Where To Move?

As we still haven't found a place yet, we are searching in neighbourhoods of our choice. We don't like every neighbourhood that is hip and trendy. Some neigbourhoods we like are quiet and boring, others are far from the convenience that downtown has to offer but at least we've narrowed down our search to a few areas in our city.
We don't want to live somewhere where we'll get robbed or stuck in gun crossfires but we don't want to live in an area that's very trendy either because things tend to be pricier and busier there. 

BEACONSFIELD

BLOOR WEST VILLAGE

CABBAGETOWN

A PIZZERIA IN CORSO ITALIA

THE GAY VILLAGE

HOMES IN HIGH PARK AREA

LIBERTY VILLAGE ALLEY

LIBERTY VILLAGE

WYCHWOOD (BATHURST & ST CLAIR AVE WEST)

ST CLAIR AVE AND YONGE STREET

YONGE AND EGLINTON , OUR PREFERRED LOCATION

1. MIDTOWN -This covers Forrest Hill, Avenue Road and Yonge from St Clair Avenue to Lawrence. Our preferred location is Yonge and Eglinton. It's part of Toronto's most prestigious neighbourhoods filled with mansions, Whole Foods, pricy boutiques and million dollar condos but there is some affordable apartments here in between all the ritzy shops! 
It's our #1 area because it's very safe, it's in close proximity to my partner's work, some of our friends live\work here, and it is the location of our first apartment. :) Nostalgia....


2. ANNEX- A place we visit and would love to live. It's a community of intellectuals, high-end homes and older Victorian red bricked homes on shady tree-lined streets with a large vegan, eco-conscious, bike-riding presence and a lot of organic shops. It's safe and trendy, with a lot of cool restaurants, shops and parks. However, living here is very expensive!


3. ST CLAIR AVE WEST - While we aren't considering the entire St Clair Avenue we are considering from Yonge to Ossington which is two distinct neighbourhoods- Corso Italia (lots of beautiful designs, shops, bakeries, Toronto's Italian neighbourhood) and Forest Hill Village. We have lived here too and it is a very safe, quiet neighborhood but has close proximity to downtown and our work sites. The plus side is renting here is relatively affordable despite being two landmark areas. The only downfall is the large number of registered sex offenders located near here and the number of young girls who have been killed\taken due to many parks and ravines. This area is also known as Wychwood Park. 


4. Though the West has a lot of admirable and interesting communities like SwanSea, Brockton Village, Little Portugal and Parkdale, the new laws that made prostitution legal has made us leery of some of these neighborhoods. We don't want to be part of a seedy neighbourhood like Parkdale or one undergoing gentrification such as Brockton Village so we would only consider something in Bloor West Village or High Park. These are both prominent neighbourhoods with a lot of attractions, parks, restaurants and shopping. They are both family-oriented and safe. 


5. Downtown has the best neighbourhoods which cannot be contested. The best architecture, diversity, shops, restaurants and entertainment lie downtown but so do the highest prices which cancel out tons of thriving neighbourhoods for us although there are a few neighbourhoods we'd live in no matter the price tag! That would be Liberty Village, where I work, which is a cool art + design community with a lot of trendy, hole-in-the-wall eateries, loft buildings, art galleries, antique shops, furniture stores and much more. 
Beaconsfield which is a lot like the Annex neighbourhood and rates very high in "Cool factor". Cabbagetown for its large presence of lesbians, and the Gay Village because well it's the Gay Village...so 'nuff said. 
What's important is we live in a neighbourhood that has community, where more people live there than just visit.