Cityplace vs. Y/E

[taal]

Forget both locations. Why not rent an apartment in a beautiful old house around College and Shaw, in Little Italy? You're close to trendy bars on Dundas/Ossington/Queen and College, 10 minutes walk to Kensington Market, 15 minute bike ride to Bay St offices or via various streetcar routes. A much nicer urban experience than living in an apartment/condo building.

This is something to take seriously, while I personally detest the idea It may be very appealing to you - the 'much nicer' urban comment is interesting, I'd rather not stir up another debate so we'll just have to leave that one alone.

Seeing how you're renting .. you can try both, rent month to month if you can afford it, or a shorter term - nothings to say you can't move afterwords.

Not having a car doesn't change much in my opinion seeing how all the areas we're discussing really wouldn't need one desperately.

Regarding 'the commute after the subway closes' which is around1/2am, ... it's not bad, it' might be interesting though The 97 'Yonge bus' runs much more frequently after 2am (when the subway closes) it has 5-10min so the wait times aren't long typically - it's about 20min depending on the number of stops it has to make. Walking isn't terrible either, probably 45min-1 hour.

 

[gei]

Thank you everybody for the comments so far. You've been very helpful!

A few more details:
-No car, will be taking transit/walking
-Like to go to nightclubs/bars
-Just finished undergrad

One thing that will likely be a deciding factor is the quality of the apartment itself. From what I've gathered from this thread is that CityPlace is cheaper than Y/E. The lowest prices on CP condos I've seen are about $1200/month. For Y/E I've seen them at less than $1000 but the CP condos seem much nicer.

I would love to hear some recommendations for apartment buildings less than $1200/month around Y/E. There's such a diversity of buildings up there it's tough to find a good place. Also, how bad is the commute up to Y/E from downtown after the subway closes?

Again, thank you everybody for the comments!

Dude... seriously... it's a complete no brainer for you.

No car, will be taking transit/walking: Why spend 20 minutes on the subway when you can have a nice leisurely 10 minute walk each way. Taking the subway during rush hour is no fun, believe me. If you really hate the cold the streetcar is right on your doorstep too. Takes you into union station and from there you can walk anywhere underground. Personally I just walk everywhere though...

And commuting to Y/E after the subway closes is not pleasant.. believe me. A close friend of mine lives at Y/E, but comes down to our area on the weekends (for all the reasons I mentioned earlier). His only options to get home are the Yonge st bus (aka the "Vomit Comet") or a long and expensive taxi ride. (he always ends up taking the taxi)

Like to go to nightclubs/bars: CityPlace is pretty much in the heart of the entertainment district. All the bars/clubs are in this area. I can walk to King West in less than 5 minutes.

Just finished undergrad: From my experience, Y/E is full of 30-somethings who are well past their prime... but still trying to be "hip". You'll find many more people your age at CityPlace. Some of the old fogies here complain about that (ie all the "dorm" comparisons), but in your case I think it will be a plus.

 

[DearSummer]

Dude... seriously... it's a complete no brainer for you.

No car, will be taking transit/walking: Why spend 20 minutes on the subway when you can have a nice leisurely 10 minute walk each way. Taking the subway during rush hour is no fun, believe me. If you really hate the cold the streetcar is right on your doorstep too. Takes you into union station and from there you can walk anywhere underground. Personally I just walk everywhere though...

And commuting to Y/E after the subway closes is not pleasant.. believe me. A close friend of mine lives at Y/E, but comes down to our area on the weekends (for all the reasons I mentioned earlier). His only options to get home are the Yonge st bus (aka the "Vomit Comet") or a long and expensive taxi ride. (he always ends up taking the taxi)

Like to go to nightclubs/bars: CityPlace is pretty much in the heart of the entertainment district. All the bars/clubs are in this area. I can walk to King West in less than 5 minutes.

Just finished undergrad: From my experience, Y/E is full of 30-somethings who are well past their prime... but still trying to be "hip". You'll find many more people your age at CityPlace. Some of the old fogies here complain about that (ie all the "dorm" comparisons), but in your case I think it will be a plus.

Thanks for the advice gei! Very helpful. I'm definitely leaning towards CityPlace at this point.

Do you mind telling me which building you live in? The new Luna building looks pretty nice and I've seen places for around $1200 on Craigslist.

 

[gei]

Thanks for the advice gei! Very helpful. I'm definitely leaning towards CityPlace at this point.

Do you mind telling me which building you live in? The new Luna building looks pretty nice and I've seen places for around $1200 on Craigslist.

I live in Apex. It's one of the 4 original cityplace buiildings, which are north of the train tracks. So they are a bit separated from the rest of cityplace, and closer to the downtown core. Our condo board is excellent and always on top of things, and our condo management (brookfield) is equally as good.

As for Luna... it's about a 5 minute walk away from Apex... meaning it's about 5 minutes further from the financial district. On the plus side, you are closer to the new park, which I walked through the other day and found to be quite plesant. You're also right beside the new sobeys. Other than that I don't know too much about the new buildings... but if you look through this subforum you'll find a thread dedicated to luna.

 

[UrbanVigor]

Really, you have to check out both Y/E and CP and decide for yourself. IMHO, if you choose downtown then you should compare other neighbourhoods downtown to CP.

Not sure how old you are, but by your mid-twenties you'll realize that the hip factor of your friends isn't limited by demographics. It's only when going to school that people hang out with people the same age. At 21, I was partying with 31 year olds that were a heck of a lot hipper than many in their early twenties. When you start working in the financial district, you're going to see this in your after work buddies. The age of the people you roll with will become less relevant because dorkiness isn't discriminatory.

The thing to remember is that a lot of young people move into CP thinking it's going to be fun, but inevitably get the hell out. That's why people on this board are suggesting that you keep an open mind to Y/E and other neighbourhoods? Why not have the best of both worlds in King West which is not that far from CP? Basically same part of the city. But, again, you should check CP out yourself because as gei so eloquently pointed out it has everything you're looking for on paper.

 

[gei]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_word

Another thing to note - I would take all the "a lot of young people move into CP thinking it's going to be fun, but inevitably get the hell out" and similar statements with a hefty chunk of salt. There's unfortunately a lot of anti-cityplace rhetoric on these boards that is completely baseless. I would go so far as to call most of it completely assumed and fabricated. I doubt most of the people commenting on cityplace know a single person living there, let alone having ever been inside one of the buildings.

As someone who has lived here for 4 years, and knows literally dozens of people/couples living here, I can safely say I don't know a single person looking to move out (let alone, "get the hell out"). In fact I would go so far as to say literally every single person I know living here loves it. If you look up some of the previous threads on cityplace, you'll find the same phenomenon - people with no real knowledge of cityplace commenting negatively, and all the people who actually live there chiming in and saying how great it is. I'll leave it up to you on which opinion you think is more valid.

The only explanation I can think of for this behaviour is to compare it to when folks sitting outside a senior citizens home see young people and start grumbling and arbitrarily assume they are up to trouble. Yes, there are more 'younger' people here than in most downtown neighbourhoods. No, that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Just to give you an example of how ridiculous and biased some of the comments are: there was a poster in the Tridel Element thread who commented on how the building is great and in such a great location, and then that exact same poster later complained in a cityplace thread that cityplace is NOT a desirable area. The amusing thing is, the Element is directly across the street from my building (even the most distant cityplace building is at most a 5 minute walk from there). Go figure...

 

[Flux Capacitor]

CityPlace.
I live there and I love it.

 

[gmania]

Yonge and Eglinton.
I live there and I love it.

But I'm also almost 30 and apparently past my prime.

Reasons I've lived on Redpath Av for five years: I can walk to the grocery store in two minutes, walk to four movie theatres within seven minutes, excellent restaurants on Mt. Pleasant, the Granite Brewery for beer and a short walk to all the retail on Yonge and Eglinton East. I can also tolerate the 15 minute subway ride to work (I'm on by 7:30 a.m., so it's dead) and can afford the 10 minute cab ride home if I'm downtown after the subway closes.

Hell, just pick a neighbourhood, get a one year lease and if you don't like it, move after the year. Simple.

 

[OwnerOccupier]

Given what you described you are looking for and your price range, I can't think of a better neighborhood for you than Cityplace.

I live in Cityplace and even though I may be 30 something, I still walk to the King St. clubs (to join other 30 somethings) and walk back. I walk to get my groceries, a bite to eat and to the bank. This is a new area so it's taking some time to get established but rest assured it will be a community shortly. Y/E is far and a bore. I go up there but rarely find something I have to come back for that I can't get downtown. Friends my age choose Y/E because they can't afford downtown rent prices so you find them on Redpath, Broadway, Erskine etc. A similar unit would run them $1600-1700 at CP.

For your price range you are looking at a 600 sq. ft place max in CP without much of a view and probably no parking. A walk to the financial center is no problem. I peek my head out of my window each morning and see droves of young professionals walking to work in suits. I live amongst Lawyers, Economists, Television personalities and the list goes on. This neighborhood is hardly made up young kids with 'gel in their hair' haha. I bet I could find more affluent residents in my CP building than any address on the streets I mentioned above.

 

[JayBee]

For a young guy that likes to party and go to bars....Cityplace is the right pick. I think you'll love it.

You're close to bars...you're close to the water/harbourfront. You're close to the ACC/Skydome/BMO field for sporting events. You're close to great shopping and trendy areas that cater to young people. Plus Cityplace has a crapload of amenities.

 

[CN Tower]

Cityplace

They should have a slogan:

"Cityplace. For people who don't know any better."

Ignorance is blissful....

 

[gei]

They should have a slogan:

"Cityplace. For people who don't know any better."

Ignorance is blissful....

How about "Loved by residents, criticized by those who don't know any better"

and we'll have to take your word on your second point...

 

[Coltaine79]

How about "Loved by residents, criticized by those who don't know any better"

and we'll have to take your word on your second point...

gei,

I can appreciate how passionate you are about the CP building you live in. You must be the Prez or VP or something. (kidding)

But seriously, I think the fact you live in APEX speaks for itself. There's a very noticeable gap in quality between the CP buildings built in 2002-2003 (of which yours is one) and everything built 2006+.

Most of the ones for sale recently are in the new buildings, so it's no surprise that a lot of people have a negative opinion of the complex.

 

[RedRaptor]

You gotta love the Cityplace haters on these boards! Half of these things they say about CP aren't even true!

There are tons of party people that live downtown, that's why its downtown. You are comparing Y/E (which I worked in the area for 3 years) and it is generally an older mature crowd. Its yuppy white majority crowd and everyone acts like they are too good or rich for each other. Having said that, its a great place to work and live. I would buy a property and live there.

I just moved into Luna for about 2 months now. While I'm adjusting from living my whole life in a quiet Jewish based North York neighbourhood, I disagree that the buildings are filled with party folks. There are a lot of new couples who have chosen CP as their first property. Its a lifestyle choice and all the haters are just bashing people's choice in lifestyles. If you like things quiet and peaceful, neither Y/E or CP is for you.

 

[Flux Capacitor]

Cityplace!