The Windsor Gospel

JASON KRYK/The Windsor Star

City of Windsor supporters, Jules Hawkins, left, holding his son Christopher, 5, Allison Hawkins and her son Duff, 1, Alan Bull, Sally Blyth and Gazmend Dervishaj along the Windsor waterfront.

He came, he saw, he stayed.

While some may view Windsor as merely the terminus of Highway 401 or as a pit stop on the way to the U.S., for one Toronto expat, it's a place he's proud to call home.

Jules Hawkins, 38, moved to Windsor about 2½ years ago with his wife and son, and says his only regret is that he didn't make the move sooner. Originally from the U.K., Hawkins spent 10 years in Toronto before relocating to Windsor, his wife's hometown. Now a champion for his adopted city, he says he's tired of hearing people disparage Windsor.

"There are a lot of naysayers," he says. "We've talked ourselves into a deep blue funk about the place. Yes, it's gritty. There's nothing romantic or glamorous about it, but it's a good, honest, supportive, friendly town."

Hawkins says perhaps the biggest perk is Windsor's strong sense of community. "It's a place you can feel you belong. In Toronto, you don't get to know people nearly as much as you do here."

Windsor's great climate is another benefit of living in the country's southernmost city - a view supported by Environment Canada senior climatologist and Windsor native Dave Phillips.

Windsor has more sunny days than any place in eastern Canada, the third warmest summers in Canada, and the warmest autumns in the country, Phillips says.

"You should put that on your bumper stickers and licence plates. Your falls are absolutely glorious. It's almost the Goldilocks of weather - it's not too hot, it's not too cold."

As for affordability, Hawkins says Toronto simply can't compare. "You can afford a nice place to live here without having to resign yourself to 40 years of working to pay it off," Hawkins says. At $153,691, the average resale home price in Windsor in 2009 was the fifth lowest in the country among 35 urban areas, and less than half the national average price of $340,519.

Compared to Victoria's $476,137, Toronto's $396,154, Calgary's $385,882 and Kitchener's $269,552, Windsorites have it pretty good.

While he reaps the benefits of living in a small city, Hawkins says he also enjoys the access to Detroit's international airport and other amenities such as the sporting events, shopping opportunities, cultural events and attractions such as Greenfield Village and the Detroit Zoo.

Hawkins isn't alone in his appreciation for Windsor. He says he's met scores of others who feel the same way and who have chosen to make the city their home.

Alan Bull, 68, moved to Windsor from British Columbia in August 2008 to be closer to his grandchildren. He was skeptical at first about the city's charms. "When you're out on the West Coast, any place other than the West Coast sounds like a sentence - the equivalent of a firing squad."

But Bull and his partner Sally Blyth were surprised by what they found here. "It was such a pleasure to find a community of people that were genuinely friendly," he says.

The retirees also value Windsor's extensive riverfront park system, and regularly take strolls along the waterfront. "Every time we do it, we bless the people who had the vision to turn the industrial area into something as pretty as what it is."

Gazmend Dervishaj, 26, moved to Windsor in December after living in Michigan for about 10 years. A native of Kosovo, Dervishaj lived through the war in his country and says the mix of cultures here is a good reason to remain. "The thing I like best about Windsor is the diversity. That diversity and harmony matters to me a lot."

Windsor's cheerleaders aren't few and far between; they're just not as vocal as the killjoys. Hawkins says it's time for that to change.

As he continues to spread the Windsor gospel, he says he has no plans to leave. "You can never say never, but I honestly don't see any reason why I would. I can't see anywhere else I'd rather be."