Rob4BC

It's Canniversary number one. A whole year as residents of Canada. That's 12 months living in Toronto. A whole 365 days of learning to do our daily grind Canuck style, fitting ourselves into this new way of life. A whole year since we exited Toronto Pearson Airport with Temporary Work Permits flimsily stapled into our Passports! Where has the time gone? Have we been having that much fun that time has escaped us, slipped through our fingers unnoticed?

On the most part, yes! Time was flying by until recently, while it now seems to be moving slower than the Don Valley Parkway at rush hour. There's nothing like waiting for a Government Agency to stall time as the cogs grind away with the elusive promise to produce the required bit of paper, the all important renewal of our Temp Work Permits. When we were issued our 12 month TWP's on arrival at the airport, nervously eyeing the Immigration Official, 12 months was better than no months. Those 12 months have passed in a flash and I'm beginning to wish we had pushed him for 36 months. Ah, the benefits of hindsight and the bravado of experience, which were lacking all those months ago and in their place was the stress and panic due in no small part to a container packed with our life's possessions en route from London, moggies waiting at the Cattery for their own scheduled Toronto bound flight - we just had to get in!

Those hectic and sometimes chaotic weeks surrounding our departure and arrival are a year later replaced by a quiet reflective wait for the extension which will mean the adventure continues and will mean we can make application to turn this adventure into something more long term. Even permanent perhaps? I think we are both in agreement that we have had a good time this past year and are on the whole very happy to be residents of Canada. For a long time we had thought it would be good to live in Canada. Of course it must be noted that this opinion was based for a long time on visits to Vancouver and surrounds only. Based on the almost yearly vacation time we spent with an ever expanding group of Vancouver friends, the look of the place and the perceived life style, we wanted to live the dream. Our dream of what life might be like. We are not strangers to moving and new beginnings so we know all too often the reality can fall short of the dream. For us I am pleased to say it has not. Although it must be clarified that we are not living in Vancouver, so that dream is still just that, but the living in Canada part works. We engineered a transfer and it lead us to Toronto. A city to which we had not given much thought. We didn't particularly want to live in a major city, preferring somewhere a little smaller and of course our dream was Vancouver, BC.

Toronto is in Canada so we took the offer and a year later we are most happy with the opportunity to experience this wonderful vibrant and diverse city. It's a big and bustling city, but it is made up of neighbourhoods each with their own distinct character. We found a comfortable rental apartment in a convenient area away from the down town core in amongst the older characterful suburbs with tree lined streets and green areas. We have everything we need in retail terms within a 2 block radius. We have a bus stop outside the door, literally, which connects to the subway so that we can be down town in 25/30 minutes. The TTC is to my mind a great public transit system. I am very happy to "Ride the Rocket".

Our first weeks here were filled with the required arrival rituals of SIN numbers, registering for OHIP, drivers licence swap and opening bank accounts along with excited explorations of the city and the grocery stores filled with new and unknown products and the crazy huge sizes of things. We had fun looking around the different city areas and rental apartments until we found a great place and it was a good choice. We have been very happy here and are more than happy to stay on.

There were some less than pleasant dealings with our removal company who it turns out lied to us on multiple counts and cost us quite a fair chunk of change. Their lies and incompetence meant we had to wait a further 6 weeks for the arrival of our stuff and had us camping out in our new apartment, sleeping on the floor because our stuff was always just about to arrive. It did eventually arrive after being relieved of a none too insignificant wad of cash and of course the 6 weeks of rent and discomfort we could have avoided by staying on with a cousin who had been kind enough to put us up when we arrived. Well, chalk it up to experience and all part of the cost of getting to live here in this great city. Enough of those negative experiences, which are far outweighed by the positive.

Apart from learning to buy oversized boxes, bags and jars of things we've learned our way around the city, where we like to shop, where we like to eat out, where we like to go for a walk and thanks to Sunday open houses we know where in this vibrant and diverse city we might like to buy a long term home. We're not there yet, but when the time comes we will know where to look.

We've been to watch a football game at Rogers Centre, and another time we enjoyed Monster Jam Trucks and yet another time we drooled over the offerings at the Toronto Auto Show. Some activities we will repeat, some were simply done for the North American/Canadian experience. You know, like in the movies. We've done a few other things for the experience and there are some more to go along with further enjoyment of this city's offerings. I have been impressed with the cultural offerings of Toronto. A recent survey of 60 major World cities found Toronto to be in 4th place after London, Paris and New York for cultural activities and experiences. This would once have come as a surprise, but not after my year of living here and enjoying Theatre, music concerts, street festivals, restaurants offering food from all over the world, film fests, art fairs and the amazing Nuit Blanche that saw the whole down town core come alive from dusk till dawn with all types of art for one incredible night.

Toronto is so much more than I expected and I'm looking forward to another year here.

Rob

LotteW

Congratulations!

And good luck with the work permit renewal

ireland2canada

I thoroughly enjoyed reading that...even if I am now green with jealousy. Best of luck for the next 12 months, congrats!

ann m

Congrats to both of you - it sounds like the most rewarding year of experience. Here's to a few more ...

maddhobs

Happy Canniversary!

Cookie

Happy Canniversary

Have to say we really like Toronto too. Been there a few times before and just came back from a trip there last week.

Slightly off topic. We stayed at the downtown Ramada hotel which has recently been refurbished. Our 2 queen bedded room was $129 + tax, so approx $150 per night. On checking in, we were offered an upgrade to a 2 bedroom suite for an extra $20 per night. Best $20 we have ever spent. Our rooms were lovely with a good view over gardens.

cneldred

Spooky, was our first Canniversary today aswell. Strange when we arrived last year temperatures were 25c plus, today we had snow.

The year has flown by, and we have had so many great experiences in that time and made lots of great friends.

I had to return to UK on business last week and it just drove home how much we love living here, couldn't wait to get back.

Heres to many more years in this great country we now call home.

Chris

Rob4BC

Thank you all.

Ooh, now that's a good idea, cheers.

Yes, this time last year we were having a barbecue at OH's cousin's place enjoying the sunshine and a few beers on the deck!!!
I'm sure we'll have some more milder weather before the real winter weather arrives, but I'm glad to be here all the same.

chumley

fabby write up much enjoyed thankyou
its my half canniversary today ( 6 months) so fingers crossed they let me stay to get to my canniversary number 1!!!

huge luck with PR

woodmanbg

Congratulations and here's to many more

Did you use Whites for moving? We did and had to wait for our belongings to arrive also. They eventually arrived three weeks later than they should have done.
Best wishes

bandit

Hey Rob & OH

I'm thrilled to read your post, and I have things crossed for you to get your PR's etc....

You have been v helpful in guiding me into things to do here, and having not been to Toronto, I have only recently been told great things about it. It wasn't on my list mainly to the weather, however, I'm sure just being in Canada is prefereable to not at all... And Vancouver isn't going anywhere, and you at least have a new friend here LOL!!!!

Congrats on this Canniversary and I hope you enjoy the next 12 months.!!!!

All the best
Bx

AlvicBC

Rob when I read the title of your post, I actually said - NO WAY - I cannot believe you have been there a year already - well done you.

So has the East won your heart then or will you still hope to move out west?

Rob4BC

Thanks. We used Allied Pickfords. They were disappointing, but it's a crazy thing this international moving. Think about it - you give them all your worldly possessions, then you give a whole load of money and they drive off into the sunset and we have no choice but to hope they'll reappear some day with all our stuff.

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it and best of luck for your first Canniversary and more.

Thanks for your wishes and happy to know I could offer some ideas and that you are enjoying Vancouver and especially pleased to have another friend there.


One year in Canada. Awesome eh!
The jury is still out as to whether a move West is still on the cards. For now the name stays, but who knows? Toronto could yet get under my skin.

Yoong

Hey Rob,wishing you and OH Happy 1st Canniversary
Yoong

Rob4BC

Thanks muchly.