Yea I agree the section south of Eglinton is interesting ... but there is always a ton of spaces for lease in that section ... maybe not enough foot traffic ? Hopefully condo's will help with that over time.
 
taal said:
Well more interesting restaurants ! Particularly in the last few years, where a lot of have opened. Yea I agree the section south of Eglinton is interesting ... but there is always a ton of spaces for lease in that section ... maybe not enough foot traffic ? Hopefully condo's will help with that over time.
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Yeah, there are a few spots that need to be filled in that stretch. There's Allure Condos coming, this abandoned LCBO: http://goo.gl/maps/NRyZJ, the Art Shoppe area needs to be redeveloped, and the two car service places across the street from the Art Shoppe. The new condos should increase foot traffic and provide more customers to the businesses.
 
I live right at Lawrence and Yonge, and it definitely seems like more of a food district than a shopping one :) But then again I'm a guy and I love Italian food...

But more importantly, if you haven't wandered through these parks (http://prntscr.com/3cem2u) you're wasting the experience of living in this area. That line might be wrong but it looks right from Google Maps :) You can walk for hours and everything/everyone is really nice. Also if you live west of Yonge the walk will show you all of the benefits of living on just the other side of the rich neighbourhood :D
 
troyfawkes said:
I live right at Lawrence and Yonge, and it definitely seems like more of a food district than a shopping one :) But then again I'm a guy and I love Italian food...

But more importantly, if you haven't wandered through these parks (http://prntscr.com/3cem2u) you're wasting the experience of living in this area. That line might be wrong but it looks right from Google Maps :) You can walk for hours and everything/everyone is really nice. Also if you live west of Yonge the walk will show you all of the benefits of living on just the other side of the rich neighbourhood :D
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Yeah that's a great trail. You can keep going south through the Don Valley all the way to the lake actually, and go east to the Beaches even.
 
Your lucky your stretch is turning into a food district vs Yonge and Eglinton ; - ) ... and its more then just Italian food up there !!

This whole area is so full of trails to the east and west, I'm sure the most by far for any central area !!
 
taal said:
Your lucky your stretch is turning into a food district vs Yonge and Eglinton ; - ) ... and its more then just Italian food up there !!

This whole area is so full of trails to the east and west, I'm sure the most by far for any central area !!
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Any recommendations? I've been to Stack, Burger Cellar and Belly Buster Subs (Burger Priest I've been to another location).
 
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