JamesM

I disagree that there are major traffic issues in Yonge-Eglinton as having lived there and visited there many times I have never had bad problems getting out.
I got onto the 401 easy. Just went down Yonge. Cut through on Briar Hill to Avenue, Headed to Lawrence and then down to the Allen Rd and onto the 401.Took me 15 minutes on a bad day.

clynnog

Mikey B.....I'm afraid you lost any credibility with me in the statement that the 401 is lovely.....to me it in Toronto represents what Chris Rea was singing about in 'Road to Hell'.

Where are you travelling to and from to go 95 km (each way?) for a commute....that sounds like a lot of travelling that eats up a lot of time and $$$.

Souvenir

You've been in North America too long. Remember irony?

clynnog

Hopefully for all of us you are right. I guess losing my sense of irony is the 1st stage in becoming a dreaded un-hyphenated Canadian.

Mikey B

You do know that was my English Sarcasm coming out?? I detest the 401 as much as dbd33 detests Mississauga!!

Alliston to McCowan/401, of course I always use the 407 otherwise it would be a 4 hr drive with the lovely 401!

Disagree you may but its all down to personal experience - I have friends that live in north york and others St Clair/Bathurst and a couple right on Queens Quay so have passed through Y&E a lot from one to the other - its a disaster!! The few times Ive been on Allen is always a nightmare to the point I avoid it like the 401 across the city! Plus its the whole traffic congestion and people congestion in that area thats a disaster not just getting onto the 401 - too many sheep!! I dont like places where there are a lot of sheep!

clynnog

Apologies for questioning your sanity....however, not sure about your sanity in travelling from Alliston to McCowan/401. Have you tried it on a snowy day yet?

dbd33

I drove up the Allen the other week, leaving Church and Gerrard at four on a Tuesday afternoon it took a little over an hour to the 401. Toronto's not a good place for getting in to or out of.

Mikey B

Yep many times, we have a good foot of snow up there!

Took me an extra 10-20 mins each time there was a storm coming down, remember folk up north are a bit more used to the snow and driving in it!! Its not the snow thats usually the issue but the idiots who dont know how to drive in it and theres a lot of them here in Scarberia at the 401/McCowan!

Besides when Im getting paid 46cents a km I think I can tolerate an hr commute each way especially when I dont hit much traffic, certainly by TO or Birmingham (where Im from) standards! I used to commute 25km each way to work in the UK and would take me at least 45-50 mins!

Mikey B

wow - record time!!!

Atlantic Xpat

Last week I tried, in vain, to get the Sat Nav on the rental car to direct me to a LCBO within reasonable distance of the 401/Victoria Parkway exit without taking the 401 itself. After 20 mins of aimless driving I admitted defeat and travelled west for 5k's or so. I was surprised (at 7pm) how quickly it was moving. I eventually found a LCBO but couldn't tell you where as I was merely following the map!

I also spent a lot of time on the 407 so am braced for a large bill to hit me when Avis figure out where I was. This paying for express road use is very quaint in an M6 toll sense of word.

JamesM

I do remember reading that the busiest stretch of motorway (highway) in the world was the 401 between Toronto and Mississauga. Not sure if it's still the case- but definately 4 years ago. At it's busiest point 500,000 cars per day will pass through.

That is double the busiest stretch of the M25 which is the busiest motorway in Europe.

JamesM

Just a shame the busiest highway question never comes up in pub quiz's!

craig_hoxton

I'm, er, sort of "fresh off the plane" from London and have been here about four months after spending the last 9 years in London (Shoreditch, Clerkenwell, Stoke Newington, Holland Park Borders (Shepherd's Bush!) and Islington).

Toronto simply can't touch London for nightlife and culture - although those two things exist here, they're on a different scale. BUT, I can have a few drinks in bars/pubs overe here and not have to worry about getting tw@tted by some lagered-up idot for looking in the general direction of his girlfriend. And having a British accent works in your favour if you're out and about in town - people actually talk to YOU here.

I do miss the (free) art galleries and the nightlife of places like Hoxton and Notting Hill. Spent my first two months here in "holiday mode" waiting for my Permanent Residency papers to get sorted.

Once I got my PR (4/5 months after applying for Family Class Sponsorship as the missus is Canadian and a hassle-free day trip across the border to the US), have been playing the job application game - which isn't great as they don't have the same sense of urgency as we do in the UK about filling jobs.

One reason for moving here was to try a different career path from what I used to do in the UK - thanks to the Credit Crunch, there isn't much call for financial journalists over here right now.

Have been messed around by a big recruitment agency here, so am going the coffee shop/retail job route for the time being as none of the financial companies are hiring right now - why join a bank when they might give you the elbow in six months' time?

JamesM

Where are you living over there Craig? How you finding the local Toronto beers?

There is certainly no urgency to full jobs over here in the UK at the mo. I got made redundant in September and have had 5 companies freeze recruitment and headcounts on me mid-process. It is a nightmare. I don't know anyone who feels secure in their job at the mo. Everyone is muddling through wondering who is next. Companies collapsing all over the place and no one really seems to be hiring.

I think the job market in Toronto is possibly more positive at the mo, but that is from a distance reading Canadian press websites. Two good freinds in Toronto were made redundant recently.

I back Canada to come out of any slowdown quite quickly because their government must have a huge surplus in oil revenues to spend from the Calgary Oil boom? Not like in the UK where they are trying to solve a debt problem by ludicrously borrowing more money.

Maria_747

James,

I have stayed in Brampton a few days because a cousin lives out there. He was suggesting that we live near him. There is no station there either.
I think I would die of boredom if I live in Brampton, and my Mum... she is already in depression, I can see her getting sectioned if she stayed there !

Anyone know Ealing well ? Can anyone suggest a suburb that remotely resembles Ealing in the GTA that has a station or subway or those GO trains, where you can get to downtown in 30-40 minutes ?

I travelled on the 401 highway, it was not so busy then, is that route equivalent to our North Circular road ?

Hi Craig
Are there they wery slow at processing job applications then
Have you tried workopolis.com ?
P.S
Shepherds Bush is so busy now with that new Westfield shopping complex, biggest in Europe apparently !