Winterdiva

Hi all,
I am struggling come up with a rough idea of our daily routine in Toronto. We are still trying to work out if this move will be what we want it to be.

Our routine in London is:

Me: Up at 6, pack kids breakfasts, eat something and leave home by 650am. I walk to the station (10 mins walk) and take a train to London. It gets me there in 35-40 mins. I am at my desk by 8, leave office around 430pm. Pick up kids before 6pm and go home.

DH: Gets the kids dressed and drops them off at the childminder by 745, takes the 8am train to work. He comes home at 630pm.

Kids: Eat breakfast at the childminders place, go to school at 845. Childminder picks them up at 315 from school. I pick up the kids at 6pm from the childminders place.

I'm trying to put together a rough mental plan for Toronto. If we move to Toronto, its likely to be Oakville area. I don't see many houses up for sale within walkable distance of Go station. Do people drive everywhere in Toronto? Do we definitely need 2 cars then? Is there enough parking near go stations? Is it expensive?

Is it reasonable to assume schools have before and after school care? What's the usual set up working couples have for childcare ? (like childminders here in the UK)

HGerchikov

When we moved, we lived in Oakville, worked in Toronto and had two small children. What you describe as your London schedule pretty much is what we did, although I am apparently faster at getting ready in the morning (or much fonder of my sleep) - up at 6:40, out the house by 7:03. Everything else pretty much as you had it, except childminder was a before and after school club. It was an 8 minute drive to Clarkson GO station from the house, slightly shorter to Oakville GO, but as it is an earlier stop than Clarkson I would have had to leave the house sooner to catch the train there. Parking is free and they have recently built a lot more at both Clarkson and Oakville stations. Life is definitely easier with 2 cars. We managed with one for a while, but that meant the kids had to be dropped off at 7am and not picked up until 6 which was too long a day for the 5 year old.

OrangeMango

Just wondering, how was the commute on the GO train from Oakville to Toronto? Was the commute mostly on time, reliable and also financially feasible?

HGerchikov

Yes to all those questions. 20- 30 mins on the train depending on if you get express option (=no seat) or relative comfort on the stopping train. Could pretty much set your watch by the arrival times but if it did go wrong it could go spectacularly wrong. Worst cases were fatality on the line - hours and not infrequent switch problems at Mimico which I am hoping they will have fixed by now as it is some years since I regularly commuted.

scilly

Just one thing to add ......

..... negotiating Union Station could take a little longer than when you did it.

The construction / renovation has now reached the lower concourse, and negotiating the blocked off areas, construction only, AND the line-ups, plus all the others trying to get through the obstacles takes time.

It was worse on our trips through there in October/November and before and after Christmas than at any other time in the last 10 years!

Plus there is scaffolding all around the upper concourse, and outside the station.

HGerchikov

Yes, I know it is a bit of a nightmare at the moment, I still go into Toronto occasionally and Union is a mess. They will eventually finish it though.

scilly

another 10 years???????????????

It's 8 years since they began the darn thing!

It's hilarious to look back at various statements ............

Jun 17, 2013 - The TTC station renovation is halfway done,

Jun 15, 2015 - Renovations to Toronto's Union Station will not be completed until 2017 at the earliest – two years behind schedule and $160-million over the original budget.

Apr 27, 2015 - The City of Toronto started the construction on the York concourse in June 2010.

2 days ago - Union Station renovation delayed again, will cost $23M more. Project was initially supposed to be done in 2015, but new report says it won't be completed until late 2018.



But I didn't know this bit. Will we have to swim across the moat or will there be a drawbridge .............

The Front Street West Moat, to be known as the TD Carriageway, is now being glazed,

dbd33

The Gardiner Expressway and the 401 have had major repairs and traffic disruptions continuously since I've been in Canada so 20 years to renovate the station seems about right.

ScotinCanada

Your day sounds exactly like ours! (We also commute into London). We're currently trying to move to Mississauga with husband working in Toronto. We've come to the conclusion that his commute/day will be pretty much the same as here. The difference will be, due to his increase in salary, I won't have to work for a while, and when I do, I could afford to work part-time. My cousins are already there and they can afford to have a nanny which they couldn't in the UK - a combination of higher wages and lower costs associated with a nanny. I can find out more about that if you want - I haven't looked into childcare yet. I understand it costs about the same as here but I have no idea how you find a childminder. We've been advised that we should definitely get 2 cars.....

Winterdiva

Thank you! that sounds pretty do-able

Winterdiva

Great! Please can you find out about costs associated with having a Nanny for 3-4 hours after school? That'll be great help. Kids can relax at home after school.

ScotinCanada

Will get in touch with them and let you know when I hear back

bats

Carillion wasn't it?

evets

Since you mentioned GTA/Oakville which is far far far away from Toronto.
Car is king and public transport is an after thought. Traffic in rush hour is not great, drivers here are some of the worst on the world.

Would like to think I am being flippant with my comments. But that one sentence pretty much sums up the GTA.

Oh an be prepared to get hammered on car insurance.

HGerchikov

Public transport in terms of the GO train is, in my view, the only sensible option for a commute from Oakville to Toronto (assuming your work is within striking distance of Union station or an underground station). Getting to the GO station in Oakville is also possible via public transport but is much more debatable if that's the way you would want to do it,