Cheez Whiz

Hi all ,

I know this question has probably been "done to death" , but i'm fairly new to these boards & wanted to ask for myself.

Can people please give their recomendations on good areas to live on the outskirts of Toronto. Specifically areas good for kids. You know the usual ;
good schools / safe for playing outdoors / family orientated.

The main reason for asking is , we plan to rent initially when we get out there & then buy later once settled. But we'd ideally like to get the area right straight away (big ask i know). The upheaval of leaving the Country , her family , friends & school is already huge for our 10yr old daughter & i'd hate to get out there , get her settled into a new school , having made new friends , only for her to have to go through the whole process again a year or so down the line when we buy a permenant home , if in a different area to where we rent. So we'd like to try & get it right first go!

We're very much city dwellers & wouldn't want to be too far out from the heart of Toronto (the "pull" of Toronto was one of the major factors in us deciding to go!). Close enough that a days shopping on a weekend (my wife & daughter are very good at this!) is spent shopping more so than travelling to & from. & if my wife & i fancy a drink then leaving the car & making other travel arrangements (taxi) doesn't cost a small fortune due to distance.

Currently in the Uk we live in a small market town on the outskirts of a large city & in car , from our doorstep to the city centre is no more than 15-20 mins maximum. & Ideally we'd like to replicate this on the other side of the pond (maybe increase the travelling time slightly).

But ultimately it is getting it right for our daughter. If we can get her settled & happy then any other obstacles that come our way will be like water off a ducks back!!!

Any comments , recomendations , advice will all be greatly recieved !

Thankyou.

John.

dbd33

The Beach worked well for us. It's suburban in that people have dogs and backyards and whatnot but still accessible by transit; a consideration I thought important as it allows teenagers to travel unassisted.

Zap0ne

Hi

There are tons of nice areas....Leaside, Beaches, Moore Park, Forest Hill, Bloor West, Riverdale, York Mills.....the list is pretty long which is a good thing right!

I find that in most cases the location is determined by a combination of employment, commuting and finances. Some areas of the city require deep pockets for rent and this becomes a factor for many.

You might like to check out the Toronto Life neighbourhoods guide for a general primer.

http://www.torontolife.com/real-estate/

This could be helpful.

Auld Yin

The areas mentioned by ZapOne are indeed very nice but for the most part very expensive. To provide you with more specific assistance you would have to provide some indication of what's the maximum amount of rent you propose to pay. Toronto or the GTA as it is now known covers a very large, area with a number of dormitory communities (towns) situated to the north, east and west. It is not nearly as compact as UK cities. Rentals within the city proper would be expensive to say the least and much such rentals would be in older buildings, perhaps not what you're accustomed to. I live in the town of Pickering (120,000) which is the first dormitory town to the east of the city. By commuter train it is about 45 minutes to downtown TO and about 30/35 minutes by car during non-rush hour traffic. Schools are good and moving about is relatively easy.
As with most things in life, it comes down to money. Some questions if I may:
1) Do you have a job arranged?
2) If so, where will it be, because that would be influential in where you live?
3) What do you do for a living? And your OH?
4) Will you be bringing funds with you?
5) Do you have any contacts here?
If I can help you further, I'm happy to do so. I have lived in the area for 43 years so am very familiar with Toronto and environs.

coolmum1

hi sorry for jumping in but read your post we are moveing to pickering or whitby any help on these two places would be great be there 15 dec and have a 13 y old son thanks any help would be great coolmum1

Cheez Whiz

Hi , Brian.

Thanks for your reply.

Yes , cost is very much going to play a major factor. For example we have been looking on MLS.Ca & it is looking very much like a basement to someone elses house initially!

Anyway , in answer to your questions ;

1) My wife is an SRN (senior registered nurse). She does not have a job yet
but will be applying for posts shortly after Christmas. I have no
trade/craft/qualifications & am just an office based clerk in the Uk. I will
get a job once there & will try my hand at anything. But only one of us
will be working initially.

I think that answers questions 2 & 3 also !

4) Yes. Although don't know how much. Depends on the sale of our house.
Although the market is down over here , we still fully expect to make on it.

5) Yes. Just the one. My wife has a friend , who funnily enough lives in
Pickering! So this is very much on our radar.

Anyway , thanks again!

John.

dbd33

If you're going to look at far suburbs, Pickering, Mississauga and so on then you probably want to limit the search to the lakeshore between Pickering and Oakville as there is reasonable public transit by Lakeshore GO train. There is some transit to the north but it's limited, very limited in some locations.

Auld Yin

You've probably searched a map and know that Whitby is about 15 minutes further east from Toronto than Pickering. Both have commuter train service to TO with regular service. Many people commute into the city from both towns. They are similar in size and have both experienced incredible growth over the past 10-15 years. Both are the on shore of Lake Ontario. Whitby is close to Oshawa, Canada's major auto manufacturing city (GM), not that that's necessarily a good thing today and many people live in Whitby and Pickering and work at the plant, or factory as you call it. Both towns are have plenty of organized sports/activities for 13 year olds and good schools. Any industry in both towns would be mainly light manufacturing. You stated Pickering or Whitby. Do you have contacts/family in both places? I have been here over 42 years and, as you would expect, am quite content and settled. I could go on and give you lots of info but probably bore you into the bargain. If there's anything else you would like to know or any info I can give you I am happy to do so. It's not long now until you arrive, just in time for your OH to hit our shopping malls.
Much Good Luck.

Auld Yin

I would think with your wife's qualifications and work skills that she would be the one making the emigration application. I believe there is still a great need for qualified nurses.
For you finding employment isn't going to be easy but if, as you say, you're willing to take anything then you have the right attitude. Having some contact here will definitely help you get over the culture shock and give you directions on how to get things done.
Please realize it will be a tough go at first but if you weather it out I'm sure you will love it here. It is very different so please don't be dismayed by the fact you cannot find the same food brand names/tastes here. It is difficult moving young children away from their familiar surroundings, friends and family but they are most resilient and will quickly adapt. There are lots of organized sports/activities for children of all ages.
If I can help you with anything further, please don't hesitate to ask. I've been through it myself, albeit a long time ago but I understand any apprehension and concerns you and your family may have.

Cheez Whiz

Thanks for your very positive replies , Brian.

Yes , my wife will be making the emigration application. She was born in Canada (to British parents) & lived there for the first 15yrs of her life. So she is able to apply for a Canadian passport. & because of this we can also apply for a Canadian passport for our daughter. Infact we can , & have , even applied for Canadian citizenship for her! & once the passports & citizenship are sorted , my entry will then be applied for via the spousal route.

We've just got the one contact. That's my wifes friend who lives in Pickering. & she's being nothing but helpful. Offering to put us up initially & all sorts!

With regards to my working , like i said , i'll turn my hand to anything. & i'm not all that career minded , so if it be trivial then so be it. I'm not after some high powered post! Infact , having experienced the service industry over there , i quite fancy the idea of waiting tables or being behind a bar (nothing to do with the tipping culture you understand!). Plus , i'm probably only going to do part-time initially anyway. I want to devote as much time as i can to settling my daughter in & getting her intergrated. I'm quite looking forward to spending some quality time with her. The two of us investigating our new world together while the wife's at work! We can put in the leg work , while the wife's earning!

I realise it'll be tough at first & i'm sure there'll be many hurdles to jump. But providing our daughter's happy , then we'll adapt to anything. I don't think the culture shock will be too bad. We were there in the summer & my wife & i both agreed that we didn't feel like fish out of water. Like tourists. I can't really explain what i mean , but it just felt right. & we miss it terribly , still. & we're not the type to jack it all in because we miss Marks & Spencers! Hell ,
I would make the move just for Tim Hortons !!!

After all , we're making this move because we want to. No one's holding a gun to our head. We're very excited about it. It's an adventure we want to take. & if we end up living on the shores of the lake then i would consider that a big jump up in our quality of life straight away! & that's just one aspect of the move.

Anyway , i'll get going. I've gone on a bit!

Again , thanks for all your support. I'm sure i'll be taking you up on your offer of help , at some point in the future.

John.

Auld Yin

You sure have the right attitude and I know you'll be happy here. Just something for you to think about. School Bus drivers are always in great demand. The hourly pay's not bad and for the most part it works well for people like yourself that want hours of work which allow them to still care for their children. My understanding is that how much you make is determined by the number of hours you want to work. While I don't think you would want to do this on a full-time/permanent basis it may be something to consider to bring some money in while you get established and learn the lay of the land. It also gives you the opportunity to make contacts. With your wife being born here you've aced the immigration process so you can make your way as soon as your house is sold. It's a great pity the real estate market is diving at this time. The only consolation to you is that it's diving here also so that helps. Liking Timmy's also helps. I'm surprised someone in the Uk doesn't open some of them over there. They are one of the world's greatest business success stories.
Good Luck and keep me posted.
Brian.

Cheez Whiz

Thanks , Brian.

The school bus thing is certainly something interesting to ponder over. Would you happen to know if you need anything additional on your driving licence for this ? Or would a car licence suffice ?

& like you said , the hours would fit perfectly with what i'm after!

& i like the idea of how much you earn being very much down to you & how many hours you put in. I've basically done the same job (although for different companies) since i left school & it's always been a job with an annual salary , fixed. & that's regardless of how many hours you worked! Overtime just doesn't figure.

So to be able to say "Oh things are looking a bit tight this month. I'll put a few extra shifts in" , would be great.

Anyway thanks again & yes i will keep you posted. I'll let you know as & when any progress is made.

Cheers ,

John.

Auld Yin

As far as I understand one doesn't require anything other than a regular, clean Ontario driving licence. I know someone who does this job and they were put through a training programme and had to pass a test before being allowed to hit the road with children. I would suspect that drivers would require to have a high level of patience while driving 20-30 kids around.

tovan

Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington! You can't go wrong

Gail

Has your wife sorted out her nursing registration with the CNO as it is a very time consuming process? Does she have a job to go to?

We live in Ajax which is great for families and I commute downtown to work. It is probably easier for her to get a job at one of the downtown hospitals than in the peripheral hospitals as they are only recruiting in specific areas and some are laying off nurses. The east side is better for transport than the west if you work in the downtown hospitals as the train times are better suited to the shifts - some of my colleagues going west have almost an hour to wait on an evening as they just miss the train and they only run every hour.