Possible move to Toronto, Ontario!!! (real estate, houses, neighbourhoods) - City-Data Forum

j6a10bejar · 05-15-2007, 09:27 PM

Hello,

My family and I are considering a move to Toronto, Ontario from FL. Can anyone tell me how Canada's educational system is compared to the US's? I have a little one starting Kindergarten for the fall of 2007. Can anyone recommend a very good school (public and/or private)? Also what town/area is great and safe for living? We are looking for a family town with lots of activites, athletics, parks, etc... and SAFE.

Also what would be considered a reasonable salary to live there?

Can anyone please advice? I know nothing about Canada. Thanks so much!

Cart24 · 05-16-2007, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j6a10bejar

Hello,

My family and I are considering a move to Toronto, Ontario from FL. Can anyone tell me how Canada's educational system is compared to the US's? I have a little one starting Kindergarten for the fall of 2007. Can anyone recommend a very good school (public and/or private)? Also what town/area is great and safe for living? We are looking for a family town with lots of activites, athletics, parks, etc... and SAFE.

Also what would be considered a reasonable salary to live there?

Can anyone please advice? I know nothing about Canada. Thanks so much!

When comparing education systems and standards you have to take it on a province by province, state by state basis. Coming from FL which has had it challenges as far a schools are concerned you should see a higher standard of learning in general when moving to Ontario. Of course you have some excellent schools in Florida and some really bad ones in Ontario, but overall Ontario has better schools.

As far as towns you are looking at, what is your price range for purchasing a home? and also do you want more of an urban feel or suburban? But as far as suburbs outside of Toronto, some good ones to look at are Markham, Richmond Hill, Thornhill, Oakville, Pickering and Ajax. And there are a few more.

As far as cost of living is concerned Toronto is by no means cheap, it actually ranks 1st amongst all cities in Canada for Cost of living on the UN and Mercer cost of living surveys and 47th overall in the world. If you are moving from Miami though they actually rank higher than Toronto, but if you live in Central or North Florida you will need to negotiate a substantial raise to make it work for you. Then you also have to factor in Provincial income tax (FL has no state tax). You should make substantially more in Toronto though than any city in FL as the wages are generally higher in Toronto.

Here are a few reference for you to look at as well.

For Cost of Living: http://www.finfacts.ie/costofliving.htm
And for specific school rankings: http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/report...ex.asp?snav=rc

Also the Fraser Institute is a pretty trustworthy news source so after you are done reading the school report cards browse around.

And btw I lived off and on in Toronto for 17 years, Orlando, FL for 10 and NYC for 2 so I have a pretty good grasp on both Ontario and FL.

Good luck with your move.

LRUA · 05-16-2007, 08:02 PM

Toronto is quite expensive in terms of real estate, difficult to purchase a detached house for less than $ 300,000 CAD /best areas are Forest Hill , The Bridle Path, Rosedale, houses are mostly well over $ 1,000,000 CAD /other quality areas in the suburbs are Oakville, Richmond Hill, Unionville, Woodbridge, Thornhill, detached housing $ 400,000 and up , large houses backing on to Lake Ontario in Oakville routinely go for more than $ 2 million and some estates over $ 10 million. Less expensive but good areas would include Burlington, Whitby, and Mississauga. As for education, all levels of schooling are quite good, though you might want to consider private as well.

j6a10bejar · 05-16-2007, 08:15 PM

Thank you for all your replies! It really is great to get feedback especially since I know nothing about Canada. I didn't realize that it was that much more expensive in Toronto. Yikes! I am really looking forward to all four seasons, finally!!! Im hoping all goes as planned. We are definitely seeking a suburban feel. Can anyone recommend an honest real estate agent up there?
Or does that no exist anymore, hee-hee...
Janet

j6a10bejar · 05-16-2007, 09:22 PM

One last question... Can anyone give me a salary estimate for a Civil Engineer with a Phd and about 10 years experience for Toronto? I was shocked at the real estate prices!!!

Cornerguy1 · 05-16-2007, 10:27 PM

According to the Ontario Ministry of Education, the average wage for a Civil Engineer in the Toronto area is about $58,000. For more info see the Ontario Ministry of Education web site at the link below.

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general...ivileng.html#i

Another issue for you to consider is the matter of provincial licencing. The Professional Engineers of Ontario regulate all engineers in the province. Their site is located at:

www.peo.on.ca

I assume you in the very preliminary tire-kicking stage of contemplating your move. As indicated by real estate information provided by previous posters, "Toronto" is a large, populous area which for practical purposes stretches from Oakville in the west to Bowmanville in the east and as far north as Woodbridge, Newmarket, Aurora, etc.

Obtain a decent map of southern Ontario and then check out the real estate offerings on the Toronto Area Real Estate Board's MLS service.

www.torontorealestateboard.com/#

Moving from Florida to Toronto and setting up housekeeping will require considerably more than packing a suit case and hopping on a plane. Do some serious online research and then take a couple of week's vacation and come for a visit before making any firm plans.

The Canadian government's Citizenship and Immigration Canada web site will have valuable information for you to consider as well:

www.cic.gc.ca

Jordan"George" · 11-14-2008, 02:14 PM

Having family in the Burlington/Oakville area, I can truly recommend the area very highly. They're extremely safe, upper and upper-middle class neighbourhoods. Although the area is not cheap, it doesn't get ridiculously expensive until you get very close to the lake (Lakeshore Dr) - most of which go for multi-million dollars.

Having friends that live in Richmond Hill and Markham, I can speak very highly of them too. They are also close to the North York centre, which is like a massive, secondary downtown to the north. The suburbs of Toronto are unlike hte stereotypical suburbs that you hear about. They are actually great places to live. Canada's Wonderland is close to the Richmond Hill/Markham region, Toronto Zoo really close to Markham, and all hte nothern ones are really close to the Muskoka's (cottage country)

The other great thing about living nearby the North York centre is because you can take the subway directly downtown for a very low fare, and the subway is surprisingly safe and clean compared to some of the subways I've been in in the States

Although you are looking for suburbs, the central Etobicoke area of Toronto is very nice as well. There are some very upper class areas around here, but also many upper-middle and middle class homes as well. However, it's close to the Humber River Valley bike path which is extensive, and close to High Park, as well as multiple golf courses and lots of Greenery. Also relatively close to downtown compared to the suburbs. Bloor St is a really nice area.

There are also some cool things to check out in Toronto that you may not otherwise hear about. Commercially, my favourite are Yorkdale, Yorkville, Eaton Centre/Yonge St, Sherway, and theres more. To check out culture, make sure you see the Danforth (which turns into Bloor at the Don Valley River) is Greektown. There's a huge Chinatown on Spadina. The distillery district does not represent a specific culture, but it is a really cool area to check out. The waterfront is really coming along, and the Entertainment District (King St West) is pretty awesome.

I know this post is much after your last, but it may help

adventuregurl · 11-14-2008, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j6a10bejar

Hello,

My family and I are considering a move to Toronto, Ontario from FL. Can anyone tell me how Canada's educational system is compared to the US's? I have a little one starting Kindergarten for the fall of 2007. Can anyone recommend a very good school (public and/or private)? Also what town/area is great and safe for living? We are looking for a family town with lots of activites, athletics, parks, etc... and SAFE.

Also what would be considered a reasonable salary to live there?

Can anyone please advice? I know nothing about Canada. Thanks so much!

Having lived in Toronto for 42 years the first thing I would do is figure out where you will be working.Traffic during rush hour can be a nightmare...and rush hour has almost extended to take up most of the day. I would not commute from Burlington to downtown Toronto on a daily basis for anything! And I do like Burlington. Please tell us the area you will be work at? I am not great with schools as I have no children but was a realtor for 18 years and can most likely refer you to a realtor once you give me an idea of the area you want to be in. Because it is so huge (GTA has around 6 million people) most realtors specialize in specific areas...if they tell you they don't they are stretching things a bit.