For families looking at moving to Pickering, you may already know that Pickering has plenty of cool things to do and fun places for to explore for kids and adults alike. There are some GREAT neighbourhoods in GREAT school districts with prices that are accessible a wide variety of home buyers.
Here are some areas we recommend:
What makes a good neighbourhood for families?
The top neighbourhoods were based on the following: Fraser Institute School Scores, Average Walkscore/Transit Score (which measures proximity to amenities), Traffic Density (less traffic is better), and the amount of Greenspace and Parks in the neighbourhood.
Average school rankings were most important metric and accounted for 50% of the overall score. The balance of the score was split between the other 3 metrics.
Caveats: Some neighbourhoods do not have any schools that report to the Fraser Institute (Woodlands, Village East and Town Centre) so they were excluded.
The top 3 were separated by two and a half points so you can't go wrong with any of these family-friendly neighbourhoods.
Here are the top Pickering neighbourhoods for raising a family:
#5. Rosebank
Rosebank is located in the southwest corner of Pickering and lies along the waterfront trail. If I had to pick the best part of the Waterfront trail to go biking along it would definitely be the portion from Rosebank and heading towards Port Union.
Families moving to Pickering love this neighbourhood because it's quietly tucked away just south of Hwy 401 and has very little traffic. The majority of homes in the area are single family detached homes. It ranks at #5 mostly because most errands, appointments and activitives are very car dependent and there are few amenities nearby (i.e., grocery stores) without heading north.
Rosebank by the numbers
Ranked #2 in average school score but ranked last in our top 5 for walkability and transit.
#4 Bay Ridges
Bay Ridges surprised me that it made this list. It is located on the east side of Frenchman's Bay and is home to the Pickering Nuclear Power Plant. There are a mix of all housing types with everything from large waterfront custom homes all the way down to 1 bedroom condos at San Francisco by the Bay.
A very pedestrian Average Fraser Institute score of 5.5 is overcome by the liveability (is that even a word??) of this community. Most areas are walking distance to the beautiful waterfront and the Go Station too. My 2 favourite restaurants Port and Chuuk are in this neighbourhood and it's adjacent to Pickering Town Centre.
You're very close to tons of shopping, dining and recreation opportunities such as parks (there are no less than 4), beaches and trails and other active facilities.
Bay Ridges by the numbers
A #9 average school ranking and #1 for walkscore, transit score and greenspace. If you're moving to Pickering and want to be close to everything, then Bay Ridges is worth looking in to. .
#3 Rougemount
Rougemount is adjacent to Rouge River park and is one of the nicest and most expensive neighbourhoods in the city. This neighbourhood has an average Fraser Institute School rating of 7.2, which is great but you'll fall in love with how close you are to Rouge Valley Park.
This low traffic neighbourhood makes it very safe for kids to play outside, with lots of green space and parks nearby. Being so close to Rouge River park means you can easily take your children on an outing at any time during the day or evening—there’s no need to worry about traffic!
Were this neighbourhood a little less car dependent it would have
Rougemount by the numbers
Affluent neighbourhood that is stong in all metrics measured. If you like being close to nature then think about moving to Rougemount.
#2 Dunbarton
Dunbarton is a narrow pocket of Pickering bounded by Spruce Hill Rd to the west, Appleview to the East and runs north to south from just north of Finch to Hwy 2. Dunbarton is mostly detached homes with a few pockets of upscale homes on estate lots. Most homes in this neighbourhood were built in the 80s or 90s with an average age of 34 years old but there are some pockets that have newer homes that are more expensive due to larger lots (1/3 acre plus) and upscale finishing like hardwood floors & granite countertops etc…
Dunbarton has good access to amenities including grocery stores, restaurants & parks within walking distance from most houses however it does lack public transit options other than walking or biking which may be fine if you live near public transit but not so great if you don't have access nearby or need transportation for work etc…
Dunbarton by the numbers
Top ranked school district in the city with low traffic density. Daily life in Dunbarton is fairly car dependent which kept it from taking top spot.
#1 Liverpool Neighbourhood in Pickering
Over 70% of residents live withing walking distance of a grocery store and pharmacy. There are 4 public schools that are walkable for nearly all students in the catchment areas. for families including parks, schools, shopping centres, and restaurants. The whole community is dotted with forests, parks and greenspace w here families
The proximity to all these amenities makes this a great area for families with kids as many of the schools are within walking distance of the entire catchment area. Home types from Condo townhouses all the way up to estate homes make this a great neighbourhood for families at all price points.
Liverpool by the numbers
Thanks to a #3 School ranking, #2 Walkscore, #1 Transit Score Liverpool is our pick as the top neighbourhood to raise a family.
Conclusion
The neighbourhoods in Pickering have a lot to offer families. Whether you’re looking for a safe place to raise your children or want something more rural and quiet, there’s something here that will suit your needs.
If you’re interested in moving to Pickering with your family then contact me today! You can use the chatbox on this page or send an email to: dean@deangibbons.com to get started.