Anyways Downtown has some really nice shops, and its always great to support local businesses. I love the store Out of the Past you can definitely find some nice pieces there. Also try to check out the farmers market, nothing beats fresh produce. My advice is to go with some friends (in the day time if preferred) roam around and check out the stores, form you're own opinions If you really want to avoid certain areas you can, there is a ton of stuff to check out in "safe areas". Did you know that Hamilton is the waterfall capital (oh Wikipedia you complete me) how about going to see a few?

In terms of why this post was started I lived on Dalewood Avenue during my second year, and the location was key( hello running for those 8.30's). That area I found had a mixture of residential and student housing (so sterling, dalewood ave and surrounding areas). So keep that in mind if you're intending on being the go to party house haha!

I think on the mac housing website there is a check list of things to look for/ask for when looking at places. My advice ask as many questions before you sign the lease and make sure you understand all the terms (I know this sounds really obvious and I'm not trying to belittle anyone, but often when people are caught up in the moment of house hunting these things are over looked).

I think if you could get a house in westdale, on sterling, or around main street west that would be good. In terms of location and proximity to ammenities that is. Anyways good luck

Originally Posted by 5footwonder

Anyways Downtown has some really nice shops, and its always great to support local businesses. I love the store Out of the Past you can definitely find some nice pieces there.

I love Out of the Past!! So much random stuff there, I nearly got a black tu-tu. Luckily I came to my senses and didn't buy it. And TONS of those tiny little button pin things that people put on their backpacks and stuff.



I think the best part about living closer to downtown/east Hamilton would be THE PROXIMITY TO NO FRILLS. I LOVE NO FRILLS!!!!!!!!! My last grocery receipt was actually TWO FEET LONG .. that's how much I bought .. and guess how much I spent? $36. On (mostly) regularly priced items. And I bought meat and stuff too. My grocery bill was actually 2 feet long, and only $36. I WILL NEVER SHOP AT METRO/FORTINOS AGAIN .. NO FRILLS ALL THE WAY!!! Oh god IT IS SO CHEAP!!! At Metro my bill would get up to $80+ without any effort. SOO much cheaper at No Frills. But I live in Westdale so it's a pretty big mission to get there .. have to take the 1A or transfer downtown. It's at Main & Tisdale. Everybody should go. I can't believe the Fortinos on Main used to be a No Frills .. ahhh .. I wish it was still a No Frills .. back in my sister's day (which was 11 years ago, haha). There's one on the mountain too (Upper James & Mohawk .. I think .. lol).


If I lived closer to downtown/east Hamilton I'd definitely go to 7-11 more often. It's a little past Main & Sherman. It's close-ish to where I work so I walk there after work, but I don't have a car, so I'm definitely not going to take a bus there randomly when I'm thirsty for a slurpee =P. But ahh .. slurpees .. so good .. so cheap .. so unhealthy .. I wish there was a 7-11 closer to Mac!

Oh and I would go to Starbucks more often. There's a Starbucks on Locke St, which I like studying at. It's in a nice neighbourhood, and if you study outside you could potentially get to pet all the dogs that people walk by. There's another one in Ancaster on Golf Links (right next to the movie theatre) but I don't like it as much. A definite money-grab though. I find it silly that I am including Starbucks and No Frills in the same post.

I would lose so much money between Starbucks and all-you-can-eat sushi FOR SURE if I lived closer. I LOOOVVVEEE SushiStar .. it's at King & Catharine. And then there's August 8, at York & Wilson. And Sapporo, but I don't like that one as much.

Anyway I don't know where this talk of food came from. I think I just equate downtown/east Ham. with food-related happiness.

Haha, I love No frills too! It's the best around in Toronto, in my opinion anyway. But, I heard it's pretty far from campus, if you're on rez.. is it really that far? Cuz it would be so worth it, than spending extra money at Fortino's or Metro for no reason >.>

If I was still in res, if I wanted to buy groceries, then I would still definitely go to No Frills anyway.

It is true that it is far from campus. If you take the 1A from campus, I would say it takes about 25 minutes to get there, depending on traffic, and how often it needs to stop, etc. If you took something else downtown (like 5/5C/5E/51/etc) and transferred to the 1 or 1A then it would take longer. The 10 B-Line from the hospital might get you there in less than 15, but you would have to walk a bit to get from the stop to the store.

BUT say you went to Metro or Fortinos .. if you go to the Metro at University Plaza, you need to walk all the way to the bus stop on Main St W anyway and back with groceries. (And in my memory the walk from that bus stop all the way back to res with heavy bags of groceries was MISERABLE esp when it was hot/cold). If you're already taking the bus anyway, and you already have to walk all the way to the bus stop as it is, you might as well just take the bus a little farther. And for Fortinos, I remember attempting to rollerblade back to Les Prince with heavy groceries .. not fun. For the Metro at Main/Longwood, I would probably take the bus back anyway too, to the centre of campus. I would prefer to take the bus with my groceries, and yeah I think if you're already going to be taking the bus, might as well go a little farther and save some money! Plus on the bus if you can get a seat it's not bad at all with the groceries, so being on the bus 15 minutes longer doesn't make a big difference to me.

BUT if I was just running to the store for something small, I don't see myself making the trek to No Frills just for a bag of cookies or something. It's more like if you HAD to go somewhere and get like 3 weeks worth of groceries, you might as well sit an extra 20 minutes on the bus, since for those 20 minutes you will be sitting with the groceries anyway.

ANYWAY that was my random long lonnngggg reason for why No Frills is good no matter where you are .. now if only it was closer by, we could save time AND money =D.

Haha, not at all, it was awesome and so helpful ! I get exactly what you mean, No Frills would be worth it anyday. I don't really feel it here, since it's pretty close to my house, but even a 30-45 minute bus ride isn't that bad from rez.
Which branch is closest to Mac? There's like 2 that are pretty close, but which one did you find more convenient. Once again, thanks so much for your awesome post!

We love the cheap meat from Metro. Big packages and there are always some on sale! Yeah yeahhh.

Btw guys, we got a politician - City Councillor Brian McHattie to speak to us about his favourite things to do in Hamilton!

http://macpopthebubble.wordp ress.c...camera-action/

Originally Posted by OCSLCE

We love the cheap meat from Metro. Big packages and there are always some on sale! Yeah yeahhh.

Saw a similar posting about Hess Village on a "where do ya go to hook-up in Hamilton?" thread...

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

Haha, not at all, it was awesome and so helpful ! I get exactly what you mean, No Frills would be worth it anyday. I don't really feel it here, since it's pretty close to my house, but even a 30-45 minute bus ride isn't that bad from rez.
Which branch is closest to Mac? There's like 2 that are pretty close, but which one did you find more convenient. Once again, thanks so much for your awesome post!

Definitely the one at Main & Tisdale is the closest. If you take the 1A - King bus, there's a stop right in front of it. (Any of the 5-series buses, like the 5A, 5, etc., they turn right at Wellington and don't go that far east up Main).

There's another (much farther) one on Upper James (take any bus downtown to Main & James, and then take the 26 - Upper James bus up the mountain, and it should be on your right hand side .. there is also a Walmart and Canadian Tire along that street!). But the one at Main & Tisdale (between Wellington and Wentworth) is the closest by far. I think generally people are too busy in first year to be able to find time to go, but if you're bored one day, it doesn't hurt to save money!

I really really really despise Metro and Fortinos. Soooo bloody expensive .. But I guess when you're strapped for time, you have no choice but to spend a little more than you have to. On the plus side, I find the vegetables at Metro/Fortinos stay good for longer, whereas the ones from No Frills go bad a little faster.

Originally Posted by PTGregD

Areas to avoid:



To be serious though, the surrounding area is fine, but I've heard bad things about the downtown area.

Agreed. I don't want to name names as far as buildings go (and I certainly could), but it's safe to say that there are no good places downtown. If you do find a place that has a lot of students, it'll have some shady characters as well. Management is also a problem - shady buildings (if you're looking for an apt.) will have crappy management. It's a universal law (and one that I've experienced many times over).

Downtown stinks. It's to be avoided, definitely.

2 cents from a 40 yr old p.t. student who has lived in Hamilton/Dundas area her whole life....

I won't repeat all of the wonderful places to visit.. I think most of them have been posted already (except maybe for the amazing RAIL TRAIL pathways/bikeways and Dundas Valley Trails, the numerous waterfalls, etc.?)

Anyway, I think it's unfair to bash the downtown/east/north ends of the city. The west/south end might *generally* be more affluential, but it has many of the same problems - just a little more hidden!

So, specific to the asker's post "Where to live?"

Ancaster: can't think of any real "bad" areas in the traditional sense of the word but very expensive.

Dundas: the areas around Hatt, Dundas and Mill Streets are considered the more rough and tumble BUT it's all relative... basically these streets just house the "poorer" people of the town. Nothing REAL to worry about. Again, expensive.

West End: funnily enough - the residents of Hamilton consider the few blocks around McMaster a horrible place to live because of all of the students! LOL Unfortunately, a few have ruined it for the large majority with a reputation of vandalism, unkempt student houses, rude behaviour and rowdy parties. The west end is actually considered to be 2 separate entities.. Westdale (the north side where McMaster is located) and West Hamilton which is the south side of Main Street. Westdale is again, considered most affluential and west Hamilton the poorer and therefore "rougher". Truly, there is quite a large community of people with drug issues living in the buildings around the White Chapel cemetery - both on Main St and around and just off Whitney. Again west = expensive! This entire area is considered to extend all the way to Dundurn.

Downtown: West downtown would be from Dundurn to Bay Street. The south is considered the desirable place to live with many old historical and wealthy homes. There's nothing really wrong or dangerous about the north part of this area - just, as with the rest, the class difference. (Hey - it was good enough for Dundurn Castle!!)

Central Downtown: This would be from Bay St to roughly Wellington St. Again, the south is more desirable... Particularly along Aberdeen all the way to St. Joseph's Hospital area. Once you go north of Jackson Square/Copps Coliseum, you're crossing that economic barrier again. This is where you need to start being a bit more on your toes.

East Downtown: From Wellington to Gage Park. Surprise, surprise - south again! But even here, there are some "bad" pockets - particularly around Emerald/Tisdale. Anywhere east downtown, I would be extra careful and more-so as you move north. They aren't altogether BAD but unfortunately, the lower-income areas do attract some undesirables!

East end: Everything from Gage Park to Stoney Creek. Very much mirrors the west end - same styles of homes, etc. just not having the financial influences to go with it. After the "bad" downtown north and east, probably a "middle ground".

Stoney Creek: Think Dundas on the other end of the city - again, less money but no real "bad" areas.

Mountain: The mountain is hard to describe because it's set up so much differently - it's basically shopping centres with huge suburban sprawl around it all so everything from apartment buildings to townhouses to moderate homes to expensive homes can all be in the same relative area. No outstanding "bad" areas around here either.

Last piece of advice: go where you want - just be smart about it. If you stay just around Mac, you're missing out on SO much!

sketchy?

can anywhere in hamilton be anywhere as bad as scarborough?... or even downtown toronto?... even then, growing up in scarboroug/gta my whole life nothing has ever happened to me...

The mountain is definitely a lot better to "live" because its a nice suburb. Downtown is also ok and it might be closer depending on where you live. Downtown is quite old in most places and doesn't seem too appealing but there are plenty of fun things to do and nice places to go along with great food. I've heard Barton street is a bad street to hang around at night. I don't really go downtown too often. The mountain area is very pleasant. And like Donna said all of the good places have been mentioned already so no point in regurgitating them.

Originally Posted by giftedchick

sketchy?

can anywhere in hamilton be anywhere as bad as scarborough?... or even downtown toronto?... even then, growing up in scarboroug/gta my whole life nothing has ever happened to me...

Downtown TO isn't that bad... but like Hamilton, I wouldn't walk alone at night. Honestly, it's like that pretty much everywhere.

Scarborough, I don't know haha, I don't go there much but I hear of stuff happening often.

The thing we don't realize, is that like a LOT of the stuff that happens in cities isn't reported on the news. Reminds me of how they stopped reporting people jumping off onto tracks in the subways, as a way to not give people ideas.

Originally Posted by feonateresa

Downtown TO isn't that bad... but like Hamilton, I wouldn't walk alone at night. Honestly, it's like that pretty much everywhere.

Scarborough, I don't know haha, I don't go there much but I hear of stuff happening often.

The thing we don't realize, is that like a LOT of the stuff that happens in cities isn't reported on the news. Reminds me of how they stopped reporting people jumping off onto tracks in the subways, as a way to not give people ideas.

You can walk home alone in my town and not even see a car, let alone a person. Yay Bowmanville!

Originally Posted by lawleypop

You can walk home alone in my town and not even see a car, let alone a person. Yay Bowmanville!

Bowmanville, eh? I'm from Peterborough. Nice to see someone else representing the far east side!