According to a new ranking by real estate portal Point2 Homes, Kingston is the eighth best city in Canada for millennials to live. The survey looked at the country’s 85 largest municipalities.
In addition to home affordability, Point2 Homes also looked at eight other criteria including incomes, health care, the crime rate, life satisfaction, education, the unemployment rate, climate and what percentage of the population are millennials.
Other cities in the top 10 include Waterloo, Halifax and Victoria. Quebec City was ranked the top destination for millennials. Kingston edged out major cities like Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. Vancouver took the 10th spot, Toronto 24th and Montreal 38th.
The ranking comes as no surprise for Rob Kawamoto, who is the executive director for Tourism Kingston. Kawamoto believes the limestone city checks off a lot of must-haves on people’s wish lists.
“Kingston is a community of innovation, it is a community of growth, it’s very liveable, it’s very easy to be part of the community, it’s very affordable,” said Kawamoto.
Digital marketer and lifestyle blogger Anna Ruck, who’s originally from Toronto, agrees. Ruck and her husband moved to Kingston two years ago and they have no desire to leave. Ruck says from a millennial standpoint, Kingston has it all.
“That’s sort of the thing with millennials. We’re all about putting our hands in different pots, everyone’s got a side hustle, everyone wants to try something new,” said Ruck. “It really feels like a big city in a small town. There’s so much going on constantly in terms of community events, people are so engaged, they’re so active, they’re constantly on the move.”
The 30-year-old adds that she’s able to make more one-on-one connections now that she has left the big city.
“I very quickly started going to all kinds of events, networking opportunities, and I met a lot of other millennials and other women my age who are also starting their own businesses, or have their own big ideas and they just really want to work with others to bring them to fruition.”
Click here for Point2 Homes’ full list of Top Millennial Hot Spots in 2018.