Living in Toronto

morsecode

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I might be moving to Toronto by myself in the very near future, and I was just wondering how it is like, I realize its a big city and won't be lacking in amenities, but more in the vein of how safe it is, cost of living and that kind of stuff, and more importantly, what would be the average rent for a bachelor's place, it doesn't have to be in a super duper nice area, but not in a place where I can get shot in the face by a stray bullet during a Filipino gang fight.
 

Calboner

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I hate the SkyDome and the CN Tower too;
I hate Nathan Philips Square and the Ontario Zoo.
The rent's too high,
The air's unclean,
The beaches are dirty, and the people are mean,
And the women are big, and the men are dumb,
And the children are loopy 'cause they live in a slum.
The water is polluted and the mayor's a dork.
They dress real bad and they think they're New York
In Toronto, Ontario!

--Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie (frequently misattributed to the Arrogant Worms)
 

morsecode

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Thanks for all your responses, guys, I appreciate it.

It really depends on where your neighbourhood is and which area of Toronto you're in. . . Bach's rent could be 1000+ in many places Downtown. . . And don't be afraid of all that crap about gang fights and what not. . you probably won't encounter any of that unless you purposely try to . . . It's a hectic city, but you'll like it. It's live :D never a dull moment !

You seem to have lived there at one point, do you know of any website I can see an unbiased view of the neighborhoods?
 

morsecode

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Toronto Neighbourhood profiles - map

Try that. . . Hm all the different neighbourhoods with their probably out-dated demographics for you. I'm gonna be honest with you, I just googled that lol. Toronto is quite big, so unless you know where you might be heading that link is going to look ridiculous and you'd probably be bombarded with loads of information. Hm. . this probably wasn't even helpful I don't know. . You can always try to google for yourself.

thanks man, yeah you are right Toronto is immense
 

DiscoBoy

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Actually, the crime rate in Toronto is relatively low and the city actually has a reputation of being one of the safer cities in North America. Check this link out:
CTV.ca | Despite rise, police say T.O. murder rate 'low'

Toronto Cost of Living says "According to Runheimer International, Toronto is one of the least expensive cities to live in the world."
But according to Cost of Living in Canada "The survey revealed that Toronto has the highest cost of living in Canada, followed by Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and Ottawa." so I'm sure the cost of living in Toronto will be more expensive than your native Calgary, but I doubt it'll be a significant increase.

I quickly googled up this link:
Toronto Apartment Rentals – Search apartments for rent in Toronto, Ontario. which obviously shows apartments for rent. The prices they show are pretty low (and I'm sure there is some kind of drawback), but that "Lansdowne Ave. & Queen St. W." location actually falls under the downtown category and is an area that is quickly improving (due to the fact that the renowned Drake Hotel isn't too far off). Anyway, I was just using that one location as an example, that with some time spent searching, you can easily find a good bachelor's place for a low price in a decent location.

Hope that helped, and I hope you enjoy all the art and culture Toronto has to offer :biggrin1:.
 

morsecode

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Actually, the crime rate in Toronto is relatively low and the city actually has a reputation of being one of the safer cities in North America. Check this link out:
CTV.ca | Despite rise, police say T.O. murder rate 'low'

Toronto Cost of Living says "According to Runheimer International, Toronto is one of the least expensive cities to live in the world."
But according to Cost of Living in Canada "The survey revealed that Toronto has the highest cost of living in Canada, followed by Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and Ottawa." so I'm sure the cost of living in Toronto will be more expensive than your native Calgary, but I doubt it'll be a significant increase.

I quickly googled up this link:
Toronto Apartment Rentals – Search apartments for rent in Toronto, Ontario. which obviously shows apartments for rent. The prices they show are pretty low (and I'm sure there is some kind of drawback), but that "Lansdowne Ave. & Queen St. W." location actually falls under the downtown category and is an area that is quickly improving (due to the fact that the renowned Drake Hotel isn't too far off). Anyway, I was just using that one location as an example, that with some time spent searching, you can easily find a good bachelor's place for a low price in a decent location.

Hope that helped, and I hope you enjoy all the art and culture Toronto has to offer :biggrin1:.

Thanks! I realize that Toronto is pretty safe, especially for a city of its size, that was just my way of saying that I don't want to be in a slumish part of town. And thank you for the link, will look into it.
 

morsecode

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Also, check out your means of transportation, if you got a car or bike, check out parking or something and make sure your bike doesn't get robbed, (your seat or wheel could get robbed in some places!) and if you plan on using the public transit, make sure you're not in some dead area that the bus or street car only comes around every 30 minutes. It could be a pain when it's packed also, so there are many "catches" to certain areas depending where you live. convenience convenience convenience!

Good points, I'm used of Calgary's public transportation being all around shitty, compared to, say, Montreal's. I don't even know how to drive, so I may look into a bike over there.

Thanks guys for all the help.
 

DiscoBoy

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Public transit in Toronto is actually pretty good. If you can find a place near a subway station, you won't have any worries when it comes to getting around. Subway stations are obviously always placed near arterial roads which normally have frequent buses.
 

morsecode

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Public transit in Toronto is actually pretty good. If you can find a place near a subway station, you won't have any worries when it comes to getting around. Subway stations are obviously always placed near arterial roads which normally have frequent buses.

Yeah, I've been in the TTC webpage, is pretty daunting really, do streetcars always make their stops and announce every stop, or depends on whether there is people wanting to get in and get out?
 

uncircumsized

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They have begun to announce the streets before the stops. Depends where, some buses/subway stations are very busy and crowded. The subway system is pretty basic, nothing compared to NYC (that's a real subway system, believe me!!)
Alot of bus routes in T.O. to make up for the subway
 

morsecode

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So I just came from Trawna, there's a good chance I got the job, from what I could see it was a very nice city, and I got around just fine, the system is better than Calgary Transit, that's for sure.
 

DiscoBoy

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Awesome. If you have any questions about the city in general, don't hesitate to ask and I'll gladly answer them if I can. Good luck with the job!