Barrie Living

John’s Top 10 Reasons To Live in Barrie!

1.  The Waterfront:  Whether at the water or on the water, Barrie’s waterfront has it all! It’s a beach and pleasure craft paradise! From stand up paddling, speed boating to a quiet day of good fishing you can do it all! Maybe your perfect day consists of the many waterfront parks, having a little picnic, lying in the sun, in the sand or jogging/ biking/rollerblading the long paved waterfront path.  Barrie’s waterfront is sure to impress!

2. Location: I call this the 1 hour rule. Within 1 hour in any direction, you can visit such places as Toronto, the Muskoka’s, Collingwood, Casino Rama and so much more. Within 30 minutes or less you could arrive at several skiing/snowboarding resorts such as Horseshoe Valley, Snow Valley, or Mount St. Louis Moonstone. Whether you want to commute to the city or a day of family fun Barrie is the center of all the action!

3. GO Train/Highway Access: This is a vital service option for the commuter population. Barrie has 2 GO locations one of them down by the waterfront and the second is in the South East end of Barrie. The Barrie GO service, is a convenient and stress free option for those travelers looking to go to Toronto.  They are currently in the process of twinning the rail lines which will give us all day service options to go to and from the city.  Estimated completion is 2025.  We are also in the process of a major expansion to the 400 highway which when completed will only make travelling to and from the city that much easier.

4. New State Of The Art Hospital And Regional Cancer Center:  This is one that I hope you never have to use unless it is the birth of a new family member. If you do have health concerns to deal with our state of the art regional center can look after all of your needs.  

5. Education: Barrie has a variety of different options from private, public, catholic and french emersion to our award winning Georgian College campus. Whether it is for your little ones or they’re all grown up attending post secondary at Georgian College, Barrie has you covered!

6. Sporting and Outdoor Activities:  Barrie has a great Minor District Hockey Association. From the little ones all the way up to our Junior A Barrie Colts who play out of our beautiful Sadlon Arena. If hockey is your thing, there is no shortage of it here!  This one is a personal favorite of mine, golfing! Barrie has high quality public and private courses throughout the city and area. We have some of the best golf courses without the big city prices! For the active families there are MANY outdoor activities for every season too many to mention!

7. Festivals and Events: Barrie takes advantage of its beautiful waterfront to hold many festivals throughout the year such as Kempenfest, Winterfest, Ribfest, or whether it’s our beautiful lights and ice sculptures for the Christmas season. A short 10 minute drive North of Barrie takes you to Burls Creek where some of the largest outdoor music festivals in North America take place. Maybe it’s a smaller community feel of our downtown farmers market. Whatever you are in to, we have an event for you!    

8. City Recreation Centers and Parks: Barrie has many recreational centers to take advantage of skating, swimming, fitness, and other community run programs for kids and families. We also have many beautiful outdoor parks and hiking trails throughout the city. During the winter season many of the parks are created into outdoor skating rinks for family enjoyment.  For the active families whether indoors or outdoors there is no shortage of activities.

9. Dining and Shopping: If you are moving from Toronto, no we do not have as many dining and shopping options as you are accustom to, but we will have more than enough options to service your needs. On the other hand if you are coming from a smaller community you will be thrilled with the variety of options that are available to you. 

10. Home Values & Safety:  One of the most important reasons to consider Barrie as your next home is how far your money will go. For those of you living in the GTA area you will be shocked at how much home you can get for your money. To add to that Barrie has a low crime rate and is a safe city for you and your family. I truly love Barrie and all it has to offer and would love the opportunity to show you around my home town and help you decide to make this your home town!

These are my top 10 reasons to live in Barrie, but yours may differ.  There are so many things that make Barrie amazing but it can probably be summed up to an amazing quality of life.  There is a reason that people flock to our region throughout the year and it has a lot to do with the beauty and life style options.  This doesn't even factor in our incredible home value proposition compared to the GTA home prices.