Moving to Toronto: Tips & Tricks

Moving to another place, town, and especially country if that’s your case, is always stressful and often emotionally difficult. There are plenty of reasons why you could be moving – new job or relocation, school, relationship, or simply the need for a fresh start. We hope this little guide of ours will help you sort things out and make this whole thing a lot easier. Continue reading for our best tips and tricks you’ll find useful moving to Toronto.

Meet the City

Toronto is the largest and Canada’s most populous city with over 2.7 million people, over a million more than Montreal. It’s very, very multicultural. People from all over the world found and keep finding a home there, so it’s a melting pot of cultures, languages, customs, cuisines, and everything else you can imagine.
Moving to Toronto, you’ll be glad to hear that it’s considered one of the safest cities (remember the talk about politeness?), but this doesn’t mean you should leave the car or bike unlocked, with your wallet on top of them. Nowhere are people THAT polite. Also, you’ll learn quickly enough about the safe and less-than-safe neighborhoods, and you’re ready to go.

What’s good about it?

Two words: public transport. Toronto boasts a great public transport that operates (drum roll please) twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week! How great is that? This means that you don’t have to check your phone (or watch, #retro) every five minutes during a night out scared that you’ll miss that last tram. Because no one enjoys night busses.

Speaking of a night out…

When you move to Toronto you’ll learn that going out for a wild night means going out until 2 am. That’s just the law, and the last call will be sometime before that. Apparently, there are places that work longer, but it kind of invokes the picture of speakeasies in the basements, and there’s undeniably some charm to it, for party animals. Check out our review of the Toronto nightlife to learn more.

Sports and culture

Torontonians are big on sports. Other than the stereotypical hockey, there are plenty of other sports to follow and start practicing, if you’re into that. If you’re more into cultural stuff, you’ll enjoy numerous galleries and museums. And, being polite as they are, they even have The Hockey Hall of Fame – the best of both worlds.

Moving to Toronto: finding a place

Moving to Toronto means you’ll have to cash out for an apartment or a house, regardless of whether you’ll rent or buy. Real estate is quite pricey there, especially in downtown neighborhoods. So, extensive research might be a smart move. Some moving home guide and relocation tios can help you with that. Depending on your income and whether you’re coming alone or with family or a significant other, you might want to consider shared living space. Of course, this might work only if you’re single, but it’s what people opt for in order to cut the expenses, at least until things work out better.

If you’re moving and relocating your business, it’s like you have to do double work. Apart from finding your own place and organizing it all, you have to do it all for work too. In that case, think about using storage units for your business’ needs. This will save you time, as well as effort – you can sort things out one by one.

The weather: It’s important to know

In case you’re not used to the climate, it’s good to educate yourself on the topic. Summers in Toronto can be quite hot, but humid as well – not everyone can stand this, for health reasons or any other.
On the other hand, winters are cold. Really, really cold. We’re talking below-zero temperatures, a lot of snow, type of winters. 
However, moving to Toronto means you’ll learn to love both sides if you don’t already. The views when it snows are wonderful, there are many activities such as ice skating; the summers are made more bearable and very enjoyable because of the beaches. Toronto showcases some pretty, scenic, clean beaches that make a quick weekend or an after-work getaway when it gets red hot.

Socializing

Did you know that Toronto has a nickname ”the city of neighborhoods”? Apparently, there’s over 250 of them, and they’re basically several streets joined together in areas. In any case, it’s enough to make you feel the homey, cozy atmosphere. Due to the fact that the majority of people are immigrants (from other countries, as well as other parts of Canada), they tend to be very friendly and hospitable towards newcomers.
Coming to a new place can be challenging when it comes to socializing. Luckily, there are meetup events, social media groups, and you can also check out our guide on how to meet new friends after moving to Toronto.

Where to go

Going to places is a good way to meet people, obviously. You’re in luck here because there are so many things to do after you move to Toronto. Here’s a list:

• Follow the food – thanks to the variety of cultures, you can find literally everything you want here.
• See CN Tower – the most famous building that features an equally famous 360 Restaurant for the best views
• Visit The ROM – Royal Ontario Museum is a great way to learn and have fun
• Check out Casa Loma – the actual castle (or at least a remake of the European ones)

There you have it. It’s all stressful and it’s going to take a while to get used to all the changes, but hey – it’s a great city to discover. Go out there and explore your new life. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Meet your new home, get some new friends and make moving to Toronto your greatest call yet!