About a twenty minute drive northwest from New Sudbury lies the community of Chelmsford, the centre of the Rayside Balfour region, which also includes smaller towns like Azilda and Dowling. The largely francophone community is accented by beautiful hiking and snowmobile trails, top-notch fishing in Whitewater Lake, and plenty of room to roam. 

The main retail section of Chelmsford is just along Highway 144, where residents can enjoy a limited, but varied selection of restaurants, shops, and essential amenities. This hub should carry enough to get most through the week, with bigger trips to the city for culture or entertainment more likely on weekends. Most people in the community are reliant on a vehicle, due to the slightly longer distance to the city than other bedroom communities.

For the most part, real estate in this area is focussed on small to medium sized homes built in the 1970-1990 range, however there have been some larger new construction subdivisions popping up over the past decade that will provide some more substantial real estate options. In general, it’s much easier to find acreage and/or large lot properties in this area as opposed to the city proper. There are several farms scattered over the region, particularly in the area between Azilda and Chelmsford, before that flat landscape turns rocky further north. With such diverse housing options, the community is ideal for many, including first time home buyers looking for extra land, established families looking to be “just out of the city”, and both industry and hobby farmers.