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  #61  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 12:28 PM
megadude megadude is offline
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Grew up in North York and Brampton. Two places I very much dislike driving through now let alone going back to live. Of course, they have some perks too, but too many things I don't like. For starters, the masses of people and cars. I also lived in Mississauga, in a nice area close to the Credit but same thing, I very much dislike being met with traffic on a weekend as soon as you turn onto Mavis or Dundas or whatever road.

Then I moved to Burlington and then Oakville. Very hard for me to go anywhere else now. I'm just so used to nice downtowns that you can cover on a walk within one hour. Places big enough to keep you interested and going back more but not too big. And there's more than just DT that is interesting. Kerr Village, Bronte Village, Lowville, Kilbride, Hidden Valley, Aldershot, Burlington Beach for instance are unique in terms of housing and geography and feel like actual communities (Caledon is another town with a few unique communities but those are really spread out and at least Markham has Old Markham and Unionville).

And rush hour traffic that is relavitely tolerable. It's not as bad as elsewhere. And the LSW GO Train line that runs on weekends unlike almost all the other lines. Rush hour on Trafalgar is like Saturday traffic in Bram, Sauga, NY, Etobicoke or Scarbs.

Go grocery shopping in Brampton or most of Mississauga on a Saturday afternoon and see what the checkout lines are like. Then try that in Burlington and especially Oakville. I have seen half hour lineups in Bramton before. I've been in one. In Oakville you'd be annoyed after three minutes because you're so used to not having to weave around hoardes of people in the aisles while shopping and standing in a lineup that goes through the aisle.

Interesting hiking and walking opportunities abound. Be it by the lake, escarpment or in a river valley in the middle of the city. That includes a provincial park plus conservation areas. I touched more on the geography on the first page. For anglers, it's kind of like coastal Florida where you have saltwater or freshwater opportunties all around with canals in between. You can fish Lake O for trophy Salmon or Lake Trout by downrigging a few hundred metres or many miles offshore or fish for bass, pike, carp inland in small lakes or the several creeks and rivers (can catch those salmon and trout there too during their spawns). Though many of these small lakes aren't actually within city boundaries but are close by in the rest of Halton Region in Milton and so on.

And yeah, many times I have no snow and then head up to Brampton and there's snow. This is also the case when I take the GO train and see snow in Etobicoke for instance. That's pretty rare but it happens more often when I continue past Union heading east to Scarboro or Pickering.

As for the malls, if you're younger then you want Yorkdale or Square One. Perhaps even Sherway or Bramalea City Centre. Bigger places with fancier renovations with more stores geared towards young folks. But as you get older, you probably want to be away from the riff raff those places attract and from a sea of people. Plus you want easy parking. Not wandering around looking for parking then settling for a spot that is a few feet away from the 401 like at Yorkdale. This is where Oakville Place, Burlington Centre and Mapleview come in. For some reason, the last two are only five minutes apart. The last two days I have been to those first two malls with the kids because they had March Break events and they weren't packed with people. And parking was easy.

Two people I've worked with that live in nice houses in nice areas, in Port Credit and Oakville, both said in retirement, the farthest they'll move is to Burlington because they can better value in terms of a house itself but not give up too much on the surroundings they enjoy. One is from Northern NB. The other is from Port Stanley by Lake Erie, but he actually said he could retire to a place between Port Stanley and London but it's his wife that won't let them leave southern Halton Region.

Like you mentioned, if you want some urban experiences while being far enough from the big city but also close enough for when you want to go there, DT Burl is hard to beat.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LightingGuy View Post
Burlington, ON:

I realize suburban living ain't for everyone, but for those that like su urban living it's pretty tough to beat Burlington. It doesn't have the soullessness that you find in large tracts of Markham and Mississauga.

- We have an actual skyline.

- nice little microclimate within the region. We get 99cm of snow per year vs 130+ cm elsewhere in the GTA. Our temperatures year round are also slightly warmer. We are comfortably in DFa territory.

- Our suburban downtown is actually interesting, and well-used by the locals. There are many pubs, and we have the best lakefront park of all the GTA suburbs. In the summer there are all kinds if festivals, with some notable ones being Sound of Music and Ribfest

- In general Burlington actually has a lot of stuff to do compared to other similar-sized suburbs. We have 2 pool halls, multiple bowling alleys, lord knows how many escape rooms, 2 large indoor malls, a YukYuks, and lots more.

- Access. We have 30 min trains to Toronto all day every day including weekends. When driving, I can get to downtown Toronto in 40 min, downtown Hamilton in 15, Niagara Falls in 50, Buffalo in an hour, KW in 45, London in 1.25hr, and Windsor in 3ish.

- A unique mix of housing stock, compared to Oakville next door at least. Burlington has a LOT of older townhouses that are actually nice, and some of them are very unique styles and frankly, just practical. Not just compound after compound of 600 sqft condos and stacked townhouse crap. Just go on Realtor.ca and check it out.

- We have a strong corporate presence, with lots of mid-sized companies' offices. If you look at Burlington on google maps, you'll notice that the commercial-industrial area around the highway and train tracks is actually quite substantial compared to Oakville next door. A lot of people who live here also work here.

- Low property taxes and the place hasn't turned into a shithole. Hamilton property taxes are double, and their roads are far worse.

- The escarpment is right beside with lots of interesting hiking trails. We have 6 conservation areas within the city, all connected to the Bruce Trail.

Last edited by megadude; Mar 22, 2023 at 2:07 AM.
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  #62  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 12:51 PM
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Afaik, Leamington has the largest cluster of greenhouses in the world.
I dunno. I flew into Bogota (Colombia) a few years back, and from the air, the view was greenhouses....for fucking miles on end (Colombia supplies most of the cut flowers for North America)
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  #63  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 12:53 PM
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I can't see myself ever living in the GTA suburbs but if I had to it would likely be Burlington, which I've long said is my favourite 905 suburb for many of the reasons listed above. While obviously part of the GTA it does feel a bit more like its own city - the downtown in particular being more functional as a place where residents can both live and go out. Oakville is more picturesque but obviously VERY expensive (in the parts I like at least) and I find the downtown to be less functional than Burlington. Lots of "galleries" and restaurants charging more than they should - not as many chill pubs or places to get groceries. Transit is also better in Burlington.
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  #64  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 12:56 PM
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Originally Posted by MolsonExport View Post
I dunno. I flew into Bogota (Colombia) a few years back, and from the air, the view was greenhouses....for fucking miles on end (Colombia supplies most of the cut flowers for North America)

The Netherlands also has a massive cluster near The Hague/Rotterdam: https://goo.gl/maps/eoPPC6KJKnaikKtT9

There could be a distinction in the type of greenhouse construction like flar mentioned.
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  #65  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 1:20 PM
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Originally Posted by harls View Post
There is also the Teaches of Peaches..

Back on topic, yes Gatineau does have a great recycling and compost program, and it seems everyone on my street participates. More with recycling than the compost, though.
It's weird when I go to visit people in other places and they just dump everything in green garbage bags and it all still goes to the landfill.
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  #66  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 1:44 PM
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It's weird when I go to visit people in other places and they just dump everything in green garbage bags and it all still goes to the landfill.
I remember reading an article a while back that said recycling recovery rates were actually quite low, there is only a viable market for certain recyclables (can't remember which ones exactly), and after sorting a lot of it ends up going to the dump anyway.

I still recycle (it's not much of an effort), but I can appreciate if some people just don't want to bother.

Winnipeg is behind the times when it comes to composting though, there is no municipal program here which is something that visitors from other places always remark on I can't be bothered to run my own compost, my next door neighbour has one and it smells like hell in the summer.
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  #67  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 1:51 PM
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I remember reading an article a while back that said recycling recovery rates were actually quite low, there is only a viable market for certain recyclables (can't remember which ones exactly), and after sorting a lot of it ends up going to the dump anyway.

I still recycle (it's not much of an effort), but I can appreciate if some people just don't want to bother.

Winnipeg is behind the times when it comes to composting though, there is no municipal program here which is something that visitors from other places always remark on I can't be bothered to run my own compost, my next door neighbour has one and it smells like hell in the summer.
We hear some of that in Gatineau and Quebec as well. As I mentioned, it's very imperfect here too, though I think it's nonetheless important to get people on board with the mindset as quickly as we can. (And for the most part, it's worked I think.)
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  #68  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 1:56 PM
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We’re middle of the road as well. No municipal compost collection. You’re allowed one black “privacy bag” per week, all other garbage bags must be clear. Recycling in blue bags is mandatory. Council workers will leave you a warning and eventually a fine if they see anything in your clear bags that should be recycled instead - though I doubt we pay them enough to actually check.
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  #69  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 1:59 PM
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Originally Posted by MolsonExport View Post
(Colombia supplies most of the cut flowers for North America)
And a good deal of the cocaine too.

Can you grow coca plants in greenhouses???
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  #70  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 2:00 PM
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Montreal's little perks, something I can't believe we don't have in our other Canadian cities (outside Quebec): the ability to leave your flat, cross the street, hop into a Dep and buy some beer.
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  #71  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 2:03 PM
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Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker View Post
We’re middle of the road as well. No municipal compost collection. You’re allowed one black “privacy bag” per week, all other garbage bags must be clear. Recycling in blue bags is mandatory. Council workers will leave you a warning and eventually a fine if they see anything in your clear bags that should be recycled instead - though I doubt we pay them enough to actually check.
What the hell!?!?

I've never heard of the garbagemen acting as garbage police

I wonder what made the council recognize the need for the "privacy bag"?

The system in Winnipeg, as you will recall, is super easy. All recyclables just get dumped loose into the bins and gets sorted at a plant. Only shredded paper has to go into clear blue bags. However, the system may have backfired because the recycling authorities are always pleading with people not to dump non-recyclables into the bins... coffee cups/food containers are often mentioned, even diapers (who on earth would think that filled diapers are recyclable!??!).
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  #72  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 2:05 PM
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I've never heard of the garbagemen acting as garbage police
Garbagemen in Moncton are authorized to refuse pick-up of bags containing improperly sorted material, and to leave notes explaining why, but, this has never happened to me (I do try to sort as best as I can).
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  #73  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 2:18 PM
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Originally Posted by esquire View Post

The system in Winnipeg, as you will recall, is super easy. All recyclables just get dumped loose into the bins and gets sorted at a plant. Only shredded paper has to go into clear blue bags. However, the system may have backfired because the recycling authorities are always pleading with people not to dump non-recyclables into the bins... coffee cups/food containers are often mentioned, even diapers (who on earth would think that filled diapers are recyclable!??!).
Yes, that approach is way easier, but ends up resulting in a lot of cross-contamination--usually food and grease on recyclables, which renders them impossible to recycle. Then they end up in landfill. Sorting at the residence is a pain, but the landfill-diversion rate is generally much higher.
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  #74  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 2:26 PM
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Yes, that approach is way easier, but ends up resulting in a lot of cross-contamination--usually food and grease on recyclables, which renders them impossible to recycle. Then they end up in landfill. Sorting at the residence is a pain, but the landfill-diversion rate is generally much higher.
Yes, I think that is probably the tradeoff... the system here is accessible and easy which results in more volume overall, but it probably does lead to more contaminated bins where everything ends up in the garbage.

I looked it up and apparently the contamination rate in Manitoba varies between 10-15%... better than I would have thought, actually. Here's the breakdown by material:

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  #75  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 2:32 PM
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Originally Posted by niwell View Post
The Netherlands also has a massive cluster near The Hague/Rotterdam: https://goo.gl/maps/eoPPC6KJKnaikKtT9

There could be a distinction in the type of greenhouse construction like flar mentioned.
It must be some other superlative they throw around. Two of my friends worked in the greenhouse business and they always said Leamington greenhouses are the largest something or other. (Both of them got out of that industry due to stresses regarding migrant labour)
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  #76  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 2:34 PM
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Originally Posted by MonctonRad View Post
Garbagemen in Moncton are authorized to refuse pick-up of bags containing improperly sorted material, and to leave notes explaining why, but, this has never happened to me (I do try to sort as best as I can).
We got a note in Ottawa. Some idiot threw a dirty diaper in our green bin.
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  #77  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 3:08 PM
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Originally Posted by MonctonRad View Post
Garbagemen in Moncton are authorized to refuse pick-up of bags containing improperly sorted material, and to leave notes explaining why
yep, same here in London. I've received such notes, despite my efforts to be diligent.
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  #78  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 3:10 PM
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We got a note in Ottawa. Some idiot threw a dirty diaper in our green bin.
fuckers. I live on a quiet circle, with a woods on one side, which inevitably attracts legions of dog walkers; some of whom place their dog shit bags in my recycling bins and/or yard waste, and/or garbage. Pisses me off greatly.
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  #79  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 3:53 PM
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Originally Posted by esquire View Post
What the hell!?!?

I've never heard of the garbagemen acting as garbage police

I wonder what made the council recognize the need for the "privacy bag"?

The system in Winnipeg, as you will recall, is super easy. All recyclables just get dumped loose into the bins and gets sorted at a plant. Only shredded paper has to go into clear blue bags. However, the system may have backfired because the recycling authorities are always pleading with people not to dump non-recyclables into the bins... coffee cups/food containers are often mentioned, even diapers (who on earth would think that filled diapers are recyclable!??!).
In Gatineau all bins are now city-issued. We have three. Compost is picked up every single week. The recycling and garbage bins are picked up every two weeks, alternating.

For the garbage they are not supposed to pick up anything that doesn't fit inside the city-provided bin. In practice if you have stuff over the edge at the top of the bin they will take it, as long as it "sits" there.

Apparently you can buy stickers for extra garbage bags for stuff that doesn't fit in the bin, but I don't think I have ever seen anyone use those on my street.

So we might actually be making progress in terms of waste reduction. Who knows?
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  #80  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2023, 3:56 PM
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We don’t have bins downtown because the rowhouses are typically too small to easily house them. We just put out bags and are required to cover them in a blanket or garbage net to make sure it takes the seagulls an extra 30 seconds to tear into them and make a mess

(We still have door-to-door mail delivery downtown for the same reason; there was nowhere to put a community mailbox on most rowhouse blocks).

But they use the bins that can be picked up by the truck’s mechanical arm thing everywhere outside the downtown. I think black for garbage only? I could be wrong but pretty sure recycling is blue bagged only city-wide.
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