Had to see when this was uploaded, Stratford is crazy expensive, homeless encampments ,crime is way up, etc. Its not the Stratford of even 5 years ago!!

@ShouldWeLiveHere

11 ай бұрын

Sadly I think that is true in many cities in US and Canada. We’ve gotten similar comments on our Kitchener Waterloo and London Ontario videos.

@maryloucarruthers9469

10 ай бұрын

your right,this is not the same. just dont come here!

@Liz-sn1mm

Ай бұрын

There are very few homeless people in Stratford, and certainly no homeless encampments.

Yes, high rent is an issue everywhere, but more so here. When you do the math, a rental here costs more per square foot than Toronto.. Significantly more. Last I checked it was approximately $1.17 more per square foot for a one bedroom. *Edit* the "free" wi-fi gives you access to the local paper, city hall, and festival webpages. If you want to use it for anything else, get out your credit card.

The people in the comments ragging on Stratford fail to realize that most towns have the same issues these days. The cost of living pretty much anywhere in Ontario right now is absurd, that's not a problem unique to Stratford. The city is growing pretty rapidly, and we definitely don't have the support infrastructure and amenities to keep up with the growth. There's definitely more crime compared to 5-10+ years ago, but again, I think thats not a problem particular to here. Thanks for the video.

@Liz-sn1mm

Ай бұрын

I have lived in Stratford since 1980, and question the need for unending growth. More and more farms and countryside are being sacrificed to new subdivisions. The charm and safety of our small city are threatened by making it bigger and bigger. "Bigger" does not equal "better"!

@rvd696

Ай бұрын

@@Liz-sn1mm you're absolutely right.

|Should actually be called SNOBBYTOWN, I know, I grew up there

You can't find a house for under $800k. Rent averages $2000. Every business and factory is hiring, because no one can afford to live here. There's no homeless shelter for men over 25, so they just roam around. And anything not nailed down goes missing.

@ShouldWeLiveHere

Жыл бұрын

…

@rayray8687

Жыл бұрын

@@ShouldWeLiveHere: It’s been at least 5 years since you could buy a house in Stratford for less than $500,000 and then it will be either a train wreck, a tear down or at best a serious fixer-upper beyond amateur capabilities. I say this as a decades-long building and renovation contractor with investments in Stratford. To suggest you can purchase housing in Stratford for $200,000 is simply not true, I doubt you can even buy an empty unserviced infill lot for that amount of money. You need to correct that part of your video. Otherwise Stratford is a great city!

@davestewart1656

11 ай бұрын

@@rayray8687 that's the truth.

@Liz-sn1mm

Ай бұрын

I find it annoying that people from Toronto can sell their townhouse or condo for mega $$$, and then come here and pay whatever outrageous price is asked for one of the grand old Victorian homes.

@user-og2wt3le4j

7 күн бұрын

@@Liz-sn1mm I know a couple who bought their downtown Toronto home for $600,000 in 1995. They sold it in 2023 for $3.29 million. They took early retirement buyouts. Then moved near Stratford buying a house for around $900 k. Both now have second careers and work from home. The remaining amount is a nest egg for real retirement.

Looks very British 😊

@ShouldWeLiveHere

Ай бұрын

A great place to visit and perhaps live!

Cynthia Dale and Peter Mansbridge now make Stratford their home.

@kirkstewart228

8 күн бұрын

That's because they are rich and have money.

One reason is that Ron Sexsmith live there.

Stratford is getting busier than it used to be. Traffic is on the raise. No more a peaceful city. Too many new house are coming up which is not good for the city itself; none are affordable. I don't know why the authorities are doing this rather that building new communities somewhere else needed. When I moved here in 2015 it was nice and a calm place, now it is not, I am already feeling it. I see myself moving to a peaceful place in the future.

@ShouldWeLiveHere

Жыл бұрын

We noticed Waterloo was starting to feel like Toronto- I guess the sprawl keeps heading West!

@BP-kp8gj

Жыл бұрын

@@ShouldWeLiveHere Yes. Stratford doesn't have the infrastructure for all this. Go to the festival mall and you will know it.

@rayray8687

Жыл бұрын

⁠​⁠@@BP-kp8gj: I’ve been to Festival Mall. There are usually about 6 people there - 2 at the food court, 3 at Hart and one heading to Dollarama. That’s on a busy day, lol. During ‘rush’ hour you’ll often see 4 cars at a stop light but if there’s re-paving you’ll then see 7 cars and an old man watching the machinery mumbling “They ‘shore’ don’t pave ‘em like they use-ter.” And btw, ‘authorities’ don’t build houses, developers build them where there’s demand.

I see everyone dogging on this town and this video for inaccuracy due to crime rate skyrocketing, housing becoming expensive, homeless issues and other things. Funnily enough, if you refer to Stratford upon Avon, UK which is this town's original inspiration, similar in population, similiar amenities, pretty much all the same except SUA just gets a lot more tourists as it's Shakespeare's birthplace. I'm from SUA. I am seeing the exact same problems its laughable. This is a common occurrence for all small towns at the moment and I don't think it's unique to this one, and I don't think it's just unique to Canada. Cut this guy some slack.

1: Stratford is NOT a safe city 2: comparing housing prices to Toronto is just ridiculous. It isn't cheap to live here and the jobs don't pay well 3: the avon river is absolutely disgusting. The swans are cool but the water is horrendously gross 4: can't hate on the chef school. One of the only good things about stratford 5: festival theater is way over priced, seats are very uncomfortable, and 90% of the patrons are snotty unpleasant people. Not a fun experience at all Definitely do not recommend moving here, save your money and go somewhere better that's cheaper. There are many better places close by

@ShouldWeLiveHere

Жыл бұрын

What places do you recommend that are cheaper? Thanks…

@Simbatalks422

Жыл бұрын

Woodstock,tavistock,brantford

@ShouldWeLiveHere

Жыл бұрын

@@Simbatalks422 thanks- We will have to check them out. 👍🏼

@kengreen6901

Жыл бұрын

Why is this in American dollars? Lame…

@kengreen6901

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the heads up amd those tips!

Yes it is a pretty city, but every city has its challenges. Huge rich-poor divide with over half the city making less than a living wage. Stratford is expensive. Do your research. Note that this is a marketing video presenting the rose coloured glasses version.

@ShouldWeLiveHere

Жыл бұрын

We try to include both pros and cons for every place we visit. We added a few cons near the end of the video. For many cities we can’t fit both the pros and cons in one video but for Stratford we didn’t think it warranted a separate video. Every city has homelessness, crime and income inequality but having recently visited Detroit, London Ontario and Tulum Mexico the problems in Stratford just didn’t compare.

@willrobinson1671

10 ай бұрын

@@ShouldWeLiveHere I live in Stratford. Not born here, but I now call it home. I find that the people making negative comments don't realize how good it is because they've never seen anything else. It's clean, fairly quiet, and it is safe. We can drink the water right out of the tap, that's a plus. There are plenty of jobs in manufacturing, arts, and service industries. Not sure why Ken Wood would call this a marketing video, when it's clearly meant as a positive review of the city. Don't worry about him, though. He's well known in the community for whining about everything.

Do you like the idea of living in a small town with a huge gap between rich and poor? Do you like living in a town full of pretentious, pompous entitled snobs? Then Stratford is the place for you.

@ShouldWeLiveHere

7 күн бұрын

Sadly it appears income inequality is getting worse everywhere in Canada. I just read that 31% of first time home buyers are getting help from their parents. And the amount of that help is $115,000- up 73% from 2019. And CEO pay is becoming stratospheric compared to average wage increases.

Stratford is not a place to move to. Do NOT MOVE HERE!!!!

Dont do it! WE HAVE MORE DRUGS,MORE HOMELESS!

@ShouldWeLiveHere

10 ай бұрын

Unfortunately homelessness is everywhere…

@kirkstewart228

7 күн бұрын

@@ShouldWeLiveHere Stratford and Perth County together are the methamphetamine capital of Ontario

justin beiber didnt stay so....

@ShouldWeLiveHere

11 ай бұрын

😁 Apparently he does have a lakeside mansion 45 minutes from Stratford though!

@randomrazr

11 ай бұрын

@@ShouldWeLiveHere he prob uses it once every 2 years LOL

@rvd696

11 ай бұрын

@@ShouldWeLiveHere he still comes home relatively often actually.

@maryloucarruthers9469

10 ай бұрын

Justin, where is he now?