Five communities in southwestern Ontario have placed in the top 25 in Canada when it comes to the best places to live and to work remotely.
MacLean's Magazine released the rankings on Tuesday. The magazine's list assumes that, for some, working from home is something that will continue beyond the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, so it added internet access to its criteria, which also includes weather, crime severity, housing affordability, and access to health care.
In calculating how many people in a home can work on a single internet connection, Macleans estimated the average download speed was 25 megabits per second.
London did not make the list, but several communities in the region did.
St. Thomas was third in the rankings, owing to its property tax taking a 2.3 per cent cut of the average income and that 15 people could get by on a single internet connection.
Number 19 on the list was Woodstock, where MacLean's said 16 people could use a single internet connection and access to family doctors is considered "good." Strathroy-Caradoc was 20th in the ranking. MacLean's said a person living in Strathroy-Caradoc can expect 123 days in which the temperature is 20 C or warmer. Rounding out the top 25 was Tillsonburg. With a population of 17,184 and 122 days of the year when the temperature tops 20 C, the magazine asserts 15 people in a household can work on a single internet connection.
The top community in the MacLean's list was Halifax, Nova Scotia. Fredericton, New Brunswick was second.
**with files from Adelle Loiselle