hunt

It's amazing how much housing is available in the GTA, both to rent and to buy. In New York, 30 people are fighting for every available space. Every move comes with two questions: what's the rent, and how'd you find it. I was never in this position myself, but people routinely resort to deceit, bribery and subterfuge to find a place to live.

Here, it's a buyer's - or renter's - market. I also don't think the rents are bad at all, contrary to popular belief. If you don't have to live in the hippest neighbourhood, there are plenty of decently priced places. (Obviously, that's if you have a decent job. Public housing for people without is still needed.)

We're seeing five houses today - one in the Mimico section of Etobicoke, one in the Beaches, two in the Guildwood section of Scarborough, and one in Mississauga. For non-Torontonians, Etobicoke and Scarborough were once separate suburbs, but are now technically part of Toronto - Etobicoke is the west end and Scarborough is the east end. The Beaches is a really nice neighbourhood right in the city, and a popular tourist destination, similar in that respect to Port Credit (where we live now).

We've never been to Scarborough, but are looking there on a tip from the ever-reliable James, along with some other friends of wmtc and some co-workers. There are many rental houses there in our price range. We'll check out the neighbourhood at the same time as we're seeing the two places.

Allan thinks I should post photos of all the houses we see, with the pros and cons of each, and you all can vote on where you think we should move. It might be fun. And, in the spirit of our native country, your votes will be counted only as we see fit.