Feature 2

They're not referring to Niagara as Florida North quite yet. But that day may be fast approaching as a growing number of Greater Toronto Area (GTA) retirees head south to Niagara instead of Florida to spend their golden years.

With ample amenities, the security of Canada's health care system, a simpler lifestyle, and—the biggie—housing costs that are a relative steal compared with Toronto's super-heated real estate, the idea of "moving south" has taken on new meaning.

To be sure, well-heeled Torontonians have been migrating for years to picturesque Niagara-on-the-Lake, in the northeast corner of the Niagara Peninsula. However, the last few years have seen a quiet but unmistakable housing boom to the south, in the communities of Stevensville, Ridgeway and Crystal Beach. The newcomers have arrived in sufficient numbers to make their presence felt both in the area's economy and its social life.

"Price is a huge factor," says Robert Mills, president of Ridgeway by the Lake, a 230-home adult lifestyle community located in the heart of historic Ridgeway, only steps from Lake Erie. "As we age we want to move from two-storey homes to a home where everything is on one floor. Two-storey homes are being sold in the GTA for $600,000 up to $1 million. You can buy a home with the same square footage, all on one floor, in Ridgeway for anywhere between $300,000 and $600,000. And, unlike the GTA, these homes are surrounded by forestry and walking trails."

Bill and Lila Klussmann made the move to Ridgeway by the Lake about a year ago from Caledon, just west of Mississauga. "I love to garden and I grow so many more plants here than I could in Caledon," Bill Klussmann says. "They grow so much nicer here because of the climate. And when I want to fish, all I have to do is walk to the end of the street to throw a line in."

The Klussmanns have become the community's unofficial event co-ordinators. They collect e-mail addresses from new homeowners and get them in touch with other newcomers to get together for a glass of wine and/or dinner in Buffalo or Fort Erie, Canada Day events, Super Bowl parties, or this year's Spring Fling that boasted a live band, horse and carriage rides and dancing in Ridgeway on the Lake's streets. "Everyone here is of a similar age so it's easier to make friends," Klussmann says. "Together we lead an active life, are healthier and expect to live longer."

They and their neighbours were pleasantly surprised to find that Mills, on a regular basis, hosted events and planned activities for homeowners. "For example, Robert rented a bus and took us to Buffalo, showing us great places to shop and eat, including Elmwood Village," Klussmann says. "He pointed out Shea's Performing Arts Centre and oriented us to all that Buffalo has to offer. In Fort Erie he showed us where to shop, the many golf courses and the town's entertainment offerings, including Gypsy Theatre."

Suzanne Harper grew up in Stevensville and Ridgeway, has spent much of her working life managing and operating service-related businesses in the area, and has watched the inflow of GTA arrivals grow from a trickle to a wave.

She says it was in 2005 that she first noticed GTA arrivals as clients at Chakra Spa in Crystal Beach, which she and a partner had opened two years earlier. They more recently opened the Chakra Fitness gym in Ridgeway. "A lot of people coming in were from Toronto," she recalls. "It was a mix. Retirees and families who had bought cottages, because Muskoka has out priced most people. At that time a lot of them were picking up cottages for 40 or 50 grand just to renovate for weekends and that kind of thing. A lot of them ended up moving permanently down here."

Harper estimates about 20 per cent of her clientele are recent GTA arrivals, either retirees or families, some of whom have made the move in anticipation of retirement in the near future. The cottagers, she says, also prefer heading south rather than north because there's less traffic but more to do, being so close to Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Niagara-onthe- Lake and St. Catharines.

On the northeast shore of Lake Erie, sits the Crystal Beach Tennis and Yacht Club, a 150-home development set on the grounds of the former Crystal Beach Amusement Park. A gated community, with some beachfront homes, it caters to families, young and old, who are now summering in southern Ontario. "It started as a summer resort but has evolved over the years," says custom builder Brent Pym, president and owner of Pym and Cooper Custom Homes Inc.

"It is very family oriented, maintenance free with a tennis court, pool, clubhouse and 24-hour security. Our prices run from $300,000 to $1 million for 5,000 to 6,000 square feet. In Muskoka you would pay twice that."

And, like Mills, Pym offers residents the opportunity for leisure activities on an ongoing basis. "Many of the retirees, when they come to Fort Erie, find themselves part-time jobs," Mills says. "They're retired but they still want to remain active."

The Region of Niagara has become home to the largest population of senior citizens in the province of Ontario. "One Ontarian, whether they are an empty nester or retiree, turns 55 every minute," notes Mills. "And over the next 20 years eight million people will be retiring across the country."

Greater Fort Erie, which takes in the town of Fort Erie and the communities of Ridgeway, Stevensville and Crystal Beach, with a combined population of 30,000 has experienced a high level of residential and commercial development in the past few years.

While many of the recent newcomers have migrated from the GTA, there are plenty who have arrived from much closer. Urban planner P. Leigh Whyte moved to Fort Erie from Welland for the quality of life and access to Western New York.

"I attended graduate school and worked in Western New York for over 15 years, crossing the border almost every day," Whyte says. "I continue to cross the border on a regular basis for many reasons, including being a Buffalo Sabres' season ticket holder. Where else can you be home from a professional sporting event in 20 to 30 minutes?"

Whyte recently helped to organize a joint national/provincial conference of planners and led a mobile workshop of nearly 50 participants over to Buffalo for an architectural walking tour that included a visit to Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin Martin House. "Planners from around the country were impressed with the wealth of cultural tourism opportunities in and around Niagara."

One of Fort Erie's most attractive benefits is its proximity to Buffalo, says Mayor Doug Martin. "We are the rural setting for urban Buffalo. Fort Erie offers a small town, stress-free atmosphere that is within minutes of all the amenities of a big city. Depending on the bridge you can be in Buffalo in five to 15 minutes."

The city of Buffalo, with a population of almost 243,000, is home to two big-league sports franchises, the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills, extensive theatre and dining offerings and the Buffalo International Airport.

Martin and Lord Mayor Gary Burroughs of Niagara-on-the-Lake are members of a bi-national mayors' coalition that meets bi-monthly to work on issues that affect both sides of the border. "We are a seamless economic zone," Martin says. "We don't see it as a border; we see it as a bridge."

Barb Waines, prinicpal planner for Niagara-on-the-Lake, says the town does not "people zone" and encourages all forms of family, but acknowledges there has been an influx of 55-plus arrivals looking to reduce their living expenses while increasing their quality of life, which includes living in highly-appointed homes. "Electronic gadgetry is now being built into appliances and fine finishing and furniture are often included," she says. "And it's still less expensive than the GTA."

The town has just approved the construction of two retirement homes and takes pride in its diverse provision of housing and amenities. Waines says most townsfolk do not take advantage of the nearby border, instead choosing to join the Niagara-on-the-Lake Sailing Club, take in a play at the Shaw Festival, fish off a dock in Old Town or Queenston, tour a winery or just soak in the town's history. "When they do leave town for entertainment, they go to Toronto as it's quite close."

Niagara-on-the-Lake, with a total population of 13,800, including the Old Town, St. David's, Virgil, Queenston, Homer and McNab, is drawing its share of retirees, among them Mike Keenan, who lived previously in Niagara Falls, Fort Erie and St. Catharines. "We moved here for financial reasons," Keenan explains. "We saw Niagara-on-the-Lake as being relatively stable in terms of selling our home in the future. The neighbourhood was attractive; the yard was large and well landscaped and we had an opportunity to fix the house up the way we wanted."

Keenan and his wife are not snowbirds but do enjoy travelling, and heralded the arrival of GO bus and train service. "Now that we finally have a GO bus, we can visit Toronto more often and take in myriad of items there. Nevertheless, we like Niagara and find that it offers much to do."

Chris Jones, project manager and resident of Brookfield Homes, a 180-home Niagaraon- the-Lake development, has five children and knows the value of living in one of the prettiest little towns in Canada. After moving from the Milton area he is now living what most retirees only dream of. And, when it's time to retire, he's already there.

Recently retired is Bob Burton who, along with his partner, Roxann Bonnellie, purchased a converted cottage in Crystal Beach. The couple have a lakefront condo in Toronto, where Fort Erie native Roxann resides during the week so she can keep working until retirement in a couple of years.

Newfoundland-born Burton says he was introduced to the area during visits to Roxann's family. "I would get up in the morning and go for the newspaper and have a coffee at Tim Hortons and walk about and think, ‘What a nice place.' "He says retirement here is much preferable to, say, Lake Simcoe or Muskoka— it's both more affordable and more relaxing. He's even found a Chinese restaurant equal to anything in Toronto, and great pizzeria nearby.

"I love the city, but this is a change of pace for me and retiring and coming here just turned everything upside down and it was so new. So, instead of being in the same place retiring, I just changed the whole thing," he says. "I've got nice neighbours, we talk. There are craft shows, we have trivia nights, and so it's a hoot and a half."

Harper sees a shift taking place that could bring even more retirees from the GTA. The prime lakefront properties in Fort Erie-Crystal Beach have traditionally been the holiday playground of Buffalonians, with large homes set on huge plots.

"A lot of Americans are getting older and their kids don't want the big houses on the lake," she says, explaining the young people don't have the same attachment to the area as their parents, grandparents and, in many cases, great-grandparents.

"It's my theory that these properties will eventually go to Toronto people because you can't get a lakefront property near Toronto or in Muskoka for under a million and these houses are under a million—lakefront properties with good-sized lots. I think in the next five to 10 years you are going to see a switch."

Both municipalities in the eastern corners of the Niagara Peninsula enjoy a milder climate, a safe environment, freedom from big-city lineups and traffic jams, an abundance of year-round recreational opportunities, culture and the arts, convenient travel options. Plenty to like, to be sure.

Has south Niagara become Florida North? Mills says it's certainly on its way. "People are discovering Niagara—slowly, but they are discovering it." NM