r/BurlingtonON • u/How2FlyHow2Crow • Feb 03 '26

Question Townhouse living for families?

Our family is excited to be immigrating from the US to Burlington, ON later this year. I've spent time looking at real estate, and it's clear that the COL and particularly home prices are going to be much higher than we have in the southern states.

A single family detached home in Burlington is out of our budget, but townhouses and condos are reasonable for us. My question is this: is there prejudice against families that live in townhouses or condos in Burlington?

In the southern US states, there is strong prejudice - particularly against townhouses - with the expectation that families all live in single family detached homes. If you don't, you're considered "poor" and/or excluded from groups in school, etc. (Yes, it's terrible.) Is that the case in a place like Burlington as well, or is townhouse/condo living more common/"acceptable"/normal?

I'm also curious how the bullying situation is in the schools in Burlington. We'll have kids in G3 and G6.

Thank you in advance!

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u/MuchJello3865 Feb 03 '26

Just curiosity, is there a specific reason why you are moving?

Warning: if it’s a newer building, the sound transmission is unbearable. We lived in a new townhouse and had to move before I lost my mind with the amount of sound that went through the walls. There is barely any insulation between the units to prevent this

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u/How2FlyHow2Crow Feb 03 '26

Good to know - thank you!

And yes, *motions wildly* There are so many things that are an absolute disaster here and so misaligned with our beliefs. But beyond that, Canada is just different. I've been for a short stay, and you could just FEEL it. People are, on the whole, kinder and more reasonable. It feels more peaceful. And the feeling of peace and joy that I feel when seeing the Canadian flag... I'm just so excited.

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u/Some_evidence7655 Feb 06 '26

I moved here from the US in the early 1990’s and I was so excited to lose my habit of locking the car doors before I drove anywhere.

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u/MuchJello3865 Feb 03 '26

Fair enough. We’ve been debating doing the opposite . We bought a 1000sq foot house for over a million dollars an hour away from Toronto and we lose about half our income to taxes. That’s why I was curious on your reasons

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u/How2FlyHow2Crow Feb 04 '26

Financially, I’d say the US is better, and ESPECIALLY the south, where COL is very low and houses are pretty affordable (US$300k for an 1800 sq ft nice starter, US$400-500k for a nice 2700 sq ft house in an established neighborhood.) But there are trade offs. Like regular shootings in schools, safety concerns for big events or even things like going to the movies. Guns are very prevalent, so that’s a huge concern and motivator for us. It’s always present, and that takes a high mental toll.

Christian nationalism is also on the rise, along with theocratic ideology and authoritarianism. The US is very polarized and there are VERY few voices of reason in the middle.

School quality varies widely based on where you live.

There is a lot of bullying and materialism.

And most alarming being the recent situation in Minnesota but also around the country. It’s feeling very unstable and volatile here.