Living in Barrie, Working at YYZ

[pitottubey]

Hello all! I have my eye on the real estate situation and clearly Barrie is far more affordable. I've heard Barrie is the home of tons of airline pilots to the point it's called Terminal 4 as a nickname. How doable is it working at the airlines and making that about an hour commute? Is it tough or doable because your not doing it everyday. I'd like to hear peoples experiences and perspectives. Thanks!

[Tbayer2021]

What exactly are you looking to hear? Like you said, the large amount of flight crew that lives there has earned it its nickname. Clearly its very much doable. The 400 can become a parking lot if there is an accident so build in a bit of buffer for travel time.

[flyingcanuck]

Watch out for winters and Sundays and Mondays for the returning cottagers..

[pitottubey]

What exactly are you looking to hear? Like you said, the large amount of flight crew that lives there has earned it its nickname. Clearly its very much doable. The 400 can become a parking lot if there is an accident so build in a bit of buffer for travel time.

Right so obviously it's doable, but I wanted to hear from people who are in the airlines living in Barrie how they find it. Is it difficult making the commute work or is it not that bad? How is being on Reserve? If you had the money to afford living in the GTA would you still be fine with staying in Barrie? Does anyone have any pro tips?

[Cavalier44]

If you had the money to afford living in the GTA would you still be fine with staying in Barrie? Does anyone have any pro tips?

Is it that much cheaper to live in Barrie than the GTA these days?

[pitottubey]

If you had the money to afford living in the GTA would you still be fine with staying in Barrie? Does anyone have any pro tips?

Is it that much cheaper to live in Barrie than the GTA these days?

Yes real estate is much cheaper

[NotDirty!]

As with everything, it is up to you to decide what is the best work/life balance for you. Maybe you hate driving, mowing lawns, or having running water… so living in a van in the valu-park garage is your best option. Or perhaps you want to live across the country, or across the world from your home base… in some airline jobs, that is feasible.

For many in the aviation industry, Terminal 4 strikes the right balance of space, affordability, and ease of commute. Many jobs involve multi-day pairings, sometimes only 3-4 trips per month. That makes a longer commute more reasonable. Even doing single day pairings from Barrie is not too bad… often your check in and check out times means that you miss the worst of the traffic. On a good day, it’s only 45 minutes door to door. Assuming that your airline gives you at least 2 hours to report while on reserve, that is very doable. There are times that the 400 is a giant parking lot, but often that is predictable, so you either bid your schedule around it, or get familiar with some of the alternative routes.

Nobody can tell you what living situation is right for you… what is perfect for one pilot may be the worst thing possible for the next. Well maybe not “nobody”, because my wife is sure good at telling me what I should want!!

[pitottubey]

As with everything, it is up to you to decide what is the best work/life balance for you. Maybe you hate driving, mowing lawns, or having running water… so living in a van in the valu-park garage is your best option. Or perhaps you want to live across the country, or across the world from your home base… in some airline jobs, that is feasible.

For many in the aviation industry, Terminal 4 strikes the right balance of space, affordability, and ease of commute. Many jobs involve multi-day pairings, sometimes only 3-4 trips per month. That makes a longer commute more reasonable. Even doing single day pairings from Barrie is not too bad… often your check in and check out times means that you miss the worst of the traffic. On a good day, it’s only 45 minutes door to door. Assuming that your airline gives you at least 2 hours to report while on reserve, that is very doable. There are times that the 400 is a giant parking lot, but often that is predictable, so you either bid your schedule around it, or get familiar with some of the alternative routes.

Nobody can tell you what living situation is right for you… what is perfect for one pilot may be the worst thing possible for the next. Well maybe not “nobody”, because my wife is sure good at telling me what I should want!!

Thanks for the response! You confirmed much of what I suspected. And btw I want to own real estate, not be house poor, but also I don't want my life to suffer from my commute. I don't want to resent the commute. And its hard for me to fully appreciate what the commute is like without actually doing it, which is why I'm posting to hear from people who have done it. Oh also prefer suburbia to the city as well.

[ant_321]

Barrie was too far for my liking so I ended up in Orangeville. We may be close to giving Barrie a run for the title of terminal 4 at this point. Bought my house from a pilot and have 5 people on my street who are in aviation.

[pitottubey]

Barrie was too far for my liking so I ended up in Orangeville. We may be close to giving Barrie a run for the title of terminal 4 at this point. Bought my house from a pilot and have 5 people on my street who are in aviation.

Hey! Just wondering if you can elaborate on how you found making the commute to Pearson from Barrie, what were the hardest aspects of it for you? What led you to give up on Barrie? Also when I google map it Orangeville is only about ten min closer to Pearson. Is there less traffic too? Is it a bit more expensive then Barrie? Thanks!

[imjustlurking]

Barrie was too far for my liking so I ended up in Orangeville. We may be close to giving Barrie a run for the title of terminal 4 at this point. Bought my house from a pilot and have 5 people on my street who are in aviation.

Hey! Just wondering if you can elaborate on how you found making the commute to Pearson from Barrie, what were the hardest aspects of it for you? What led you to give up on Barrie? Also when I google map it Orangeville is only about ten min closer to Pearson. Is there less traffic too? Is it a bit more expensive then Barrie? Thanks!

What's worse, driving the 400 or driving the 401?

[ant_321]

I’ve never actually lived in Barrie but have lots of friends that do. The drive with no traffic isn’t a lot different but in traffic Orangeville is a lot easier. There are plenty of good alternate routes to take you to Orangeville. At the end of the day driving into YYZ sucks from pretty much anywhere.

[imjustlurking]

I’ve never actually lived in Barrie but have lots of friends that do. The drive with no traffic isn’t a lot different but in traffic Orangeville is a lot easier. There are plenty of good alternate routes to take you to Orangeville. At the end of the day driving into YYZ sucks from pretty much anywhere.

The drive is pretty easy if you live in Old Malton Village.

[ant_321]

I’ve never actually lived in Barrie but have lots of friends that do. The drive with no traffic isn’t a lot different but in traffic Orangeville is a lot easier. There are plenty of good alternate routes to take you to Orangeville. At the end of the day driving into YYZ sucks from pretty much anywhere.

The drive is pretty easy if you live in Old Malton Village.

Fair enough. But I’d rather drive from Collingwood than live there.

[DHC-1 Jockey]

I drive from London to YYZ and have never been late with a 2-hour call out. Keep in mind I usually avoid reserve and just do multi-day pairings, so I only make the drive 3-5 times per month. If I can do it from London with the 401, Barrie should be a cakewalk.

[pitottubey]

I drive from London to YYZ and have never been late with a 2-hour call out. Keep in mind I usually avoid reserve and just do multi-day pairings, so I only make the drive 3-5 times per month. If I can do it from London with the 401, Barrie should be a cakewalk.

Aside from the 2 hour callout reserve, how difficult do you find that commute?? I would imagine it would be pretty draining

[DHC-1 Jockey]

Aside from the 2 hour callout reserve, how difficult do you find that commute?? I would imagine it would be pretty draining

It’s not that bad. I just plan ahead. If I have an early report time, I just get a crew hotel or Air BnB in YYZ the night before so I’m nice and rested. Granted, it’s $50-$100 out of pocket for the night, but considering housing in London is a fraction of the cost closer to the GTA, I just factor my hotel costs into my monthly budget and cost of living. I still come out far ahead compared to being able to afford a similar house in the GTA.

If it’s an afternoon report, I just keep an eye on traffic and plan accordingly. Usually, I budget 1:40 for the drive (no traffic) but actually leave 2:00 before my report time. That gives me a nice buffer in case I hit traffic. 95% of the time I end up being just fine and have extra time to grab a Starbucks after clearing security without any stress.

[dumbbell daddy]

Barrie and the surrounding areas are starting to get $$$$ now. Most people like yourself have the same idea as you. We moved to Barrie in 2015 from the GTA. Too be honest, we weren't really enthusiastic about moving here, but we wanted a bigger house for our growing family. Barrie has grown on us over the years and we really love living up here now. Winters suck, lots of snow. You'll need a snowblower, especially if you live in the Northwest. Embrace it. I've flown everything from single day turns, multi day pairings and even the short 9-5 flt ops office stint. The drive isn't that bad. Waze is you friend.

PM me if you want specific areas to look at.

[RoAF-Mig21]

This is a hard question to answer and you'll have 100 different answers from 100 different people. There some questions that you need to ask yourself. It all depends on your situation.

1. Financial situation
How much money do you make? Do you have extra income? Can your parents buy you a house so you don't have to pay mortgage anymore?

2. Your job at YYZ
Are you an airline pilot, flight attendant, manager? (I assume pilot, since you're referring to "airline pilots" in your post)
How is your schedule? What type of career progression does your job offer (both from a schedule and financial perspective)

3. Family situation
Are you single or married? What does your spouse work? Do you have children? Do you have family close by?

4. Your lifestyle: hobbies, activities, etc.
Are you an outdoors person? Do you like to travel extensively? Are you a loner? Do you like pubs, nighclubs, concerts, etc or do you like a backyard bbq and a few friends over?

Once you answer these basic questions, you'll better be able to gauge what you want and more importantly what you can afford.

[Ash Ketchum]

My wife wants us to sell our house in Guelph and buy a bigger house in Barrie for the same money. Seems that the prices are slightly lower and the commute is about 1 hour from Barrie versus 45 minutes from Guelph (assuming no traffic). Looks like there is more snow in Barrie and better skiing nearby than Guelph. Is there anything else I am missing or is Barrie a good place to go?