Well here we are again!
 

Hey Guys

been a while - after 2 unsuccessful residencies in Toronto. We are ready for the 3rd ?

Why would you try again you may ask ???

The past 2 times we had to return due to my Mother in Law - sadly she passed away in this awful Covid pandemic. She was 93 years of age and passed away in her nursing home.

So 5th May 2021 is Toronto D Day and have a few questions to ask and many more to follow I am sure?

In the UK we have been self isolating as I am a diabetic and although I may have came back from NYC with a mild coronavirus - we are not sure and don’t have the tests yet for antibodies!

So here we go.

Question 1) Asda have been amazing here - we have had great deliveries from them every week in lockdown. When we last lived in Toronto - home shopping delivery was non existent - has that changed now?

Question 2) We are at an age now - that we probably won’t want a mortgage and will rent long term - just wondered if we were looking at renting a 2 Bedroom House with. Basement and 2 bathrooms and have contents to the value of $15,000 pounds - what would an average premium be per month!

Question 3 - same question about car insurance companies - both had clean licences for 10 years plus - know someone companies will not look at Uk no claims etc! We both will drive and probably look at a Honda Civic.

Question 4 - are there still social groups for mature people who emigrate. My OH is 57 and I am 51 - we have some good friends in Toronto - but still would like to meet more. I know there are groups for younger folks.

Question 5 - Cell Phones as most UK stuff is now done via WiFi (zoom, WhatsApp etc) what kinda price are we looking at for a tariff that’s offers great WiFi packages and calls within Canada. Rest of my calls I make via Skype.

Many thanks in advance

Rob

Re: Well here we are again!
 

why Toronto? Are you talking downtown or GTA? What's the attraction

Re: Well here we are again!
 

Because all our friends are there. We have lived in The Beaches and Danforth/Woodbine and live those areas.

Re: Well here we are again!
 

Do you have Canadian citizenship or PR status?

Re: Well here we are again!
 

My Husband is a Canadian Citizen and I have had PR since 2008 and renewed it successfully, last time 2018 !

Re: Well here we are again!
 

That's great, it's quite relevant for others reading these threads.

Re: Well here we are again!
 

Loads of threads on this. Some (not many at all) say they will take into account proven UK NCD's as long as there is a specific letter from each insurer stating that there were no claims (No of years NCD normally not accepted as this can be insured and does not include windscreen claims etc.). Others have reported that the cost of insurance from these companies is little different from other companies that do not take UK experience into account! Postcode is far more important than the type of car. If you want a very rough budget cost, assume $2500 - $3500 pa.

Lots of choice, but all more expensive than the UK. I personally brought our Samsung Galaxy unlocked handsets over from the UK and used a Koodoo pre-paid chip (so no handet to price into the monthlies). The base plan was $15 a month and you simply bought Canada-wide top up minutes packages and data packages as you needed them. Probably worked out at $25 a month and auto renewed on my credit card. I have since upgraded to Koodoo pre-paid, but this package is $35 pm which includes unlimited Canada-wide calling and a sensible monthly amount of data. There are loads of other suppliers all probably around the same ballpark.

Re: Well here we are again!
 

What do your friends say in answer to these questions?

Re: Well here we are again!
 

Here's a general thread on groceries but posts from April 7th include quite a lot on grocery delivery

Re: Well here we are again!
 

Apart from petrol, is anything cheaper in Canada?

Re: Well here we are again!
 

[crickets]

Re: Well here we are again!
 

:rofl:

Re: Well here we are again!
 

My house.

My 2 bed, terraced house, small garden, on street parking went for £157,000 in 2005 when I bought my 4 bed detached property with drive and big yard for $120,000.
I see from Rightmove.UK that three identical houses in my bit, including the ones either side of me, went for £153k-£159k between 2004 and 2006 have been sold between 2018 and 2019 for £305k to £315k.

I'm certain the value of my house here (and all the others around) have not doubled.

So my house here is cheaper than the one there. :rofl:

Re: Well here we are again!
 

I would go along with houses - £ for $ on a 'like for like' basis.

I lived near Cheltenham in a 4 bed detached value £500k. Cheltenham and Gloucester with outlying suburb towns = population 350,000-odd. Two hours drive to Heathrow and 3 hours drive to Central London.

Now live in a 4 bed detached in London, ON for $500k. London ON population 400,000. Two hours drive to Toronto airport, 3 hours drive to downtown Toronto. About as similar a situation as you are likely to get in two very dis-similar countries!

Room to breathe, friendly neighbours, uncrowded roads, great facilities (ice rinks, parks, walks etc.).

Re: Well here we are again!
 

That's all well and good but what about the cheese selection..surely the main determinant of the vitality of a location. :):)

Re: Well here we are again!
 

For the wife for sure, but not me. But then I can get German beer at the local Beer Store, so happy bunny!

Re: Well here we are again!
 

Property (but not always)
Beef & Pork (but not chicken or lamb)

Erm..... I'm struggling to think of anything else.

Re: Well here we are again!
 

Most technology such as TV's, computers are usually cheaper in Canada...cars as well if you can find like for like.

Re: Well here we are again!
 

Are you sure you're British :) I never could figure out the appeal of lager.

Re: Well here we are again!
 

VAT!

VAT in the UK = 20%

HST (same thing really) in Ontario = 13%

Re: Well here we are again!
 

I am sure I am NOT British! I am the Canuck (although lived 40+ years in the UK as PR). It's the wife that is the Brit!

Re: Well here we are again!
 

Ah...hence the love of 'iced hockey' and 'lager'.....next you're going to tell us that Nickelback are musical geniuses and that Tim Horton's make quality artisinal products :)

Didn't you leave the 'Tick' for London?

Re: Well here we are again!
 

Yep, left Manotick for London. I would be happy in a log home off grid miles from anywhere, the wife would like a city condo downtown, so we tried to find something in between. Manotick was too much 'my way' - it was quiet and too far from Ottawa for an easy evening out (not much going on in Ottawa anyway given the size of city). We are now 4.5km from the city centre of London in a leafy and quiet suburb, but still an easy walk to some local bars and easy Uber into a decent sized city with lots going on. Happy wife, happy life.

My British friends accuse me of a broad Canadian accent, but Canadians think I am 'sooooo British.....' - I can't win!

Oh, and I do actually quite like Timmies!

Re: Well here we are again!
 

1. UK is still way ahead of Canada as far as home delivery.
2. We rented a 3 bed detached property on Main/Danforth for $3000 including all utilities in 2018. Rents are dropping downtown for condos, but houses are still expensive.
3. Car insurance is crazy. Quoted $4300 for first year on a new Honda HRV and I have over 15 years no claim experience. Aviva Canada have accepted my no claims and gave me a policy costing $1350.
4. Easier to meet people in East York compared to downtown Toronto. Local library is good place to start networking.
5. We use Freedom Mobile, unlimited calls in Canada and 3GB data package costs $28 per month. Use ttag to make calls back to UK for 5c per minute or Skype via WiFi with Bell WiFi that costs $62 per month for unlimited data and 1GB download speed.

Re: Well here we are again!
 

Horses. It's feasible for someone who has a regular job to keep a horse in Canada and ride, either recreationally or in competition. In the UK that's beyond the reach of someone in an equivalent position. I expect the same is true of anything requiring lots of land but I haven't tried sheep keeping.

Re: Well here we are again!
 

When Aviva Canada accepted your no claims what proof did you have to provide?
When I had dealings with Canadian car insurance companies I had trouble getting my 10 years no claims accepted...

Re: Well here we are again!
 

I'd say since COVID-19 home delivery has gotten ALOT better with more of them offering delivery or pickup... but this also means everyone has been using it so it's always fully booked..... does the Canadian also have british citizenship ? If not I'd apply before you leave.. the UK is becoming more and more difficult to do with immigration with and if you ever want to come back you'd need to apply again.

Re: Well here we are again!
 

We had car insurance with Aviva in the 🇬🇧. I contacted Aviva 🇬🇧 directly and asked them kindly to provide a letter in pdf format showing our years of no claims. Got an insurance broker to contact Aviva Canada and provided the letter from Aviva 🇬🇧 which they accepted, thankfully saving thousands of dollars.

Re: Well here we are again!
 

I don't agree, owning a horse can cost a fortune in the UK, but it doesn't have to. Our first horse cost us £300, and our total costs for her were £60pcm (grass livery only).

The thing that is expensive is when your child gets good, and then suddenly the old Welsh mountain pony that only jumps up to 60cm and costs you very little needs to be exchanged for a proper competition pony, who needs a stable…..and feeding….and rugs….and shoes. Then it's not so cheap anymore. :lol:

Re: Well here we are again!
 

UK has Pound stores
Canada has Dollar stores

Dollar is less than a pound so Canada wins.

Re: Well here we are again!
 

That would most certainly do for me. That isn't a great deal more than you'd pay for a similar package in the UK these days anyway. I pay £8 per month atm for basically that only with 4GB but that's with a long time loyalty discount. The only thing I'd really miss from the UK networks is free international roaming.

Re: Well here we are again!
 

and where have you been? You can’t just clear off without permission. ;)

Re: Well here we are again!
 

Sorry, I just took a bit of a break. My life has been a bit weird over the last few months and with working from home in IT, I tried to get a bit more fresh air and step away from my phone and the keyboard a bit. :)

Re: Well here we are again!
 

You're overpaying! £8pm for me too but that's with 10GB, unlimited calls & texts. Plenty of better deals out there, example here of 30GB for £10 - https://smarty.co.uk/plans/30gb-data

The free international roaming might end soon anyway, it's an EU thing, so it'll depend on any deal and what your operator decides.

Re: Well here we are again!
 

I know mine isn't the cheapest but what's kept me with it is the full international roaming free bolt-on rather than just EU. I've used free mobile data on it in the US, Hong Kong a few other quite far away lands and racked up bills that would have otherwise cost a fortune. It would have given me free service in Australia as well if I'd been able to proceed with my planned trip there over Easter.

Obviously I'm not travelling much atm but I'm also planning to move back to Canada so there isn't much point in changing it now. I just need to get it switched to a pre-pay tariff before I go so I can continue to use the number temporarily for a few things.

Certainly the info in this thread is music to my ears though since I used to pay Fido $45 p/m plus tax for 500MB data.

Re: Well here we are again!
 

I follow a 90's British celebrity on Twitch who now lives in Calgary. He said when his local shops re-opened recently, nobody really seemed to be bothering with them apart from Dollarama which had people queuing around the block.

Re: Well here we are again!
 

found some lovely cheese in Freshco the other week Wensleydale and Double Gloucester $8 a small block nearly had heart failure when my 14 year old used the Double Gloucester for pizza topping!!!

Re: Well here we are again!
 

Agree that it doesn't have to cost a fortune in the UK. Last time I crossed the border past Belcoo, everyone seemed to own a horse.

Re: Well here we are again!
 

hope things have improved for you. Plenty of fresh air and less electronic communication is a good thing. :thumbsup:

Re: Well here we are again!
 

They have, thanks. I'm just trying to keep a level head and make some plans for my future now, as much as I can do atm anyway. :)