Coming to the toronto area in july/aug and going to do some research when over bringing wife and kids(boy 7, girl 4) so looking for some info on apartment hire as would like to live like the natives and not lord it up in a hotel so we get a true feel for the place. Also two possible areas we have looked at are Hamilton and Barrie so any views would be appreciated.
On the long term view as an domestic electrician any job info would be valuable i.e prospects, training.
Such a big plan just trying to take it all in thanks to all

Have you tried searching the forum for previous threads on Barrie and Hamilton? I know there have been quite a few in the past which will hopefully give you some ideas.

And have you already applied for your visas? If not, do bear in mind that the list of eligible occupations is going to change again in June (assuming you're applying FSW of course), so you should get your application in before that - given that the IELTS takes a month or two to get, it's something you should get sorted now.

Good luck.

Um Hamilton and Barrie are'nt really the Toronto area unless you are starting off here first.
I would look up viewit.ca, we found our fantastic rental property on that and it is not as tacky as some sites. craigslist.ca is a good one to look for as well.
I know a brilliant real estate agent also if you would like I can pm you her email address she was looking for us before we came out and found some lovely properties for us but we chose our current one.
If you like also I can suggest some nice areas without the ridiculous price range to go with it. PM if you need any more info

Daunting isn't it? A fact finding mission is definitely the way to go and there is a ton of useful information on here - I just found this site a few days ago - wish I knew about it when we moved. My advice would be to check out lots of areas, as an electrician you wouldn't be limited to the big city (expensive) and I think your Barrie idea is a good one. Cost of living is much less up there but you are still within striking distance of civilisation - good airports etc.

A friend of mine once described Hamilton as making Sunderland look like Miami Beach (no offence intended to those from either Hamilton or Sunderland) and as far as the very centre of Hamilton is concerned he may have had a point. There are some really great areas just outside though, Dundas and Ancaster are two that immediately spring to mind.

There is another site 'gottarent' where you may find a short term rental.

So good luck, try not to get too overwhelmed.

Where are you staying during your trip? As someone else said, Hamilton and Barrie aren't exactly in the Toronto area.

Why Hamilton? It is known as "the armpit of Ontario" and there's always a strange smell there! Downtown Hamilton isn't very appealing. There are some nice areas around Hamilton though - e.g. Westdale where McMaster University is located (although that could mean having drunk students for neighbours!).

I think I would live in Barrie before Hamilton.

I lived in Toronto for a number of years back in the '80's and '90's and found the cost of living to be very high. Admittedly I haven't been there in a number of years but friends tell me it's still costly and the population both in Toronto and surrounding area has grown in leaps and bounds. Property prices and rents are very high and you may very well get some relief in the surrounding area. Personally, given a choice between Hamilton and Barrie, I'd say Barrie without question and very nearly moved there myself while living in southern Ontario. There are a lot of very attractive smaller communities in the surrounding areas of all three cities that you might find preferable for raising young children yet they are still a short drive from Toronto. Two that come to mind are Alliston, between Toronto and Barrie and Paris which is west of Toronto. The "fact finding mission" is an excellent idea, in the meantime you've always got Google Earth to do street level tours with. Good luck!

P.S. I hope you like heat and humidity as you're sure to get lots of those there in July and Aug.

I also lived in Toronto around that time (89-96). I've been back a few times since (most recently last year) and there is definitely much more construction (e.g. condo buildings) down by the lake.