Is Kitchener - Waterloo Ontario a Great Place to Live? Silicon Valley North?
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- Опубліковано 4 лип 2024
- After returning from our travels we are happy to be back in Ontario. We love the clean drinkable tap water, the lack of armed guards, and the excitement of springtime. The arrival of crocuses, tulips, and daffodils is something we look forward to every year and the fresh spring air just feels good.
Today we will be exploring Kitchener Waterloo Ontario, also known as Silicon Valley North. I will be showing you the top ten reasons to move to Waterloo and at the end of the video I will tell you some of the reasons you shouldn't.
Roundabouts: www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/li...
Roundabout video: • How to use a roundabout
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Really informative and interesting video. I like how you highlight the pros and cons.
Thank you! 😊👍🏻⭐️
My town for 37h so proud of it also very clean and classy
KW has turned into Brampton 2.0.
Unfortunately
Sad, but true..
Anything within a couple hours of the gta will be soon enough....
What? No. Our traffic and collisions aren't that bad and sprawling is under better control.
Not accurate at all.
I just moved out of KW to Calgary. I do miss parts of the City, however the downtown homelessness, high rent and lack of amenities (as a young professional not working in tech) did it for me! Although close to Toronto, driving on the 401 is a pain and can take far longer than an hour with traffic - I also did not find the intercity transit options that great. Bar/restaurant scene is limited and not very diverse.
A lot of people are leaving for Alberta. How do you like Calgary?
Amen!
Too expensive to live in Ontario but the public transit in Toronto is much much better than Calgary.
There are only 2 tiny tram lines look exactly the same as streetcars in Toronto and no subway lines.
I'm thinking of moving to Alberta myself in a few years. There's a huge homelessness issue in Kitchener a lot of it is probably due to the high rents but a lot of people could be choosing that type lifestyle also. A lot of these people have mental illnesses and addiction and they like to be around others like them. The prevalence of drugs nowadays is what is scary I never heard so much about drugs when I was a young child or growing up as a teenager. Drugs which include alcohol alter a person and can cause aggression and a lot of unwanted behaviours. I was thinking of moving to Collingwood nice small town but now I'm not sure because the one building near the Walmart I was reading online that tenants are constantly scared in there because there's drugs, non-tenants getting into the building, weapons, fights, etc. I've always disliked the downtown here in Kitchener it wasn't too bad when we had stores like Bargain Heralds, Woolworths, Zellers, Kresges, Goodies, Eatons but now all those are gone and the downtown now in my opinion is not much.
@@ShouldWeLiveHereJust for info sake Alberta is the only province in Canada without a provincial sales tax they just have the federal 5% sales tax.
this was really helpful
as someone who's lived here for the last 15+ years, i can tell you that the rate of building has been extreme and that's been dominated by opportunist grifters who are selling and renting overpriced garbage properties and pretending you'll be buying into an easygoing mennonite country town. students at the universities used to live in 3-4 bedroom houses with yards, now that's largely been bulldozed so they can pay twice as much to live in an 8x8ft highrise room with a single kitchen and bathroom shared between 6 people. most of the condos are only impressive when viewed through their marketing material and are fairly pathetic in actuality. universities and public squares have gone all-in on boring architecture that won't be used or admired nearly as much as they envisioned. on the outskirts of town, they can't build wall-to-wall subdivisions of pretender homes fast enough. the amount of cars on all roads has at least doubled, and traffic becomes a disaster twice a day. the biggest similarity to silicon valley may be gentrification problems
oh, and we're pushing the limit of the area's natural water supply so at some point that'll have to be pipelined in from the great lakes like London, ON does, which is bad-tasting and more expensive. Waterloo region is developing all the pros and cons of a big city as fast as it can, and it'll be just another toronto-esque hellhole soon enough
I just saw a new area of Collingwood a couple weeks ago and to me that's the best illustration of what's going on. The developers ask themselves what all the people coming from Toronto want to see to buy property there and they just build mini Toronto, and then everybody trying to get away from Toronto can spend all their time in a McMansion and occasionally sit in traffic to go to a crappy strip mall and buy Popeye's Chicken, but in a different place
We visited the Vista Hills development in Waterloo and can understand what you’re talking about. On paper it sounds like the best thing but when we got there it looked like homes focused more on square footage than on quality. The beautiful landscape could have been developed into something so much better. Sadly we are seeing that everywhere.
This! Lived in Kitchener my whole life. It's a great place to live if your lucky. So many ppl can't afford to live here. Even with good paying jobs. A tiny house is almost a million dollars! Wtf!
This is an amazing comment. Ontario is a hell whole
We have a huge homeless problem tent city on weber st and victoria park.
Sadly people experiencing homelessness seems to be rising almost everywhere in Canada. It’s heartbreaking.
Because we have lousy government both provincially and federally. I fully think the premier here in Ontario needs to be implementing rent-geared-to-income for everyone, all renters, there should not be separate subsidized housing. Housing is not a luxury it's a necessity and government needs to step up to the plate and do a hell of a lot more in addressing housing then they are! RGI for ALL renters needs to be implemented ASAP! This is partly why I'm not proud to be a Canadian when I see governments not working for US!
I’m happy for the let,i used to be around…..
No, Kitchener/Waterloo used to be a great place to live maybe 15-20 years ago. All these people flocking over here from Toronto is turning it into an overcrowded mess. The size of these cities were not made for the amount of people flooding in and construction is not keeping up, causing more traffic issues due to road closures. Homelessness and crime is rising fast. I moved out of Kitchener years ago but unfortunately not far cause of family.
It is definitely starting to feel like a Toronto suburb!
As an experienced driver, I think that roundabouts on Ira Needles Blvd suck, especially the Erb one, where everyone comes to and from Costco! They are busy, turning left (using the 3rd roundabout exit) at most of the roundabouts is not only confusing, but also creates lots of traffic jams, inpatient drivers and dangerous situations. We had an elderly person hit on one of them, and drivers often don't notice pedestrians... It's also a nightmare on Trussler Rd when coming off the highway from New Hamburg direction, be prepared to be stuck on the ramp for a long time in peak hours… Ira Needles Blvd is a great blvd with lots of retail, but I do wish they would do something about the roundabouts...
I still can’t believe how many roundabouts are on Ira Needles Blvd. You really have to keep a sharp eye out for pedestrians like you said when traffic is heavy.
I haven't driven for a couple years but when I was driving I absolutely hated the Ira Needles Boulevard area because of the roundabouts not only do drivers not drive them properly but pedestrians have to do their part as well they're supposed to stick their arm out point in the direction where they want to walk and make eye contact with drivers. Too many people nowadays are so focused on their phones while they're walking. The biggest thing with drivers in these roundabouts is that they enter them too fast they barely look if anyone's coming, I just about got hit the one time within about a foot, I was in the roundabout and this person from the one side entered. If my brakes weren't working as good as they were at the time I would have been hit. People just do not pay attention anymore, drivers and pedestrians, they are too mentally distracted, I feel being too mentally distracted is just as bad as driving drunk because you're not concentrating as well as you should be, in other words you're not 100% present in the moment being a responsible driver or pedestrian.
You forgot that with the increase of people moving in Kitchener-Waterloo from Toronto, there is also an increase in crime. I have lived in Kitchener for almost 20 years and the amount and severity of crime in my own neighbourhood is increasing. Gunshot can be heard from a parking lot behind my home and last November bullets were retrieved from the side of my building. I have never wanted to leave a city so badly but I cannot afford to leave. Also, the rising homeless rates and tent cities were also omitted from this video. I honestly would not recommend anyone living in this city.
We did see some people living in tents but it didn’t seem to be as many as in other cities we have visited, such as nearby London Ontario. Sadly rents are going up faster than incomes. And there isn’t enough housing for the increasing population!
I'm moving in a couple months for these exact reasons, it's become Toronto 2.0 overpopulated and I'm anxious to even leave my apartment I feel trapped in my own home because I don't trust this horrible city and the people who have come to inhabit it.
Its true. Stabbings, break and entering and car theft are on the rise.
@@tylerfrancis7004Are you talking about the people from South East Asia?/
I have lived in KW for my entire life and growing up we used to leave our doors unlocked at night but around 2002 that all changed when people tried to break into our house. The idiots tried to break in the back door and lets just say they met our Rottweiler who was very protective of her property.
Do one on Windsor please
Definitely- it is on our list. We are going to do a few places in the states first but plan to get there before the end of summer.
Mention the 1.81 percent property tax and the flood zones of Windsor. Great weather though.
nice how did you speed up the recording of the ION train, because that is really slow
😁
V . Nice
Don’t know how drinkable the water here in gta (and seems worse in Waterloo) really is. Super heavy in extra particles (type?) compared to BC. I have to double filter the tap water to get it drinkable. And it still tastes funky compared to vancouvers. And it seems like there might be similar problems with the air here.
Hmmm…interesting!
Terrible real estate prices
Agreed! They are down from what they were in Feb 22 but are unfortunately headed back up. The average single-family home sold for $964,130 in May, while the average condo went for $482,926.
I’ve been in the region since 2005 and I used to love it. Most of what the video says is try, BUT with a (big) grain of salt. Now, KW is just a better version of Brampton with people (a bit) less rude. University students are (once again) getting out of control and are a menace. Jobs don’t pay well, and cost of living is insane now. Not as bad as TO, but getting pretty close. Housing crisis increasing. I mean, if your household income is at least $150k, you’d love the region. Otherwise, get away as far as possible.
…
Maybe you should check out that Kitchener, Waterloo and Guelph are ALL turning into 15 minute cities! This doesn’t end well for humanity.
Why don’t you like 15 minute cities? Walking places and less traffic is a good thing. We just returned from some US cities where there were so many highways, and the sound of cars was so loud, that you couldn’t hold a conversation.
Mexico City had some 15 minute neighborhoods filled with trees and they were beautiful.
@@ShouldWeLiveHere man the people who comment on your videos are so out of touch 😂
I agree I’d love if Kitchener Waterloo turned into a 15 minute city
No. It was a great place to live but now the city has become a class system. Either you have a job in the tech sector or you are commuting out of the city to find work elsewhere. A great place live should do everything it can to invest in jobs for people of all skills and abilities and this city fails miserably.
Terrible real estate pricing. The most unreliable public transportation I've seen with busses always being late. Homelessness has gotten worse and the water is so bad here it's not recommended to drink it unfiltered. Its not an ideal place to live in my opinion but here I am.
If you could live anywhere - where would you choose?
@@ShouldWeLiveHereIngersoll because they banned the rainbow flag and as a fascist I feel more likeminded people to myself might be there.
My hometown of KW, as well as my Country has become unrecognizable.
How true- so many changes.
To be fair you aren’t legally required to use signal on roundabout, it’s just a kind move
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Its might as well be called New Delhi 2.0
Just read that 30% of people in Waterloo region were born outside of Canada! from 2011 to May 11, 2021, the largest group of people coming to the region were from India accounting for 9,695 people, followed by 2,880 Syrians coming to the region and 2,750 people from China moving to Waterloo region.
Karachi 2.5
I've lived here for 55 years and am now looking to move OUT of KW region. The crime, bad drivers, etc have increased exponentially. Also the foreign students have made our neighbourhood homes into frat houses with no respect for their neighbours. (They never mow the lawn, shovel, pick up flyers. Parties on the front lawn at 3-4 am on a regular basis) Don't get me started on the fake homeless begging for money but have brand new iPhones and expensive Nike's? I work in tech so I can work anywhere, but definitely not here anymore.
Do you have any idea where you will go next?
Just moved to the West after almost 20 years in the region. KW is home and I will always miss our town. I mean, I won’t miss this current awful version of our old community; I will always miss our old and peaceful KW.
@@ShouldWeLiveHereremote tech worker? Costa Rica obviously! Lol
Kitchener is not diverse - its all indians
…
It’s true and those guys don’t understand the concept of space is. always trying to stand wayyy to fucking close.
And they seem to have an attitude problem as well. I don’t hate or dislike them. They’re just annoying
It's just another Brampton now, this happens to most cities near the GTA. Thanks Justin !!
@@iDok Been Here All My Life... 62 Years Almost and this is Not the Town I Grew Up In and Loved! It's Rapidly Becoming an Over Crowded "Shithole" ! Greed and A-Hole Politicians Have Destroyed Our Twin Cities ! Retirement Can't Come Soon Enough So I Can Abandon this Dump!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHH NO!
We just watched the Apple Keynote and can see what you mean. The new Vision Pro and even just Apple Park certainly has no equivalent in Canada….. though a lot of University of Waterloo graduates go work at Apple
@@ShouldWeLiveHere not sure exactly what you mean but this place is NOT a good place to raise a family …
@@darcycrocker9931I am raising my family here and it is fine. Why do you not think that?
Waterloo park has become a total disgrace. Homeless people all over the place in the area living in the park panhandling in the park not safe anymore
…
I've lived in Kitchener for 60 years and I enjoyed the parts of Kitchener I spent time in as a child and part of my adult life but now I definitely don't like it here. We have the light rail which is ground level which is just dumb it interferes with traffic a lot vehicles have got caught under the rails. I don't like living in an area where I feel government is not making smart decisions and having light rail on ground level is not a smart decision, pretty much any other area in the world that has this type of transportation system it's elevated. There is a lot of crime here and there's also way too many people from India here at least in the south part of Kitchener where I live. Pretty much everywhere I go I see these people. I feel like a minority in my own country. There's also a lot of orientals who don't know English well so it's hard to interact with these people in different type settings. I recently had an Uber driver bring me my Walmart grocery order and he was just mumbling, I don't even think he knew much English. English is Canada's main language and it's not our job to learn these other languages, these foreigners who choose to live in Canada need to respect our language and use it. Learn it and use it!
The main reason you have so many roundabouts, is that you would have major traffic grid locks. Without them you could not travel very far in the city. They have a spaghetti road system here, not a grid system, like in most towns and cities. IN the future they plan to put another 1,000,000 people into this area, and they (city planners) think everyone will jump on their bikes and use the bike system, that nobody uses. The city also has paved pot holes on their main roads. The parks are loaded with homeless people drugs etc. There are many reasons not to move here!!
Amen
Never heard anyone call it Silicon Valley north
@@ItsHaze same. Such a fucking weird statement for this channel to make..
The bike network is improving a lot and more people are jumping on bikes for mental and physical health reasons. Also, less emissions too. Cars shouldn't be required but an option.
@@pbilk 95 percent of bike owners have cars....there is reason for that.
Simple answer is no. It used to be a great place to live until they opened the direct pipeline from India. I've been here for 47 years and feel like an outsider now. Look elsewhere......cuz this aint it
Should have included Cambridge
Thanks for the tip. We’ll check out the area.😉