hi everyone. my hubby is canadian and we are in the process of sorting out my sponsorship. whats the average price to rent n Ontario?, eastern ontario preferably, 2 bed apartment for now?

my son is nearly 16 and wants to go to college. are college fees really expensive?

thanks in advance

debs

It will depend again on where you rent. Whether you are in a higher demand area or a lower demand area and what type of 2 bedroom apartment you want to rent. For example I used to rent an apartment in Newmarket Ontario which is just north of Toronto and paid about $750 all inclusive. We now live in Toronto and for the main floor of a house (large 3 bedroom) and pay $1250 + utilities. So the increase in rent from an outlying town to the city is significant, although we got lucky with the rent on ours given the size of the place. Most we looked at in Toronto were 1 or 2 bedroom and were around $1000-1200. In Newmarket we could have rented an entire house for $1400.

So once you head out of the GTA and into southern Ontario the rents should be cheaper than Toronto but youwill pay more for being close to things like transit or shops etc. shorter commutes and less if you live further out. Also you will probably pay more overall for the space if you go with a managed building as opposed to a private landlord / house but then there are other risks associated with renting from a private landlord.

Drew

thanks Drew, all the info i can get really helps

debs

Hi Debs,
Sounds like your in the same boat as my wife. I'm Canadian throught living there before and I want to return. I'm looking at rent prices for the Belleville area in Ontario as we plan to move later in year and want to scout the area before deciding exactly where we want to buy.
We have two young children and are hoping to get lots more moving advice for all things educational, tax implications, etc, etc. Maybe we can swap info as and when we get it from this forum.
Good luck.

What are you looking for...appartment or house? How many beds?

Obviously there is a world of difference between renting a $650 a month 2 bed appartment by the CP tracks, and a $2000 condo overlooking the bay.

Ill try and remember to take a look in the local papers, but there may be some in the classifieds section of the intel online. www.intelligencer.ca

On the http://mls.ca site which is widely quoted you are able to select rentals as against for sale. It is not always that useful but could give you an idea of costs. On the search page selection is to the right middway down in amongst the selection criteria. You need to select area first in order to get to the search page. and....make sure your for sale column is set to 0 and $10,000 so the search engine ignores properties for sale. It can be fiddly.

i have been on mls but cant get any properties in the area i want. thanks anyway

sounds like a good idea to me......two heads are better than one and all that lol. keep in touch.

debs

very much appreciated.. thanks

OK, but getting very pesimistic about move now following news that GPs are scarse and employment prospects not good in this area. $12/hour for IT work! Must be joking.

What we have been told and the wife thinks is a good idea is the walk-in clinics. You do not have to wait several days to see a GP as in the UK. Just go and wait to be seen. Often GPs can be as difficult as helpful. Many in Canada prefer the system as it is often quicker. Personally if I feel like shit I would much prefer being seen straight away. They will refer you immedialtely if they think there is something wrong. There is a reluctance in the UK as you have to get passed the receptionist first..

Can't you hear them..."Yes but is it serious? The Doctor is very busy you know...Oh you are dying... would Wednesday week be OK?"

Not just an opinion either. I had a very serious illness. I could not walk. It took my wife to plead on her bended knees to have a call out as we could not just go to a hospital without being refered (now I know better I would just do it). Eventually one came (one out of 4 GPs) and I was admitted within half hour.

There is a reluctance for good people to not waste a doctors time in the UK and that is not helpful.

Just an opinion

im a registered nurse and heard that the hospitals in eastern ontario are only employing on a casual basis , thats a real bummer lol. i might have to go to ottawa to work, so i too am getting a little worried about this area

We have walk-ins here to in a sense. We can either ring to make an appointment which usually we can get immediately at local health centre if things are that bad or we can now go to the local hospital where a special unit has been set up where we can be seen almost immediately.

My worry about all of Ontario is the general GP/nurse situation. I was listening to an Ottawa chat show over the internet by dropping in on a local radio web broadcast. There appear to be a lot of disgruntled doctors and nurses either leaving the profession for the States instead or not joining in the first place, right across Ontario. Can someone reassure me in any way that the Canadian government are going to do anything about this.

It may not be great in the UK but it does not appear to be in such a state as this. Maybe the grass is always greener?

I don't think there are assurances on either side. And it depends on where you are in the UK. Look at the UK figures which the government aggrees is accurate as to Cancer Lottery. Depends also on the local funding issue in UK. I have seen a lot (read/and like you listened on the web radio) that there is a real issue in Canada that they are trying to sort. I think some of it comes down to red tape and not recognising qualifications. Once they address that it should improve - hopefully. With an 11 billion trade surplus in Canada you would think it would be priority but of course we are talking politics.

In short I do not see high death rates due to lack of quality care being thrown around the media in Canada. Well not that I can see.

I have emailed a few people who say that their own GP would be nice but it nevertheless works out fine.

Its not all doom and gloom on the GP front. Even if you dont get one straight away, as you get to know more people you may hear of openings, and there is a lot of active recruitment going on. There is actually UK doctor lined up to start just as soon as he can get past the stupid provincial qualification and experience recognition stage, but they figure that will take a couple of years!. Really the urgent care system works fine anyway. Certainly shouldnt be a deal breaker for deciding to live here, the Ontario health system is at least as good as the NHS, and seems much better form the point of view of actualy seing a consultant in a reasonable time frame.

The $12/hr is for "easy to get" call center work, and is not representative of a "real" IT job. Emmigrating has its challenges and landing the ideal job is the biggest of them and takes persistence and luck. Gotta start somewhere though.

There is a nursing specific section on this site, not sure if there is any relevent info there, but its worth a boo.