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Moving to Toronto with a family of 4

Moving to Toronto with a family of 4

Old May 4th 2019, 6:03 am
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Default Re: Moving to Toronto with a family of 4

Originally Posted by JamesM
Sorry to be a dampener. But $105k in Canada is closer to 50 k gbp sterling in the UK. To replicate 60k gbp sterling you really need closer to $120k. With a family I’d not make the move as you will be worse off by a lot. In Toronto it will be a struggle.
I assume this refers to purchasing power/similar lifestyle that income supports? Because on a currency conversion, currently 1.77, $105k is £59.3k, so pretty much 60 (and much closer to that than 50).
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Old May 4th 2019, 5:35 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Toronto with a family of 4

Originally Posted by Vulcanoid
I assume this refers to purchasing power/similar lifestyle that income supports? Because on a currency conversion, currently 1.77, $105k is £59.3k, so pretty much 60 (and much closer to that than 50).
I am sure he is referring to purchasing power. Look at the OPs current expenses that he lists in an earlier post. He is likely to be paying a lot more than that for the same items here.

To the OP - that two bedroom condo rental does seem very reasonable - where did you see it advertised?
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Old May 4th 2019, 9:03 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Toronto with a family of 4

Originally Posted by HGerchikov
I am sure he is referring to purchasing power. Look at the OPs current expenses that he lists in an earlier post. He is likely to be paying a lot more than that for the same items here.

To the OP - that two bedroom condo rental does seem very reasonable - where did you see it advertised?
Hi, Thank you all again, the information was shared via a call with my relocation manager, an exact building name or atreet wasnt shared im afraid.
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Old May 5th 2019, 5:00 am
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Default Re: Moving to Toronto with a family of 4

Originally Posted by 1SN
Hi, Thank you all again, the information was shared via a call with my relocation manager, an exact building name or atreet wasnt shared im afraid.
That's ok. I am not looking to rent a place just checking that you didn't see it on one of the advertising sites that are full of scams.
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Old May 5th 2019, 10:08 am
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Default Re: Moving to Toronto with a family of 4

Originally Posted by HGerchikov
That's ok. I am not looking to rent a place just checking that you didn't see it on one of the advertising sites that are full of scams.
Thank you for that actually. Its something I should bear in mind for future purposes. For now, At least the relocation manager will be assisting, I love this forum though sinceI get views from multiple sources, as opposed to one person.
Thank you again If you can think of other places similar costs near good schools and transportation, even with street names and building names, that would be appreciated.
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Old May 5th 2019, 2:12 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Toronto with a family of 4

Hi welcome!

We moved here 6 months ago from Hertfordshire.

Cost of of living is a tough one and guessing what it would be was a large bit of our stress before we moved.

Our cost of living here is definitely higher than in the UK but so is our quality of life. Our costs are still balancing as we work out suppliers and what is important to us.

To to give you an idea of what we spend:
- $2,400 - rent in Mississauga, (35 min train ride to downtown Toronto). Terraced 3 bed house.
- $200 husbands commuting costs by GO train to Toronto (and you don’t pay for parking at the station!)
- $400-$500 combined bill for 2 mobiles, landline, high speed internet and cable TV with HBO etc (finding that a lot so will be shopping around soon to try and reduce that)
- utilities (gas and electric) are around $100 each a month but varies
- $1,500 supermarket shop. I find this shockingly high but we now eat at home a lot more and food is totally more expensive here. Still trying to reduce that cost.
- our car costs a lot because we bought a new car on finance. Insurance is $250 a month and we spend around $200 a month on petrol. We’re now trying to buy a second, used car but that is expensive.
- approx $200 per child, per sport/activity per term eg swimming, soccer, ice skating etc

lots more random costs - we eat out sometimes and are still spending a lot on replacing things we didn’t bring from the UK. Life feels pretty expensive at the moment but we’re slowly stabilizing those costs.

I hope that gives you an idea.
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Old May 6th 2019, 6:28 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Toronto with a family of 4

Originally Posted by ScotinCanada
- $1,500 supermarket shop. I find this shockingly high but we now eat at home a lot more and food is totally more expensive here. Still trying to reduce that cost.
How many in your family?
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Old May 6th 2019, 6:46 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Toronto with a family of 4

Originally Posted by Pulaski
How many in your family?
2 adults and 2 kids. I feed them 3 meals a day, 7 days a week. We eat a lot of fresh produce which can get very expensive.
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Old May 6th 2019, 6:50 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Toronto with a family of 4

Originally Posted by ScotinCanada
….. fresh produce which can get very expensive.
I am sure, same down here, south of the border. ….. But although tomatoes are farmed outdoors down here in NC in the summer, during the winter and spring our local supermarkets sell hothouse tomatoes from …. Canada!
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Old May 6th 2019, 6:54 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Toronto with a family of 4

Originally Posted by Pulaski
I am sure, same down here, south of the border. ….. But although tomatoes are farmed outdoors down here in NC in the summer, during the winter and spring our local supermarkets sell hothouse tomatoes from …. Canada!
ha ha. Almost all our fresh produce at the local supermarket seems to come from USA and Mexico.

I found an amazing farmers market but it’s too far away for regular shops so just need to locate one nearer.
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Old May 8th 2019, 6:43 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Toronto with a family of 4

Originally Posted by ScotinCanada
Hi welcome!

We moved here 6 months ago from Hertfordshire.

Cost of of living is a tough one and guessing what it would be was a large bit of our stress before we moved.

Our cost of living here is definitely higher than in the UK but so is our quality of life. Our costs are still balancing as we work out suppliers and what is important to us.

To to give you an idea of what we spend:
- $2,400 - rent in Mississauga, (35 min train ride to downtown Toronto). Terraced 3 bed house.
- $200 husbands commuting costs by GO train to Toronto (and you don’t pay for parking at the station!)
- $400-$500 combined bill for 2 mobiles, landline, high speed internet and cable TV with HBO etc (finding that a lot so will be shopping around soon to try and reduce that)
- utilities (gas and electric) are around $100 each a month but varies
- $1,500 supermarket shop. I find this shockingly high but we now eat at home a lot more and food is totally more expensive here. Still trying to reduce that cost.
- our car costs a lot because we bought a new car on finance. Insurance is $250 a month and we spend around $200 a month on petrol. We’re now trying to buy a second, used car but that is expensive.
- approx $200 per child, per sport/activity per term eg swimming, soccer, ice skating etc

lots more random costs - we eat out sometimes and are still spending a lot on replacing things we didn’t bring from the UK. Life feels pretty expensive at the moment but we’re slowly stabilizing those costs.

I hope that gives you an idea.
Thank you certainly gives me a good idea. I'm shocked to see how expensive Toronto is, Its putting London on the back burner in regards to cost of living.
I may consider to rent in Mississauga is it really 30 mins to downtime? Doesnt sound bad at all? I used to commute from Hanwell, London to London Canary Wharf on the train and that took around an hour and a half.Is Mississauga a good area for kids and young families? Would you consider buying there? I ask because when I come around to buying a house I do not want to uproot my kids again. Are the schools performing well in the area?
Thank You

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Old May 8th 2019, 7:52 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Toronto with a family of 4

Originally Posted by 1SN
Thank you certainly gives me a good idea. I'm shocked to see how expensive Toronto is, Its putting London on the back burner in regards to cost of living.
I may consider to rent in Mississauga is it really 30 mins to downtime? Doesnt sound bad at all? I used to commute from Hanwell, London to London Canary Wharf on the train and that took around an hour and a half.Is Mississauga a good area for kids and young families? Would you consider buying there? I ask because when I come around to buying a house I do not want to uproot my kids again. Are the schools performing well in the area?
Thank You

Canada is NOT like the UK.

Schools within a school district perform to the same standard, there will be relatively little difference between them.

You do not have to seek a "good" school before buying the house. It's the other way round ......... find the house and district that you like and buy there.

There are loads of comments on this site about this ............ one of the things to learn about Canada, we are a different country.

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Old May 8th 2019, 8:38 pm
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Default Re: Moving to Toronto with a family of 4

Originally Posted by 1SN
Thank you certainly gives me a good idea. I'm shocked to see how expensive Toronto is, Its putting London on the back burner in regards to cost of living.
I may consider to rent in Mississauga is it really 30 mins to downtime? Doesnt sound bad at all? I used to commute from Hanwell, London to London Canary Wharf on the train and that took around an hour and a half.Is Mississauga a good area for kids and young families? Would you consider buying there? I ask because when I come around to buying a house I do not want to uproot my kids again. Are the schools performing well in the area?
Thank You
No and No. It's like a giant estate, all high rises and new builds packed onto tiny lots. If you check out other posts by ScotInCanada you will see they are planning on moving away from Mississauga

You would be better off in Oakville or Burlington - or surrounding areas. Get the GO train (or Bus) to Union Station in Toronto.

Schools are different in Canada - it's not good and bad it's much of a muchness.. don't base where you are going to live on a school - there is little difference between them. .

Originally Posted by scilly
Canada is NOT like the UK.

Schools within a school district perform to the same standard, there will be relatively little difference between them.

You do not have to seek a "good" school before buying the house. It's the other way round ......... find the house and district that you like and buy there.

There are loads of comments on this site about this ............ one of the things to learn about Canada, we are a different country.

+1

Last edited by Siouxie; May 8th 2019 at 8:40 pm.
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Old May 9th 2019, 12:39 am
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Default Re: Moving to Toronto with a family of 4

Originally Posted by Siouxie
No and No. It's like a giant estate, all high rises and new builds packed onto tiny lots. If you check out other posts by ScotInCanada you will see they are planning on moving away from Mississauga

You would be better off in Oakville or Burlington - or surrounding areas. Get the GO train (or Bus) to Union Station in Toronto.

Schools are different in Canada - it's not good and bad it's much of a muchness.. don't base where you are going to live on a school - there is little difference between them. .



+1
True. I concur with all the comments about schooling and Mississauga. Also don’t worry too much about the kids having to change schools a couple of times before you’re properly settled. Catchment areas here are super strict. You could move one street away and still have to change schools if it changes your catchment area. Your school is tied to your postcode.

Yes we’re wanting to move East of Toronto for a variety of reasons.

Mississauga is ok as long as you can afford to live in a nice area south of the 403.

Facilities are good - there is loads to do here as a family. However it is busy and under the flight path for Toronto airport.

We would stay here if we could find a house we could afford in the area we want (i.e south of the 403 and close to a station on the GO Lakeshore West line) but I’m doubtful we can do so within budget. We shall see - not ruling it out!
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Old May 9th 2019, 12:47 am
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Default Re: Moving to Toronto with a family of 4

I should also add that renting in Mississauga is a bit of a nightmare at the moment so if you’re planning on moving here make sure you look well in advance.

We had a monthly budget of $2,500 and in the city of 700k people there were 6 houses available for rent (we werent looking at condos). One of which was crawling with insects!

So we had very little choice at all as to where we moved and as such, we’re in an area we don’t like but we’re not prepared to move again until we buy something, to minimize disruption for the kids.
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