Canada's Best Places to Live: Different Again
MoneySense Magazine - a Canadian personal finance publication - has revealed its Top 10 Best Places to Live in Canada in 2010:
- Ottawa-Gatineau, ON
- Kingston, ON
- Burlington, ON
- Fredericton, NB
- Moncton, NB
- Repentigny, QC
- Brandon, MN
- Victoria, BC
- Winnipeg, MN
- Levis, QC
The magazine used data compiled from 179 Canadian cities and towns with populations over 10,000 people. They rated cities based on the following (with sub-categories in each):
- Home Affordability, based on
- Average house price
- Time to buy a house
- Healthcare
- Crime rates
- Lifestyle
Lowest "Average" Home Prices in Canada
The Top 10 cities/towns in the Housing category had the following data for "average home price":
- Portage la Prairie, MB: $99,521
- Yorkton, SK: $109,408
- Cape Breton, NS: $110,981 (which also ranked #1 in affordable housing out of 34 Canadian markets last year)
- Elliot Lake, ON: $114,068
- Bathurst, NB: $116,289
- Fredericton, NB: $125,987
- Timmins, ON: $127,883
- Thunder Bay, ON: $128,513
- La Tuque, QC: $129,510
- Baie-Comeau, QC: $134,022
Of course, I've blogged here before about what we think of "average home price" as a statistical benchmark, as have other members of the CENTURY 21 System.
And we've reported on past surveys that rate different cities/towns as the "best" - such as two very different rankings put out in February of this year: by the Conference Board of Canada and by CIBC World Markets. We titled our blog post summing up those studies, "Calgary or Halifax: Who's Number One?"
So, my advice: take these reports/surveys with a large grain of salt. Know that your city/town, and your neighbourhood is "hot" for many reasons the pollsters didn't take into account; and that your home likely isn't "average." (Whose is?)
There is some great feedback - from across this land - on the cities chosen as "best places to live." Check out the comments, and why not leave your own - here at our blog and/or on the MoneySense site.
Posted by Don Lawby
on May 10, 2010