Why we bought in the North End of Hamilton

Leslieville to Jamesville

Like a lot of people lately, we recently moved to Hamilton from Toronto.  Talk about a life changing decision!  The prospect of leaving a home and neighbourhood we loved, the friends we've made there over the years and moving the kids away from a school and group of friends that they've had as long as they can remember was difficult to say the least and inspired many tears and doubts along the way, but in the end we realized it was the right move for us.  This is how it happened.

So why did we move?  Well, When we bought our house we had no idea how much stuff goes with 2 kids. When you have small children, it's easy to say...no problem, our kids get along great.  They'll love sharing a small room when they are in their teens.  But soon that possibility started feeling a bit less likely as every crack and crevice of the house filled up with...stuff.   Our 2 bedrooms felt far too crowded for the amount we were paying each month to cover the mortgage and the option of building on an addition to the house was not in the financial cards.

The biggest reality however was that we were sinking.  We were making our mortgage and bill payments but with the size of our mortgage, there wasn't much left at the end of each month.   Things like saving for retirement, our children's' education, taking any kind of vacation or even going out for dinner occasionally we becoming a daily point of stress in our lives.

So it was late one summer night when we came to the realization that if we were going to stay afloat financially, we'd need to move.  Our house had doubled in value since we bought and we realized that if we sold our house and bought in a less expensive area we could get out from under the pressure we were feeling.

The next day we spoke to our realtor and the race was on to prep our home for sale.  Our goal was to sell and buy a home in time for our kids to start their new school in September.  That meant that we needed to sell, buy and move in the space of about 45 days.

Our search criteria were pretty straight forward:

• We were hoping to purchase a home with at least 3 bedrooms for under $300,000
• We wanted to be close to a GO Train station
• We hoped for a neighbourhood that had some of the same attributes that we enjoyed in Leslieville (our Toronto neighbourhood) - specifically we wanted it to be walkable with parks, shops and restaurants nearby
• Walking distance to school 

Affordability

The first criteria had us immediately considering as far East as Port Hope and as far West as Brantford and to some extent Guelph, but when we started to take into account the proximity to GO transit, Hamilton went from dark horse to front runner really quickly.

Hamilton was initially the dark horse because of our preconceptions about steel town.  I'll admit that we had all too readily accepted the stereotype of Hamilton as a dirty industrial place with a lack of culture.   MLS searches however kept teasing us with sub $300K and sub $350K listings that offered much more house for the money, and we learned about the growing art scene and the GO transit development happening in the city so we decided to focus our search in Hamilton.

Initially we were very interested in the Gage Park area for the style of the homes and all that living near one of the main parks in the city has to offer.     A Google map search for the Go Station however (our second search criterion) revealed a pretty long bus trip to catch the train every morning and we missed a central walk-able street where we could shop or grab a bite to eat. When we drive through that area we still love the old brick homes.

We moved our search a bit further West - we didn't really consider some of the recently popular neighbourhoods like the Locke Street area for the simple reason that that area was already priced outside of our target, so we started investigating areas near Tim Horton's Field, Beasley and finally after accidentally driving North up James...The North End.

Homes along Simcoe Street E. 

I should point out that while we were prepping our Toronto Home for sale, we hired a guy to help with painting and some of the moving.  When we were working together one day I mentioned that we were looking at Hamilton - and he immediately said "Don't go to the North End".  That warning along a couple of off handed references to the changes happening in the North End and a suggestion from a friend that we consider looking there really got me interested. 

Why would a comment like "Don't go to the North End" get me interested?  Well I should explain that when we bought our first house in the Leslieville area of Toronto, Leslieville  was not a great area.  It was "up and coming" but certainly had not arrived.   When we moved into our first home most homes were either owned by seniors or rented out - there weren't many children and there weren't a lot of options for dining or entertainment.   Soon however, houses sold and as soon as they did, there were dumpsters on the front lawn, renovations completed and shortly after that - baby carriages.  We bought our house in 2005 for about $350K and watched as the first Starbucks (then a second) opened, restaurants popped up and most importantly, houses were sold and bought completely transforming the neighbourhood.  Little by little restaurants and shops opened. As more houses sold and were updated the neighbourhood lost its dated and run down look and home buyers increasingly started to buy in the neighbourhood for what was there rather than what they could imagine.  We sold in 2015 for more than double what we paid.  The North end we felt was on the cusp of a similar transition.

But what were the North End's selling features for us?

James Street North

We were immediately drawn to James Street North's restaurants, art galleries and shops which also play host to the monthly art crawls and annual supercrawl.  The section of James Street that stretches from Main down to the harbour, features updated buildings such as the Lister Block, and the restored building which houses CBC Hamilton, the Hamilton Art Gallery's Design Annex as well as more established businesses.  On a walk down James you will see Chinese, Korean, middle eastern, Indian, Mexican and Caribbean dining, a variety of services from salons and spas (The Ten Spot has a location here) to dry cleaners and health food stores as well as dressmakers, chocolatiers, and numerous other specialty and niche shops.    James Street North continues to grow - Since September 1st (when we arrived) we have seen the addition of a combination barbershop & bar, a fantastic (and reasonably priced) artisan pizza place, a Mexican restaurant, and a few boutiques.

James Street N. 

Transit

The entrance to below grade parking at the West Harbour Go (still under construction)

Construction at West Harbour Go Station is coming along

Living close to a GO train station was really important for us - we didn't want my wife's commute to be any longer than it needed to be.  The West Harbour GO station is still under construction but they are currently running two trains morning and evening.  In addition to the West Harbour Station, we are a quick bus ride to the Hamilton (downtown) Go Station and a 10 minute drive to Aldershot which offers train departures every half hour.  As the West Harbour Station is completed there will be several hundred parking spots and a more robust schedule.  It's difficult to tell from my photos, but an enormous amount of progress has been made on this station since September.

One more thing - if you have a Presto Card, you're set for Hamilton Transit since it's accepted on all routes...I hear Toronto's catching up to Hamilton on this one soon :)

Green Space and the Waterfront

Parks Parks and more Parks

Beach Area of Bayfront Park

We are really looking forward to this coming summer and enjoying Bayfront Park (only a short walk away) when the weather warms up.  The trails and green space along the waterfront here in Hamilton are really outstanding.  Starting from the foot of John / Catherine streets where the National Historical Site where the HMCS Haida (a WW2 destroyer) is permanently docked and heading West and then around Burlington Bay and into Cootes Paradise the trails are a great place to enjoy biking, hiking or in the summer...a tour train ride.

One of the things that a lot of people forget when they think of the Hamilton Waterfront is that from the Bay, you enjoy a view of the Burlington waterfront, not the view that you see from the Burlington Skyway.

View of Burlington Bay from Bayfront Park

As you get into the area known as Cootes Paradise it is really easy to forget that you're even in a city.

Hiking at Cootes Paradise

Winter Fun Too!

In the winter, Pier 4 offers a full NHL sized outdoor rink with a beautiful view of the bay (and a coffee shop to warm up in) and is the site of the kickoff party for Winterfest 

So...Did we make it?

I'm happy to report that we found our home in the North End and closed both our properties on September 1st in time for the new school year.  The neighbourhood welcomed us from day one from the delicious Portuguese baked goods that our neighbour drops off from time to time, to the grocery store clerks who helped me understand Hamilton Recycling and the warm welcome our kids received at school.  The local shops, restaurants and businesses have amazed me with the great service and quality they offer and we are really glad that we chose to move to the North end of Hamilton.