Just Landed
 

Hi Guys

We have finally landed in Toronto just over a week ago and to be honest we thought we knew plenty. However this big city has scared the living lights out of us ;)
Thing is we are talking to Canadians that have lived here their whole lives and it would be nice to get in touch with expats that have moved here recently or a while ago. We would really appreciate some pointers/tips on buying a car, best place to look for jobs and other relevant things to living in Canada I suppose.
We have found a lovely house to live in and kids are sorted but for us we are struggling as to where to turn too and who to speak with. :unsure:

We would really appreciate some much needed advice from a immigrants point of view. :thumbsup:

All info much welcome and thanks in advance :thumbsup:

Re: Just Landed
 

Sorry to say that I am not in Toronto but I empathise with you, it's overwhelming when you first arrive. It took several visits to Toronto before I knew about the PATH system for instance. Is there a Newcomers centre near you? They would have info etc.

Which area of TO are you in?? What kind of jobs etc??

Re: Just Landed
 

There are quite a few people on the board in TO who have been here for different lengths of time. I would think if you post questions you are likely to get some reasonable responses. We moved here about a year ago, so feel free to PM if there is something specific etc.
I don't find the city too big, just don't go to the suburbs....

Re: Just Landed
 

I can't help with TO, having only spent about 36 hours there (plus airport transfers!). A buddy bought a house in Milton which looked nice enough, in a very suburban, pleasant-valley-Sunday sort of a way.

For car buying, www.autotrader.ca is pretty good. It depends very much what you're looking for of course, and what your budget is. If you're planning to get a car on finance, with no Canadian credit history, a lease (which is much like a PCP plan in the UK - you pay interest on the whole value of the car but pay off only part of the capital and then have the choice of paying a lump sum at the end to buy the car or just walking away) is much easier to get than a straight loan, or purchase finance as they'll probably call it.

If you're buying used (lease and purchase finance will still be available on cars up to a few years old), try to find a place which specialises (or specializes if you're writing in Canuckian English) in lease returns. These can often be cracking good value. Getting the actual book value of a used car can seem harder than in the UK, in part because Canada is a smaller market with greater regional variations. The Toyota Canada website, however, has a link to find book values for trade-ins. You can use that to find out if you're being robbed blind on the price of a used car!

I started off in Canada, back in 2004, leasing a 2-year old Jag X-Type. After a few months, I found myself wishing I'd sprung for the extra monthly payments on a new X-Type! In general though, it's probably best to go for something cheaper than you think you can afford and holding on to it long enough to earn its keep. There's less car snobbery in Canada than the UK, so give "impressing the neighbours" a miss until you know you can afford to...

A couple of other tips - Best Buy and Futureshop are owned by the same company so it can be tough to play them off against each other. Use their websites to get to price-check TVs, computers and cable boxes, then check out the other retailers. Also, YOU CAN HAGGLE EVEN AT FUTURESHOP!!! I got $50 off a cable box, just by asking nicely.

Appliances like washing machines and tumble dryers are usually bigger than in the UK, which you'll come to appreciate, and the brand names won't all be familiar. Maytag is pretty good. If you go for a front-loading washing machine (they arrived much later in North America than in Europe), make sure to buy "High Efficiency" laundry detergent (washing powder) or you may have a flood on your hands. Specialist appliance retailers may be cheaper than general electrical stores, so price-check!

Craig's List can be good for furniture if you're looking to save a few bucks. Otherwise, there's always IKEA.

Have a look in Yellow Pages for clubs and associations, and you may find an expat club. If you have hobbies you intend to continue, or new ones to take up, joining a club will give you a network who will likely be very happy to help with all the questions you might think are embarrassing to ask. It may not be your thing, but by joining a shooting club in Alberta I met a realtor (estate agent), a friendly RCMP officer (mountie, though you probably knew that already!) to answer any legal questions and lots of "good 'ole boys" who would point me in the right direction.

Lastly, learning the lingo really helps! Also the pronounciations.

Garage is pronounced garadge, for one thing.....