Ontario gays, tell me about Windsor.

Well it's just over the bridge from one of the most crime ridden cities in the US, Detroit. It that tells you anything. I don't know how much (if any) of the Detroit crime filters over the bridge. Obviously now with COVID the borders are hard to pass through. Also I don't know what level of amenities Windsor on its own offers. Other than Detroit it's not close enough to any other big cities to be a quick hop back and forth.

It will feel like a small town if you're from the city. It has surprisingly great restaurants, due to the absence of gentrification. Lots of local farms and picturesque/tranquil scenery. Property is much more affordable, but they also get extreme weather there (flooding & tornadoes for instance). It wouldn't be a bad place to retire. You money would go far there. The people I know who live there love it. The proximity to the border is also a bonus. I too have considered retiring there.

[quote] Other than Detroit it's not close enough to any other big cities to be a quick hop back and forth.

True, R1, but it's not so far from Toronto that a weekend getaway would be impossible.

Thanks, R2. I just worry about its reputation as a dying, blue-collar town, which is why I'm a bit hesitant. I guess I'd have to visit to see for myself. I was surprised at how affordable the houses there are, but then the cynic in me wonders if there's a reason for that.

Do you want to live next to a bunch of “bruthas”?

I think it’s like a reverse San Diego/Tijuana. Safe US, dangerous Other. It’s “dangerous” US, safe Other. Very little of the crime spills over in either case.

I'm not worried about crime spilling over as I'm sure that the border controls are tight. What I'm more worried about is the crime in Windsor, committed by the locals. Again, I don't know for sure, but Windsor has a reputation for being a rough, blue-collar type town. The automotive factories are struggling, so I wonder if there's issues there because of that.

I've heard things like what R2 has posted, but I've also heard that it's a dead town, where many people only finished high school and went off to work in now non-existent factory jobs, resulting in high unemployment and the social problems that go along with that.

Detroit crime infects everywhere within 100 miles. The corruption is everything you would expect it to be.

People are writing about Detroit as if this was 1980. Downtown Detroit has made a real comeback and will be the most accessible part of the US side to you.

I grew up on the other side of the bridge and while yes Detroit has crime if you stay in the downtown area you should be fine. You have access to some really great restaurants & attractions in Detroit. Greektown, Mexican Village, Cork Town, Hamtramck, Eastern Market. You have the Detroit sports teams. The Detroit Institute of Arts is amazing! Belle Isle Park. Did you know the Detroit Boat Club Crew is the oldest rowing club in the country?

Just be prepared the winters can be very gray and overcast for many months.

What about Windsor itself, R9? Detroit and its pros and cons don't mean much to me, especially since I don't plan on crossing the border often, if at all.

WOP central

It's a shithole, just like Thunder Bay.

People who complain about Detroit are the same ones who complain about Chicago. They all live in Cooter Holler and have no sense of what a big city is like.

I went to the university in the 80s - twice, first for a degree in psychology and then for my BSW.

I really liked the school. It was about medium sized and not as intimidating as Carleton (Ottawa) was my previous year.

I never liked the city though. Parts of it were rundown. I had to rely on the bus to get around and any place decent seemed to be so far away. I remember every year there was Devil’s Night around Halloween. Awful fires people set.

If your primary concerns are a mild climate and low cost of living, it's a viable option. Don't expect much excitement: the downtown has the Casino, art gallery, the river, and some OK restaurants, but not a lot else. I've visited a lot over many years and have never been never concerned about crime at all; have been over to Detroit for day trips several times, and it was fine too. Windsor is good for walking, as it's so flat. There are some nice leafy older neighborhoods, but also a lot of non-descript suburbs and industrial areas. There's some easy scenic hiking nearby at Point Pelee and Lake St. Clair. Humidity can be horrible in the summer. You should go for a couple of weeks to check it out. It sounds like you have realistic expectations, which is a plus, as it definitely won't sweep you off your feet, but for a cheap, quiet retirement it might work. Good luck.

OP, you're BANNED from entering Canada. Why bother?

Your little tattletale to the airport misfired when the Canadian cops asked what the hell is really going on here. They took copious notes & so polite

You ain't polluting our homeland w/your poisonous presence

Au revoir, comic hero doodler

Yo mama WAS a shtankin' ho

r16 seems to be assuming that OP is not Canadian.

Windsor used to have a gay stripper bar.

You mean the Happy Tap?

OP. There are a lot better choices than Windsor. I spent lots of time in SW Ontario. To me Guelph, Cambridge and KW are all better places and are alll closer to Toronto.

What about Kingston? Maybe not as mild but nicer.

Kingston, Waterloo, and Guelph aren't as affordable, R21, R20.

In Windsor all seems to breathe freedom and peace and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils.

You've come to the right place. I live here and in this area all my life. Windsor is a smallish, pleasant little city of about 210,000 people. It's relatively quiet and safe and such a contrast to the big American cities. Detroit is right across the border - but please be careful there. And Toronto, which I have been to many times, is only about 350 miles away. Windsor is not a dying city - the big 3 automotive companies are still doing quite well, and the city is a throwback to a simpler, more comfortable time, and not so fast placed. Love it here and will probably live in Windsor the rest of my life. It has a unique charm all its own and its home to me.

Why did you hate Calgery, OP? And how has Victoria lost its charm?

I get this outsider impression Vancouver is only for Chinese now, like a new Hong Kong. Is that true?

Are you single, R24? You sound charming!

Calgary is full of conservative rednecks, R25. I did not like it one bit. A bland, soulless, culturally void city with vast, sprawling, awful cookie-cutter suburbs filled with generally awful people.

I don't know if Vancouver is only for the Chinese now though there are a lot of them. There's also a lot of South Asians, but I don't care about demographics so much. Vancouver is expensive and I want to retire comfortably.

Victoria is beautiful, but it has grown so much and there's construction everywhere. It's not the same charming and quaint town it once was, in my opinion anyway. They're even blasting away into mountainsides to make more room. The traffic is a nightmare and the city is becoming more and more expensive every year. It's nearly impossible to buy anything decent there for much under 800k or so. Look at this place, listed at 1.25 million. Pure craziness.

If you want to be closer to a big city, and still keep it cheap, consider London. It's twice as big as Windsor, the economy is better, it's far enough away from Toronto that it's still not incredibly expensive, and the weather is pretty comparable to Windsor.

The downtown kind of sucks but there's a decent amount of variety in the city.

London is in a snowbelt that extends north to Parry Sound. On average, London gets twice as much snow as Windsor.

OP do you enjoy boating or fishing? The area is great for that!

We used to be called Battenberg.

Caesars has a big hotel and casino in Windsor right on the river. Can't be all bad. I doubt Caesars would put that kind of money in some dump of a city.

[quote] To me Guelph, Cambridge and KW are all better places and are alll closer to Toronto.

They’re also in the snow belt.

What about somewhere east like Cobourg or Port Hope?

Move to St. John's in Newfoundland! I have wanted to visit there.

Because there's absolutely /nothing/ there, R32?

OP. You might find this link useful. You can compare costs of living. I was surprised that for some things Windsor was more expensive than other cities in Ontario.