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Old 08-01-2014, 06:50 AM
 
Location: Northern Ontario, Canada
230 posts, read 534,049 times
Reputation: 352

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I'm not familiar with Cory, NC besides what I just saw on Google Maps street view. It looks like a classy, upper-middle class American suburb that many people in the GTA would kill to live in. Let me be perfectly clear: if I was in your position, I would absolutely not move to Toronto, unless perhaps if it was for a job that was paying me $350,000+ per year. Even then..

Here are my specific responses to your questions:

Quote:
Originally Posted by kahtov View Post
-Would you recommend Toronto to a young small family?
Yes and no. Yes because Toronto is quite liveable, safe, and has some great family-friendly neighbourhoods. No because being able to afford a home in any area of the city that's worth living in will be very difficult ($850k+).

As for the suburbs, do not expect to find suburbs like Cory, NC in the GTA. Instead, think tract housing and strip malls, because that constitutes about 85% of the Toronto suburbs.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kahtov View Post
-Are there lots of parks/open spaces ?
Yes, there are many parks in Toronto.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kahtov View Post
-Is a car a necessity for you? I would love to hop on a bus/subway to go to work, but I don't know if this is feasible. I know this is a loaded question and depends on where you live, what you do, etc. etc. but I'm more interesting in hearing individual cases
Every family I know that lives in Toronto (including "Toronto proper") has a vehicle of some sort, though they may not use it on a daily basis to get around the city.

Individuals and married couples with no kids typically don't have cars unless they're well off.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kahtov View Post
-Socially, is living in Canada any different than living in the USA?
Definitely! The key to understanding social life here can be summed up in one word: restrained.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kahtov View Post
-In general, are Canadians more open-minded/accepting of differences?
Most would say yes, but I'm not so sure. People won't push you to do things or ask you questions that "invade" your privacy, but at the same time, I feel like many people here will examine you carefully to see if you fit the "mold." If you don't, you will never really be accepted by them. You'll be tolerated, but never really accepted.
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Old 08-01-2014, 11:30 AM
 
21 posts, read 59,811 times
Reputation: 21
Juts for the record, I live in a part of downtown Toronto that's about as left-of-centre as it gets, and I don't know a lot of people who would respond half as negatively to southerners as some of the posts on here suggest. People might find you slightly exotic, because you don't hear that many southern accents here, but that's about it.

For what it's worth, I'd argue the biggest plus of Toronto and its surrounding area is the cultural diversity - you kind of get the whole world in one city. Personally, I think that's a great environment for children to grow up in, which I'm guessing is a big part of the consideration.

The other obvious advantage is that, outside of a few pockets (and even those aren't really that bad relative to U.S. cities), it's extremely safe for a city of its size.

The biggest negatives would be the traffic congestion, which is probably going to continue getting worse before it gets better, and the cost of living. Gentrification of neighbourhoods within the city proper has been a bit out of control the past decade or so, which makes it a fairly dynamic place in which to live, but is making it harder and harder for even middle-income families to live downtown or close to it - a bit like what's happened in Manhattan, though not as extreme.
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Old 08-02-2014, 04:05 AM
 
Location: Southern New Hampshire
10,032 posts, read 17,966,656 times
Reputation: 35737
Um, the OP hasn't been back since his one and only post ... maybe he just realized that Toronto is in a different COUNTRY.
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Old 08-02-2014, 05:21 AM
 
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
2,869 posts, read 4,431,968 times
Reputation: 8287
Karen"

Yes that happens quite a bit................Some Americans have NO idea about the Immigration rules in Canada, and the level of difficulty that being "approved " requires.

Once they find out the actual process, they either give up, or dig in and get started on the application.



Jim B.
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Old 08-02-2014, 08:00 PM
 
Location: Toronto
15,106 posts, read 15,763,340 times
Reputation: 5196
Quote:
Originally Posted by TiredOfyycCold View Post
I think you should speak for yourself sillybum. I don't know anyone who makes such a global, disparaging judgement based solely on someone's accent. Truly small-minded thinking.
Every southerner I have met has been friendly, gracious, polite and welcoming.

What if everyone judged Torontonions based on their elected leader?
Very true though we didn't know about Ford's personal 'issues' when he was elected...Now if he is elected in October than lets talk lol
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