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Comment by Waterluvian | Hacker News Reader

So this isn't the same as SV, but I grew up in Waterloo, Ontario. Which is kind of like Canada's SV. The prices have gone just mental over the past few years.

We're looking at buying a house, and thanks to working remotely, I can live anywhere. The result is that by buying a house just 45 minutes down the highway from Waterloo, I get literally 50% more house for the same price.

Location location location is just mental.

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"just" 45 minutes? God forbid you need to find another job in the city - thats a 1.5 hour a day commute.

There is a reason why location location location has been a truism in real estate since forever.

45 minute commute in Silicon Valley is considered normal. You'd be expected to show up everyday.

45 minutes from Waterloo is waaay out in the country. You should be able to 2x your home.

The Waterloo spike is odd: you'd think the death of BlackBerry would hurt ...

But the Canadian economy is built on 'housing mortgages', what's happening really I think is spillover from Toronto.

A lot of folks are leaving Toronto and Waterloo is now having 'just enough appeal' for some: regular home prices, 1 hr from the city, less traffic etc..

And the 'appearance' of high tech.

Well duh, this makes sense. But 45 minutes out of the city you lose many of the perks -- easier and healthier (more walking, less car) access to shopping, food, services, etc.

Do you have kids? I still don't understand the suburban escape when people have children. Going from a city with tons of services near you (for the kids!) to driving everywhere.

Yeah, I'm looking to buy a detached house in Waterloo. Doesn't show any signs of economic growth & RE prices slowing.

But it doesn't seem surprising that those 45 mins away is opportunity/convenience cost worth an amortized $250k+ to many.

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