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If you’ve ever thought of picking up and leaving your city because it’s too expensive, you’re not alone.
High housing costs have many Canadians mulling moves to other cities, a new poll suggests.
Some 54 percent of those polled are willing to resettle in a different Canadian city to buy a home, according to a finder.com-commissioned survey of 1,200 that pollsters OnePoll conducted this March.
“With the cost of property through the roof in many of Canada’s major cities, buying a home can seem out of reach,” reads a finder.com report releasing the survey results.
“Yet homeownership remains a goal for many Canadians, and those who are unable to afford the place of their dreams are often willing to compromise,” the report continues.
Not all age groups are equally keen on setting down roots in a new place.
While 85 percent of Gen Z adults, who range in age from 18 to 24, are up for a change, while just 26 percent of respondents over the age of 65 say the same.
“The older you are, the less likely you are to be open to moving — likely because older Canadians already own their homes or are set in their cities,” finder.com explains.
Close to 70 percent of Millennials and their precursors in the 35-to-44 age group say they would move to another city to buy a home.
Saying and doing are two different things, notes Angus Kidman, finder.com’s editor in chief.
“However being willing to move somewhere and actually doing it are two different things. Those looking to buy outside of their city of residence need to consider house prices, their earning potential and the overall cost of living,” he recommends in a statement.
The most popular destination may be surprising.
A full one in 10 respondents would move to Toronto — one of the most expensive cities in North America — if it meant they could buy a home.
Halifax was a close second as it was the preferred city for 9.67 percent who were asked, followed by St. Catharines/Niagara at 8 percent.
Here too, looking at the responses by age group suggests generational preferences.
“Ottawa was particularly popular among young folk, with over a fifth of 18-24 year olds saying they’d be willing to move there to buy,” says finder.com.
