North Bay?

[Cpl4Life]

Can anyone here fill me in on what North Bay is like for real estate and family friendliness?  Is the MFRC there pretty active?  Real estate seems pretty pricey, we'd be looking for something a few km's from base and it seems you get a 2 bdrm shack for just over $200K.  The nicer homes seem to run around $350K which I'm not sure we could afford unless we rented out a few rooms or a basement suite.

Anyone here from North Bay or who knows the area and city well?  I'd just like to get an idea of what's there for my family, and an idea of any good or bad areas near the base.

 

[danchapps]

Family wise, North Bay is a decent place to live. Not much going for the kids community centre wise. There are however many outdoor rinks and the waterfront is nice during the summer, just be sure to towel off VERY well, or even better is to shower right away. What age group is your family? I could give some advice on place to go and waht not.

As for Real Estate, if you are looking for something decent, try Thibault Hill (sp?), West Ferris, and the Pinewood area. Forget about a cheap place on Airport Hill, it may be close to work, but that's where all the rich folks live, and it's priced accordingly. I've known many military pers who have bought in the West Ferris area on Massey Drive and surrounding streets.

Enjoy it there, it's a nice city to live in. (I can't wait to go back for the holidays myself)

 

[ArmyGuy99]

Welcome to the Great Wide North  ;D,

While I'm from Sudbury (Before Enlisting) and not North Bay however, I have been there many times.  If you want cheaper but good prices, head west toward Sturgeon Falls or Markstay/Warren.  Stay out of St. Charles and Noelville, the real estate can be a a bit pricey.  

The family life in the North is Great.  99.9% of people you will meet are the nicest you will ever meet, and there is always something to do and somewhere to go.  Especially if you like camping and hiking etc... I'm not too sure on places to live/not live so hopefully someone from there can help you out.

Oh, and bring a shovel you're gonna need it in a few days, err I mean weeks  :crybaby:

 

[danchapps]

Welcome to the Great Wide North  ;D,

While I'm from Sudbury (Before Enlisting) and not North Bay however, I have been there many times.  If you want cheaper but good prices, head west toward Sturgeon Falls or Markstay/Warren.  Stay out of St. Charles and Noelville, the real estate can be a a bit pricey.

The only problem with those sudgestions I would have MedTech32 is the commute time, especially in winter. As we both know there is no business like snow business (did I just say that???) in Northern Ontario. In the winter, the longer distances add much more time to the commute, especially considering the "hills" one must deal with en route to work. Plus, with a family, one should have a decent area so the kids can play, and be social. Sturgeon Falls, mmmm, not so social I think.

Edit to add:

Cpl4Life, I would also higly sudgest some good winter tires, and a decent winter emegency kit for the car (shovel, blankets, kitty litter/gravel) because you never know what's around the next corner in the north. My tire guy when I lived there was Shane at Shane Brooks OK Tire on Main St.

And if you are interested in taking the family to some movies, the Capitol Centre has second run movies pretty near every Sunday night for $5 a person. They also feature concerts, touring Broadway shows and much more. (Any questions about the venue let me know, I spent a long time there in the shadows!)

 

[ArmyGuy99]

Chapeski,

I guess I'm too used to it, that I'm not bothered by it, I lived 20 min north of Sudbury in Hanmer, and that can be quite fun the commute into town.  Although I see your point for anyone new to the area and not used to Northern Roads.

Cpl4Life;

On the whole enjoy all the snow and invest in a  snow blower.  And remember as long as it's snowing, it's not colder than -30 , or freezing rain.  Seriously though there isn't anything more beautiful than the Boreal Forest after a snow fall.

 

[navymich]

Cpl4Life:

Your profile mentions something about going into recruiting...are you going to be at CFRC then?  If so, that will change some of the issues posted by the others re: commute and pricing around Airport Hill.  As well, if you can post the ages of your children too.

I am currently living in the PMQs on base.  This is preferable for my family for several reasons.  I am a shift worker, so being able to walk to work at all hours and in all kinds of weather is a great timesaver (and not having to shovel out a vehicle is nice too!).  My SO also works on base, so overall it is a great money saver on gas.  Our kids are involved in several activities with the MFRC and they also have a great network for spouses.  It is a small community.  This can be nice at times when the kids are roaming and playing all about and they are safe.  But it gets a bit much at times when everyone knows everyone else and their business too.

I came to North Bay from Victoria, so it is a change (besides the weather!).  You feel isolated at times, and there is only so many places to go and things to do.  But if you're an outdoors-type, the scenery is great and the activities are numerous.

Ask away with more questions.  If I can't help you, I will ask around with others that I work with and try to help you out.

 

[Cpl4Life]

Thanks everyone.  I've been told it's North Bay or Trenton, and of course it could end up being neither.  I just want to get a general idea about the real estate around each base.  If I could buy a house that's not much further out than a PMQ I would do that in a heartbeat.  I bike to work where I am currently and my wife walks almost everywhere so we barely take our vehicle out... barely as in maybe once or twice a month! And we'd like to keep it that way at our next posting if possible.  I'm done with recruiting, I should update my profile to reflect my current situation.

Airmich you seem to think the same way my wife and I do, we like to keep our vehicle off the road to save gas.  Plus I find it's just an easy way for me to fit more exercise into my day.  The only problem is that we want to keep in the real estate market now we have a bit of equity built up.  The pmq's are very attractive location wise though.  So living off base is a royal pain unless you have two vehicles on the road, or at least one but thats a pain because I'd either have to carpool or get my wife to drop me off and if she wants to go home and back it's double the gas which isn't so nice on the pocketbook.

I'd like to buy a house as close to base/the resource center as possible, if we can afford it that is.  Do you think it's reasonable for us to want to restrict our house purchase to real estate only very close to base? I mean are there a fair number of houses really close by?

 

[navymich]

They are building a bunch of new places both on Airport Rd and Carmichael Drive.  These are both at the top of the hill and would give you a decent walk to base without being too far.  Walking from the Q's doesn't give you too much of a workout.  Even breaking through 2 feet of fresh snow at 6am, it still only took me less then 10 mins to get to work.

Sorry, I'm not in the Bay right now and won't be back for a bit.  Maybe someone else can give you the info on the new places I mentioned above, or give a call to a couple of realtors in town and they should be able to point you in the right direction.

 

[421_434_226]

North Bay is not a bad place to live at all, as mentioned if you want to live on Airport hill you will pay through the nose for a house. I live in West Ferris and 180 to 200K will get you a very decent house in my opinion, but then that is only my opinion. I will make see how much I can find out WRT the new places being built in the base area although I would make a guess that they will be well over the 250K range. At the bottom of the hill the prices are closer to the West Ferris area.

 

[Griswald DME]

Any Realtor recommendations for North Bay?  And recommendations on realtors to avoid?

 

[421_434_226]

Griswald, DME  PM inbound