LIFE IN

Westdale

The Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences is located on the McMaster campus inside of the McMaster Medical Centre in the Faculty of Health Sciences. This modern building is one of the largest in Canada and supports research labs, a full hospital with clinics, and lecture theatres for undergraduate teaching, graduate teaching and symposia.

The Health Sciences Centre is 1km away from the wildlife preserves of Cootes Paradise, the Bruce Trail, and the Royal Botanical Gardens, and defines the boundary of the Westdale residential area.

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Westdale is a century-old neighborhood right next to the medical centre that houses a diverse community that includes researchers and their families, as well as students in a dense setting of small and large homes and apartments. Westdale is a walking community, with a central area of small, specialized shops and restaurants, cafes, British pubs and an Art Deco era movie theatre. Surrounding Westdale are trails and forests, parks, and a unique aviary of rare birds.

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The Hamilton Art Gallery is located in downtown Hamilton and offers many world-class exhibits and film festivals.

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The preferred method of transport is walking and cycling, but Westdale and Hamilton have a very active public transportation system that link to the GO services for Ontario, alternatively, the campus is located a few blocks from the 403 highway.

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Hamilton is a large urban/suburban centre of 600,000 people 45 minutes from Toronto by train, bus or auto, and currently has among the lowest costs of living in Southern Ontario.

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The Secret's Out: Why the cool kids are moving to Hamilton (National Post)