Windsor, a great place to live

Editorial

Readers Digest has ranked Windsor the fifth best place in Canada to raise a family. It praised Windsor’s low cost of living, number of social groups for mothers and low infant mortality rates.

But Windsor has much more to offer than just low cost of living. There are endless activities appropriate for families and young children. Professional sports such as the Windsor Spitfires and Windsor Express provide families with exciting sporting events and both offer cheap tickets at the new facility. Windsor is in the midst of erecting a multi-million dollar Aquatic Centre which will feature an Olympic size swimming pool. The city’s close proximity to the U.S. allows families to easily explore new activities in Michigan such as shopping, visiting the Henry Ford Museum, or attending the International North American Auto Show.

Apart from formal activities there is an abundance of safe, family-friendly parks. Extending along the Detroit River from the Hiram Walker Distillery to the Ambassador Bridge is a walking path which runs through the landscaped riverfront parks. Dieppe Gardens, the Odette Sculpture Park and the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Park are all great places to stroll through with your family.

If you are looking to raise a family there is a good chance no matter where you live in Windsor you will be within close proximity to one of the 38 grade schools or nine high schools spread across the county. Windsor’s grade schools and high schools have been included in the Frasers Institute’s 2013 annual list of top 100 schools in Ontario. St. Clair College and the University of Windsor provide great opportunities for post-secondary education and bring in students from all over the world.

There are many people who may have a hard time digesting Windsor as one of the top five cities to raise a child and they may have some valid points. American comedian Stephen Colbert once referred to the city as the rectum of Canada because of the way things come and go through its border. Depending on one’s perspective, Windsor can seem like a dismal border city but if studied a bit closer it is easy to see how much potential and room for growth this city has.

Currently Windsor does have one of the highest unemployment rates in Canada standing at 9.7 per cent. Windsor is ranked third behind Saint John, N.B. and Peterborough, Ont. In contrast, the construction of a new bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit is expected to generate 12,000 jobs per year for each of the four years of the construction phase and more than 8,000 permanent jobs in southeast Michigan once the bridge is operational. This would mean there are opportunities for commuting to work across the border, taking advantage of an automotive industry that appears to be on the rise.

To some, Windsor may seem like a border city with a downtown currently riddled with bars, massage parlours and closed up shops. However, a large number of family-oriented activities and festivals are easy to access and fun for the entire family. Summer Fest Windsor, the Red Bull Air Race, Carousel of the Nations, the Windsor International Fringe Festival and various other outdoor festivals are just a few of the wide variety of affordable and fun events for a family to enjoy.

Windsor is a multicultural hub that is fostering new growth all the time. You’ll always find what you’re looking for in the City of Roses.