You may be scouring the Internet looking for information on what it’s like living in Mississauga and finding the same tired, copy and paste info mostly put out by realtors. It’s either that or relying on the public information of the city’s website which doesn’t really get at the heart of what it’s like to live in a city.

So, what I decided to do was ask all of my clients for their personal experiences of living in Mississauga and share it here with you today. This way you don’t just take it from me, but you hear it from real people who make up this great city.

I asked my clients 9 questions related to living in Mississauga. I’ve listed below the questions and the top consensus answers to each. Enjoy!

Q: What do you like best about your neighbourhood?

1. Safe, clean and quiet.
2. Convenient: Grocery stores, Shopping, Major highways and GO stations are all close by. 
3. Great schools.
4. Lots of parks and trails for the kids.

The consensus here from my clients was pretty unanimous for the most part across all neighbourhoods. They all moved or stayed within Mississauga because it was viewed as a safe, clean and convenient alternative to Toronto.

Q: What do you like best about Mississauga?

1. Safe, clean and quiet.
2. Lots of entertainment without Toronto congestion
3. Better services and better schools than previous cities lived in. 

It’s no surprise that the consensus about Mississauga is pretty similar to what my clients liked about their neighbourhood. Most people only spend time in certain parts of the city, but it’s interesting to note that all of these responses have come from a variety of people from all over Mississauga.

Q: What’s one way your neighbourhood could be improved?

1. More frequent public transportation.
2. More access to childcare facilities.
3. More commercial/retail options.

The biggest issue my clients had was wanting better public transportation options within Mississauga. Into or out of the city seemed to be more than sufficient, but people want the option of leaving the car at home for the day and, for example, taking a bus or train to Square One. Some clients live in less retail-dense areas and now sort of wish they had closer options while others would like more community-based facilities to be closer to home.

Q: What’s one way Mississauga could be improved?

1. Less construction.
2. Better public transportation system.

This question had a near unanimous answer that I didn’t even bother listing the one or two outliers. People everywhere in the GTA want less construction and better public transportation options. I think it’s clear why a Liberal government was voted in with that promise. With the construction of the Hurontario LRT, people are going to get that wish but they’ll have to deal with some more construction congestion until then.

Q: What do you do for fun in Mississauga?

1. Shopping at the Toronto Premium Outlets and/or Square One.
2. Kids Entertainment: Festivals, Playcentres, Celebration Square.
3. Hiking, biking and general exploring of Mississauga.

Like me, most people shop for leisure especially during the winter. Mississauga has plenty of options for that and this list didn’t include The Heartland Town Centre. Other than that entertainment for most Mississauga families comes down to the kids and Mississauga actually does a really good job in providing lots of options for families. Lastly, there are so many hiking and biking trails that are undiscovered in Mississauga!

Q: What’s your favourite place to eat in Mississauga?

I’ll be honest, out of all my Mississauga clients I didn’t get a consensus answer here. That definitely surprised me at first but then I thought about how many great restaurants there are in the city and I could understand that maybe not everyone has had a chance to eat at all of them. So, without a consensus, I’ll just name some of the restaurants that were listed including a couple of chain ones that are hugely popular.

Italian – Papa Giuseppe’s in Port Credit, Mondello Ristorante in Streetsville (get the seafood pasta!) and Scaddabush at Square One are all big hits.

Japanese – Hinote Sushi in East Credit and Sushi Tei in Erindale come highly recommended.

Fast Food – Burrito Boyz. It’s still easily the best burrito I’ve had anywhere and when I saw it on the list from my client I knew I had to include it. The shrimp burrito comes highly recommended.

Steakhouse – Chop, Canyon Creek and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse are the way to go for chains (the latter being the most expensive) while those who prefer an old-fashioned steakhouse with a snooty, old man in a tuxedo will probably prefer La Castile on the very outer edges of Applewood. 

Q: What’s something you discovered about your neighbourhood/Mississauga you didn’t know before? 

1. Tons of amazing trails + lots of nice parks.
2. Community involvement of neighbourhood.
3. How big Mississauga is as a city.

I think all of these are really important factors in moving to Mississauga. Most people definitely don’t realize just how big Mississauga is and think of it as just a place that’s close to Toronto and cheaper. But, once you move here you realize it’s a proper city of its own with tons to do. You also realize there is a great sense of community once you go looking for it. It’s not going to smack you in the face and you probably won’t know every neighbour on more than a head-nod basis, but it’s there if you want it to be.

Q: What’s a hidden gem most people in your neighbourhood or Mississauga don’t know about?

This was another one that ended up being neighbourhood specific, so here are some unedited responses:

“There are many parks and trails but our favourite is definitely Riverwood right next to Erindale GO. It’s really amazing in the Fall!”

“We were bored one day and decided to look up things to do in Mississauga and we realized there are so many festivals that happen without us knowing. We found yoga in parks, free concerts like Buskerfest.”

“Hm…that’s a tough one and I’m probably the only one who would care but if you’re into model trains there’s an amazing place on Argentia.”

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d give people thinking about moving to your neighbourhood/Mississauga?

I swear I didn’t make these up:

“Great place, don’t delay moving just do it!”

“Buy/sell with Mike Santos!”

“If you’re looking for a great balance of multi-cultural families with good values then Mississauga is a great place to raise a family.”

I think the second one is my personal favourite! But these are straight from the mouths of happy clients with mostly great things to say about Mississauga. Every city has its issues but I can honestly say that myself and my clients love it in Mississauga.

Capturing the Beauty of Mississauga

We talked a lot about the great parks and trails in the city and one photographer, Joe DeSousa, does a better job than anyone else at capturing the beauty of Mississauga. Some of his shots are below, but please check out his page as well!

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, recommendations etc. please leave a comment below. And if you’re interested in making the move to Mississauga or looking for more information please check out the rest of the blog, use the info below to get started or better yet, contact me directly!