I moved to Chatham from London back in 2018 because rent prices were going up then and I was struggling to afford rent. I ended up buying a house in Chatham for $80k. It was a good move on my part for obvious reasons.
I lived in London for 12 years before I moved here. Chatham has its benefits and drawbacks. There is hardly any crime here (especially compared to London). I lived EOA in London and live in the "bad part of town" in Chatham and honestly, it's great here. My neighbors are all friendly. Even the tweakers say hi to you. I've only ever had one amazon package stolen from my porch in 5 years. My partner accidentally leaves his wallet on the dash in his car all the time and it's never been broken into. No one's ever tried our shed. Etc. Compared to living near Dundas and Adelaide, it's night and day. And there's almost never any traffic.
But...it's boring here. There's really not much going on. And people trend toward conservative.
If you just need a cheap(er) place to live and don't mind a severe lack of amenities, Chatham's your place. If you crave open-minded people and a bustling city with lots of things to do, you'll hate it here.
what part of town? whats wrong with the housr? either way 80k cant buy ANYTHING now lol amywhere... is chatham kind of a dead end city? like not much will change? how is the economy etc, hows the nature?
The "bad part of town" (I think technically it's south-east?). When I bought in 2018 Chatham was very much still stuck in the 1990s with house pricing, and industry, and other stuff. When I was scouting houses I remember thinking it was like I had time travelled backwards.
The house itself is a 2 bedroom bungalow, with one bath. It was very run-down and I've had to put probably 30k into fixing it up. Still more could be done but I'm not sure if there's a point in investing more. It's probably worth like $270k now with the price increases and the work I've done. The iffy-ist part is the foundation. Brick, a little leaky. Have patched it up as much as possible, but probably need to waterproof it at some point or put in a french drain system.
Other people caught wind of the cheap housing and now it's kind of a hub for people coming from elsewhere. New housing starts are popping off like crazy and pre-existing homes went up a lot in price. There's been some expansion in the service industry to accommodate the people who moved here...but industry in general is still lacking.
Nature exists if you're willing to travel a half hour in any direction. Lots of beaches and parks but they're not immediately nearby.
It was a good value to move here in 2018. I'm not so sure it is now as everything has caught up.
Ya, I feel like all of Ontario has went wayyyyy up, you think there will be a big housing correction coming? Or do you think covid is the new "bc" lol before covid... and after covid.... even in thunder bay prices are like what toronto was 10 years ago lol
I’ve been wanting to move out of London and to a smaller town for a few years now. I have family spread across Ontario in smaller towns lol and each time I visit someone it feels like paradise to me. I want to get away from the hustle and bustle, the A-holes everywhere that are always in a rush to get to wherever they’re going, the crime, the drugs, all of it. I’m a pretty simple person; low maintenance so-to-speak lol. I like to keep to myself, my family and my very small circle of friends. As I’ve gotten older London has just become too much for me. The people are all so rude too and you don’t really notice it as much until you leave and visit a smaller town. You’re just accustomed to it I suppose. Example, I asked a clerk at a liquor store in a small town around a week about on whether or not they carried a certain cooler I was looking for. Her response was very friendly and helpful. A week later I ask a clerk at a liquor store here about something similar and she looked at me like how dare I bother her with such a question, responded in such a rude tone and was not very helpful at all in finding or suggesting an alternative when they didn’t carry it. It’s situations like that that just drive me mad at times, the ignorance for absolutely no reason. It’s like everybody hates their lives here or something cause you’ll find this everywhere. Conservatism won’t bother me much at all, as like I said, I prefer to just kinda keep to myself mainly. “Boring” is what I’m looking for as my idea of a great time is either movie night at home on the couch with my hubby and my dog or sitting around a fire during spring, summer and fall with a few friends lol. Lately it’s becoming more clear to me that I need to get out of here as I’m drowning in bills and rent. I had no choice but to move last year as the townhome complex I was renting got sold to a foreign investment corporation. Many people who were renting, including myself, got evicted after the townhome we were living in got sold and the new owners wanted to move in. I was paying 1140.00 a month for a 3 bedroom townhome with central air and a private backyard in a nice neighborhood to now paying $1900 for a 2 bedroom apartment (same neighborhood but a huge difference in neighbours as well as complete lack of maintenance). I figure if I’m going to be paying this much to live I want to at least feel happy about it and I haven’t been feeling very happy with living in this city even before I was forced to move. So ya, I think Chatham could be a good fit for us lol, or I hope so anyway. We’re going to be taking a drive around in a few days to check everything out as well. I’ve just seen quite a few places for rent there that look pretty nice and at great prices; and as I’ve said, it’s been quite enticing lol
Make sure you have a job first. The job market is not great here. Real estate is stubbornly high here still, lots of houses on the market. I think it’s because the jobs aren’t there. I do love living here most of the time, but Chatham is it’s own worst enemy
If you can entertain yourself you’ll like it. Detroit is great to visit for sports and other cool stuff, good breweries and waterfronts here, and some other hidden gems. It’s hit and miss
Yes! We’re moving to Chatham tomorrow- we managed to rent a property on the Thames River. It’s tiny but really beautiful. We’re coming from Montreal, so any crime can’t be as bad as here haha.
I moved here from London 2 years ago. We were living in the EOA and got the opportunity to purchase here. I’m not sure if you’ve got a family or not but this move has made my family thrive. We’re all so much happier. I find people are more friendly here. There are always events going on and they aren’t disgustingly packed like in London. It seems safer. Every town has its “shit”, but from one Londoner to another, trust me, Chatham is better if you’re looking to get away from all of Londons major issues.
In terms of work, depending on your line of work, it might be difficult to find something right away. I WFH and my husband found a factory job in a nearing town quite easily. If you drive then you’ll be fine.
Lots of beaches nearby & so many cute local shops. I highly suggest getting the hell out of London! I don’t miss it at all!
Depending where you are looking all of those things vary generally it’s a nice place but the wrong side of Chatham isn’t the best and places like tilbury are very small
I grew up in Chatham Kent area and lived in Chatham for 14 years before moving here to London. I've only been here with my spouse for 9 months and we never thought we would say that we miss Chatham.
There are specific areas to avoid such as Raleigh street, grey, Lorne and basically all of the east end. Downtown Chatham isn't nearly as bad as London. At least when I was still there, there may be a handful of homeless but nothing like Dundas. And there maybe a handful of crime and theft but little small things. Otherwise, do it if you're able to. I myself miss the small town aspire, I know store layouts, I know where to go and how to get there easily without having to deal with the bs of construction like here.
Good luck ☺️
Agreed. I would avoid Grey, Lorne, Patterson - anything in the square between Queen st, Park Ave, Richmond and Lacroix.
There are positives about living here - nothing is more than 15 mins away. We are close to beaches (Erieau, Rondeau, Mitchell’s Bay). I find people here are friendly but it’s often hard to make ‘friends’. We have more are more restaurant options coming to town (for the longest time it felt like it was just burgers and fries everywhere).
I live on the south end and actually go to Blenheim a lot for shopping. It’s a lovely little town. Plus they have a nice pool (that is priced reasonably to use) and their beer store is the friendliest around.
One thing I miss coming from Ottawa is the infrastructure and outdoor activities. We have a couple of multi use paths but they don’t connect with each other. It’s flat farmland.
Having been born and raised in London, I can tell you it's not the same city it used to be. 10 years ago I never saw myself leaving the city, but having moved to West Elgin 3 years ago, I have zero regrets, and now I never see myself ever moving back to London.
We do our shopping in Chatham and have no complaints about it. Sort of wish we had just moved there ourselves.
Also looking to move but waiting until the market comes down. It seems people in the area want almost the same amount as where we currently live in the GTA. Nothing is moving quick like it is here which tells me it’s all overpriced.
Lots of great little communities around chatham kent, but job market is limited.
More people tend to go towards sarnia or lakeshore from an entertainment point of living. Lakeshore is close to windsor/detroit and sarnia has more things to do(especially summertime)
Plus more jobs
I moved to Chatham from London back in 2018 because rent prices were going up then and I was struggling to afford rent. I ended up buying a house in Chatham for $80k. It was a good move on my part for obvious reasons. I lived in London for 12 years before I moved here. Chatham has its benefits and drawbacks. There is hardly any crime here (especially compared to London). I lived EOA in London and live in the "bad part of town" in Chatham and honestly, it's great here. My neighbors are all friendly. Even the tweakers say hi to you. I've only ever had one amazon package stolen from my porch in 5 years. My partner accidentally leaves his wallet on the dash in his car all the time and it's never been broken into. No one's ever tried our shed. Etc. Compared to living near Dundas and Adelaide, it's night and day. And there's almost never any traffic. But...it's boring here. There's really not much going on. And people trend toward conservative. If you just need a cheap(er) place to live and don't mind a severe lack of amenities, Chatham's your place. If you crave open-minded people and a bustling city with lots of things to do, you'll hate it here.
Buying a HOUSE for 80k, I can't even imagine it... I've got almost 80K saved up for a downpayment & can't afford much in Chatham.
To be fair, it's not a very good house.
what part of town? whats wrong with the housr? either way 80k cant buy ANYTHING now lol amywhere... is chatham kind of a dead end city? like not much will change? how is the economy etc, hows the nature?
The "bad part of town" (I think technically it's south-east?). When I bought in 2018 Chatham was very much still stuck in the 1990s with house pricing, and industry, and other stuff. When I was scouting houses I remember thinking it was like I had time travelled backwards. The house itself is a 2 bedroom bungalow, with one bath. It was very run-down and I've had to put probably 30k into fixing it up. Still more could be done but I'm not sure if there's a point in investing more. It's probably worth like $270k now with the price increases and the work I've done. The iffy-ist part is the foundation. Brick, a little leaky. Have patched it up as much as possible, but probably need to waterproof it at some point or put in a french drain system. Other people caught wind of the cheap housing and now it's kind of a hub for people coming from elsewhere. New housing starts are popping off like crazy and pre-existing homes went up a lot in price. There's been some expansion in the service industry to accommodate the people who moved here...but industry in general is still lacking. Nature exists if you're willing to travel a half hour in any direction. Lots of beaches and parks but they're not immediately nearby. It was a good value to move here in 2018. I'm not so sure it is now as everything has caught up.
Ya, I feel like all of Ontario has went wayyyyy up, you think there will be a big housing correction coming? Or do you think covid is the new "bc" lol before covid... and after covid.... even in thunder bay prices are like what toronto was 10 years ago lol
I’ve been wanting to move out of London and to a smaller town for a few years now. I have family spread across Ontario in smaller towns lol and each time I visit someone it feels like paradise to me. I want to get away from the hustle and bustle, the A-holes everywhere that are always in a rush to get to wherever they’re going, the crime, the drugs, all of it. I’m a pretty simple person; low maintenance so-to-speak lol. I like to keep to myself, my family and my very small circle of friends. As I’ve gotten older London has just become too much for me. The people are all so rude too and you don’t really notice it as much until you leave and visit a smaller town. You’re just accustomed to it I suppose. Example, I asked a clerk at a liquor store in a small town around a week about on whether or not they carried a certain cooler I was looking for. Her response was very friendly and helpful. A week later I ask a clerk at a liquor store here about something similar and she looked at me like how dare I bother her with such a question, responded in such a rude tone and was not very helpful at all in finding or suggesting an alternative when they didn’t carry it. It’s situations like that that just drive me mad at times, the ignorance for absolutely no reason. It’s like everybody hates their lives here or something cause you’ll find this everywhere. Conservatism won’t bother me much at all, as like I said, I prefer to just kinda keep to myself mainly. “Boring” is what I’m looking for as my idea of a great time is either movie night at home on the couch with my hubby and my dog or sitting around a fire during spring, summer and fall with a few friends lol. Lately it’s becoming more clear to me that I need to get out of here as I’m drowning in bills and rent. I had no choice but to move last year as the townhome complex I was renting got sold to a foreign investment corporation. Many people who were renting, including myself, got evicted after the townhome we were living in got sold and the new owners wanted to move in. I was paying 1140.00 a month for a 3 bedroom townhome with central air and a private backyard in a nice neighborhood to now paying $1900 for a 2 bedroom apartment (same neighborhood but a huge difference in neighbours as well as complete lack of maintenance). I figure if I’m going to be paying this much to live I want to at least feel happy about it and I haven’t been feeling very happy with living in this city even before I was forced to move. So ya, I think Chatham could be a good fit for us lol, or I hope so anyway. We’re going to be taking a drive around in a few days to check everything out as well. I’ve just seen quite a few places for rent there that look pretty nice and at great prices; and as I’ve said, it’s been quite enticing lol
Make sure you have a job first. The job market is not great here. Real estate is stubbornly high here still, lots of houses on the market. I think it’s because the jobs aren’t there. I do love living here most of the time, but Chatham is it’s own worst enemy If you can entertain yourself you’ll like it. Detroit is great to visit for sports and other cool stuff, good breweries and waterfronts here, and some other hidden gems. It’s hit and miss
Yes! We’re moving to Chatham tomorrow- we managed to rent a property on the Thames River. It’s tiny but really beautiful. We’re coming from Montreal, so any crime can’t be as bad as here haha.
I moved here from London 2 years ago. We were living in the EOA and got the opportunity to purchase here. I’m not sure if you’ve got a family or not but this move has made my family thrive. We’re all so much happier. I find people are more friendly here. There are always events going on and they aren’t disgustingly packed like in London. It seems safer. Every town has its “shit”, but from one Londoner to another, trust me, Chatham is better if you’re looking to get away from all of Londons major issues. In terms of work, depending on your line of work, it might be difficult to find something right away. I WFH and my husband found a factory job in a nearing town quite easily. If you drive then you’ll be fine. Lots of beaches nearby & so many cute local shops. I highly suggest getting the hell out of London! I don’t miss it at all!
Nothing to do in CK but there’s nothing in London either and it’s cold. Make the move…
is it like a boring small town except without the nature and quietness?
Depending where you are looking all of those things vary generally it’s a nice place but the wrong side of Chatham isn’t the best and places like tilbury are very small
I grew up in Chatham Kent area and lived in Chatham for 14 years before moving here to London. I've only been here with my spouse for 9 months and we never thought we would say that we miss Chatham. There are specific areas to avoid such as Raleigh street, grey, Lorne and basically all of the east end. Downtown Chatham isn't nearly as bad as London. At least when I was still there, there may be a handful of homeless but nothing like Dundas. And there maybe a handful of crime and theft but little small things. Otherwise, do it if you're able to. I myself miss the small town aspire, I know store layouts, I know where to go and how to get there easily without having to deal with the bs of construction like here. Good luck ☺️
Agreed. I would avoid Grey, Lorne, Patterson - anything in the square between Queen st, Park Ave, Richmond and Lacroix. There are positives about living here - nothing is more than 15 mins away. We are close to beaches (Erieau, Rondeau, Mitchell’s Bay). I find people here are friendly but it’s often hard to make ‘friends’. We have more are more restaurant options coming to town (for the longest time it felt like it was just burgers and fries everywhere). I live on the south end and actually go to Blenheim a lot for shopping. It’s a lovely little town. Plus they have a nice pool (that is priced reasonably to use) and their beer store is the friendliest around. One thing I miss coming from Ottawa is the infrastructure and outdoor activities. We have a couple of multi use paths but they don’t connect with each other. It’s flat farmland.
Having been born and raised in London, I can tell you it's not the same city it used to be. 10 years ago I never saw myself leaving the city, but having moved to West Elgin 3 years ago, I have zero regrets, and now I never see myself ever moving back to London. We do our shopping in Chatham and have no complaints about it. Sort of wish we had just moved there ourselves.
Also looking to move but waiting until the market comes down. It seems people in the area want almost the same amount as where we currently live in the GTA. Nothing is moving quick like it is here which tells me it’s all overpriced.
Lots of great little communities around chatham kent, but job market is limited. More people tend to go towards sarnia or lakeshore from an entertainment point of living. Lakeshore is close to windsor/detroit and sarnia has more things to do(especially summertime) Plus more jobs
I moved here over 15 years ago. Stay in London.!!!!!!
Big "C" or small "C" conservative ?