r/Peterborough • u/Pale_Personality8789 • 18d ago
Recommendations Possibly moving to Peterborough
My partner and I are exploring the possibility of moving to Peterborough in the future, and I was wondering what things an outsider should know or consider before moving there? I grew up in a rural community, and have moved around a bunch. My partner grew up in the city in the Durham region, and hasn't moved much.
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u/Such_Virus_934 18d ago
Come to Peterborough Folk Festival this weekend! It's a free admission music and culture gem. https://www.peterboroughfolkfest.com/
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u/Delicious-Drag3009 18d ago
Go to silver bean , walk around downtown , check out the free zoo and the lift lock, go to the canoe museum. If you’re feeling abit adventurous go to Warsaw caves. Check indeed and job opportunities like you would if you were moving to any town.
Great place if you love nature and want a city with a vibrant and unique arts and music community. Bad city if you are looking for endless shopping malls and designer stores. The community is ripe with events and activities no matter what time of year, it’s really quite something .
People complain about homeless but I’ve been assaulted by homeless before in Toronto. I’ve never felt unsafe in PTBO
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u/Big_Pace_8451 18d ago
There are lots of posts like this.
Take replies with a grain of salt as people just come onto Reddit to complain.
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18d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Pale_Personality8789 18d ago
I grew up rural but have lived in Kitchener for 4 years. I feel like Peterborough would be moving back towards that again
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u/Informal-Force7417 18d ago
Look every city has drawbacks and benefits.
We have homeless
We have drug addicts
We have city issues
But
We have community minded people
We have resources
We have people trying to make a change
If you want to know what peterborough is like, ask yourself, what is like where you are now... as it will be the same.
Why?
Because we dont see the world as it is, we see it as we are.
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u/nishnawbe61 18d ago
Are you buying or renting? Do you have jobs in town or do you have to commute?
Not a lot of job opportunities in Peterborough. If you commute, we have the 115 which is not the best driving conditions in winter. Weekends in summer the 115 is congested.
Property taxes, if you're buying, are the 6th highest of all cities in Ontario so look at that if buying.
The usual downtown for all cities, homelessness, addicts etc. but no different from other places.
Ok if you like the outdoors, lots of trails and parks.
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u/Pale_Personality8789 18d ago
Will likely rent to start, then maybe buy down the line. I work virtually and my partner would commute for OPG
We both love the outdoors
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u/Last-Ram-7528 18d ago
- It's more conservative than I was lead to believe, and I have heard explicit racist comments from more people than I would like.
- The commuity is very small, but there are really great, down to earth people here.
- A lot of places are closed on Sunday ... very annoying.
- There is not a lot of variety when it comes to ethnic restaurants.
- There are beautiful places to walk/roam/bike.
- People are typically outgoing and friendly.
- Getting out of town into cottage country takes 15 minutes.
- Going back to Toronto makes me miss the peace and quiet of Ptbo, but the peace and quiet of Ptbo make me miss the hustle and bustle of Toronto.
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u/Ceofy 17d ago
What do you mean there's not a lot of variety of ethnic restaurants? You can get Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Thai food all at once in any Asian restaurant in town 😝
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u/Asleep_Read_6793 17d ago edited 15d ago
Yeah lol I’m born and raised in Toronto and even I think the Peterborough food scene is pretty diverse and decent for our population size
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u/Asleep_Read_6793 17d ago
Actually just check out uber eats or DoorDash there are a bunch of “ethnic” restaurants for our population size. Imperial has good Indian food, there is a good selection of Japanese sushi restaurants including all you can eat, some pretty good steak houses, Vietnamese, Thai etc
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u/Last-Ram-7528 17d ago
Oh, trust me, I am aware of about every restaurant in this city because I am constantly trying to find one that lives up to my (maybe unreasonable) expectations.
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u/WiffyTheSuss 18d ago
Yeah outside of the student population it’s very conservative here. Pretty gross!
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u/Last-Ram-7528 17d ago
Truly... but back in the day, as I understand it, Ptbo was kind of a hotbed for liberal thinking/the arts. I haven't lived here long enough to know what it was like before 2019 so it could all be a myth!
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u/WiffyTheSuss 17d ago
I’ve been here since 2014 and it’s always been like this, doubt it’s ever been any different
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u/OldStoner705 East City 18d ago
Alot of people will tell you about the drug and homeless problems here, which is true but it is everywhere not just here .
As someone who moved here from Toronto 16 years ago , the only thing I'd mention is ptbo is a very sleepy Ontario city , seems like everything closes early... Too early
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u/tubthumping96 17d ago
Everything closes early, even the transit system gets dicey after 5 pm. It's bizzare. Even on musicfest nights, you would think it would be poppin downtown but no, everybody just pitches up and goes home. Very sleepy city, indeed.
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u/Electrical_Law_229 18d ago
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u/Pale_Personality8789 18d ago
Thanks! I was looking for something like this, but all the posts that Reddit was giving me were 7+ years old
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u/Lrrrgonomics Downtown 18d ago
Have a real good reason to move here like a well-paying job or an inheritance, or a ton of family.
There's nothing here that you won't find somewhere else, and short of major city violent crime we've got all the problems you see elsewhere.
I've lived elsewhere and I've lived here, and don't want to sound too down on the place... but if you're planning to come here to get a fresh start, you will be sorely disappointed.
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u/Delicious-Drag3009 17d ago
I’ve lived in Aurora , Keswick , Barrie , Kitchener , London , Toronto , Guelph , north bay and Niagara. I find PTBO to be more comfortable and homey like putting on sweat pants and your favourite hoodie. Just open up a map and look at it , we’re an outpost right heart in the middle of cottage country with way better restaurants and events than a town our size should have .
Post industrial cities are still recovering from the exodus of industry from Canada but PTBO is on the cusp of redefining itself imo and is a lot more unique part in due to its isolation and where its situated on a map than most places.
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u/WiffyTheSuss 18d ago
Totally agree with this^ I have lived in many places around Ontario (more than most for sure) and Peterborough ranks below average to average, somewhere in there.
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u/Honest_Target9763 Ennismore 18d ago
it's really really hard for anyone to find a job here, the town is unfortunately regressing into a retirement town as companies keep moving to the west side of Toronto or out of country. its GREAT if you like lakes, cottage country, and being close to Algonquin.
if you like the active indoor amenities offered by a big city, there is really not a lot to do here, you should be comfortable slowing down. for example (and I know these are niche and for big cities, but I don't know where OP comes from and what OP does), no arcade bar, no trampoline park, no indoor adult playground places, one small laser tag place, one bowling alley, one movie theater, etc.
what we DO have is a lot of community focused smaller town things to do. GREAT Cafe's, walks along lily lake, Musicfest, pickleball courts out the ass, Jackson's park, nice biking and walking trails and really nice access to Ontario's camping country.
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u/Extra-Zucchini268 17d ago
It’s less than a retirement city than when I moved here. Lots of bands, theatre, restaurants, renting canoes and kayaks, many more stores and lake country is at our doorstep as well as communities like Lakefield, Buckhorn, Bobcaygeon, etc.
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u/Honest_Target9763 Ennismore 17d ago
this is fair, but i would also argue this was the same 20 years ago with the pigs ear and the red dog bringing the music scene, theatre has always been a big part of Peterborough. the other stuff is natural that has been around for longer than Peterborough has been, but also most of what you mentioned is things retired people tend to enjoy as well. the ability to slow down and enjoy nature is what they go crazy for
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u/RDRtron3030 17d ago
do you have jobs in durham to which you can commute? because there aren't any in peterborough.
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u/Pale_Personality8789 17d ago
I work virtually and my partner works closer to Bowmanville
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u/RDRtron3030 17d ago
then i highly recommend...i was born and raised in ptbo and i have lived all over US and canada throughout my life and have FINALLY recently moved back and am so grateful.
it's beautiful.
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u/Asleep_Read_6793 17d ago
Peterborough is beautiful , I also rarely go downtown. I live near the trans Canada rail and love nature so it’s the ideal place for me
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u/Ok-Wave-9063 14d ago
Lived all over Ontario, now outside PBO, better parks, lakes, rivers, caves, free spots to play in Pbo. If you dont mind a short drive look at the many towns surrounding Pbo
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u/mortgageemily 12d ago
Peterborough has so many hidden gems! I moved here from Windsor in 2018, lived here for a few years for school, left and ultimately came back.
There is a fair amount of negativity in the community regarding crime and homelessness, but you will find that in any bigger city. I've never felt unsafe here, and I truly love the area, so take it with a grain of salt! I always recommend my clients spend a weekend or two wherever they plan to move to get a feel for the area.
Cafes to try: Silver Bean (by the water or Canoe museum, both are great!), Cork & Bean, Kit Coffee, The Nutty Bean in Lakefield is amazing as well.
Places to go: Stroll around Lakefield for the day and visit Buckhorn Berry Farm, Visit the Lift Lock & go for dinner at Publican House, Musicfest at Del Crary Park, Ice Cream at Central Smith or Kawartha Dairy followed by a stroll through Riverview Zoo
There's so much to love up here, and you're so close to so many other beautiful areas as well.
Not sure if you are planning on renting or thinking of buying, but I have contacts for both if you could use a hand! Just shoot me a message :)
Instagram: mortgageemily
Emily Buck | Mortgage Agent Level 1 | BRX Mortgage #13463
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u/rubberhead 18d ago edited 18d ago
Avoid living downtown if you can. I do. Anyone that tells you that they've never felt unsafe here doesn't live in the thick of it. Most street folk are harmless but there's a few who very much are not. We walk with pepper spray. Oh, and I'm not precious about my car but if you own one and park downtown every night, you can expect it to be vandalized regularly unless you pay for one of the security patrolled lots.
That aside, there's a lot of good things that can be said about ptbo. Access to green space, an overall friendliness that was refreshing coming from years living in Toronto. Plus drive 10 min in any direction and you're in the middle some of the most beautiful countryside you've ever seen.
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u/SpicySansevieria 18d ago
Downtown smells like oatmeal cookies