Moving to Toronto (New grad)

[L.R.]

Hi everyone, new poster, and hopefully new to toronto as well.

I am just about to graduate from university, and am moving to toronto to start a career/leave the maritimes. Im looking for some advice on a number of fronts.

First off: Where to live? I'd like to live where the action is, one could say, and at a affordable rate. Im moving without an actual job lined up, so a central location is the best. As well, perhaps in an area
more friendly to, or prevalent with; a young demographic. Im still in myearly 20s, and want to make the most out of toronto before responsibilites hit in full force. I moving with another 1-2 roomates, same age, though employed in the financial district.

BTW: Im still not familiar with how city layouts work... for example, somone suggested Yonge and Eglinton, and that is fairly meaningless to me, as I have no clue as to what area that entails.

Secondly... How much money should I move with?
Im graduating with a degree in sociology, with no job prospects, and not into a very forgiving economy. I'll work part time while job searchingbut I have no idea how long that will take, nor the costs of daily life in toronto. Any financial advice is most appreciated.

Thirdly...... Any advice whatsoever to a new kid to a big city. Any type of heads
up, or ideas on how to make the best out of it, would be great.

Thanks and regards.

L.R.

 

[jn_12]

I don't think you can go wrong with anywhere along Yonge. Otherwise, I would say you'd be looking to stay somewhere within St Clair or Bloor/Danforth to the north, the waterfront to the south, Coxwell to the east (though someone else might disagree) and Parkside or Roncesvalles to the west. The only area I might avoid is downtown between Jarvis and Parliament unless you can get south of Queen on these two streets. Even then, people will disagree about that area, but it's one of the rougher areas in the city and friends of mine from Niagara who have never lived in a big city made the mistake of moving to that area and it gave them a really poor opinion of what life in Toronto was like and they eventually went back to Niagara with horror stories. For your share of the rent, expect to pay anywhere from $400 (if you're lucky) to $800, but there are definitely some steals to be had with all of the recent condo developments flooding the market.

As for jobs, if you're looking for something cool, you can do what I did when I moved to Toronto. I had a degree in politics and knew I wanted to go to grad school, but I took a year off in between and worked for Porter Airlines, which is the airline that flies from the Island Airport right near downtown. They're always hiring, the pay is decent enough (and plenty of chances for overtime), really easy to move up in the company and you get awesome perks in terms of flight deals. So for a young person, the travel perks makes the job really worth it. Ya, it has little to nothing to do with your degree, but it provides an opportunity to get into a company that is pretty much brand new. Otherwise you just go about finding a job like you would anywhere.

As for tips, honestly the only way to really enjoy the city is to make the most of everything there is to offer. I'm a season ticket holder for the Jays, my girlfriend and I try to go to as many concerts as possible and we moved down to the waterfront where we can take advantage of the area. It can be hard to go from a smaller city to a place like Toronto, simply because there is sooo much going on, and it can be somewhat overwhelming, especially if you don't know anyone in the city. But if you immerse yourself it's a great place.

 

[Eug]

If you can afford it, move to the downtown area. Jn_13's suggestions seem reasonable, within walking or biking distance of lots of stuff. There are TONS of nice places in Toronto in which to live and downtown is just one of them, but for an outsider, it can be very difficult to know where. Downtown living allows you to fan out north, west, and east on various excursions until you know the city better.

I like Yonge and Eglinton and consider it part of the "core" of Toronto, but going east, west and north from there isn't so interesting. You'll find you'd be going south to downtown a lot more. It's not exactly cheap either.

 

[DSC]

You should come and explore the City for a week or so before you decide where to live, stay in a cheap hotel and walk around or buy a TTC (transit) pass (there are monthly, weekly and day passes). The suggestions above are good but everyone has different expectations and different priorities. Until you explore you will not know which areas you prefer (or hate) and signing a one year lease in an area you later decide you do not like should be avoided. Good luck!

 

[UrbanVigor]

Part of being young and new to the city is finding a reasonable location to start off with and then to fine tune it once you've explored, got to know the city, and have an idea of what your lifestyle here is like.

Yonge & Eglinton is a fantastic neighbourhood. I live here and it's great in terms of having cafes, bars, restaurants, and on the subway line. However, as mentioned above, you'll find yourself going south rather than anywhere else and therefore I'd suggest that this is as north as you'd want to live. Considering your two roomies will be working in the financial district then I suggest something downtown as this is also near the entertainment district. They'll be close to work and you'll all be close to places you'll want to go.

Stick to neighbourhoods close to the subway line south of Bloor. This will keep you central with easy access throughout the city.

 

[toast_and_tea]

With two other roommates you shouldn't have a problem finding something affordable between the 2-3 of you i.e. $500 to $800 each. Granted, I'm not sure what you consider "affordable" !

Everyone's going to have their own opinions, of course, but these are some of my suggestions for neighbourhoods that you and your friends might want to check out. You'll be able to find 3 bedroom apartments in all of them, either in apartment buildings, low rises or converted houses, and they're all accessible to transit (bus, streetcar, subway). They all sort of bleed into each other too in terms of geographic boundaries:

The (general) area around the University of Toronto: this includes the Annex ( east of Bathurst St, south of Dupont St., west of Avenue Road and north of Bloor St. - more or less), Seaton Village: Christie St to Bathurst, Christie Pits (Ossington to Christie), Harbord Village: basically the area around Harbord Sth, just south of the Annex. Ok, I guess Seaton Village and Christie Pits aren't really close to U of T, but many university students live there.

Kensington Market/Chinatown: The general area south of College St and north of Dundas St, between Bathurst and Spadina. Close to Kensington, enough said!

Bloordale: The area around Lansdowne Ave and Bloor aka Blandsdowne. Still a bit sketchy perhaps, but affordable and there are lots of interesting things moving in / going on. The Starving Artist cafe, The Holy Oak, various galleries etc. I have a bunch of friends who have moved up here recently. There are buses on Lansdowne and Dufferin and corresponding subway stops.

Dufferin Grove: a rather large area in somewhat close proximity to Dufferin Grove Park. I live here! I think the boundaries are Lansdowne to the west, Dovercourt to the east, Bloor to the north and College to the south.

Little Italy: the general area between Dovercourt and Bathurst, south of Bloor and North of Dundas. Prices can be a bit higher I've found.

Trinity-Bellwoods: the area around Trinity-Bellwoods Park. (ok, enough with the boundaries, you should just look it up on Wikipedia)

These areas are all pretty artsy with local galleries, cafes, bars, restaurants and music venues. Other neighbourhoods include the Church-Wellesly Village (aka the Gaybourhood, but certainly not exclusively so) and Cabbagetown to the east of Yonge St. I have friends who live up at Yonge and Eglinton, and it's a nice area, but I find it a bit too far north. If you want to stay 'central' I would stay within the following boundaries: Davenport/Bloor to the North, the Waterfront to the South, Roncesvalles to the West and the Don Valley to the East.

If you have any specific questions feel free to send me a message. Good luck!

 

[L.R.]

As for jobs, if you're looking for something cool, you can do what I did when I moved to Toronto. I had a degree in politics and knew I wanted to go to grad school, but I took a year off in between and worked for Porter Airlines, which is the airline that flies from the Island Airport right near downtown. They're always hiring, the pay is decent enough (and plenty of chances for overtime), really easy to move up in the company and you get awesome perks in terms of flight deals. So for a young person, the travel perks makes the job really worth it. Ya, it has little to nothing to do with your degree, but it provides an opportunity to get into a company that is pretty much brand new. Otherwise you just go about finding a job like you would anywhere.

I would absolutely love this job (especially with un-travelled I am), however I have only english as a language, and I'm fairly certain one needs to be bilingual


And thanks everyone for the advice so far. I've been talking with my future roomates, and It looks like it will be 3 of us, all moving in in August. however, like people have suggested, I'll be going a few months early to scope out the place. We've decided to go for something in the realm of 600-800 each (2400 max total), so I'm hoping that's sufficent for what we're looking for. (All of us wanting something that is far removed from out university housing experiences in terms of quality).

 

[jn_12]

^ Nope, you don't need to be bilingual. It's definitely an asset and pretty much automatically gets you the job if you speak two languages, but the vast majority of customer service reps who work there only speak English.
http://www.flyporter.com/en/careers.aspx#5 is the job description for Customer Service Rep.
One thing to consider though is that morning shifts start at 5:15am... so you're looking at some early mornings. Trust me though, that you get used to it and finishing at 1:30 everyday is pretty awesome. I'd say send in a resume, you have nothing to lose and it's a pretty cool job. If you have any other questions PM me.

 

[savevp]

Hi and welcome to Toronto. I would reccomend moving into any of the fine towers of Cityplace. It is a large condo development with a brand new park in the centre. It is also right on the waterfront and minutes from the Island airport ferry. Plus, it is close to the entertainment district and all of the other Downtown attractions. I think that the prices are pretty good so it should be perfect for you!

Enjoy

 

[Eug]

I'd have to disagree with this. I've never been a big fan of Cityplace in general. It's OK, but is quite antiseptic, and the immediate area doesn't really have a "neighbourhood" feel. Granted it's close to a lot of stuff, but it's separated by the tracks from the main downtown core. It's not exactly a short walk from Cityplace to Queen for example.

 

[savevp]

Very true. I was just thinking about the lower prices and what I would say is good value. The condos are not overly expensive but have nice views and a huge park (Canoe Landing Park) right there. However, you are right, it is a little far from some things. As well, L.R. said that he is interested in working for Porter and Cityplace is, as I said before, close to the island airport ferry.