Discussions

My wife and i are in the market for a new to us home and we cannot decide between waverly and river heights(animal bays) wanted any input on either pros and cons we have a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old so education is important

All Brandon school are quite full especially Riverheights. Somewhere like Valleyview may be quieter or try to go just out of town.

If I could choose, I would pick the Green Acres area or Valleyview. River heights school is severely overpopulated, as the children from the magnolia/sycamore area attend that school as well. Waverly, while it's a great area and great school. I just don't want the maintenance of trying to keep up with jones. I like a quieter more simpler life.

The Brandon schools follow the same curriculum, so unless you are wanting French immersion they are all similar. How your child turns out will depend on their home life, genetics and role models.  
 
My opinion is to find a home you love and can grow in and don't worry about what other people think is the 'best'.

I live near the Vincent Massey High School and I believe this area and others built in the 1960''s is the definition of a family friendly. Ours is the only neighbourhood in the city that has all the levels of school within reasonable walking distance. The JR Reid school on twenty-sixth street is a great school that serves K to eight and basically only caters to local kids. The lot sizes are generally large and mature with solid homes that are well kept. Property taxes are usually fair and plenty of public & business amenities nearby. However, the homes are built from the 60''s and 70''s, so the "layout" of them could be labeled as "dated" by some peoples standards. But, sometimes that happens when boiling down to fashion vs. family when it comes to deciding and/or defining certain neighbourhoods. Some folks get so focused in trying to move to the outer edges of the city for the newer builds and that''s fine. Just don''t get too hung-up in having to live at that end and overlook a neighbourhood or a house simply because it''s not in Waverly or River Heights. If you''re involved with your children''s development, the unproven personal/social status of certain schools starts becoming more irrelevant.  
 
Just my opinion, I could be wrong.  
 
Edited by snowman5, 2017-10-24 22:34:55

By saying all levels of school nearby, do you mean elementary and high school?  
 
If so, our neighbourhood in the east end qualifies too. We are near 3 elementary schools, one being French immersion and near a high school, crocus.  
 
But honestly, I’d pick a home that you can be happy in. Judging a school for who is in it, wouldn’t be on the top of my list but that’s just me  
 
They’re all the same school division, EA’s sometimes go between multiple schools and teachers change jobs between schools when the opportunity arises. Kids are kids and your children will find great friends in any school they attend

Welll we are in Riverheights area and been for awhile! We are so happy here and love the area!! The neighbors are very friendly! Our youngest went to Riverheights School and really enjoyed it there!!

I agree, to a large degree, that the school won't matter so much. They will all have the same curriculum, they will all have a mix of good and bad teachers (and in some cases, share staff), and most are overcrowded these days. So I would suggest picking a home based on where you want to live.  
 
I live in Riverheights, have lived here since 2005 when we moved to Brandon in 2 different houses, we started in a duplex up by the school and now live off Rosser. While there are lots of things about the neighbourhood that I love - the number and proximity of green spaces, the relative lack of traffic because we're near the edge, Sobey's being nearby, the mix of different income groups, etc, there are also drawbacks.  
 
If you're specifically looking at the animal streets, the trains are *very* close. I'm a bit further back and they still annoy me. It was better when I was up at the top of the hill by the school. Also, know that the neighbourhood is riddled with underground streams and stepped water tables due to it being built into the hill. Lots of houses have water issues, especially as you work your way down the hill (although most do not). So make sure you do your home work before buying.  
 
Good luck and happy house hunting!