Richmond Hill

'A little north, a little nicer.' That's how residents of Richmond Hill describe their town. Richmond Hill is a short 30-minute drive away from Pearson International Airport. Residents, who number over 136,000, are served by CN Rail and GO Transit as well as the North-South routes of Yonge Street and Highway 404 and the East-West routes, Highways 401, 7 and 407.

Richmond Hill has a large industrial base with over 3,500 businesses, high-tech manufacturers, corporate head offices and business parks. Major business parks include Beaver Creek Business Park, Newkirk Industrial Park, Headford Business Park and Bayview Glen Business Area. The town's largest employers in include: York Central Hospital, Royal Bank of Canada, Town of Richmond Hill and Ronalds (Quebecor) Printing Incorporated.

Despite being Canada's fastest-growing municipality, and having a high concentration of business parks, much of the town retains its visual identity and heritage, and there is a surprising amount of green space, with over 130 parks and natural areas. There are also bike and walking trails, ballparks, arenas, community centres golf courses and even a few protected lakes.

Unique to the town is the GTA's only indoor wave pool and The David Dunlap Observatory, site of the largest optical telescope in Canada. An average of 2,000 new homes are constructed every year in Richmond Hill and housing options here are similar to adjoining communities in that you'll find condominiums, townhomes, waterfront homes and single-family detached dwellings ­ resale and new starts.