Ottawa reclaims top spot in MoneySense's 5th annual "Canada's Best Places to Live"

[Fresh Start]

I didn't see this mentioned anywhere else so:

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2010/30/c7252.html

MoneySense magazine ranks every town or city with a population of 10,000 or more on such factors as jobs, house prices, weather and crime rates. Visit newsstands or http://www.moneysense.ca/bestplaces2010

TORONTO, April 30 /CNW/ - It may not have the flash of Montreal or Vancouver's balmy winters, but when it comes to overall livability, Ottawa-Gatineau is tops. The capital city moved back into the coveted slot on MoneySense magazine's Best Places to Live ranking, after being knocked from its perch by Victoria in 2009.

The mix of stagnant salaries and skyrocketing housing prices helped push Victoria out of first place this year, while Ottawa's seemingly recession-proof civil service, low crime rate, affluence and growth propelled it into the top spot, where it has now resided for three out of the five annual rankings. And while Canadian big cities may seem like they are THE places to live, their rankings were modest: Vancouver ranked 29th, Toronto 85th, and Montreal was 120th out of 179.

The MoneySense rankings are based on hard data factors that contribute to a city's livability. These indicators range from climate and ease of travel to affordable housing and population growth. Every city or town in the country with a population of 10,000 or more is ranked, and this year, for the first time, MoneySense separated out all suburbs of at least 50,000 people, which added 25 new cities to our survey.

"This isn't about tourist attractions, nightlife or beautiful scenery," says MoneySense editor Duncan Hood. "It's about the places that Canadians can best earn a living, live comfortably and safely and enjoy the fruits of their labour."

Canada's Best Places to Live - Top 10

1. Ottawa-Gatineau
2. Kingston, Ont.
3. Burlington, Ont.
4. Fredericton, N.B.
5. Moncton, N.B.
6. Repentigny, Que.
7. Brandon, Man.
8. Victoria, B.C.
9. Winnipeg, Man.
10. Levis, Que.

Highlights:

The sunshine factor: It turns out the happy medium for Canadian weather is Southern Ontario. Of the top 20 point-getters when it comes to climate factors, 19 are in that region. Also, most of the cities that ranked highest for fewest days with rain or snow were, not surprisingly, in Alberta or Saskatchewan.

Nice house if you can get it: Vancouver is now the most unaffordable city in Canada by far when it comes to house prices, causing it to tumble in the rankings. But other cities such as Moncton, Fredericton and Brandon, Man., consistently do well, mainly because of their ability to maintain reasonably priced housing.

The suburban edge: Toronto suburbs Markham, Whitby and Newmarket, Ont., along with several other communities bordering major cities, scored high on prosperity because they enjoy the high salaries of Toronto's job market without the sky-high housing costs of the city proper.

About MoneySense:

MoneySense is Canada's personal finance and lifestyle magazine. Packed with smart features, practical advice and easy-to-follow financial tips on everything from home improvement to mutual funds, Moneysense attracts Canadians nationwide on the lookout for new ways to save, invest and spend. MoneySense.ca is Canada's best all-around personal finance website.

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I think that statement above needed emphasis because far too often Torontonians tend to live their lives in a fishbowl, under the illusion that this city is either doing fine now or will head in the right direction eventually and thus lack the drive necessary to demand better from our elected officials. I combed through the list myself and here's how the GTA in general ranked (Aurora's notably absent from their list):

• 3 Burlington
• 15 Newmarket
• 26 Mississauga
• 30 Clarington
• 32 Oakville
• 48 Oshawa
• 51 Pickering
• 55 Vaughan
• 56 Whitby
• 61 Ajax
• 62 Milton
• 66 Halton Hills
• 74 Caledon
• 77 Hamilton
• 85 Toronto
• 89 Barrie
• 97 Richmond Hill
• 118 Markham
• 140 Brampton

 

[SimonP]

These rankings seem to mostly be based on cheap housing costs. What it misses, is that places like Moncton, Repentigny, Levis, and Winnipeg, Brandon have cheap housing because not many people chose to live there. Low demand = low price.

The other type of city that seems to score high are ones dominated by government employers. Ottawa, Fredericton, Kingston, and Victoria would all qualify for this. But again this is hardly indicative of a type of planning the rest of us should try to follow.

 

[ladyscraper]

The suburban edge: Toronto suburbs Markham, Whitby and Newmarket, Ont., along with several other communities bordering major cities, scored high on prosperity because they enjoy the high salaries of Toronto's job market without the sky-high housing costs of the city proper.

What this doesn't mention is that I would be forced to buy a car if I chose to live in any of those places.

 

[PukeGreen]

Fair enough, but it all depends on your priorities. A resident of, say, Newmarket may enjoy a high "Toronto salary", but probably only if they commute into the city every day. Markham, Newmarket and Whitby would be nothing but farmland if it weren't for their proximity to Toronto. Ottawa is an exception to all rules, and probably wouldn't be a fraction of its current size if Queen Victoria hadn't picked it from a map at near random 150 years ago.

By prioritizing "ease of travel" and "population growth" as key factors, the survey basically pre-assumes that suburban living is superior and biases against urban living. There's no doubt that many people do prefer suburban living, but in the end we all just end up with more sprawl and people continually flee outwards seeking cheaper housing and less traffic. Lower housing almost always comes at the expense of longer commutes, with their higher costs in terms of money, time, and stress, but most of that probably doesn't show on their balance sheets, not to mention greater social costs in terms of lost farmland, environmental destruction, continuing oil dependency, etc.

If Toronto is really the 85th best place in the country to live, why do so many people flock here? Why are houses in such hot demand, and so expensive, if this is not a good place to live? I can't wait until everyone in Rosedale and Cabbagetown sell their homes at fire sale prices and move to Burlington.

 

[SimonP]

I can't wait until everyone in Rosedale and Cabbagetown sell their homes at fire sale prices and move to Burlington.

Or Moncton. Average price for a two storey home in Moncton is $131,000. You could get a whole lot of house there in exchange for a small $500K Cabbagetown Victorian.

 

[jn_12]

why move to Moncton when you can move to Welland/Niagara? You want cheap homes... I mean, you just have to put up with being the 8th worst place in Ontario to live in. It's not so bad.

 

[SimonP]

More accurate measures of quality of life are the international rankings. The Economist has Toronto in 4th in the world while Mercer's puts Toronto in 15th. Both have Toronto as the 2nd highest ranked city in North America after only Vancouver.

 

[kEiThZ]

How'd they do it without LRTs?

 

[SimonP]

Not sure exactly what you meant by that comment, but it is kind of interesting to note that four of the cities on Mercer's top 10 list (Zurich, Geneva, Dusseldorf, and Bern) have almost entirely tram based mass transit networks. Three of the others (Vienna, Frankfurt, and Munich) also have extensive tram systems.

 

[PinkLucy]

They can rank Ottawa whatever they want. I've spent enough time there to know I wouldn't want to live there. Or the GTA suburbs.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Or Moncton. Average price for a two storey home in Moncton is $131,000. You could get a whole lot of house there in exchange for a small $500K Cabbagetown Victorian.

Inexpensive housing is probably one reason why Moncton is growing faster than both Ottawa and Vancouver.

Also, if memory serves me correctly, Moncton's casino opens today...

 

[GraphicMatt]

MoneySense presents "Where to live if you don't give a shit about culture, the arts, social interaction or anything interesting."

 

[Fresh Start]

What this doesn't mention is that I would be forced to buy a car if I chose to live in any of those places.

All three places have GO Transit commuter-rail and at least a semi-reliable bus network. The way the TTC's heading, even if you live in the inner-suburbs right now you may as well buy a car.

 

[Fresh Start]

MoneySense presents "Where to live if you don't give a shit about culture, the arts, social interaction or anything interesting."

And none of the above means a fucking thing if you cannot afford to cover your basic needs; like one's rent or mortage or the highest property taxes in all of Canada!

 

[taal]

All three places have GO Transit commuter-rail and at least a semi-reliable bus network. The way the TTC's heading, even if you live in the inner-suburbs right now you may as well buy a car.

Yea and where's that exactly ...

For all the shit the TTC has faced in the last 4 months or so not much has changed from 1 - 2 years ago other then some bus expansion (yes we had cuts in early 2010, but ours were minor compared to most large systems across North America and do to higher ridership may even be increased soon).

Also, no matter what you or anyone else says the TTC still has one of the best bus systems in North America, in terms of the service they provide throughout the *entire city*. Most cities have dismal bus service out of the core. Yes you can argue we're under served by *rapid* transit ... but that isn't a 'direction' the ttc is heading, that's where it's been and you have the province / country to thank for that. It's thankfully been mentioned more often lately but almost everyone forgets how much the TTC depends on fare box revenue compared to every other city in North America