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My husband and I (along with a four year old, and a two year old) are looking to move to a city. We are currently residing in Pennsylvania in a town of 32,000- it is a very close minded and boring area! We are interested in moving some place larger but we still want to remain in driving distance of "home". NYC is so expensive. We like Boston, but Canada sounds like it has many perks. I have a few questions about the Toronto area.
*Is it family friendly- is there a zoo or aquarium? Museums?
*How long do the winters last? Are they as harsh as they sound?
*Are there many jobs in the HVAC field, my husband is certified.
*What can you expect to pay in rent for a 2 bedroom apartment?
*Is there a nice area very close to the city that we should look in to?
I realize that there are people on this forum that are so sick of Americans wanting to move to Canada- Sorry. We are in our twenties and looking for a good place to live and raise our kids. Canada seems like a winner.
*Is it family friendly- is there a zoo or aquarium? Museums? Yes, there's lots for families to do year round. Although there is no Aquarium (which is odd for such a large city), there is a very large zoo, lots of museums (Ontario Science Centre, Ontario Place, Royal Ontario Museum, etc. etc.), Toronto Island Park
*How long do the winters last? Are they as harsh as they sound?
Winters aren't generally as harsh as most other places (excluding Vancouver/Victoria). Freezing temperatures arrive in November, but there usually isn't much snow until January/February. Warmer temperatures usually start in late March.
*Are there many jobs in the HVAC field, my husband is certified. I would imagine so, given the size of the city, but I'm not sure. Suggest you search internet for HVAC jobs Toronto.
*What can you expect to pay in rent for a 2 bedroom apartment? It depends where you choose to live/work. If you decide on the centre of Toronto, it will be more expensive, but then you may save on commuting costs, depending on where you work. Contrary to some opinions, downtown Toronto is very family friendly and certainly more interesting, in my opinion, than living in the outskirts. A two bedroom apartment in the centre of Toronto could range from $1,200 - $2,000 (or higher) monthly (the U.S. and Canadian dollars are at par now, so you need not convert my estimates to U.S. dollars)
*Is there a nice area very close to the city that we should look in to? I'm sure others may have thoughts about suburban areas close to the city, but within the city, I would suggest areas east of the Don Valley or west of Bathurst. There are lots of nice neighbourhoods, which are considered in the centre of Toronto.
*Is it family friendly- is there a zoo or aquarium? Museums?
There's also the AGO, BATA shoe museum, etc..
*How long do the winters last? Are they as harsh as they sound?
Already answered.
*Are there many jobs in the HVAC field, my husband is certified.
Sorry, I have no idea.
*What can you expect to pay in rent for a 2 bedroom apartment?
If you're in the suburbs, it can be about $1000/month or more. If you're lucky, you can find some deals if you know the right people. I know someone paying $800 for a 2 bdrm above a store on Queen St. I've noticed how hard it is with my 3 and 1 year old downtown when I visit my sister and friends. When you don't need a stroller anymore I don't see a problem anymore.
*Is there a nice area very close to the city that we should look in to?
High Park is a nice area. It has a free zoo, an amazing castle playground for children and huge trees, ponds and running space. Brilliant area for kids. I love to meet up there even to go jogging there before I had kids.
Toronto is a good city to raise open minded kids. It's safe, I've forgotten my purse on the bus and got it and the contents back an hour later. Gotten help when I was lost. When I lived downtown Queen and Bathurst I knew all of my neighbours and the store owners. I would go downstairs in my pj's and pick up milk at 2am. We had a couple of returning crazies in the summer. Harmless but intimidating if you're not used to this sort of thing.
I lived in Toronto for 25 years and I liked it very much. After I started to have kids however I felt the pace of life was too fast,housing was too expensive and so I started looking for another city in southern On. to move to. We moved around a bit and then we found Niagara. We moved to St. Catherines and I just love that city. It's much less expensive to live in than Toronto and it's not congested in the least. Niagara Falls which is just 10 miles down the highway is also nice but I prefer St Catherines. The Niagara region has tons of things for kids and families to do. It's a city of 125,000 people and I think it would be a lot easier to adjust to coming from a 30,000 people city in Pa. Just 30 miles down the road toward Toronto is the city of Hamilton. It reminds me a lot of Pittsburg. It's a steel town and has some lovely old neighbourhoods that are very reasonable in cost. Hamilton region is 500,000 people so it has all the amenities that a family needs. One thing you will find about southern On. is that there is no urban decay here like there is in cities in the USA. In fact in most of our cities the downtown areas are the most desirable areas to live. One thing I really liked about niagara is that it is so easily accessable to the USA. From my house in St Catherines to the factory outlet mall in Lewiston NY was about 20 minutes. You could still shop at all your favorite American stores if you lived in Niagara. It took me about 3 hours to drive to Erie Pa. My wife and I like the Pens so it was nice to be able to get to Pittsburg so easily. It would be at least 2 hrs. more from Toronto. Niagara is a rapidly expanding area and like almost anywhere in Canada skilled tradesmen are in very short supply. I really don't think finding a job would be difficult. The cultural differences between Canada and the USA are huge. Canada is a very liberal country and also very tolerent of people of different race,colour, religion and most other differences that you can think of. The public school education in Niagara is excellent. Another big reason that I prefer Niagara to Toronto for a young family is the easily accessed natural enviroment. There are many beautiful parks and conservation areas that are minutes from where ever you live in the region. The Niagara parks are just stunning in their beauty and are free to boot. When my kids were little we spent many a day hiking along the Niagara parkway and river. Now that all my kids are grown up I would move to Toronto no problem but I just don't like the hectic life with children, that is part and parcel of living there. Take a look, it's an easy drive from Pa. and it's beautiful in the winter. When we lived 10 miles down the road in St. Catherines my wife and I used to take a little time out for ourselves in Niagara Falls in Feb. The hotel deals are great that time of the year. We got a room right down by the falls for 2 nights 2 dinners 2 breckfasts and 1 bottle of wine for $90. We haven't done that for a few years but I think it's still under $125.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
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You probably would be better off living outside the city if you have a family and desire room for kids, a dog and a cat. Places like Brampton, Pickering and Scarborough are better suited for family life. As for the winters, they are deathly cold, dark, depressing and they last forever. Winter kicks off around Nov 1 and ends maybe in May- although in April the temp rises above freezing a few days. As for hubbys profession, you have to remember that you have to get permission to enter Canada as a resident and to work there. And it is hard to do for blue collar professions.
The winters are actually milder and shorter than they are in some parts of Pa. Fall starts 2 weeks earlier in the high country of Pa. than South On. Personally I like winter.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,752,651 times
Reputation: 3587
Quote:
Originally Posted by lucknow
The winters are actually milder and shorter than they are in some parts of Pa. Fall starts 2 weeks earlier in the high country of Pa. than South On. Personally I like winter.
To live in Canada you have to like winter. It is the only thing they know up there. That and Tim Horton's.
To live in Canada you have to like winter. It is the only thing they know up there. That and Tim Horton's.
Come on, there are many cold places in the USA also. Some that are a lot colder than Toronto. Have you ever been in Montana or Wyoming in the winter? I met one guy in Wyoming who told my about the weather there this way. " It's really not that cold here. We usually get some warm days between the end of July and the Beginning of August. LOL. My wife and I were in North Minnesota one day last winter and it was -30F. Mind you it was -35F when we got to Winnipeg.
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