Shots are fired!
After our MDH episode on August 8th, “Gang Wars (East vs West)“, I got an email from friend of the show, co-host of our Flights Over Milton, and all around awesome guy… Local and Regional Councillor Colin Best.
In the episode, I mentioned that I’m an East side guy, living happily in the Beaty neighbourhood for the last 10+ years. Well, Colin Best rushed to the defence of the West and brought up some great points about why the West is so good. For argument’s sake, let’s call the dividing line between East and West as being Ontario Street.
Here are some reasons Colin came up with to live on the West side of town, along with a few points I added:
- Potential university campus (we should know May 2017)
- Canada’s only Velodrome
- Less traffic in immediate area flowing through arterial and collector streets
- Milton’s only cricket field at Sherwood District Park
- New Sherwood Community Centre to open in 2019
- New Escarpment View Park, a 151-acre park to open about 2020
- New Tremaine/401 interchange to open in 2019
- New shopping areas being built at Bronte & Louis St. Laurent
- New public high school to be built in 2018 on Bronte Street
- Closer to Downtown Milton, including the Farmer’s Market from May to October, along with the Fairgrounds, Mill Pond and even Town Hall!
- Most of Milton’s Heritage properties are here in Old Milton
- Great Escarpment views
- Closer to Kelso ski and Glen Eden, lots of golf courses and hiking nearby
Now that sounds like a lot of “future”, but we’ll give them points for a promise of being better in a few years. In the meantime, here’s what you get to enjoy right now on the East side:
- Much more shopping at James Snow/Steeles (Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, Indigo) and along Maple Avenue (Home Depot, Longo’s, Best Buy and lots of restaurants)
- Established school zones that are no longer changing
- Larger trees and wider lots in the new neighbourhoods, with less density per acre than the West side new neighbourhoods
- Pretty much all of the Starbucks locations are here
- Closer to work with the future Derry Green Business Park area and being closer to Mississauga (although we’ve proven beyond a doubt that we’re way better than that community!), plus Toronto and even the 407 and the GO Train station. Not having to drive across town from the West side could save 10-20 extra minutes a day.
- The Milton Centre for the Arts and Main Library branch are on the East side
As we mentioned in the episode, the values of homes don’t seem to be significantly different between the East and West, and there are really no undesirable places to live in Milton. It just depends on your tastes and what’s important to you.
What do you think? Where do you live in Milton, and what do you love about it?
If you need help figuring out the best place to live, check out our detailed Neighbourhoods section, or just reach out and give us a call or a note using the form below.
