LOCATION:
West of Dufferin St along St Clair and Eglinton to Caledonia.
EPICENTRE:
St Clair and Dufferin
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES:
Portuguese communities, gelatarias, cafes, bakeries, walkable main streets, St. Clair streetcar access.
DID YOU KNOW?:
Even though there is a significant Latin American, Caribbean and Portuguese community is Corso Italia, this neighbourhood is known as Toronto’s second Little Italy after Little Italy on College Street.
For the most part, this area is largely inhabited by working class Portuguese the more you go west, though its not so Portuguese that you would feel uncomfortable if you didn’t have that Portuguese connection. Regardless, delicious food is close by. It will not be hard to find a tasty Portuguese custard tart in these parts.
The area is still relatively inexpensive and does not have the demand of some other emerging neighbourhoods. Prices are still fairly reasonable, by Toronto standards, since the hipster factor has not yet arrived in full force in this neighbourhood. If you don’t mind that, then there this is one of the more affordable Toronto neighbourhoods. The housing stock varies from small bungalows to two story Edwardian homes.
It’s not a neighbourhood where condos are going up in all directions and the yoga and coffee shops are popping up like dandy lions in Spring. No, it already has an established main street with some new condos sprinkled in.
Some neighbourhoods in this collection are more desirable and therefore cost a little more. Corso Italia is the most expensive of the two. For the rest, the closer you are to St. Clair, the more expensive a house will be. Eglintion Ave is less expensive right now, but with the Eglinton Crossway coming to whisk people across town, prices will likely go up close near this street in the future.