News   Jul 08, 2024
Proposal For 1260 Kennedy Doubles in Height in Latest Resubmission
 296     1 
News   Jul 08, 2024
News Roundup for July 8, 2024
 378     0 
News   Jul 08, 2024
That View, Private
 821     0 

got a job in Markham, any suggestions for where to live?

M

mastershake

New Member
Member Bio
Joined
May 25, 2007
Messages
44
Reaction score
0
I got a job at major software company located at Warden and Highway 7 in Markham. I've worked co-op terms there before and know it's a hassle to get there on transit so i'll probably be getting a car. Although i'll have a car i would like to live in a neighbourhood with easy public transit access to downtown, and where most of my day to day essentials could be taken care of without driving i.e. near by local restaurants, bank, gym, hairdresser etc. I'd also like it to be a reasonable commute to Markham, say an average of 35 minutes or less in 9am traffic.

Do any of you have any suggestions for what neighbourhoods I should check out for renting an a decent 1 bedroom apartment?

My first thought was somewhere in north york city centre, but something about NYCC seems a bit phoney to me, i guess it doesn't have the "charm" that i'm looking for. However it is close to the 401 and the subway and there are shops near by.

Another area that came to mind was yonge and eglinton, but i'm not sure what the commute would be like from there.

What about the leaside area? Or east york? Eastern downtown near the DVP? Anywhere near the DVP would probably work out since I would be doing the opposite commute of most people.

I would appreciate any suggestions you guys have, thanks.
 
There's a bit of traffic on the DVP northbound in the morning (and especially coming home at night) but you still might be able to get away with living somewhere around the Danforth that's a quick trip up to the highway. You'll have to deal with the traffic, but it's a pleasant enough area that it would be worth it.

You could even go further south if you wanted since the DVP south of Bloor is rarely congested, especially in the off-peak direction.
 
I kind of laughed when I read this, because I too used to work at that same "major software company" and one of the reasons I left was that I detested the area and wanted to live downtown, but couldn't stand the commutes I had to face. I apologize in advance for the negativity and bitterness that will likely drip from the following paragraphs.

You are correct to assume you need a car to work there; unless things have changed drastically in the last 3 years or so, the Warden and 7 intersection is very poorly served by transit and impossible to navigate on foot; even trying to walk to lunch at one of the neighbouring plazas would involve 20 to 30 mins of navigating many dangerous lanes of traffic, with long light cycles, dedicated turn lanes, and some of the worst drivers I've had the pleasure of sharing a road with. You will be working late quite often, and the bus service, as it is, becomes even more laughable in the evenings.

I lived at Mt. Pleasant and Eglinton; my very plain 1br in a highrise was about $1000/month plus another $75 for a parking spot. While the distance did not seem far on a map, the commute varied greatly in terms of time and hellishness; on a good day I could do it in 30 minutes, and on a bad day (which happened at least once a week) it could take 1 to 2 hours. One way. A bad day was usually caused by any one of the following: a bit of rain, a bit of snow, too much sun, a time change, construction, a holiday, a minor accident, a stalled car, or the Pope visiting. If more than one of these happen, stay home and call in sick.

The DVP is generally stop-and-go from Eglinton up to the 401, where everyone is merging from the east/west lanes. The 404 is slightly better but remains very, very slow up until highway 7 (and since they've recently added carpool lanes, your commute would be worse unless you have a friend to share the ride with). As a result I would often vary my route, trying different north/south options such as Bayview and Don Mills, but on these there are always ceaseless red lights and construction. I saw incidents of road rage, some very frightening, at least once a week.

There is a large community of condo towers and townhomes in the Yonge/Sheppard area where my friend used to live. It's not very "urban" but it has the rare combination of quick 401 access and quick subway access. So in theory, if you lived there, you'd have a reasonable (though not negligible) commute and then an option to hop on the subway and go to downtown proper in the evenings and on weekends, though it's a long haul underground.

I wouldn't recommend the Danforth; that commute would be insanely long.

Not to be a downer, but the attitudes at that company are very suburban: within a few years you'll either 1) have given up and bought a monster home in Markham or Stouffville, like 99.9% of the people who work there, or 2) quit and found a job downtown, or 3) gone insane. Good luck!!
 
Puke Green is right.

Your best bet is to either live in Markham or live in the North end of Toronto, (North York, Scarborough area). You'll mainly want to avoid getting on the highway though because it is faster to just take the main roads (especially heading North).

Yes, you will need a car, Viva is still crappa. If you ask me, look towards Shepperd (East) starting about East of Bayview (Yonge traffic is horrid and Bayview to Younge is 2 lanes only so bad traffic).

Fortunately you have a lot of choice if your looking at anything. New condos springing up everywhere from all kinds of builders, older houses and townhouses, etc.

Obviously it is a bit more expensive if you live right on the subway line. Live just outside of it (East of Don Mills and Shepperd) and prices come down quite a bit, even if it is on Scarborough Town Center.
 
I used to work up at 14th Avenue and Woodbine and lived on Sheppard just on the east side of the 404. It was really close to the subway and going north on the 404 wasn't too bad from Sheppard. Plus you can either go along Sheppard and just drive up Warden and it wasn't too bad. Coming home from there wasn't too bad. The DVP was always pretty busy but with that extra lane right after finch for the Sheppard exit, you can bypass most of it. You'll just have to keep cool between Steeles and Finch and don't be one of those jerks who cuts into the Finch exit lane to skip ahead to sheppard. Everyone hated those people.

There are quite a few little streets to get south from the 407 if you know where to look but Vic Park and Warden didn't seem too bad.
 
The Danforth may seem far, but I knew someone that lived near there and commuted north (not as far as Highway 7) on the DVP and said that moving further south isn't a big deal since the traffic is almost never congested south of Eglinton off-peak. If you can get up to the Don Mills/DVP exit quickly, it's probably faster than someplace like Eglinton and Mt. Pleasant.

Living in a neighbourhood you want is a great idea, because you don't want to have to move houses every time you get a new job. If the commute is long now, it might not be in a few years when you find a new job a bit closer. If you bought out in Markham and then found a job downtown, you'd have to worry about unloading the house too.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. Unimaginative is the only one who told me what I want to hear, but i'll consider all of this. If the choice is between a 1 hour commute each way from a nice hood or a shorter commute from a more suburban neighbourhood then I would choose the latter. I was hoping there would be a "sweet spot" where i could get the best of both worlds.

This will be my first full time job out of university so I won't have any savings I could put towards purchasing a home. Besides basement apartments is renting even an option in Markham? There are a few condos going up around Warden and 7 so maybe some are being rented out but the rental options look pretty limited. Besides some decent dim sum markham seems like a bleak place. Maybe downtown Markham will turn out to be everything they promised once it is built (lol) and I can move there.

PukeGreen, it really is an unfortunate location isn't it? I wonder why it is that technology companies prefer to have large sprawling suburban campuses instead of downtown office towers. I've always imagined reconfiguring that building into a 16 story building instead of it's current arrangement of four connected four storey buildings.
 
well if your fresh out of U then not much you can do about it.
You can still easily rent out an apartment around Scarborough Town Center that dumps you right on the TTC subway/monorail line for easy downtown access but is a literal 10-15 minute drive to highway 7 and warden. As long as you travel on Shepperd and avoid Steeles it's fine. Driving north on Warden is fairly painless.
 
Hey mastershake, you've got it -- it's essentially tradeoffs between neighbourhood and commute times, and everyone has to make the choice for themselves in terms of what is more important. But long commutes in the city can really take their toll, especially as the years grind by. Keep in mind that if you are already working 8-10 hour days and have an hour commute on each end, you won't have much spare time.

In terms of the location of the company: yes it is frustrating and irresponsible that they choose to move so far out. If we are in fact speaking of the same company, they used to be located at Don Mills and Eglinton when I began working there. This was not exactly downtown, but it was much closer, and served by very frequent buses to Eglinton subway station. Yet it was still far enough north that most suburbanites could drive without too much grief.

What irks me is that when the company moved to the burbs, they received very large (ie. many millions of dollars) tax breaks from our government for "environmental responsibility". This is because they built next to a sensitive river area, and incorporated it into the plan for the campus. Big whoop, you need to walk over a bridge between the parking lot and the building. The grant apparently did not take into account that now almost every single one of the 2000-2500 employees absolutely must own a car and drive there every day. Carpooling is very difficult at that company because frequent overtime and flex hours make it extremely unlikely that two employees would share the same schedule even if they lived near each other.

Suck it up for a few years, see how to you like it; then once you have some experience under your belt, if the downtown is still calling you can find a job in the city with a company that has a more urban flavour and enjoy the best of all worlds. Trust me, it is possible!
 
well with more head offices moving to the Warden and 7 area and more condos being built hopefully more amenities will pop up. Have you looked at the Tridel condos there? I think there are couples that are up for rent.
 
Haha, thought so. Wish we could trade jobs that way I could cut my commute everyday to about 30 min over the 1.5-2hour commute I do to go downtown (i work on Yonge and Bloor in the Bay building).
 
Have you thought about renting in any of the condos or townhouses around West Beaver Creek and hwy 7? there are some amenities along 7, but it is pretty car-oriented with not much of an atmosphere. The traffic is a major downfall as it can be pretty bad during the peak periods.

Maybe Yonge and Shep. would be a good choice. i wouldn't imagine the drive being more than 1/2 hour each way on average. there is a Viva route from Finch Station that goes right by IBM as an alternative to driving.

I live at Warden and Steeles (unfortunately) so I am very familiar with the area. Transit sucks, cant walk anywhere, horrible drivers. I don't find that there is any sence of 'place' within several kms in any direction. hopefully that will change with the new condos going up at Warden and 7. Downtown Markham would be ideal if it was built as planned. the Shoppes on Steeles redevelopment proposal would also be a decent locale. But those don't help in the immediate future.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top