EmigratingBrit

Hi guys,

I imagine this type of post has been made elsewhere but I can’t find anything in particular.

I’m a single 30 year old guy potentially looking to emigrate to Canada, Toronto specifically.
Luckily, any potential move will be an inter-company transfer so all the immigration, VISA, stuff will be covered for me by my company so don’t need advice on that. I just want to get a general feel for life over there.

A big thing for me is standard of living and weather. Coming from the UK the thought of moving to another perennially drab, grey, wet country is not appealing as it’s what I hate the most about the UK.
I understand Toronto summers and Autumns are quite dry, pleasant and sunny and the winters are very cold and snowy - I don’t mind harsh cold or snow, I much prefer it to rain if it means the reward of a fairly nice summer period.

From a standard of living perspective my new potential role will pay in excess of $150,000 CAD but no more than $170,000 and I will likely get a car as part of the package. I just want to know how far that will take me in Toronto as just a regular single bloke? I play a lot of sport so would like to join some local clubs and I enjoy eating out but not excessively and want to know will I have a good standard of life on this type of Salary?

Also what is Toronto like generally? It looks stunning, everyone I know who’s been loves it and it consistently rates highly for being a good place to live but curious to know what people who actually live there make of it

Thanks!

JonboyE

I have never lived in Toronto so my opinion has limited relevance, but I do live somewhere equally expensive. It is all very subjective, and mostly depends on what you want to spend money on. It seems more than enough for me for a reasonable life. For others, it will be abject poverty.

btar

I've visited Toronto a number of times which is very different from living there so I won't comment on that except to say it is a couple of degrees cooler near the lake in summber and the opposite in winter. The Weather Year Round Anywhere on Earth - Weather Spark makes interesting reading.

HGerchikov

I live about an hour away from Toronto, I worked in the city for about 6 years and both of my sons have places there now. The weather is pretty much as you describe, generally we have lovely warm summers ( can be a bit too hot and humid in the city some days) and cold but generally bright winters. Where we are gets a lot more snow than the city does but there are generally lots of blue sky and sunshine days throughout the winter. This year has been something of an exception with temperatures floating around zero (very warm for here), grey skies and drizzle. We finally have some winter now, which I can testify to having just spent the past hour and a half shoveliing the driveway. It seems like a bit of a no brainer to me, you are young, will have a decent paying job when you get here, and won't have to spend crazy money (assuming you get a relocation package). Why not give it a try for a few years, it will be an adventure!

MatiasHarding

With a salary between $150,000 and $170,000 CAD, you'll live very comfortably in Toronto. This salary means you can easily enjoy your hobbies, join sports clubs, and enjoy the great food and culture the city offers. Toronto offers a good life, and with your good salary, it's a great place if you like cold, snowy winters and dry, nice summers.

Lychee

Are you ready for cultural change in a subtle way? Toronto's great if you want to embrace an urban Canadian lifestyle and are career-oriented. If you're coming to Canada to pursue an outdoorsy lifestyle or to avoid suburban sprawl grey concrete, it's not where I'd go. It has excellent food, nightlife, shopping, diversity of careers, and festivals. It's a fun city. In the summer, it's hot and humid in a way you never experience in the UK. Spring starts much later with spring blossoms and the trees starting to green out in late May. It is a very different climate than in the UK. This often shocks UK expats expecting spring to arrive in March.

MatiasHarding

This is the first time I've heard that Toronto has a lot to offer in terms of nightlife. I have some friends who moved there recently, and they said that the city is dull in terms of going out somewhere on the eve. I also heard others saying exactly the same thing. So, if you can suggest some good places, please do it. But in terms of shopping, I know that there are a lot of stores for furniture and everything for home. Never seen such a variety of goods for home.

Lychee

I was last in Toronto a year before the pandemic, but it's famous for its live music, theatre performances, festivals, restaurants, and bars that stay open late. I can't speak for nightclubs. Perhaps the pandemic shifted this as it has with even New York. I was in New York last spring and the locals outside a jazz club were saying the pandemic really shut down a lot of the nightlife and it's a shell of its former self. Perhaps the same is with Toronto. I have fond memories of being there as a photographer during the NxNE music festival in 2010 where seemingly gigs were happening all over town, everywhere, late into the night. If you're into gigs, it's better than most Canadian cities, even outside of music festivals. I'd be shocked if it dramatic has changed. What sort of nightlife are you after?

MatiasHarding

Maybe the pandemic affected the local businesses in terms of entertainment. My friends are around 30ish. They have kids, but also sometimes they just wanna relax and go out. I think we all wanna do this from time to time. What they said that Toronto is rich in throwing different festivals, especially during the summer. Almost every week, they went to explore some sort of festival. But now nightclubs, at least something good. Well, they don't really live in Toronto; they live in Mississauga. But they drive to Toronto for work. Also, they said that Canada is a wonderful place to raise kids. They said that all the people they've met so far (in the office, too) are like family couples and not really interested in nightlife. But what we like is to go to pubs and then dance in the nightclubs. It was like our tradition when we were younger.

DMajor

I've never heard anyone describe Toronto as stunning.
It's a building site with a few good bars and restaurants.
Massively overpopulated and not very pleasant.
Your salary will enable you to live a reasonable lifestyle but don't expect too much.
We live 2 hours away and have to work there occasionally. We get in and get out as quick as we can.

JamesM

What is your standard of living now? Where do you live?

$150k+ is very good money for Toronto but it is a very expensive city.

With regards to weather there is approximately 5 good months per year and 5 bad ones. Not much spring or Autumn.

Will you retain UK vacation time?

MatiasHarding

I've been to the US and Canada. Canadians seem more welcoming than Americans. No offense, it's just my opinion. Toronto seemed like a modern town, with all these tall buildings and apartments. But it's a bit grey if you know what I mean. Nothing interesting to see.

Lichisadave

As far as salary goes you should be able to live comfortably on yours. Toronto is a great city we live about 45 mins by train outside of it there are lots of sports teams to go watch the nightlife isn’t like the UK no “pub crawls” but some nice bars and restaurants. Summer is hot and humid +30, some days hotter winter can be -30 but most often with blue skies and not much rain although this year has been the exception. I’d come over for a visit if possible so you can see for yourself what a great city it is.

MatiasHarding

Yeah, I've heard that you have heat waves more frequently. Almost every summer, I see on the news about extreme weather in Canada. But only during the summer. I guess -30 in winter is okay for you guys.

Jerseygirl

Re the winter temps. Few grey, wet days. Most days the sky is blue and the sun is shining, even if it is sub zero temps. Some cities like Toronto, have an underground city, which enables you to navigate the downtown area, offices, shops, medical, dentists, hairdressers, rail, subway, etc without going outside.