Moving to Toronto?

amster

Hey,

So I have my visa (thank god!) and am planning on moving to Toronto in September. From looking through different posts everyone else seems to be heading to Calgary, but is anyone moving to Toronto?

I'm heading over on my own and it would be good to kind of know others heading over there too......haha sound like a right miss no mates

flynnser19

yea im heading to toronto booked the lights for the 14th june cant wait me and a friend are going together just the two of us!!you booked flights yet??

clodgh

Heading to Toronto on the 30th of April. Going by myself and don't know a soul over there but it'll be an adventure!!

COYVB

clodgh wrote: »

Heading to Toronto on the 30th of April. Going by myself and don't know a soul over there but it'll be an adventure!!

I did that 4 years ago and haven't looked back since. Best way to do it IMO

amster

flynnser19 wrote: »

yea im heading to toronto booked the lights for the 14th june cant wait me and a friend are going together just the two of us!!you booked flights yet??

hey! nope not yet i'm booking it next month! would love to be going earlier than sept but i've a few things here with work that i need to do first. i'm so excited!

amster

clodgh wrote: »

Heading to Toronto on the 30th of April. Going by myself and don't know a soul over there but it'll be an adventure!!

i'm the same, i figure there will be a few people in the same boat, but at the same time i'm kind of nervous! Good to know there's a few others heading to Toronto too!

amster

COYVB wrote: »

I did that 4 years ago and haven't looked back since. Best way to do it IMO

Did you decide to stay on in Canada? Any advice for us newbies when we first get to Toronto?

kupus

best thing you can do is join a gaa club, there is ladies and mens teams there. Doesnt matter if you never played before because there is where Irish people that have first hand knowledge of living and may have connections for jobs.

I think it is important to stick with the Irish scene for a bit, as it will deter homesickness if you get that of course. but to stay away from the drinking side of it.

Canadians like yanks are very friendly very open and very honest moreso than Irish people And any effort to be friendly with them will be returned ten fold.

amster

kupus wrote: »

best thing you can do is join a gaa club, there is ladies and mens teams there. Doesnt matter if you never played before because there is where Irish people that have first hand knowledge of living and may have connections for jobs.

I think it is important to stick with the Irish scene for a bit, as it will deter homesickness if you get that of course. but to stay away from the drinking side of it.

Canadians like yanks are very friendly very open and very honest moreso than Irish people And any effort to be friendly with them will be returned ten fold.

ye i'm def planning on staying away from the drinking side of it, don't get me wrong i love a session as much as anyone else but i want to get a proper job there and try make a life for myself. good idea about the GAA - not very sporty but def look in to it! i've heard lots of great stuff about canadians so hopefully meet a few good heads.

cooper41

amster wrote: »

Hey,

So I have my visa (thank god!) and am planning on moving to Toronto in September. From looking through different posts everyone else seems to be heading to Calgary, but is anyone moving to Toronto?

I'm heading over on my own and it would be good to kind of know others heading over there too......haha sound like a right miss no mates

I will be going around that time too! Waiting on the official letter still but Toronto is definitely the place Im headed to...know what you mean, I wont know many people there either so be good to know someone going on the same adventure

COYVB

amster wrote: »

Did you decide to stay on in Canada? Any advice for us newbies when we first get to Toronto?

Yeah I'm here for the long haul now. My situation is slightly different to most in the way my employment is structured, and I brought a job with me rather than having to go looking, so I'm not sure I can offer too much sage advice unfortunately beyond the basics...

- if you have a good phone, get it unlocked and bring it with you, then sign up with koodo for your mobile
- using your atm card to withdraw money from your Irish account usually yields better exchange rates than a foreign exchange place
- don't get cable
- sign up for your internet with teksavvy
- look at living outside Toronto, you'll get much better rental prices for bigger and nicer places (stick to the go train route though)
- car insurance is incredibly pricey
- with your irish license if you bring a letter from the issuing authority stating your driving experience, you'll be able to get an Ontario driving license pretty quickly. You have to first sit a theory test (it's easy), then you can immediately book your G test. I advise getting some lessons though, they do a lot of things differently to us
- shop at no frills for your groceries, or get a Costco card if there's one near where you're planning on living
- drink is incredibly expensive, even at the LCBO (the provincial offies, and the only place to buy non-wine drink), so look at giving it up aside from the occasional pint. falling around like we do back home isn't looked kindly upon
- shop at old navy for your day to day clothes, their prices are great and the quality of their clothes is just fine
- use the dollar store for smaller purchases if possible - you'd be amazed what you find in there

I can't really think of anything else off the top of my head

amster

cooper41 wrote: »

I will be going around that time too! Waiting on the official letter still but Toronto is definitely the place Im headed to...know what you mean, I wont know many people there either so be good to know someone going on the same adventure

When did you submit your app to CIC? Ye Toronto def is the place to go, loads of festivals and gigs so perfect for me! Do you have an idea when in Sept you're thinking of going? I'm planning around mid/late Sep - the months will fly!

amster

COYVB wrote: »

Yeah I'm here for the long haul now. My situation is slightly different to most in the way my employment is structured, and I brought a job with me rather than having to go looking, so I'm not sure I can offer too much sage advice unfortunately beyond the basics...

- if you have a good phone, get it unlocked and bring it with you, then sign up with koodo for your mobile
- using your atm card to withdraw money from your Irish account usually yields better exchange rates than a foreign exchange place
- don't get cable
- sign up for your internet with teksavvy
- look at living outside Toronto, you'll get much better rental prices for bigger and nicer places (stick to the go train route though)
- car insurance is incredibly pricey
- with your irish license if you bring a letter from the issuing authority stating your driving experience, you'll be able to get an Ontario driving license pretty quickly. You have to first sit a theory test (it's easy), then you can immediately book your G test. I advise getting some lessons though, they do a lot of things differently to us
- shop at no frills for your groceries, or get a Costco card if there's one near where you're planning on living
- drink is incredibly expensive, even at the LCBO (the provincial offies, and the only place to buy non-wine drink), so look at giving it up aside from the occasional pint. falling around like we do back home isn't looked kindly upon
- shop at old navy for your day to day clothes, their prices are great and the quality of their clothes is just fine
- use the dollar store for smaller purchases if possible - you'd be amazed what you find in there

I can't really think of anything else off the top of my head

That's all great advice, thanks! Esp. about the phone and internet etc. Just out of curiosity, what area do you work in? A lot of people are talking about jobs in Canada within the construction industry but I'm just curious how other sectors seem to be doing in general over there.

COYVB

I'm in a pretty niche space in that I'm in the entertainment publishing industry, and even with that it's not a traditional thing we do

amster

ye I know what you mean, I'm in the music/live entertainment industry - specifically gigs and festivals. its a closed off industry anyway in that its all behind the scenes so it's always hard to get an overview of it when you don't have many contacts within a certain country.

kupus

Theres your "in" straight away. A few local Irish bars in Toronto. Go to all of them and say you play music for free, for a night or two in return for working in a bar. Its a start, A guy I knew done this and from that, gigging and dj became his full time jobs within a year. All cash jobs he was illegal. BUt youre legal so you can try a lot of bars.

amster

Thanks anyway but I'm in the other side of it - the production and promotion side - I've no musical talent at all lol! I'm going to offer my services as a freelance volunteer for different gigs when i get over there and network that way, whilst doing some other work during the day. Ideally I'll like to get something with a company, even a label, when I get there but realistically I'll prob have to just go the other route at the start.

amster

also your location sounds fun!

flynnser19

amster wrote: »

Thanks anyway but I'm in the other side of it - the production and promotion side - I've no musical talent at all lol! I'm going to offer my services as a freelance volunteer for different gigs when i get over there and network that way, whilst doing some other work during the day. Ideally I'll like to get something with a company, even a label, when I get there but realistically I'll prob have to just go the other route at the start.

hey dunno if this is the kind thing youre looking for but i remember seeing this a while back and its been posted again but its an internship with a record label

http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/med/3687378781.html

hope this is of some help!!!

COYVB

amster wrote: »

Thanks anyway but I'm in the other side of it - the production and promotion side - I've no musical talent at all lol! I'm going to offer my services as a freelance volunteer for different gigs when i get over there and network that way, whilst doing some other work during the day. Ideally I'll like to get something with a company, even a label, when I get there but realistically I'll prob have to just go the other route at the start.

If you're in the live sound gig, then you might be able to get yourself something doing events. The musical side of it will be incredibly difficult for you to break into, but there are so many corporate events that literally require a little bit of quick and easy cabling and mixing that you might be able to get something in that neck of the woods. Qualified sound engineer myself, but haven't even so much as considered it as a gig over here

Eutow

amster wrote: »

Hey,

So I have my visa (thank god!) and am planning on moving to Toronto in September. From looking through different posts everyone else seems to be heading to Calgary, but is anyone moving to Toronto?

I'm heading over on my own and it would be good to kind of know others heading over there too......haha sound like a right miss no mates

The best way to do it in my opinion. It forces you to go out and meet new people. I didn't know anybody when I came out here almost two years ago. If you stay at a hostel when you first get over here it's very easy to make new firends as a lot of people are in a similar position to yourself.

Weathering

I'm heading over on my lonesome too,no date set as such but before summers end hopefully.
I didn't like to hear drink is really expensive,I'm not a p1sshead far from it but I love a good drink most weekends.

I've no qualifications whatsoever and not much experience at any particular job profile other than bits and bobs.
What work would be good to go for in my situation? Bar work pays well??

COYVB

Weathering wrote: »

I didn't like to hear drink is really expensive,I'm not a p1sshead far from it but I love a good drink most weekends.

You're going to be very surprised at what will qualify you as a pisshead over here - I'm talking 3 pints...

Weathering

COYVB wrote: »

You're going to be very surprised at what will qualify you as a pisshead over here - I'm talking 3 pints...

Are they human?
It sounds a bit hard to believe tbh

COYVB

Weathering wrote: »

Are they human?

The society isn't centred on drinking like it is back home, and it's a lot better for it IMO

Weathering

COYVB wrote: »

The society isn't centred on drinking like it is back home, and it's a lot better for it IMO

Yeah fair enough but 3pints is hardly a p1ss head or enough to cast judgement

COYVB

Weathering wrote: »

Yeah fair enough but 3pints is hardly a p1ss head or enough to cast judgement

3 pints would be a session over here in a lot of eyes, as opposed to the warm up to the pre session like it would be in Ireland. From my experience they all like a drink, but it's usually a drink, or maybe two, but rarely more unless they're students. Even then their "hardcore" drinking would be a night at home with some cans watching the telly in Ireland

Weathering

COYVB wrote: »

3 pints would be a session over here in a lot of eyes, as opposed to the warm up to the pre session like it would be in Ireland. From my experience they all like a drink, but it's usually a drink, or maybe two, but rarely more unless they're students. Even then their "hardcore" drinking would be a night at home with some cans watching the telly in Ireland

I can see the benefits of this but in all honesty it sounds like hell to me, a half bottle before I go to the pub they'd think I'm an alco when it's the norm here. The cringe factor would be a lot worse the next day too when they'd remember everything while I'd be having occasional cringe-backs throughout the day

COYVB

You only think that. Give it a few months and you'll be wondering WTF is wrong with Irish people and their obsession with getting sh1tfaced twice a weekend - when you step away from it you realise it's genuinely bizarre behaviour, and really quite pathetic

retalivity

it is strange going into the lcbo and seeing people buy 2 cans and that's it.
its not everyone though...you'l still have plenty of people out and about on fri & sat nights. but $100 wont get you too far all things considered

amster

flynnser19 wrote: »

hey dunno if this is the kind thing youre looking for but i remember seeing this a while back and its been posted again but its an internship with a record label

http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/med/3687378781.html

hope this is of some help!!!

thanks a mil - i'll have a look in to it!