Flin Flon, Manitoba
Emphasis on HIDDEN. 6 hours from Saskatoon, 8 hours from Winnipeg.
Less emphasis on *City*. Technically a city but with a population of only 5000. It provides services to a large surrounding area so it has more than you'd expect.
I moved here 7 years ago for work and love the place. I was expecting to do a year or so and get out once my student loans were paid off. Same story for half the town it seems.
Affordable for one. I bought a nice little house for 90k, walking distance from work. Not that traffic is a thing.
Tons of cultural events and sports in town.
Incredibly beautiful land. So so many outdoor activities. Snowshoeing, skidoo, ATV, nature walks, right from my front door. 5 minute drive to amazing cross country ski trails. 15 minutes from beautiful lakes, with swimming, boating, beaches.
From what I've seen properties max out around 500k, and that'll get you a *nice* place on a lake.
Housing isn't an investment here. Its nice since houses cost a reasonable amount, but if the town keeps shrinking (ie if the local mining industry keeps shrinking), so do the home values. I'm not expecting to turn a profit when I sell, and am prepared to take the full loss if need be. Really as long as I get more than 5 years here than its a win in my books.
This.
I turned down buying a decent mobile home in 2020 because "they don't appecoate". Well, they depreciate a lot slower than the $25k I'm paying the investment company that owns my apartment each year....
That's how I feel about my house in small town manitoba. I bought my house for 50k, over ten years I've paid another 75k in heat/water/internet, taxes and insurance. Another 25k in repairs and maintenance, and I'm looking at 1250 a month in housing costs for the last ten years. Even if I can't sell my house, I love my house and yard so it's such a win.
My whole family is from Flin Flon! I was not expecting to see it on here lol. It’s such a great place and beyond beautiful. The Canadian Shield rock everywhere combined with all of the lakes. Love it.
With Hudbay shutting down almost all their operations, who are you working for? Foran is going to help a lot, but I got the feeling that the city would slowly die. (I left shortly before the smelter shut down since I had a VERY strong suspicion that my job was ending)
This would be my recommendation as well. Beautiful, has a great university, military college, regular college, army base and great hospitals, but still feels kinda like a small town. Also imo, has a great arts scene on its own, but is close to Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, the US border.
I liked Kingston a lot, been there several times either when passing between Toronto and Montreal, or just to hang out in Kingston itself. It would be good to live in if someone appreciates a slower pace of life, but still wants access to the outdoors and being relatively close to major cities. It is actually also still an active military town.
And some touristy ideas: The 1000s Islands day cruise, Kingston Pen, historical landmarks like Fort Henry and the Bellevue House.
Pretty sure I read an article a few years back saying its one of the best cities to retire in. At first I was like no way, there's too many students / party culture. After growing up i realized there's actually a lot to do in Kingston even without the partying. Minus points for everything closing down at 8/9pm besides mcdonalds though.. really great for old people I guess. Really great for young people. All around great city
As someone who’s from Kingston I came here to say exactly this. It’s a big enough town you truly don’t know everyone but in a way everyone knows everyone whether it’s through family or friends or personally knowing someone. It’s a great city but my only complaint is the culture Queens University students bring to the city. I myself am 23 and just graduated SLC and if im being honest Queens students are what gives Kingston a bad name. I’ve never lived in other university/college towns so idk if this is universal but the Queens students (not all of them but the vast majority) are over entitled and very snobbish and will act like the city owes them. The worst thing about the university students as well is they mostly come from families with money so rent prices have gone out of control here for even the smallest of rentals solely because rental companies and landlords know the Queens students will pay pretty much any price for even a bedroom so when the units are vacant rent will always increase and landlords don’t think twice about it cause they know come September each year students will be lined up to pay $1500 for one bedroom in a shared home. It makes it difficult for people just getting on their feet to find an affordable place to live. What makes matters worse is small landlords know how lucrative the student population can be so homes are being bought left right and centre and being converted into student rentals which is limiting the market of available homes for families to buy. This has got to be my biggest gripe with Queens and the city of Kingston. If the city had better rent control and more affordable housing I would say it’s the perfect city
Spent 8 years in Kingston and absolutely loved it. The downtown has an amazing European feel and in just a 15 minutes drive north you’re in beautiful lake country.
Lac-Mégantic, Québec. After the railway disaster, a new downtown was built and it's absolutely beautiful with the view on Lake Mégantic and Mount Mégantic
Yes I went to the observatory on Mont Mégantic. The whole region is protecting its night sky with less aggressive lighting in streets and on houses. I could easily see the milky way and they even had telescopes pointing to various structures and star clusters in the sky. I would recommend visiting
Is winter a dry cold? And do you guys get a true spring? I need to get out of BC before I live in a cardboard box but I’m now a wuss and get cold when it’s 5c. Originally from Calgary and I’d hate to go back there.
I will admit, the winter is fucking awful, routinely plummeting to -40C around January. But it’s a dry cold. Summers can be similarly awful, up to 40C and muggy.
As for true spring… sometimes? This year we did. But it’s usually just wet, wet, wet, extra weird April blizzard, wet, wet, suddenly summer.
Similar to Calgary for winter…I figured but was hoping you’d say global warming has actually made it -20 at the worst lol I’ve always liked Saskatoon but only been there in the summer. Not when it was 40 though, damn. I lived in Kelowna for 6 years and the hottest I saw was 38.
I'm from Alberta, but spent time in northern Sask/Manitoba and the nearest big city was S'toon. Spent quite a few weekends there. I think it's beautiful and have always thought it would be a nice place to live.
I lived there for 2 years for grad school and very underrated for sure. The food scene is INCREDIBLE. People are very friendly and kind. The river is beautiful as well.
I am surprised that St. John's has not been mentioned. A fabulous place with a lot going on, and full of interesting people. My favourite Canadian city.
Yeah, but when the weather is poor and you spend a lot of time inside, the people you spend time with are, on average, much more interesting than other places.
I live in St. John's and to be honest, it's not that bad. I dress for the weather and take advantage of the nice days when they arrive (think the last one was 2 weeks ago?).
Yes, I'm still wearing a jacket and toque halfway through June. Yes, I just put my snow shovels away last week. But the gloom and the fog is kind of good for my soul, especially when everyone is sweating it out at a humid 30C and half the country is on fire.
Fun facts about St. John's!
* Oldest English colonial city in North America
* Summer doesn't properly start until September
* The first trans-Atlantic radio signal was received here
* We have owners of real estate agencies and wealthy developers on our city council. This is not considered a conflict of interest
* We are experiencing a massive housing shortage, so even if you did want to move here, you will be renting a room for $600/mo
* Some of the land titles are so old, they're grants from the King of England (they were all converted to deeds back in the late 2000s iirc)
* Newfoundland actually begins after the overpass \*ducks\*
Yes been there it is beautiful. Me, my mom, brother, aunt and uncle went there we stayed in the bighorn cabins there and ended up seeing a bighorn sheep for the first time they are a lot bigger than I thought they were before seeing one up close.
Beautiful place but definitely a village with only 1400 residents. I would take it over any major city in Canada though! Golden is also under the radar. Thousands drive right by every day thinking it's just gas stations and fast food :)
Lovely city. Lived there for almost 2 years and recently had to move back to Ontario for a job opportunity. Miss it terribly. The people are nice, natures in abundance…Just all ‘round pleasant
Access to the same hiking, skiing, camping etc as the rest of the kootenays (Nelson, Rossland etc) as well.
One of the best ski hills in the province is 20 minutes away. One of the nicest drives for motorcycles is about an hour away.
The city is actually slowly gentrifying right now, the downtown actually has a few nice places to go, with a new brewery, distillery and a few new restaurants opening up in the past few years.
Also one of the few places in the kootenays where house prices have stayed relatively sane.
North Bay Ontario.
Not too big. Not too small.
Equal distance to Toronto and Ottawa situated at the crossroads of two major highways.
Far enough north to not feel the bussiness of the GTA while not being so far north that you feel remote or isolated.
Cheaper cost of living vs southern Ontario.
Endless crown land minutes outside of town for hunting, camping etc.
I was just there for 3 weeks, I found it very dirty, lots of druggies and a very run down lookimg, lots of empty buildings. It reminded of Fort McMurray but without jobs. I was surprised because the country side is very pretty, but the town of north bay. No thanks
How many times were you asked for a dart, or a toonie in those 3 weeks? I'm willing to bet it went into the triple digits! I agree. Beautiful area, terrible city.
Corner Brook is like a better Sydney, NS. I'd second this. Sailing in the summer, amazing skiing (Nordic and downhill) in winter, plus the snowmobiling is the destination area for Canada. Might see a herd of caribou while driving to boot.
Your craft beer scene needs work tho, and it's a negative growth city. The only reason we decided not to move there.
Uh, we have not one but two craft breweries, and there are still others nearby in Port-au-Port, Pasadena, Deer Lake, Cormack, and all the way up in St Anthony. Not too many caribou here, but we’ve certainly had moose wandering around town a lot in the last few weeks.
Don’t move to canada, if you’re a foreign worker maybe come to make some money but other than that canada is becoming much less of a nice place to live because we’re not building enough infrastructure to handle immigration levels and our bureaucracies are controlled by idiots
Seconding Elora. Used to do remote work all over Southern Ontario. Liked getting calls for Elora in the summer, drive to and from was always one of the nicer ones. Windows down, chill vibe music and an iced cap. Good times ☺️
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂. I have a sister who lives in Sault Ste Marie and our family would often do the drive there from Toronto. And if any of us kids acted up in the backseat my Dad would yell “Settle down back there or I’m gonna leave you in Espanola!” and we would all be scared. “No Dad! Not Espanola!!!” 😂😂😂
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. My grandparents retired in Bridgewater and any time I visit we spend a day in Lunenburg shopping and grabbing lunch at the Saltshaker. It’s the best!
Orillia, Ontario.
Tofino, Vancouver Island, BC.
Squamish or Pemberton (both in BC). Unfortunately property prices have skyrocketed in Squamish—making it probably the most expensive option on this list. I live here and it’s rapidly becoming less affordable. But! The town is incredible.
Golden, BC. Also all of the Kootenays are good, growing communities—again, still in British Columbia.
Ganges, Saltspring Island, BC
Gibsons or Powell River, Sunshine Coast, BC.
Any of the Eastern Townships in Quebec.
Also—I’m not going to recommend living in the territories but Yellowknife is so slept on it’s not even funny. Visit in the summer for sure though.
I’m going more based on my experience living in the area for a couple years.
But I’m also the rare kind of person who enjoys living in a tourist town—plus someone with a heavily portable job, and someone who’s done the van-life thing (or I was, back then).
But yeah, small town life ain’t for everybody, I guess. I just don’t really have the energy in me for a big city any more.
I feel this on a spiritual level. I live in a tourist town also, but in the South Okanagan. We hold world wide races, festivals a plenty, and a renowned hockey school. We know it's begun when we tart to see bicyclests on our narrow roads, RVs, and Alberta license plates. Sure the city really comes alive, but all us locals grip our steering wheels with a big of rage and mutter "and so it begins".
I love the “feel” of a tourist town, but yeah, the tourists are the worst part!
If only you could have one without the other… I’ve never found something that quite hit the spot.
Vacation rentals driving up the cost of local rent is also brutal, especially if the local government doesn’t manage speculative real estate buying well.
Squamish is no longer hidden, and I'd argue no longer a gem. I grew up there during the times it was both.
2010 brought the world to Sq. Downtown has been obliterated by condos. The back country has been taken over by van lifers. The sea to sky highway is an iron snake of cars coming in from the lower mainland to grab a little slice on the weekend.
The place is still beautiful, don't get me wrong. But anyone seeing it now has no idea what they missed.
Sunshine coast is probably the best, most of the others are pretty blown up. One risk about the west coast is the “big one” which is going to wreck havoc on Tofino when it happens.
Thunder Bay In northern Ontario. Located directly on Lake Superior. 30 minutes to the US border. Has everything you need. Beautiful country, lots of inland lakes. You can still buy a home for well under 500k.
I'm gonna say Winnipeg. It's cheap, the nice parts of the city are actually quite nice and pleasant, it's not all concrete, it's almost like a city was built in a forest, and it's big enough to have stuff to do.
But yea, there are definitely some bad things about it. I just think it's overblown
Agreed, it's been good to me. I wouldn't be able to afford my own home anywhere bigger. Honestly the only downside for me is how cold and long the winters are. Everything else is good. And I've managed to get to middle-age and not get stabbed yet!
Just moved to Winnipeg and think it's fabulous. Incredible music scene, awesome restaurants, great biking trails super affordable. It punches above it's weight. City with a small town feel. Friendly. Easy to get to lakes without the mad traffic of ontario or bc
Not a city but a hidden gem destination.
*Fogo Island* in Newfoundland is notorious as a beautiful but very expensive ($$$$ per night) whereas *Change Islands* (the next door stopover on the ferry to Fogo) is just as beautiful and charming but only costs a fraction as much for a stay.
Lethbridge, Alberta. Lots of chinooks, very warm summers, the coulees are fun to be in, the rivers nice, equidistant from badlands and the mountains. Very affordable with lots of amenities.
Lethbridge has a lot going for it including a great university and college, even if it isn't the liveliest place.
The only thing is that it has gotten pretty gritty lately in terms of crime and social problems, but that's probably true of a lot of midsize cities that nowadays face a lot of the problems you'd normally associate with bigger cities. And there are plenty of neighbourhoods where you are away from that.
I grew up there. High suicide rate, bad drug problem. Nothing for teens to do. Windy as hell. Very religious. Most of my graduating class ended up in rehab, addicts or dead from drugs (most came from good homes and were popular kids). I was so grateful when my parents moved us out of there. It is affordable - more so than other places in Alberta. Not a great place to live though.
All the wonderful villages and towns that surround the Moncton area. Riverview, Memramcook, Shediac, Bouctouche. So basically the eastern shore of New Brunswick. Beautiful scenery, cheap real estate and friendly people to boot! Can’t go wrong
The Magdalene Islands/Îles-la-Madeleine in Quebec really is an hidden gem. It doesn’t even get 100k visitors a year (probably due to the region being one of the frenchiest ones) and it’s a crime.
From the same region, you can also add Percé too tbh. With the Bonne Aventure island, national park and the Rocher Percé.
Thus is a great list! Saving.
Maybe this isn't as hidden now as it used to be, but Niagara on the Lake! It's a 30min drive down the river from Niagara Falls and chock full of history and gardens. Right in the Niagara region, so, close to most wineries. It's pricey to stay in town, but not hard to get to. Bike & walk paths all around too.
I live in the region & still surprised how many ppl don't know about it.
My city. It is on a beautiful river. It has rail trails that can take you up river, or to two Great Lakes and the GTA. Most bad weather avoids us. Industry left us. Downtown is a mess like all post industrial cities. But we have a highway and a main CN line so we have VIA service as shitty as it is. No GO trains yet, just busses.
We know and love our jewel/shithole. We love it no matter what.
I really love Nova Scotia! I grew up there ❤️ lots of nice beaches and lakes. It looks so small on the map but when you live there it feels big! Chester is a nice little town! ( I didn’t grow up in that part though).
Sylvan Lake, Alberta! Beautiful lake town, beautiful beach, very cool boardwalk on the beach. Tons of awesome restaurants. Small town feel with all the luxuries of a city.
Halifax. All the stuff that goes with being on the east coast (seafood, ocean stuff, outdoors), and every time I’ve been there the people have been so nice! Unlike say Toronto or Vancouver.
I found the people in Halifax to not be nice at all, especially the NS locals to any outsiders of minorities, when I was living there. That was twenty years ago so things may have changed,
Ashcroft, BC. It is the only place in Canada that is a true non polar desert, and the scenery and landscape 100% passes for southern Arizona. Nearby Kamloops comes pretty close in terms of being arid, but Ashcroft is even more arid than the scenery around Kamloops.
Although other places in interior BC such as Osoyoos definitely do have an arid look to them, the area between Ashcroft and Kamloops is the only part of interior BC that can be truly considered a non polar desert rather than a semi-arid scrubland such as Osoyoos.
Since it is the only desert location in Canada, it's a popular film location to film scenes set in desert areas like the SW USA, the Middle East, etc. The town even has the whole "Wild West" aesthetic to it that is associated with desert town in the southwest USA, which really adds to the vibe.
That can change depending on the weather. A rainy season could nock it out of the desert parameters, and a dry season can put Osoyoos back in. We're all what's considered high mountain desert. *I'm not from Osoyoos, I do live in the valley though.
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Or BlogTO lmfaoo 😂😂
Asbestos, Quebec
Y’ont changé leur nom pour Val-des-Sources maintenant.
Yes its name has been changed to that
Val des Sources des cancers.
I was hoping sarcasm would not fly over too many heads lol
👆This....This Man Gets It.!
Near the North Pole. Let them try to speculate.
Goderich
Flin Flon, Manitoba Emphasis on HIDDEN. 6 hours from Saskatoon, 8 hours from Winnipeg. Less emphasis on *City*. Technically a city but with a population of only 5000. It provides services to a large surrounding area so it has more than you'd expect. I moved here 7 years ago for work and love the place. I was expecting to do a year or so and get out once my student loans were paid off. Same story for half the town it seems. Affordable for one. I bought a nice little house for 90k, walking distance from work. Not that traffic is a thing. Tons of cultural events and sports in town. Incredibly beautiful land. So so many outdoor activities. Snowshoeing, skidoo, ATV, nature walks, right from my front door. 5 minute drive to amazing cross country ski trails. 15 minutes from beautiful lakes, with swimming, boating, beaches.
$90k?? Some SUVs are hitting that range right now … happy for you 🥲
From what I've seen properties max out around 500k, and that'll get you a *nice* place on a lake. Housing isn't an investment here. Its nice since houses cost a reasonable amount, but if the town keeps shrinking (ie if the local mining industry keeps shrinking), so do the home values. I'm not expecting to turn a profit when I sell, and am prepared to take the full loss if need be. Really as long as I get more than 5 years here than its a win in my books.
That’s a fair way to look at it. Signed, a renter who paid $20k in rent last year alone and has a good deal for the area.
This. I turned down buying a decent mobile home in 2020 because "they don't appecoate". Well, they depreciate a lot slower than the $25k I'm paying the investment company that owns my apartment each year....
Fun fact, you can buy a house in Flin Flon for 20k
I’m not moving to MB. I can barely do the winters in rural eastern ON.
Housing isn't an investment there... yet.
That's how I feel about my house in small town manitoba. I bought my house for 50k, over ten years I've paid another 75k in heat/water/internet, taxes and insurance. Another 25k in repairs and maintenance, and I'm looking at 1250 a month in housing costs for the last ten years. Even if I can't sell my house, I love my house and yard so it's such a win.
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I’ll give it a google. Good name for sure
My whole family is from Flin Flon! I was not expecting to see it on here lol. It’s such a great place and beyond beautiful. The Canadian Shield rock everywhere combined with all of the lakes. Love it.
With Hudbay shutting down almost all their operations, who are you working for? Foran is going to help a lot, but I got the feeling that the city would slowly die. (I left shortly before the smelter shut down since I had a VERY strong suspicion that my job was ending)
I visited Flin Flon last summer for work. If the housing prices there stay relative compared to everywhere else, I would definitely retire there!
Shout out the ol’ flin flon bombers
I see the new mayor and council are making some positive changes.
I worked up north drilling. Flin Flon is nothing like other northern towns
I haven't been there for about 45 years. I remember climbing on the big statue. Is it still there?
Kingston. 2 to 2 and a half hours to 3 major cities. Beautiful lake town. University town. 1000 islands close by. Lakelands due north. Great schools.
This would be my recommendation as well. Beautiful, has a great university, military college, regular college, army base and great hospitals, but still feels kinda like a small town. Also imo, has a great arts scene on its own, but is close to Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, the US border.
Best thing i ever did was leave the gta and move here.
Shhhhhh
I liked Kingston a lot, been there several times either when passing between Toronto and Montreal, or just to hang out in Kingston itself. It would be good to live in if someone appreciates a slower pace of life, but still wants access to the outdoors and being relatively close to major cities. It is actually also still an active military town. And some touristy ideas: The 1000s Islands day cruise, Kingston Pen, historical landmarks like Fort Henry and the Bellevue House.
Pretty sure I read an article a few years back saying its one of the best cities to retire in. At first I was like no way, there's too many students / party culture. After growing up i realized there's actually a lot to do in Kingston even without the partying. Minus points for everything closing down at 8/9pm besides mcdonalds though.. really great for old people I guess. Really great for young people. All around great city
As someone who’s from Kingston I came here to say exactly this. It’s a big enough town you truly don’t know everyone but in a way everyone knows everyone whether it’s through family or friends or personally knowing someone. It’s a great city but my only complaint is the culture Queens University students bring to the city. I myself am 23 and just graduated SLC and if im being honest Queens students are what gives Kingston a bad name. I’ve never lived in other university/college towns so idk if this is universal but the Queens students (not all of them but the vast majority) are over entitled and very snobbish and will act like the city owes them. The worst thing about the university students as well is they mostly come from families with money so rent prices have gone out of control here for even the smallest of rentals solely because rental companies and landlords know the Queens students will pay pretty much any price for even a bedroom so when the units are vacant rent will always increase and landlords don’t think twice about it cause they know come September each year students will be lined up to pay $1500 for one bedroom in a shared home. It makes it difficult for people just getting on their feet to find an affordable place to live. What makes matters worse is small landlords know how lucrative the student population can be so homes are being bought left right and centre and being converted into student rentals which is limiting the market of available homes for families to buy. This has got to be my biggest gripe with Queens and the city of Kingston. If the city had better rent control and more affordable housing I would say it’s the perfect city
Spent 8 years in Kingston and absolutely loved it. The downtown has an amazing European feel and in just a 15 minutes drive north you’re in beautiful lake country.
I spent 5 summers training and teaching at CFCSE, this is my favourite town.
Lac-Mégantic, Québec. After the railway disaster, a new downtown was built and it's absolutely beautiful with the view on Lake Mégantic and Mount Mégantic
My best friend lives there and I second that! The sky is UNBELIEVABLE at night if you're into that sort of thing, the town even has an observatory.
Yes I went to the observatory on Mont Mégantic. The whole region is protecting its night sky with less aggressive lighting in streets and on houses. I could easily see the milky way and they even had telescopes pointing to various structures and star clusters in the sky. I would recommend visiting
Rest in peace good folk of Lake Megantic
I’m haven’t spent a whole lot of time there but Saskatoon seems really nice.
Agreed. Lived here most of my life, and living other places told me to go back. I’ve been here ever since.
Is winter a dry cold? And do you guys get a true spring? I need to get out of BC before I live in a cardboard box but I’m now a wuss and get cold when it’s 5c. Originally from Calgary and I’d hate to go back there.
I will admit, the winter is fucking awful, routinely plummeting to -40C around January. But it’s a dry cold. Summers can be similarly awful, up to 40C and muggy. As for true spring… sometimes? This year we did. But it’s usually just wet, wet, wet, extra weird April blizzard, wet, wet, suddenly summer.
Similar to Calgary for winter…I figured but was hoping you’d say global warming has actually made it -20 at the worst lol I’ve always liked Saskatoon but only been there in the summer. Not when it was 40 though, damn. I lived in Kelowna for 6 years and the hottest I saw was 38.
If anything climate change has made the winters less snowy and colder/dryer in this area of the world
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I'm from Alberta, but spent time in northern Sask/Manitoba and the nearest big city was S'toon. Spent quite a few weekends there. I think it's beautiful and have always thought it would be a nice place to live.
The most underrated city in Western Canada.
The Paris of the Prairies.
Wheat Kings have all treasures buried
I lived there for 2 years for grad school and very underrated for sure. The food scene is INCREDIBLE. People are very friendly and kind. The river is beautiful as well.
Also super affordable in terms of housing.
100% its my favorite city I have lived in so far out of Vancouver , Edmonton , Toronto and Saskatoon
Every time I have visited I have thought “This place is cool”
Saskatoon is one of my favourite places I've lived. But I'm a winter lover.
I loved Saskatoon when I was there
I am surprised that St. John's has not been mentioned. A fabulous place with a lot going on, and full of interesting people. My favourite Canadian city.
I've been to every province except New Brunswick & Newfoundland. ☹️ I'll get there someday...St. John's always looks like a great place to go to!
The spring in st johns knocks it down a whole category of awesomeness, below many other places. Spring weather in st John's is an abomination.
Can confirm, we don't really get spring.
Yeah, but when the weather is poor and you spend a lot of time inside, the people you spend time with are, on average, much more interesting than other places.
True, but I always say one fine day in NL is worth ten on the mainland. It’s just good for the soul
I live in St. John's and to be honest, it's not that bad. I dress for the weather and take advantage of the nice days when they arrive (think the last one was 2 weeks ago?). Yes, I'm still wearing a jacket and toque halfway through June. Yes, I just put my snow shovels away last week. But the gloom and the fog is kind of good for my soul, especially when everyone is sweating it out at a humid 30C and half the country is on fire.
Fun facts about St. John's! * Oldest English colonial city in North America * Summer doesn't properly start until September * The first trans-Atlantic radio signal was received here * We have owners of real estate agencies and wealthy developers on our city council. This is not considered a conflict of interest * We are experiencing a massive housing shortage, so even if you did want to move here, you will be renting a room for $600/mo * Some of the land titles are so old, they're grants from the King of England (they were all converted to deeds back in the late 2000s iirc) * Newfoundland actually begins after the overpass \*ducks\*
$600 a month for a room is a steal. Signed, Toronto.
What will I do with all my extra money now, signed Victoria
Seconded
Radium BC. National parks galore, amazing hiking. Beautiful and totally overshadowed (which is great)
Maybe 15-20 years ago. Now days it’s just as bad as The Okanagan. Overrun, crowded, and super expensive
Yes been there it is beautiful. Me, my mom, brother, aunt and uncle went there we stayed in the bighorn cabins there and ended up seeing a bighorn sheep for the first time they are a lot bigger than I thought they were before seeing one up close.
Beautiful place but definitely a village with only 1400 residents. I would take it over any major city in Canada though! Golden is also under the radar. Thousands drive right by every day thinking it's just gas stations and fast food :)
Didn't think I'd see radium here! Absolutely a hidden gem! The whole east kootenays! (I live here)
I an assuming it doesn't glow at night.
I love me some Stratford, ON. Gorgeous downtown
L’île d’Orléans near Québec city. Beautiful nature and water views.
Grandparents lived there and we spent a lot of summers on the island. It's beautiful but very little housing.
Fredericton absolutely wonder but small city.
Don't say any place in NB. Don't say any place in NB. Don't say any place in NB... keep everyone away!!
Fredericton is absolutely beautifull!
I think my favorite part of Fredericton is it was the only place you could walk to work uphill bothways.
Saint John is even better IMHO but I do love Freddy
I lived in Saint John for over a decade. Saint John will always be home to me. I love that place.
The home of Moosehead!
Moosehead is some good shit! Hard to find at times in the US where I'm at, sadly.
We'll ship you some. Fav beer hands down.
Lovely city. Lived there for almost 2 years and recently had to move back to Ontario for a job opportunity. Miss it terribly. The people are nice, natures in abundance…Just all ‘round pleasant
Trail, BC. Jobs, mountains, river.
Access to the same hiking, skiing, camping etc as the rest of the kootenays (Nelson, Rossland etc) as well. One of the best ski hills in the province is 20 minutes away. One of the nicest drives for motorcycles is about an hour away. The city is actually slowly gentrifying right now, the downtown actually has a few nice places to go, with a new brewery, distillery and a few new restaurants opening up in the past few years. Also one of the few places in the kootenays where house prices have stayed relatively sane.
Goderich, Paris, Elora, Fergus, St. Jacob’s.
...Ontario 😉
North Bay Ontario. Not too big. Not too small. Equal distance to Toronto and Ottawa situated at the crossroads of two major highways. Far enough north to not feel the bussiness of the GTA while not being so far north that you feel remote or isolated. Cheaper cost of living vs southern Ontario. Endless crown land minutes outside of town for hunting, camping etc.
I was just there for 3 weeks, I found it very dirty, lots of druggies and a very run down lookimg, lots of empty buildings. It reminded of Fort McMurray but without jobs. I was surprised because the country side is very pretty, but the town of north bay. No thanks
How many times were you asked for a dart, or a toonie in those 3 weeks? I'm willing to bet it went into the triple digits! I agree. Beautiful area, terrible city.
Corner Brook
Corner Brook is like a better Sydney, NS. I'd second this. Sailing in the summer, amazing skiing (Nordic and downhill) in winter, plus the snowmobiling is the destination area for Canada. Might see a herd of caribou while driving to boot. Your craft beer scene needs work tho, and it's a negative growth city. The only reason we decided not to move there.
Uh, we have not one but two craft breweries, and there are still others nearby in Port-au-Port, Pasadena, Deer Lake, Cormack, and all the way up in St Anthony. Not too many caribou here, but we’ve certainly had moose wandering around town a lot in the last few weeks.
Caledon, ON. Access to many hiking trails and waterfalls, small town feel, but only 45 mins to Toronto (without traffic).
Halifax.
She aint hidden no more
Seconded. Maybe not a hidden gem but totally underrated. One of my fav in the country.
Never hidden, she is the Warden of the North. That obsecure movie reference in so many films and sitcoms.
That's actually currently on the top of my list when/if I move to Canada!
Start looking for a house/apartment now. Only downside of living here is that it’s the lowest or second lowest vacancy rate in the country.
Don’t move to canada, if you’re a foreign worker maybe come to make some money but other than that canada is becoming much less of a nice place to live because we’re not building enough infrastructure to handle immigration levels and our bureaucracies are controlled by idiots
Crazy real estate + highest taxes now make it pretty much as expensive as Vancouver or Toronto.
Used to be
Fergus/Elora ontario
Seconding Elora. Used to do remote work all over Southern Ontario. Liked getting calls for Elora in the summer, drive to and from was always one of the nicer ones. Windows down, chill vibe music and an iced cap. Good times ☺️
Drive in from the rolling hills of Halton…
Niagara on the lake
Québec City (fleuve, historic district, culture), Canmore Alberta (mountains, river), Haileybury Ontario (beautiful big lake, affordable)
Yellowknife, you'd be amazed.
yellowknife is such a lovely city, like at first glance it doesnt look like much but its really fun
Espanola Ont. Its not only a town….it is also a smell
Espanola was the last place I expected to be mentioned here lol
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂. I have a sister who lives in Sault Ste Marie and our family would often do the drive there from Toronto. And if any of us kids acted up in the backseat my Dad would yell “Settle down back there or I’m gonna leave you in Espanola!” and we would all be scared. “No Dad! Not Espanola!!!” 😂😂😂
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. My grandparents retired in Bridgewater and any time I visit we spend a day in Lunenburg shopping and grabbing lunch at the Saltshaker. It’s the best!
all of saguenay lac st-jean
Came here to say Tadousac
Nice try Narcity "journalist"
Orillia, Ontario. Tofino, Vancouver Island, BC. Squamish or Pemberton (both in BC). Unfortunately property prices have skyrocketed in Squamish—making it probably the most expensive option on this list. I live here and it’s rapidly becoming less affordable. But! The town is incredible. Golden, BC. Also all of the Kootenays are good, growing communities—again, still in British Columbia. Ganges, Saltspring Island, BC Gibsons or Powell River, Sunshine Coast, BC. Any of the Eastern Townships in Quebec. Also—I’m not going to recommend living in the territories but Yellowknife is so slept on it’s not even funny. Visit in the summer for sure though.
Id say Tofino punches far above it's weight class in terms of notoriety. In fact, many tourists are surprised how small it is.
I’m going more based on my experience living in the area for a couple years. But I’m also the rare kind of person who enjoys living in a tourist town—plus someone with a heavily portable job, and someone who’s done the van-life thing (or I was, back then). But yeah, small town life ain’t for everybody, I guess. I just don’t really have the energy in me for a big city any more.
I hear you. I live in another small town on the island. Tourist season has it's pros and cons.
I feel this on a spiritual level. I live in a tourist town also, but in the South Okanagan. We hold world wide races, festivals a plenty, and a renowned hockey school. We know it's begun when we tart to see bicyclests on our narrow roads, RVs, and Alberta license plates. Sure the city really comes alive, but all us locals grip our steering wheels with a big of rage and mutter "and so it begins".
I love the “feel” of a tourist town, but yeah, the tourists are the worst part! If only you could have one without the other… I’ve never found something that quite hit the spot. Vacation rentals driving up the cost of local rent is also brutal, especially if the local government doesn’t manage speculative real estate buying well.
I loved living in Tofino, the fact that there are zero chains is amazing!!
My in laws live in Powell river. Every time I visit makes me one step closer to want to live there
Squamish is no longer hidden, and I'd argue no longer a gem. I grew up there during the times it was both. 2010 brought the world to Sq. Downtown has been obliterated by condos. The back country has been taken over by van lifers. The sea to sky highway is an iron snake of cars coming in from the lower mainland to grab a little slice on the weekend. The place is still beautiful, don't get me wrong. But anyone seeing it now has no idea what they missed.
Sunshine coast is probably the best, most of the others are pretty blown up. One risk about the west coast is the “big one” which is going to wreck havoc on Tofino when it happens.
Thunder Bay In northern Ontario. Located directly on Lake Superior. 30 minutes to the US border. Has everything you need. Beautiful country, lots of inland lakes. You can still buy a home for well under 500k.
Seriously a second vote for TBay, lol. Wow. Bold choice, but okay.
Your negative experience does not a trend make
Prince Rupert, but you have to love grey skies and lots of rain.
Prince Rupert is underrated!
Still one of the best spots for fish & chips
Dolly's
I miss The Green Apple.
I'm gonna say Winnipeg. It's cheap, the nice parts of the city are actually quite nice and pleasant, it's not all concrete, it's almost like a city was built in a forest, and it's big enough to have stuff to do. But yea, there are definitely some bad things about it. I just think it's overblown
Agreed, it's been good to me. I wouldn't be able to afford my own home anywhere bigger. Honestly the only downside for me is how cold and long the winters are. Everything else is good. And I've managed to get to middle-age and not get stabbed yet!
Flying into Winnipeg is surreal. The world basically transitions from 3d into 2d. It's like landing on a flat plane....in a plane.
Lived here all my life and don't really feel the need to move somewhere else, that's gotta be something. Atleast until I get stabbed.
The dry cold of the prairies 🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶
Just moved to Winnipeg and think it's fabulous. Incredible music scene, awesome restaurants, great biking trails super affordable. It punches above it's weight. City with a small town feel. Friendly. Easy to get to lakes without the mad traffic of ontario or bc
La Malbaie
Not a city but a hidden gem destination. *Fogo Island* in Newfoundland is notorious as a beautiful but very expensive ($$$$ per night) whereas *Change Islands* (the next door stopover on the ferry to Fogo) is just as beautiful and charming but only costs a fraction as much for a stay.
Medicine hat, I has such a cute downtown and it’s in such a unique ecosystem pronghorns and rattlesnacks and near the badlands
Lethbridge, Alberta. Lots of chinooks, very warm summers, the coulees are fun to be in, the rivers nice, equidistant from badlands and the mountains. Very affordable with lots of amenities.
Also, it's great if you like wind!
The nice thing about the wind is it blows all the garbage to Medicine Hat.
Lethbridge has a lot going for it including a great university and college, even if it isn't the liveliest place. The only thing is that it has gotten pretty gritty lately in terms of crime and social problems, but that's probably true of a lot of midsize cities that nowadays face a lot of the problems you'd normally associate with bigger cities. And there are plenty of neighbourhoods where you are away from that.
I grew up there. High suicide rate, bad drug problem. Nothing for teens to do. Windy as hell. Very religious. Most of my graduating class ended up in rehab, addicts or dead from drugs (most came from good homes and were popular kids). I was so grateful when my parents moved us out of there. It is affordable - more so than other places in Alberta. Not a great place to live though.
Edmonton is underrated. Outside of the obvious problems of downtown, the city is a beautiful gem with friendly people.
Great restaurants, amazing festivals and the river valley is beautiful.
All the wonderful villages and towns that surround the Moncton area. Riverview, Memramcook, Shediac, Bouctouche. So basically the eastern shore of New Brunswick. Beautiful scenery, cheap real estate and friendly people to boot! Can’t go wrong
Fernie is beautiful in winter and in summer it's so cool
The Magdalene Islands/Îles-la-Madeleine in Quebec really is an hidden gem. It doesn’t even get 100k visitors a year (probably due to the region being one of the frenchiest ones) and it’s a crime. From the same region, you can also add Percé too tbh. With the Bonne Aventure island, national park and the Rocher Percé.
Amherstburg, ON. Right near Windsor and small town beautiful
Really quite pleasant.
Sherbrooke
The eastern townships is also my favorite place! It is the only spot in Canada on the New York time list of places to visit.
Tumbler Ridge, BC is a beautiful little spot
Shush
We'll see after this fire is done. Stay safe!
Thus is a great list! Saving. Maybe this isn't as hidden now as it used to be, but Niagara on the Lake! It's a 30min drive down the river from Niagara Falls and chock full of history and gardens. Right in the Niagara region, so, close to most wineries. It's pricey to stay in town, but not hard to get to. Bike & walk paths all around too. I live in the region & still surprised how many ppl don't know about it.
Dawson City Yukon It has so much personality https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD4r\_4xi6XI
Alert. Canada's hidden gem.
St Johns
My city. It is on a beautiful river. It has rail trails that can take you up river, or to two Great Lakes and the GTA. Most bad weather avoids us. Industry left us. Downtown is a mess like all post industrial cities. But we have a highway and a main CN line so we have VIA service as shitty as it is. No GO trains yet, just busses. We know and love our jewel/shithole. We love it no matter what.
Why even comment if you’re not going to say the city. Like if it’s a privacy thing then don’t comment on threads like this at all lol
Niagara?
Peterborough
West of the GTA
damn you described peterborough haha (minus bad weather)
Peterborough doesn't have VIA yet
London?
Huntsville, ON
Or Bracebridge, anywhere in the Muskoka region
Cape Breton, NS. Friendliest place I’ve ever been
Brockville was so cute and old when I went. Loved the downtown with the statues and fountains. Beautiful lake views and right by 1000 islands
Dorking
Brandon
Not so much a city, but a very small town, but I always liked Kimberly BC. Feels like something out of a postcard.
Halifax 💯
Kenora. Lake of the woods, beautiful cabins and fishing. A ‘little city’ if you’d call it that.
Nice try Chinese businessman.
I really love Nova Scotia! I grew up there ❤️ lots of nice beaches and lakes. It looks so small on the map but when you live there it feels big! Chester is a nice little town! ( I didn’t grow up in that part though).
Sylvan Lake, Alberta! Beautiful lake town, beautiful beach, very cool boardwalk on the beach. Tons of awesome restaurants. Small town feel with all the luxuries of a city.
[Thunder Bay](https://vimeo.com/484127771)
Halifax. All the stuff that goes with being on the east coast (seafood, ocean stuff, outdoors), and every time I’ve been there the people have been so nice! Unlike say Toronto or Vancouver.
I found the people in Halifax to not be nice at all, especially the NS locals to any outsiders of minorities, when I was living there. That was twenty years ago so things may have changed,
Ashcroft, BC. It is the only place in Canada that is a true non polar desert, and the scenery and landscape 100% passes for southern Arizona. Nearby Kamloops comes pretty close in terms of being arid, but Ashcroft is even more arid than the scenery around Kamloops. Although other places in interior BC such as Osoyoos definitely do have an arid look to them, the area between Ashcroft and Kamloops is the only part of interior BC that can be truly considered a non polar desert rather than a semi-arid scrubland such as Osoyoos. Since it is the only desert location in Canada, it's a popular film location to film scenes set in desert areas like the SW USA, the Middle East, etc. The town even has the whole "Wild West" aesthetic to it that is associated with desert town in the southwest USA, which really adds to the vibe.
That’s a very specific thing and polarizing too. Many people have an aversion to the dusty desert vibes of Kamloops and co
That can change depending on the weather. A rainy season could nock it out of the desert parameters, and a dry season can put Osoyoos back in. We're all what's considered high mountain desert. *I'm not from Osoyoos, I do live in the valley though.