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Old 04-12-2011, 03:50 AM
 
1 posts, read 1,137 times
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Hi
I am returning to Toronto after living in England for twenty years. Things will have changed since I was last there, any advice on work (bricklayer), accommodation etc. Would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
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Old 04-12-2011, 08:15 PM
 
Location: Toronto > Montreal > Kiev
178 posts, read 522,869 times
Reputation: 237
I moved to Toronto in 1995 and moved out in 2009. I will not settle back there, but that's my take.

In 1995 I remember Toronto being more tight knit proud city. Community and cost of living were great. Not sure if it was the great economic performance of the US that caused this. You could find cheap stores (remember the cheesy Biway and Bargain stores?), I remember renting a triplex 2bed apartment in Mimico for 400 a month.

A lot of things went downhill shortly. The highway 407 was privatized right after. It was built to reduce congestion by Ontario taxpayers but got sold and now tolls have to be paid to use it, supplying a private company. I saw how Square one in Mississauga and North York area became quite expensive. Toronto homes went up 200% in value and land transfer tax was tacked on as well. We got a new HST (harmonized sales tax) which taxes people on more items/services. Recently some ridiculous laws passed, 50 over "street racing" law where supposedly a car can be impounded against your will, no car in driveway law where you can only have one car in your driveway, and a 25 gig monthly bandwidth cap for internet users which is communism at its finest. The worst is that TTC keeps raising fares without a single improvement in subway lines, Toronto is the most expensive city in N.America to take transit and car insurance is also the most expensive. It's gotten completely out of control.

Toronto is a great happening city. It is a fun place to go out or settle down, given that you can handle winters. All of my family and friends are there, and I will visit them when I get a chance. However I moved out for these reasons:

1. its gotten way too expensive and no one fights from being taxed
2. infrastructure never gets built despite a larger tax base and government collecting more money with nothing to show for it.
3. a lot more brown & asians have been moving in (white is a minority now). This might sound racist but this statistic does not sit well with me.
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