Where are Canada's Richest Neighbourhoods?

Everyone grew up knowing where the nicest neighbouhoods were in their home town, but this list, compiled using the Askmen.com survey ranking neighbourhoods based on average household income and home values, lets us know where the Canadian elite live.

There are a couple of surprises in the Askmen.com survey of Canada's Top 10 richest neighbourhoods, one of them being the No. 1 slot doesn't belong to the West Coast.

The website ranked neighbourhoods based on average home value and household income. While Vancouver has two neighbourhoods on the list, and Victoria gets one, Toronto, with three entries, apparently is home to Canada's poshest digs.

One of the list's surprises is that Winnipeg - not considered a particularly monied town - squeaks in at No. 10. The aptly named Tuxedo neighbourhood, a well-established area a few minutes from downtown with lakeside views and lots of green, has seen average selling prices jump to $500,000 from $383,000 in six years.

Still a bargain if you live in Vancouver, where that'll get you a modest condo.
And for a city swimming in oil wealth, it's also surprising Calgary gets only one entry: Upper Mount Royal at No. 9. Like Tuxedo, it's an older treed neighbourhood of homes near the Elbow River overlooking downtown with homes selling for upwards of $1.6 million.

B.C.'s jewel-like capital, Victoria, hits at No. 7 with The Uplands, in the municipality of Oak Bay. The century-old neighbourhood looking across Juan de Fuca Strait to Washington State boasts waterfront homes selling well into six figures. Askmen notes the 2.4-acre "Sweet Pea" ocean-front estate is worth $28.5 million.

West Vancouver, a tony suburb across Burrard Inlet from downtown Vancouver, is considered one of Canada's richest postal codes and that's reflected in the price of homes that climb up from the water's edge. More than 70 per cent of the city's 11,000 homes are worth more than $1 million.
Vancouver's Shaughnessy neighbourhood comes in at No. 6. Developed more than a century ago on CP Rail land, the district just south of downtown has always been an enclave for the wealthy. Homes on sprawling lots run from $3.5 million to $11 million.

Ottawa's Rockliffe Park, across the Ottawa River from downtown, traditionally is home to the capital's diplomatic corps and its political and business elite. Homes that sold for around $200,000 a decade ago now command prices of more than $1 million in Canada's fifth-richest neighbourhood.
Toronto's Forest Hill is ranked No. 4. It's origins go back to 1860 as a summer retreat from the city and Askmen.com says it still retains its "natural beauty and highbrow architecture." The typical Forest Hill house today goes for just over $1 million.

The Bridle Path neighbourhood, No. 3, is one of Toronto's best known posh addresses. Like the name suggests, it's green and peaceful, surrounded by parkland. The average home selling price is well above $2 million. The Bridle Path has been home to big names like TV executive Moses Znaimer, pop star Prince and disgraced newspaper baron Conrad Black, though he's not likely to be living there again anytime soon.

Westmount, No. 2, long has been one of Montreal's exclusive neighbourhoods. In the late 1800s it was an enclave for Quebec's anglophone elite and it's still primarily English-speaking, though more multi-cultural. What hasn't changed is that the homes are relatively expensive, averaging around $1 million.

Toronto's Rosedale neighbourhood tops Askmen.com's list of Canada's richest.
It dates to the 1860s and features Tudor and Georgian-style homes much coveted by Toronto's upwardly mobile. Besides being protected by parkland and ravines, residents benefit from barriers and specialized routes to cut down on traffic. Even six years ago, Rosedale home sales averaged $2 million.

This article was written by Steve Mertl, a Y news blogger.