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I am in my early 30's and I'm about to be finished w/ my BA in Business Administration w/ my concentration being in Business Analysis. Thus my goal is to at least get my foot into the door into a position and go from there once I am finished w/ school. I have extensive experience in retail banking and brokerage and would look to enter the financial domain as a BA which could help me land a mid-level position as opposed to an entry level one. While I could hypotheticaly look at opportunities here in the US (and i do), the job market favors areas that I'm not a big fan of such as California where the cost of living is outrageous or Austin TX where it is simply too hot for me and too congested.
About a few years ago I moved from Chicago to the Washington DC area which ended up being a mistake on my end because I'm miserable here. Sure the job market in DC is good but the cost of living is outrageous (I pay $1,200 USD for a 'luxury' 1 bedroom apt about 50 miles (80.5km) SW of DC, closer to DC it's about 400-600 more for a 'non-luxury' studio/small one bedroom apt in a not-so-nice type of neighborhood where safety is questionable). Commute times of 1.5 hours are the avg. for a one way commute on a good day, and lastly too much of the stuck-up elitist attitude runs rampant here, it's nothing like the Midwest part of the US where the mentality is different and people are just more down to earth. Couple all of those factors together and I feel like there is no work-life balance and a low quality of life.
Not to mention this is an area that lives and dies on defense spending which impacts everything out here with a trickle-down effect meaning that if the country is at war this area blossoms, if defense spending is high this area blossoms, if either of those two factors decrease then so does everything else.
I'd appreciate any feedback/advice you might be able to provide. Thanks in advance!
I am in my early 30's and I'm about to be finished w/ my BA in Business Administration w/ my concentration being in Business Analysis. Thus my goal is to at least get my foot into the door into a position and go from there once I am finished w/ school. I have extensive experience in retail banking and brokerage and would look to enter the financial domain as a BA which could help me land a mid-level position as opposed to an entry level one. While I could hypotheticaly look at opportunities here in the US (and i do), the job market favors areas that I'm not a big fan of such as California where the cost of living is outrageous or Austin TX where it is simply too hot for me and too congested.
About a few years ago I moved from Chicago to the Washington DC area which ended up being a mistake on my end because I'm miserable here. Sure the job market in DC is good but the cost of living is outrageous (I pay $1,200 USD for a 'luxury' 1 bedroom apt about 50 miles (80.5km) SW of DC, closer to DC it's about 400-600 more for a 'non-luxury' studio/small one bedroom apt in a not-so-nice type of neighborhood where safety is questionable). Commute times of 1.5 hours are the avg. for a one way commute on a good day, and lastly too much of the stuck-up elitist attitude runs rampant here, it's nothing like the Midwest part of the US where the mentality is different and people are just more down to earth. Couple all of those factors together and I feel like there is no work-life balance and a low quality of life.
Not to mention this is an area that lives and dies on defense spending which impacts everything out here with a trickle-down effect meaning that if the country is at war this area blossoms, if defense spending is high this area blossoms, if either of those two factors decrease then so does everything else.
I'd appreciate any feedback/advice you might be able to provide. Thanks in advance!
Hey Wsox..
Toronto's DT core has the HQ's of all the major banks in Canada like Royal, TD, Bank of Montreal, Scotiabank and CIBC so it might not be a bad place to start looking at the website and career search for those companies. There are also a lot of other companies as well and I can think of some large insurance companies like Manulife and Sunlife which are in the DT core as well..
I'm not in your industry so i'm sure there are other posters in here who could provide you with better info than myself but just thought i'd throw in my 2 cents..
If you do end up securing employment in the DT core there is absolutely no need to live outside the core.. You'll be close to entertainment/restuarants galore and as per my posts in the Montreal section - rents in Toronto and even the DT core are VERY reasonable.. It is possible that you could either walk to work or take a short subway ride to/fro work home.. 1.5 hour commutes are just INSANE.. Working and living DT - you could save a lot of money by not needing wheels and all the costs associated with them!
As for safety - I wouldn't allow that to detract you from working anywhere in the Greater Toronto Area.. There would always be somewhere close to where you work that is completely safe.. By U.S standards and certainly by D.C's standards there really aren't any stay away red zones though once you'd narrow in on where you'll be working people in here would be able to help to steer you away from some more 'undesirable' nabe's but yeah, even the worst T.O 'hood' isn't anything like that of D.C and is still pretty safe. Americans would laugh at what we call a 'hood' or the projects
As for Torontonians and friendliness - well its a big city so you'll probably find some of that 'big' city mentality but I like to think of it more the attitude of the person.. If you are friendly and outgoing I don't think you'll have much trouble connecting with people.. Some in here post how Toronto is a 'cold' city and that people are reserved yet I have actually met with fellow C/D posters in here and I think they will attest that i'm not a 'cold' person and I'm the only one in the group born and raised in T.O..
I think there are a lot of Business Analyst positions in downtown Toronto, I see new ones appearing daily on Linkedin/ Indeed.ca. I think a good idea would be to start applying/ contacting people on Linkedin and see how many replies you get.
BA position is definitely common in Toronto, there is also a lot of competition, but you have a degree and US experience, that should help.
In terms of living in Toronto - it is also not very cheap, one bedroom would also be $1100 - $1200 CAD or more, depending on where you want to live. Commuting can be bad if you live far, if you don't want a long commute, you should look for an apartment near the job/ a short subway ride away from the job. Many people here also commute 1-1.5 hours, but some commute 20 minutes. Toronto does have a public transportation problem but this can be solved by biking/living close to work.
I think to have a clearer picture you can start looking at job postings, job locations, apartments for rent in Toronto, etc.
I think there are a lot of Business Analyst positions in downtown Toronto, I see new ones appearing daily on Linkedin/ Indeed.ca. I think a good idea would be to start applying/ contacting people on Linkedin and see how many replies you get.
BA position is definitely common in Toronto, there is also a lot of competition, but you have a degree and US experience, that should help.
In terms of living in Toronto - it is also not very cheap, one bedroom would also be $1100 - $1200 CAD or more, depending on where you want to live. Commuting can be bad if you live far, if you don't want a long commute, you should look for an apartment near the job/ a short subway ride away from the job. Many people here also commute 1-1.5 hours, but some commute 20 minutes. Toronto does have a public transportation problem but this can be solved by biking/living close to work.
I think to have a clearer picture you can start looking at job postings, job locations, apartments for rent in Toronto, etc.
Thanks for the info! I should probably through together a resume/CV for a position in TO and see what kind of interest I can garner. What is life like in the suburbs of Toronto?
Suburbs have cheaper rentals... but they also have less apartment buildings, so less choice. Apartments are bigger though.
I guess they are like US suburbs - just a lot of similar houses, occasional condos and apartment buildings. Everything is spread out, so you would need a car. Most of them don't have many jobs there, except Mississauga - it's sort of a suburb of Toronto but it has a center of its own which is growing and there are many office buildings there. Markham also has some jobs there.
So some people live and work in the same suburb and it works out for them. Otherwise most people commute from suburbs to downtown and there you face the same issue you were talking about - 1-1.5 hour commute one way. Expensive commute too! Toronto's subway is quite small and doesn't go into the suburbs so people take the GO train and it is more expensive than taking the subway. Also the transit system has many issues and delays on a daily basis so that has to be taken into account if you consider living in a suburb and working downtown. You could look through daily GO/ TTC delays before selecting an area because that can be an important factor.
Suburbs have cheaper rentals... but they also have less apartment buildings, so less choice. Apartments are bigger though.
I guess they are like US suburbs - just a lot of similar houses, occasional condos and apartment buildings. Everything is spread out, so you would need a car. Most of them don't have many jobs there, except Mississauga - it's sort of a suburb of Toronto but it has a center of its own which is growing and there are many office buildings there. Markham also has some jobs there.
So some people live and work in the same suburb and it works out for them. Otherwise most people commute from suburbs to downtown and there you face the same issue you were talking about - 1-1.5 hour commute one way. Expensive commute too! Toronto's subway is quite small and doesn't go into the suburbs so people take the GO train and it is more expensive than taking the subway. Also the transit system has many issues and delays on a daily basis so that has to be taken into account if you consider living in a suburb and working downtown. You could look through daily GO/ TTC delays before selecting an area because that can be an important factor.
Thanks Dagny! You provided me w/ some great info much like the previous poster did as well. Does the Metro system run 24/7 or stop late in the evening?
Thanks Dagny! You provided me w/ some great info much like the previous poster did as well. Does the Metro system run 24/7 or stop late in the evening?
Bus and I believe some streetcar service is 24/7 (services reduced in overnight hours) but the subway does not run 24/7 and is down from 130am - 600am Mondays-Saturdays and Sundays from 130am-900am.. The major reason for service shutdown is for mtce reasons..
If you work DT Wsox - just get an apartment DT... It'll make things a lot easier for your life.. The money you'd save with a slightly cheaper apartment outside the DT core and the further out you go would be completely consumed by transportation frustrations and probably added costs in time/money... Toronto is a congested city/metro in the Canamerican sense. Its urban area is more compact/dense than all cities of comparable metro size..
I agree with the above poster, live close to work in Toronto! The subway does not even always go until 1:30 am everywhere, last train southbound from Finch Station is 12:15 am. Also the subway, buses and roads are very congested, if google maps says that from Queen Station to Finch Station by subway is 25min- usually it's not true, it takes longer. You don't always get into the first train because of the crowd and there are usually some delays, so it's more like 40 minutes. My mom works downtown and lives in a suburb and google maps says the travel time by public transport is 1h15min but it takes her sometimes 1h45min because of issues with the transportation system.
After New York, Toronto is probably the best city in North America for a career in business systems or finance. All the big Canadian banks have their headquarters there, and international banks have their Canadian headquarters there. Then you also have the Toronto Stock Exchange, and all the multinational gold, mining, and oil companies have their headquarters there, too.
There's a ton of brand new 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom + den apartments popping up in Downtown Toronto for $1500-2000 CAD.
I'm an Australian looking to move over to Canada and this is exactly what I want to do. I've got my Visa all sorted out so I'm looking to make the transition in the second half of this year, fingers crossed. I only just registered after reading this thread. I have to say it seems like a great city to live and work in.
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