There were three boys riding their bikes down Pier Road, backpacks on, fishing rods sticking straight up out of the top of them, heading for the water. No parents in sight. Just three kids on a summer afternoon, off to go fishing. I remember exactly where we were when I saw them, driving down Pier Road. I looked at my husband and said, this is it. This is what I want for our son. And he looked right back at me and said, me too.
That one moment, more than anything else, is the reason our family lives in Wheatley today.
Our Wheatley Story Actually Starts in Chatham
Before I introduce myself properly, there’s a piece of this that matters. I’m Linda Hakr, and I sell real estate through Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent, but that’s not where this story starts. I grew up in Chatham. I knew this area, what it had to offer, and I always wanted to find my way back to it. For years, the timing just never worked out for our family. And then, one day, it finally did. Funny enough, we ended up choosing Wheatley over Chatham itself, and we couldn’t be happier that we did.
A Beach House, COVID, and a Lot of Weekend Drives
We bought our place on the lake in Wheatley right around when COVID hit. Like a lot of families, our world got smaller overnight. My son played hockey, and suddenly there was no hockey. No rinks, no leagues, no weekend tournaments. So instead, every single weekend, we came out to the beach house. We’d drive around, get our bearings, figure out where things were. Into Leamington. Into Kingsville. Back through Wheatley. Weekend after weekend, exploring an area we’d bought into but didn’t really know yet.
It wasn’t one big dramatic thing that changed our minds about moving here permanently. It was small stuff, piling up week after week, until that day on Pier Road.
The Freedom I Wanted for My Son
Watching those boys ride off toward the water with their fishing rods, no worries in the world, crystallized something I’d been feeling for a while. Where we lived before, in Cambridge, that kind of freedom just wasn’t really possible anymore. You didn’t leave a bike unlocked, not even for five minutes. Driving down Pier Road, I just thought, that’s what I want for my son. I want him to be able to get on his bike and go, without having to think twice about it.
It goes back further than that for me too. I’m fifty-five, solidly Gen X, and growing up, we had so much freedom. You were out the door in the morning, and the only rule was, be home before the lights came on. You ran around the neighborhood all day, got into things, figured stuff out on your own. I really believe that’s what builds character, being outside, being in nature, having that freedom to just be a kid. More and more, I feel like we’re losing that, especially after COVID, when so many kids were stuck at home, stuck on devices, not really connecting with anyone. I wanted my son to have the kind of childhood I had. Wheatley gave us the chance to give him that.
What Life in Wheatley Actually Looks Like Now
We’ve been here five years, and if you ask my son today whether he’d ever want to move back to Cambridge, the answer is an immediate no.
He’s part of the Erie Ramblers now and rides motocross. In Cambridge, getting him to a track meant an hour’s drive every time. Here, it’s practically in our backyard, five minutes away. It’s a private club, so every member has to actually participate. There are work days where he helps maintain the track and grounds, and he races there too. It’s a real responsibility, and honestly, so much good comes out of that kind of structure, work ethic, being part of something, showing up for people.
We bought a boat just before we made the move out here permanently, and that changed everything. We’re out on the lake constantly, boating, tubing, pulling the kids around on a good sunny afternoon. It’s the kind of lifestyle we simply never would have had in Cambridge.
Some of the moments still catch me off guard. My son’s best friend from Cambridge stayed with us for a week not long ago, and by the end of it, he was telling his mom they needed to move to Wheatley too, because the lifestyle out here is just that much fun. One night, sitting around the fire, that same kid looked up at the sky and stopped talking mid-sentence. He couldn’t believe how many stars were up there. In Cambridge, there’s so much light pollution you basically never see that. Out here, you see it every night.
And then there’s the sunrise rides. Last year, from spring through the end of the school year, my son and his friends started meeting up before school, six forty-five in the morning, hopping on their bikes, riding two minutes down to the beach, and just watching the sunrise before catching the seven-ten bus. Nobody made them do it. How many fifteen and sixteen year olds do you know who would choose to wake up early for a sunrise? Out here, it just sets the tone for the day.
Small Town, Big Community
One thing that took me longer to adjust to than I expected was how friendly people are here. When we first moved, people would wave, say hi walking past, strike up a conversation in line at the store. At first I actually thought something was wrong, because where we came from, nobody did that. It took a while to realize, no, this is just how people are in Wheatley. It’s still one of my favorite things about living here.
Wheatley itself is a small town, but it’s not lacking. It’s a proud fishing village, home to one of the largest freshwater fishing ports in the world, with fresh perch and pickerel right out of the water. Day to day, we’ve got a Home Hardware, a Circle K, an LCBO, a handful of great local restaurants, a golf course, a marina, and an arena with some of the best-maintained ice I’ve ever skated on. There’s a skate park and ball diamonds too. It’s a real community, not just a collection of houses.
If you’d like a deeper look at everything Wheatley has to offer, from housing to lifestyle to what to expect when you move, check out my Wheatley Real Estate Guide
And when you need something bigger, you’re never far. Leamington is eleven kilometers away, and with the traffic I used to deal with in Cambridge, that short drive can genuinely take about the same amount of time a much shorter trip used to take there. Windsor is about forty minutes away for Costco runs and bigger city errands. Kingsville is close by for wineries and restaurants, Leamington has an incredible Mexican food scene, and because Wheatley sits along the Erie shore and the Talbot Trail in Chatham-Kent, you’re surrounded by farmland, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, and apples, all grown minutes from home. Everybody supports everybody out here. It’s not just talk. You feel it.
Frequently Asked Questions About Moving to Wheatley, Ontario
Is Wheatley, Ontario a good place to raise a family? Wheatley offers a slower-paced, close-knit lifestyle on Lake Erie, with easy access to outdoor activities like boating, fishing, and motocross, plus a strong sense of community that many families relocating from larger cities notice right away.
How far is Wheatley from Leamington and Windsor? Wheatley is about eleven kilometres from Leamington and roughly a forty-minute drive to Windsor, making it easy to access bigger-city amenities while still living in a quiet lakeside town.
What amenities does Wheatley actually have? Wheatley has a Home Hardware, a Circle K, an LCBO, local restaurants, a golf course, a marina, an arena, a skate park, and ball diamonds, along with its identity as one of the largest freshwater fishing ports in the world.
Thinking About Making a Similar Move?
If you’re picturing a slower pace of life for your family, whether that’s in Wheatley, Leamington, Kingsville, or anywhere across Chatham-Kent, I’d love to talk with you about what that could look like. Reach out anytime, no pressure, I genuinely enjoy these conversations.
Linda Hakr, REALTOR® with Jump Realty Inc., serves Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent, including Wheatley, Leamington, and Kingsville. Three-time Top Producer and 2025 Gold Award winner, ranked in the top 5% at Jump Realty, and #1 in both Wheatley and Leamington on RateMyAgent with 40+ five-star Google reviews. Reach Linda at 519-654-6695, linda.hakr@jumprealty.ca, or lindahakrrealtor.ca.