Living in Toronto

[Cut_Chemist]

Hi all,

I'm coming to live in Toronto for a while in June '09 until January '10, and I'd like any advice you can give me! I'm a 21 year old male, from Cambridge, England, and I'll be coming over with a good mate of mine.

I visited in May last year just for a couple of weeks, and absolutely loved the city. Compared to England, Toronto seemed a lot more laid back, a lot less congested, and a lot cleaner! (Despite what people from other areas of Canada were telling me when I was over there).

I won't be driving over there, so I need a place which is close to amenities - various shops, markets, beer stores, pubs etc. I've been looking at The Annex area, but I understand that the rental prices around there are quite high. I'm not too worried about money - I've been working 70-80 hour weeks here in England for the last 6 months and have another 3 months of the same, so I'll be bringing a fair amount of cash with me - but equally I don't want to spend a HUGE amount on rent, as that would mean I'd have less money to enjoy myself with. I'm looking at probably $600 - $750 max per person, so for the 2 of us, a 2 bedroomed place for under $1500 would be perfect. Like I said, I've been looking at The Annex, but also like the look of the Little Italy area, Roncesvalles area, Corso Italia area etc, for the diversity. The High Park area looks beautiful as well, so can anyone shed some light on what it is like to live here? I like the look of The Beaches neighbourhood - but I read a post on here which said it's not all that great.

One of the things I'll miss most about England is watching the football (soccer) on a Saturday afternoon. Are there many pubs which play English football matches at a delayed kick-off? And if so, whereabouts are they?

For the first couple of months, I'm looking to just relax and party - after working all these hours in England, I definately want a break from it all before I delve into the recession filled workplace. We'll be doing all the touristy stuff at first I'd imagine (the mate I'm going with has never been to Toronto, so a trip up the CN Tower is a must, and we'll go and check out Niagara Falls etc etc). Where else can anyone recommend me? Last time I went to Toronto I really enjoyed just walking around - it's a lot different to Cambridge, or anywhere in England to be honest, so for me it was interesting seeing the sights of a big city.

So basically I'm just looking for any advice you may have - whether it be places to check out, places to avoid, good watering holes... anything you can think of about your city, let me know!

Thanks,
Phil

 

[Anth]

One of the things I'll miss most about England is watching the football (soccer) on a Saturday afternoon. Are there many pubs which play English football matches at a delayed kick-off? And if so, whereabouts are they?

Yes! Two major ones off the top of my head:

Duke of Gloucester - Yonge & Charles (just south of Bloor)
Scallywags - Yonge & St. Clair

You can check out the U-Sector forum to learn more about the thriving football scene here as well.

 

[Canuck]

For $1500 in the Annex you may have to look around, but two bedrooms in a decent building for that price range do exist.

For things to do:
Touristy stuff is always a go-to:
ROM
AGO
Hockey Hall of Fame

Walking around the neighbourhoods is a great way to experience Toronto. You should find hang out spots or neighbourhoods that you'll come to love.

In the warmer months you can check out the (Scarborough) Bluffs and all the weekly festivals.

 

[gbelan]

most pubs show games live with english breakfest(alcohol doesnt get served till 11 am).most open for 745 am game (our time)which is the 1245 pm match in england ,who do you support ? MAIN EVENT is a Man u supporters bar and Scallywags is Liverpool.there are a bunch of others,EPL is hugely popular here and is always on tv (especially if you order SETANTA with your cable package).if i was you i would look into going to some Toronto FC games(MLS).a bunch of my mates are ex UK er's and you would fit right in.agreed with Anth on the Duke=good pub.

 

[Urban Shocker]

Phil:

Don't forget to bring King's College Chapel with you.

- Shocker.

 

[Cut_Chemist]

Yes! Two major ones off the top of my head:

Duke of Gloucester - Yonge & Charles (just south of Bloor)
Scallywags - Yonge & St. Clair

You can check out the U-Sector forum to learn more about the thriving football scene here as well.

Nice one mate. I remember looking into it a few months ago, and I think Scallywags was one of the ones which came up.

For $1500 in the Annex you may have to look around, but two bedrooms in a decent building for that price range do exist.

For things to do:
Touristy stuff is always a go-to:
ROM
AGO
Hockey Hall of Fame

Walking around the neighbourhoods is a great way to experience Toronto. You should find hang out spots or neighbourhoods that you'll come to love.

In the warmer months you can check out the (Scarborough) Bluffs and all the weekly festivals.

I didn't go to all the places I wanted to last time I was over - I really wanted to walk around High Park, go and check out The Beaches, and delve further into Cabbagetown (I stayed at the Days Hotel on Carlton, and only ventured into Cabbagetown when I fancied a stroll at 3am...) There was a nice pub on Carlton just opposite Days if I remember correctly, I spent a lot of time in there and it was showing the hockey, I think it was called Mickey Flynns or something similar?

I plan to attend a few of the jazz shows for the Jazz Festival, both at the end of June and the Kew Gardens one in July. I might also go to Warped Tour when it arrives in Toronto as I'm a bit of a punk rocker at heart (although 98% of the music at Warped now is shit!!)

most pubs show games live with english breakfest(alcohol doesnt get served till 11 am).most open for 745 am game (our time)which is the 1245 pm match in england ,who do you support ? MAIN EVENT is a Man u supporters bar and Scallywags is Liverpool.there are a bunch of others,EPL is hugely popular here and is always on tv (especially if you order SETANTA with your cable package).if i was you i would look into going to some Toronto FC games(MLS).a bunch of my mates are ex UK er's and you would fit right in.agreed with Anth on the Duke=good pub.

7.45am! That's going to be a novelty - watching a match whilst eating breakfast! Am I right in thinking that sometimes they'll show a match 12 hours later at 7.45pm?

I'm presuming that Blue Square Premier football is not regularly shown (the 5th league in England) - so I won't get to see many Cambridge United games! I'll have to check out Main Event then, I hate Liverpool.

Phil:

Don't forget to bring King's College Chapel with you.

- Shocker.

Haha, beautiful college ay? I've unfortunately got to the stage when I take all of Cambridge's beauty and architecture for granted!

 

[gbelan]

7.45am! That's going to be a novelty - watching a match whilst eating breakfast! Am I right in thinking that sometimes they'll show a match 12 hours later at 7.45pm?

I'm presuming that Blue Square Premier football is not regularly shown (the 5th league in England) - so I won't get to see many Cambridge United games! I'll have to check out Main Event then, I hate Liverpool.

a lot of pubs have Setanta and they show matches all day(some live, some not) todays ManU v Fulham was shown live at 3 pm our time and it will be replayed again at 930pm. a Mate of mine from London was saying that he could never watch this many Arsenal games if he was living back in the UK compared to not missing any over here.i doubt you would see any Cambridge United matches.they show a lot of FA cup and some championship matches also but Blue Square =never. good crowds at the Main Event for United matches.i watched the Ricky Hatton fight there and eventhough i aint british ,i got goosebumps when the whole place started singing GSTQ.

 

[Junction]

You should purchase a City Pass, it's only $50 and change and it gets you into 5 places: http://www.citypass.com/city/toronto/next.html

CN Tower: one Attractions Experience ticket: Look Out, Glass Floor level, and choice of The Height of Excellence film or a motion theatre ride

Casa Loma: general admission, audio guide & Pellatt Film

Ontario Science Centre : general admission

Royal Ontario Museum: general admission

Toronto Zoo: general admission

 

[Strange Advance]

I would not suggest going to the CN Tower unless you plan to do it in conjunction with dinner at 360 restaurant.
The tower by itself is astronomically expensive. The restaurant is also very expensive ($75/person, give or take), but an evening there is well worth the experience, whereas it is questionable whether the tower lookout experience by itself is worth the close-to-$25 entry fee.

 

[Cut_Chemist]

Cheers for all the advice fellas. Strange Advance, I've been up the CN Tower before, I thought it was quite cool, but yeah, nearly $30 is a bit much to go up a building!!

So where would you advise me to look for accommodation. Ideally I'd like somewhere near-ish Downtown - been looking at The Annex, Little Italy etc. Also like the look of Corso Italia up on St Clair West, anyone got any stories to tell about that area? How about over towards High Park? Nice neighborhoods? I've watched a couple of videos on YouTube of various neighborhoods - I like the look of Cabbagetown because of the tree-lined streets and whatnot. I want to be close to amenities, general grocery shopping - butchers, bakers etc. I'd like it to be a fairly safe neighborhood for obvious reasons but I understand that MOST of the places around TO are fairly safe anyway. Nice pubs and bars close by would be good, and lots of hot Canadian girls as well. Haha. Don't want the place to be too expensive (Could stretch to like, $700 each (so a 2 bed - $1400, 3 bed $2100 etc) Can anyone suggest where would be ideal for me to look?

Thanks in advance,

 

[voxpopulicosmicum]

The Annex is a student area and is thus home to thousands of ladies your age. Some of the other areas you mentioned (Cabbagetown, Roncesvalles) are near some sketchier neighbourhoods that tend to have a lower female:male ratio. High Park is great all 'round but probably not much less expensive than The Annex.

Out of the places you have named, I would think The Annex is still your best bet followed by Roncesvalles.

There are a few good websites to check out:

viewit.ca: features mid-range apartments w/photos
toronto.craigslist.org: no explanation needed (presumably)
myhood.ca: somewhat lacking in selection, but it has very informative reviews