North York

If you find you can't afford a condo in downtown Toronto or have decided you would prefer to do without the manic hustle and bustle of Canada's busiest city, why not consider purchasing in one of Toronto's surrounding "bedroom communities"? Or, if that's a little too far from the action, maybe looking into one of Toronto's boroughs would be best. North York, which makes up the north-central part of the city of Toronto, is one of these five boroughs just outside of the downtown area.

North York was originally a separate entity. Founded as a rural farming town early on in Canada's history, North York gradually evolved and urbanized due to its proximity to Toronto. It was big enough to be incorporated as a city by 1979. The ceremony took place on February 14th, Valentine's Day, a date which gave North York its nickname: "The City With Heart". Unfortunately North York did not last long as a city. Toronto's exponential growth and rapid absorption of the land between the two cities effectively merged them together within a short time. Their union was made official in the great amalgamation of 1998.

Today North York has a diverse population of around 625,000, more than 47% of whom are visible minorities. Like many other major metropolitan areas, North York has become a popular destination for immigrants from Asian countries. North York is also home to an important community of Jewish Holocaust survivors and their descendants in the Bathurst Street area.

Some areas of North York retain their original rural flavour. There is still a smattering of farms on the outskirts, though many are no longer �working� farms. As is traditional in a borough, North York also features a large number of suburban neighbourhoods and planned developments featuring large family homes on tree-lined streets.

The expansion of the Toronto subway line has spawned further urban development in recent years. The Yonge Street subway line is the basis for a corridor of stores, high-rise office buildings, and condo developments, with more springing up all the time. If you intend to commute to a job in Toronto, this corridor would be an excellent place to look at buying a condo. A subway line also anchors another likely place: the one along Shepard Avenue. The so-called Shepard East Corridor is beginning to see a lot of condo development projects, making it a great place to look if you want to get in on the ground floor.

Whether you're commuting to Toronto for work or taking a job at one of the many companies that have made their headquarters in North York, like Proctor and Gamble, Nestle, or Xerox, you'll find North York to have excellent access. Highway 401, the busiest highway in North America, runs right through North York into Toronto, and several subway and bus lines also connect the area with downtown and the rest of the Greater Toronto Area.