Moving to Kitchener Waterloo. What kind of house do I want?

Uptown/WestmountMoving to Kitchener Waterloo was one of the best decisions I made in my life (so far). What’s funny though it wasn’t my decision, we accepted a transfer  here with my spouse’s job. We’d never been to Kitchener Waterloo before and knew no one here. To be honest really, I didn’t want to leave Taipei. But the die was cast, the deal was done and we were on our way here.

That was back in the year 2000.

We bought our first home in Taiwan, a condo on the 15th floor of a 15 floor building. I loved it up there, above the traffic, street scenes, noise, food stalls and general mayhem.

But we were moving back to Canada for the kids. This time it was going to be a house with a yard. This time we had to consider schools and neighbourhoods.

We chose wisely in moving to Westmount/UpTown where we still reside.

 

What do people want in a home?

According to a recent survey by Cartus, a global relocation company, tranferees want a bigger house with a great kitchen in their next home. They also want to be near a good school and not too far from work. It’s a lot to ask, but certainly attainable in Kitchener Waterloo. We are still a small town but we are quickly transitioning into a big city, the 10th largest CMA in Canada, the 3rd largest in Ontario. We have great schools, homes and neighbourhoods. I’ve already blogged about a lot of them here and will continue to do so. I’ve also blogged about our thriving condo culture in uptown Waterloo. We have leafy suburban kid friendly communities and we have vibrant downtowns.

 

What features and amenities are desired by people relocating?

The survey says: upgraded kitchen, first floor master bedroom and finished basement are all high on the list. Many people would like to have a pool and an outdoor kitchen. Low on the list are fitness rooms, media rooms and smart home technology.

 

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1 Comment

  1. says: Rick

    Keith,

    I didn’t realize how much Kitchener has grown. The real estate market is hot in Kitchener and Waterloo. Since we formed our moving company back in 2012, its incredible how many people are moving into the city.

    Your article was spot on, and we can’t say enough about how friendly our clients have been.

    If you could add one thing to the post, it would be how friendly and grounded the people are in Kitchener-Waterloo.

    Thanks for the great post!

    Rick

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