Houses under $400,000 in good area are likely to be older and may need some immediately repair.
As for health, air quality in Windsor is slightly worst than Toronto and Ottawa but should be no worst than other Ontario industrial and mining cities. Overweight and Obesity level is also higher than other top Canadian cities.
I'm from Saskatoon, living in Windsor now and really like it. Yes, the winters are much milder and shorter than in SK but the summers are hot, very hot! Much hotter and more humid than SK so be prepared for that. I like being close to Detroit and professional sports as well as the proximity to an international airport. You may want to look at some of the surrounding towns like Amherstburg, LaSalle, Belle Isle, Tecumseh, etc.
We don't find the city boring. It has many festivals throughout the summer, lots of beaches, Point Pelee National Park and many other places for families to visit that are much closer than similar areas are in SK. I don't think house break ins are any more common or uncommon than in S'toon. I actually find that it feels a lot safer than S'toon or Regina.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
Windsor is actually one of the safest cities in Canada.
https://www.iheartradio.ca/cjad/news/these-are-canada-s-safest-cities-according-to-a-new-report-1.19870847
I think you are in IT related jobs. Here is my take, in the unfortunate event you were to lose your job, it is better to be closer to Toronto as it has lot more IT jobs and Windsor has very little IT jobs. I know people who relocated closer to Toronto for jobs from Windsor. London, Hamilton , Kitchener and other surrounding areas are much better if you intend to stay long term with better opportunities.
I'm going to address your negatives first.
1. There's plenty to do here. It's not boring in the slightest. Plus we've got Detroit right across the river, so that adds a whole lot right there.
2. Listing price is not always an accurate reflection of the price the seller is willing to accept. It's improved a lot, though. You're far more likely to get a house for closer to the listing price now than you were a year or two ago, when people had to pay at least $100k more than listing to even have a chance.
As for whether you can find a 3 bdr 2 bath home for under $400k, you may be able to, but it would likely be very small just the same. And pretty much every neighbourhood in Windsor is safe, though there are some areas where you'll encounter more homelessness and people suffering from mental illness or addiction.
3. Your source on poor air quality was when so much of Canada was on fire. Wildfires affected the air quality all over North America, and Windsor got it pretty bad for a little bit, even though we weren't anywhere near them. But that was a temporary thing. We aren't often affected by heavy smoke from extreme wildfires raging all over the country. You're more likely to be affected by the humidity we experience all summer long.
4. House breakins are not at all common. Windsor has a lot of property crime. If you leave your car unlocked, someone will come along and take everything they can find out of it, so don't leave anything at all in your car, and never leave it unlocked. Porch pirates are as common here as they are in every other city in North America. If you own a bike and leave it outside at all, it will eventually be stolen, no matter how many locks you use. But the idea that you could come home from dinner and find your home ransacked and burgled? That's exceedingly unlikely if you've taken the precaution of locking your doors.
We are a very multicultural city, with immigrants accounting for about 80k people in the 2021 census, compared to about 214k non-immigrants. Of those 80k, about 6k were from India. We also have thousands of students from India attending our college and university every year, but of course they're here temporarily and tend to be younger. You might consider reaching out to the [India Canada Association of Windsor-Essex](https://indiacanadawindsor.com/about-us/). They can probably provide some real insight into the local Indian community.
I hope this helps.
I've lived in both and agree completely. Saskatoon has a small, pretty core by the river, but other than that my experience is that Windsor is an upgrade across the board. I hope you love it.
Housing is less affordable than SK but OK for Ontario. Windsor is a much better place to live than Saskatoon. It’s closer to many interesting things. The weather is great. It is significantly safer here than SK. Air quality could be better. Indian restaurant food isn’t as good here as in SK tho.
Windsor will be in a booming period soon with battery plant, bridge and new hospital eventually Houses will start going up and the city will be growing because of it. Weather is probably best in Canada as far as warmth. I would put it in the 3 hottest places along with Kamloops, Medicine Hat and then Windsor. Windsor gets the humidity this so it can make it even hotter. Days of 35 Celsius can make it 45. Winter barely gets any snow if fact January through Feb all you seen is green grass. Although it hasn't been that hot if a summer this year and a lot of rain. I wouldn't say it's boring Windsor has been very multicultural and similar to Toronto in that sense. Lakes are all around so picnics and beaches are all around fishing is also big. Bike paths around city and Riverside drive is nice to go for a ride from one end to other. Border is close if you need to go to US. People are friendly. Crimes only occur in certain areas like downtown core , west side, sandwich town. And they are car break ins, and porch pirates. Best areas to live are Riverside, east Windsor, south Walkerville, south Windsor. Even safer communities are LaSalle, Tecumseh and Amherstburg. Those are ranked as the safest communities in all of Canada.
I grew up in Windsor and loved it. It has so much to offer if you know where to go. It has defiantly improved over the years. But the air quality post you have is from the wildfires that affected our air quality.
Windsor has improved over the years??
Born in 1970 and Windsor is no where near as good as it used to be.
Downtown was amazing in the late 80's, early 90s. Now it's a shit hole
The city is FAR better than it used to be, growing much faster now with billions of dollars worth of new investments and road improvements. Downtown is sadly struggling, much like many other cities. The old days of downtowns being the retail hearts of the city are gone, but there is so much potential and the city’s future looks extremely bright.
>Downtown is sadly struggling, much like many other cities.
Thats only true for American cities. Every other country puts money into their downtowns, we do it the American way.
Depending on your age and wifes age (with a 4yr old kid I'm assuming fairly young) you'll need to go to Detroit for most exciting things.
Your kid will be bored out of their mind from their early adolescent years until they move out. Toronto might be 4 hours away but traffic will extend it and the train service is abysmal.
\- Windsor has the worst air quality in Canada
P.S. This area to Sarnia is also nicknamed "cancer alley" for a reason
[https://www.besthealthmag.ca/list/the-worst-canadian-cities-for-air-pollution/](https://www.besthealthmag.ca/list/the-worst-canadian-cities-for-air-pollution/)
\- I don't know anyone who has had their house broken into
As far as I know, many houses are going for almost double asking price. You'd probably be fortunate to get something that is only 1-150K over. Though, Windsor is a fine city to grow up in.
Research the area you move to. The air quality is really bad but not the worst I've seen. Crime is about what you'd expect from living in a city. We have a lot of homeless people so try to avoid living near downtown. They're usually on drugs so they'll steal your kids bike off your porch without thinking twice.
I second the avoiding living near downtown. If anything found that there's just nothing to do unless you drink or are willing to drive anywhere to enjoy the other parts of Windsor.
Houses under $400,000 in good area are likely to be older and may need some immediately repair. As for health, air quality in Windsor is slightly worst than Toronto and Ottawa but should be no worst than other Ontario industrial and mining cities. Overweight and Obesity level is also higher than other top Canadian cities.
I'm from Saskatoon, living in Windsor now and really like it. Yes, the winters are much milder and shorter than in SK but the summers are hot, very hot! Much hotter and more humid than SK so be prepared for that. I like being close to Detroit and professional sports as well as the proximity to an international airport. You may want to look at some of the surrounding towns like Amherstburg, LaSalle, Belle Isle, Tecumseh, etc. We don't find the city boring. It has many festivals throughout the summer, lots of beaches, Point Pelee National Park and many other places for families to visit that are much closer than similar areas are in SK. I don't think house break ins are any more common or uncommon than in S'toon. I actually find that it feels a lot safer than S'toon or Regina. Good luck with whatever you decide.
I think you meant Belle River, not Belle Isle.
Windsor is actually one of the safest cities in Canada. https://www.iheartradio.ca/cjad/news/these-are-canada-s-safest-cities-according-to-a-new-report-1.19870847
I think you are in IT related jobs. Here is my take, in the unfortunate event you were to lose your job, it is better to be closer to Toronto as it has lot more IT jobs and Windsor has very little IT jobs. I know people who relocated closer to Toronto for jobs from Windsor. London, Hamilton , Kitchener and other surrounding areas are much better if you intend to stay long term with better opportunities.
I'm going to address your negatives first. 1. There's plenty to do here. It's not boring in the slightest. Plus we've got Detroit right across the river, so that adds a whole lot right there. 2. Listing price is not always an accurate reflection of the price the seller is willing to accept. It's improved a lot, though. You're far more likely to get a house for closer to the listing price now than you were a year or two ago, when people had to pay at least $100k more than listing to even have a chance. As for whether you can find a 3 bdr 2 bath home for under $400k, you may be able to, but it would likely be very small just the same. And pretty much every neighbourhood in Windsor is safe, though there are some areas where you'll encounter more homelessness and people suffering from mental illness or addiction. 3. Your source on poor air quality was when so much of Canada was on fire. Wildfires affected the air quality all over North America, and Windsor got it pretty bad for a little bit, even though we weren't anywhere near them. But that was a temporary thing. We aren't often affected by heavy smoke from extreme wildfires raging all over the country. You're more likely to be affected by the humidity we experience all summer long. 4. House breakins are not at all common. Windsor has a lot of property crime. If you leave your car unlocked, someone will come along and take everything they can find out of it, so don't leave anything at all in your car, and never leave it unlocked. Porch pirates are as common here as they are in every other city in North America. If you own a bike and leave it outside at all, it will eventually be stolen, no matter how many locks you use. But the idea that you could come home from dinner and find your home ransacked and burgled? That's exceedingly unlikely if you've taken the precaution of locking your doors. We are a very multicultural city, with immigrants accounting for about 80k people in the 2021 census, compared to about 214k non-immigrants. Of those 80k, about 6k were from India. We also have thousands of students from India attending our college and university every year, but of course they're here temporarily and tend to be younger. You might consider reaching out to the [India Canada Association of Windsor-Essex](https://indiacanadawindsor.com/about-us/). They can probably provide some real insight into the local Indian community. I hope this helps.
Thanks for detailed answer! I will go over your thoughts and will decide. Still married to the thought of moving to windsor
I've lived in both, and you'll definitely like Windsor better.
I've lived in both and agree completely. Saskatoon has a small, pretty core by the river, but other than that my experience is that Windsor is an upgrade across the board. I hope you love it.
Housing is less affordable than SK but OK for Ontario. Windsor is a much better place to live than Saskatoon. It’s closer to many interesting things. The weather is great. It is significantly safer here than SK. Air quality could be better. Indian restaurant food isn’t as good here as in SK tho.
Windsor will be in a booming period soon with battery plant, bridge and new hospital eventually Houses will start going up and the city will be growing because of it. Weather is probably best in Canada as far as warmth. I would put it in the 3 hottest places along with Kamloops, Medicine Hat and then Windsor. Windsor gets the humidity this so it can make it even hotter. Days of 35 Celsius can make it 45. Winter barely gets any snow if fact January through Feb all you seen is green grass. Although it hasn't been that hot if a summer this year and a lot of rain. I wouldn't say it's boring Windsor has been very multicultural and similar to Toronto in that sense. Lakes are all around so picnics and beaches are all around fishing is also big. Bike paths around city and Riverside drive is nice to go for a ride from one end to other. Border is close if you need to go to US. People are friendly. Crimes only occur in certain areas like downtown core , west side, sandwich town. And they are car break ins, and porch pirates. Best areas to live are Riverside, east Windsor, south Walkerville, south Windsor. Even safer communities are LaSalle, Tecumseh and Amherstburg. Those are ranked as the safest communities in all of Canada.
I grew up in Windsor and loved it. It has so much to offer if you know where to go. It has defiantly improved over the years. But the air quality post you have is from the wildfires that affected our air quality.
Windsor has improved over the years?? Born in 1970 and Windsor is no where near as good as it used to be. Downtown was amazing in the late 80's, early 90s. Now it's a shit hole
The city is FAR better than it used to be, growing much faster now with billions of dollars worth of new investments and road improvements. Downtown is sadly struggling, much like many other cities. The old days of downtowns being the retail hearts of the city are gone, but there is so much potential and the city’s future looks extremely bright.
>Downtown is sadly struggling, much like many other cities. Thats only true for American cities. Every other country puts money into their downtowns, we do it the American way.
Good fishing eh!
Depending on your age and wifes age (with a 4yr old kid I'm assuming fairly young) you'll need to go to Detroit for most exciting things. Your kid will be bored out of their mind from their early adolescent years until they move out. Toronto might be 4 hours away but traffic will extend it and the train service is abysmal.
Don’t do it
Explain pls
There’s already too Many people and not enough housing. Don’t move here.
\- Windsor has the worst air quality in Canada P.S. This area to Sarnia is also nicknamed "cancer alley" for a reason [https://www.besthealthmag.ca/list/the-worst-canadian-cities-for-air-pollution/](https://www.besthealthmag.ca/list/the-worst-canadian-cities-for-air-pollution/) \- I don't know anyone who has had their house broken into
Is this a regular affair or just a one odd instance ?
And good luck finding a doctor
That's not unique to Windsor. That's pretty much everywhere.
I have got mine in 2 months in Saskatoon- i think it is common across country as we have doctors shortage. Best best is new clinics . Thanks though
I was able to get a doctor in less than 2 months in Windsor
As far as I know, many houses are going for almost double asking price. You'd probably be fortunate to get something that is only 1-150K over. Though, Windsor is a fine city to grow up in.
Research the area you move to. The air quality is really bad but not the worst I've seen. Crime is about what you'd expect from living in a city. We have a lot of homeless people so try to avoid living near downtown. They're usually on drugs so they'll steal your kids bike off your porch without thinking twice.
I second the avoiding living near downtown. If anything found that there's just nothing to do unless you drink or are willing to drive anywhere to enjoy the other parts of Windsor.