Wanna Know What It’s Like To Live In White City?
White City seemed to be the perfect spot for us to plant our roots. A small, thriving community close to the big city with a lot going for it! Affordable taxes, tonnes of green space and walking paths, two elementary schools, a killer grocery store, plenty of amenities, and our streets are plowed after every snowfall! And if you told me that I could get pizza from 10 different restaurants out here ten years ago… I would have laughed in your face! But I wish I had a heads-up on a few things before taking possession. Here are a few workarounds to some common issues out here.
Power glitches are super common out here. Like 3-4/month, and they are not weather related. Our community has grown so quickly that the power grid can’t handle the strain. First-world problems… I know. But it actually could diminish the lifespan of your appliances, furnace, a/c, and could fry your electronics. So, a quick fix is to make sure you protect your stuff with a surge protector.
Hard water is not a super big deal, but it’s something you need to get ahead of out here. Faucets, toilet bowls, glass shower doors, fridge water lines, and dishwashers all take a beating if you don’t invest in a water softener and a reverse osmosis system.
Landscaping Budget. Though the community is known for its incredible yards, it comes at a price. Architectural controls out here require 30ft setbacks with sod to the street - no xeriscaping. So that means that you need to budget for extra watering in the summer months.
No High School. After eleven years out here, I thought we would see progress in the high-school talk department by now. So if you have teens, they are bussed to Greenall in Balgonie.
Parking Narcs and Narrow Streets. I never noticed this before moving out here, but there are no sidewalks, the streets are narrow, and the community hires the Commissionaires to enforce a crazy parking bylaw. So if you have any family events or entertain a lot, you need to ask the neighbors for their driveway or risk getting fined. It’s ridiculous. But I guess the good thing is, you will buy a big home where you could have a super long driveway and even have space to park your RV!
Also… once you get out here, you’ll find out that though Emerald Park and White City are heavily intertwined, there has been tension between these two communities as White City attempts to annex so we can become one community (just pop into Tim Horton’s and listen to the gossip at coffee-row with the long-time residents at the table near the window 🤣). The last try did not go through, and it’s currently on appeal. So, time will tell if we ever become a truly united community.
All of these issues are not deal breakers by any means, but it’s just nice to be a bit proactive and budget for these things if you haven’t thought about them yet. So if you ever want to get the inside scoop on what it’s like to live out here or in any small town for that matter, feel free to connect! We’ve been calling White City home for the past eleven years and we absolutely love it.
