The chilled-out cousin of its uber-trendy neighbour to the south, the Upper Beach has retained much of its historic, working-class charm even as it welcomes a massive influx of well-heeled urbanites on the hunt for more reasonably priced homes. This quiet urban neighbourhood is just a short walk to Toronto’s famed beaches and has developed a flourishing indie business scene of its own. From cozy bookstores to bustling local bodegas, this neighbourhood has it all, with lots of schools and parks to boot.

The proximity to Toronto’s four sunny beaches is definitely the biggest draw for this community.

The Upper Beach runs from the CN Rail tracks in the north to Kingston Road in the south, and from Coxwell Avenue along the western edge to Victoria Park Avenue along the eastern edge. There aren’t many 20-somethings in the neighbourhood; the folks who live in the Upper Beach tend to be the over-30 crowd, with lots of couples, children and a healthy mix of seniors, too. The average after-tax income is $72,000 per year, making this a solidly affluent neighbourhood.

The proximity to the beach is a big draw here, but locals love the Upper Beach for its quirky businesses and cozy streetscapes, too. You might saunter down to the water’s edge on a Saturday morning, or take advantage of some of the bigger green spaces down south, but you’ll probably do your grocery shopping closer to home, and likely go out for dinner down the street. You’re a step removed from the trendy Beaches neighbourhood, in a relaxed community with laid-back locals and a friendly, easy-going vibe.

A nice mix of housing stock, including stately detached Edwardian homes, semi-detached and modern condominiums at affordable price points.

The average house price is about $876,000, with condos ranging from $344,000 to $667,000.

It will take you about 15 minutes to drive from the Upper Beaches to Union Station; cycling and public transit will take about 40 minutes. Savvy commuters trade in the chaotic drive and expensive parking for a quick ride on the Go Train; the station is tucked into the north-east corner of the community, and it will get you to Union Station in well under 20 minutes. A trip to Yonge and Bloor will take about 20 minutes by car or transit; tack on another 10 minutes if you’re taking your bike.

The Upper Beach offers lots of schooling options for youngsters and teens. Elementary schools include Earl Haig Public, Bowmore Road Public, Norway Junior Public, St. John Catholic and Georges-Etienne-Cartier Catholic. Secondary schools include Malvern Collegiate and Notre Dame Catholic High School. The Fraser Institute only ranked two of these schools in its 2015-16 review: Earl Haig received a 6.0/10, and Bowmore Road received a 7.3/10

This was a regular old working-class Toronto neighbourhood until the early 2000s, when developers decided to piggyback on the allure of The Beaches and call it the Upper Beach. The name stuck, and the marketing ploy worked: Today the area is home to many well-heeled new residents who love being close to the waterfront and enjoy the multiple green spaces, eclectic restaurants, great shopping and fantastic jazz festival The Beach has to offer – they just walk five minutes to get there. But the Upper Beach has its own thing going on, too: A unique mixture of cosmopolitan swagger and folksy charm that gives the area a distinct vibe of its own. Take, for example, Collective Joy, a locally owned shop that sells Canadian-made caramels, local pottery, striped socks and stunning one-of-a-kind statement jewellery. Or Cut n’ Run, an “old soul” barbershop where megawatt rap star Drake goes to get his hair cut. Pop into Courage Foods, an old-school community grocery store, or The Beech Tree, a scratch-cooking indy restaurant where the chefs buy local and then cook “whatever the hell we want.” Visit the artisanal cheese shop or the new local art gallery. There’s a bowling alley in the basement of the Kingston Road United Church – that’s how cool this neighbourhood is. The Upper Beach is peppered with small, community green spaces including the Williamson Park Ravine, Fairmount Park with soccer fields and a baseball pitch, Cassels Avenue Playground, Wildwood Crescent Playground, the oh-so-tiny Love Crescent Park, Norwood Park and the William Hancock Park – so there’s lots of space to take the kids outside.

Part of the Upper Beach was once called Norway, a tiny village named for the towering Norway Pines that constituted the area’s forests. The earliest buildings went up around 1825, including a post office, a sawmill and a toll gate. Norway grew throughout the 1800s, adding a school, a church, taverns, a blacksmith and hotels for farmers bringing their produce into the city. The Toronto Golf Club was established in 1876, in the area outside of Norway; the Canadian open was hosted there twice. The village was annexed in the early 1900s and construction streetcar routes started shortly thereafter.