Where to Live?

A lot of people have asked me where I am going to live next, now that I have sold my condo. What's that? I was supposed to have figured that out already? Oopsie-daisie. I know a lot of people buy their next home and then sell their current home through a condition in their contract (so if they can't sell they will be able to back out of the deal), however this didn't appeal to me for two reasons
1. I might fall in love with a place and then be forced to back out of the deal if I couldn't sell, especially since condos in my building hadn't been selling quickly when I looked at comparables
2. I wasn't sure I was going to sell- I wanted to see what kind of interest I could get and move forward from there. Then when I did sell I would have a good idea of my down-payment size and therefore budget for the next place.

Well, I ended up selling my condo in 6 days and for an excellent price so here I am scrambling to find my next home! The good news is that I have until the end of November to move out, and I have lots of family and friends who live nearby who have opened up their spare bedrooms and couches to me if I do I end up between homes for a bit. Not to mention their storage spaces for my stuff!

I am still waiting a few days for some conditions of my contract to settle before I officially hit the pavement (the buyers and their lawyer are currently reviewing all the condo documents to make sure this building is in good shape). I want to make sure that this deal is going to go through before I go out there and offer on another place! A lot of places I saw online a couple weeks ago have already sold, so I know I made the right move by not looking before I was ready to offer, but I am going to have to make up my mind quickly if I find the right place.

I know I am looking for a one bedroom (or hopefully a one plus den!), but otherwise I am a little bit stuck on where to live. This city has so many great pockets!

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1. King West (North of Liberty Village)
King West offers some really cute loft-style condos in addition to traditional ones. I have always admired the loft-look and thankfully they now make lofts with separate bedroom areas. I would love to be on King for transit reasons, but I love being within walking distance to Liberty Village too- tons of great shops and restaurants there!

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2. St Lawrence Area
I am not willing to go too east of Yonge St. because I work way out in the west end of the city and commute is definitely a factor! However there are some great condos within a 5 minute walk of King and Union stations.

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3. The Bay St Corridor
There are less properties in this area in my price range, but once and awhile a cute model pops up! I would definitely love to be near the subway and that is what this area offers- not to mention being right downtown with all the action right at my doorstep.

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4. The Fashion District
A little west of downtown, but still right in the action on King St are some trendy newer condos. They are almost out of my price range now, but again I would be in a great area, right near the entertainment district.

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5. Harbourfront
This neighbourhood is really close to where I am now, but a block closer the waterfront. Cam loves this area and I can tell he would be ecstatic if I ended up living here, but it really depends on commute (no, he would not be living with me, but he visits almost every weekend)! The area is currently under construction, but hopefully that will be done in a year or so. I would need to be near Spadina streetcar if I was going to make this area work for me.

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And that is just a small taste of the areas I am looking in! I am also open to areas like City Place, Liberty Village, Midtown (Yonge and Davisville/Eglinton), the Bloor line, etc. I think it will really come down to loving the unit/building and still having a manageable commute and a fun neighbourhood. Oh, and as of today there are about 300 units for sale in downtown Toronto in my price range...I definitely have some legwork to do but hopefully I will able to find my dream condo in a short amount of time!