Traveling to Canada alone

lower case

I got here last Wednesday and just found a place to live. Apparently you can get any job in a shop very easily, I was told to walk into the Eaton Center (the huge mall in Toronto) with resumes and I'd find something very easily.
Might be best to get a place on Airbnb for the first week or so while you look for a place to live. I had a hostel booked but I was told at the airport that I would need a proper place to stay if I wanted to get a Social Insurance Number.
Accommodation can be tricky. You need to view the places the day they pop up on Craigslist or Kijiji. It's really competitive although in January it should be easier (and way colder!!!)

ROFY123

lower case wrote: »

I got here last Wednesday and just found a place to live. Apparently you can get any job in a shop very easily, I was told to walk into the Eaton Center (the huge mall in Toronto) with resumes and I'd find something very easily.
Might be best to get a place on Airbnb for the first week or so while you look for a place to live. I had a hostel booked but I was told at the airport that I would need a proper place to stay if I wanted to get a Social Insurance Number.
Accommodation can be tricky. You need to view the places the day they pop up on Craigslist or Kijiji. It's really competitive although in January it should be easier (and way colder!!!)

didn't Know that about the social insurance number, I was planning on staying in a hostel for a week to meet people. How do you apply for the SIN? Ye I heard toronto is colder then other places....Im gonna have to get myself one big ass furry jacket!

ROFY123

Anybody else on here heading Toronto January ???

el diablo

ROFY123 wrote: »

didn't Know that about the social insurance number, I was planning on staying in a hostel for a week to meet people. How do you apply for the SIN? Ye I heard toronto is colder then other places....Im gonna have to get myself one big ass furry jacket!

You'll get your SIN at a local Service Canada centre. Toronto is quite mild in winter compared to other places in Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan etc).

con___manx1

Lbar2212 wrote: »

I'm moving to Toronto alone on the 21st of Sept. Very nervous about meeting people and finding the right place to live, etc. Anyone got any tips on meeting people? I won't be staying in a hostel as my sister is over there so I'll just crash with her. She's leaving soon though.

It will b harder to meet people living with your sister. I lived in Toronto a few years ago and stayed in the canadiana backpackers When I arrived. I travelled alone too . Your lucky u have your sister there.i was ****in on myself because I didn't no anyone in the whole country ; ) there are loads of new arrivals that come alone. The hostel organise events so it's really easy to make friends. I met a friend I used to live with in Toronto in Dublin last week ; ) we met in that hostel the canadiana

Cullen82

ROFY123 wrote: »

Anybody else on here heading Toronto January ???

Hey Rofy, I'm headed over start January for the same reasons as yourself and looking for the same type work.

Holding off booking the flight though until I can decide between Toronto & Calgary - reason being there is apparently more work in AB.

Thats good to know re the SIN

ROFY123

Cullen82 wrote: »

Hey Rofy, I'm headed over start January for the same reasons as yourself and looking for the same type work.

Holding off booking the flight though until I can decide between Toronto & Calgary - reason being there is apparently more work in AB.

Thats good to know re the SIN

Hey Cullen ,

Ye i haven't booked flights yet either, From what iv'e being researching there's a good bit of work in Toronto if your'e willing to work in bars, restaurants, shops etc. Im more worried about finding accommodation, and wheres the best place to stay in Toronto?

Haven't heard much about Calgary.......good quality of life in Toronto im hearing!

lower case

They'll probably just give you the SIN anyway. I got it today and they took my address without questioning what it was (hostel, apartment etc.). But immigration weren't too impressed by the hostel address.

stevief01

got here today seems to be a cool spot!:)

krudler

stevief01 wrote: »

got here today seems to be a cool spot!:)

Welcome! you just missed a crazy weekend there was loads on, well theres loads on most weekend tbh. The Toronto Film Festival (TIFF, you'll see ads for it everywhere) kicks off on King St on Thursday and runs until Sept 14th, there'll be a boatload of movie stars around town as well.

Cullen82

ROFY123 wrote: »

Hey Cullen ,

Ye i haven't booked flights yet either, From what iv'e being researching there's a good bit of work in Toronto if your'e willing to work in bars, restaurants, shops etc. Im more worried about finding accommodation, and wheres the best place to stay in Toronto?

Haven't heard much about Calgary.......good quality of life in Toronto im hearing!

Have visited Toronto twice before, big busy city. No idea re where to stay but I think there's a popular hostel called "Canadinia" or something like that which is good for meeting people etc

Re work, to be honest I have'nt heard that about TO - if that were the case I would definitely give it more consideration. Alberta in general is well known to be cheaper cost of living with more wok in general but I'm just going by what people say on here and on the Facebook groups.

astonaidan

Just booked my hostel (Canadiana) for the dates 9-19th October, if anyone is around then give me a shout and we can be life long best friends, if anyone asks we will say we met in a bar

THEZAPPA

Hey all,

Anyone else moving alone to Vancouver or have gone already with some tips?
I'm female and moving the beginning of November, I'm so nervous. I've a sublet ready for me for 3 months in kitsilano.

Stinjy

THEZAPPA wrote: »

Hey all,

Anyone else moving alone to Vancouver or have gone already with some tips?
I'm female and moving the beginning of November, I'm so nervous. I've a sublet ready for me for 3 months in kitsilano.

Im going the begining if NOV too!! A little late for hockey season but we can catch up quick :P I'll be in Kerrisdale until I find a place of my own hopefully that shoukd be quick!

No tips or tricks just yet but just thought I'd say hi!

THEZAPPA

Stinjy wrote: »

Im going the begining if NOV too!! A little late for hockey season but we can catch up quick :P I'll be in Kerrisdale until I find a place of my own hopefully that shoukd be quick!

No tips or tricks just yet but just thought I'd say hi!

Yay Is kerrisdale cheaper?

We'll have to do drinks or something cheap!? Would be nice to know someone over there!

THEZAPPA

THEZAPPA wrote: »

Yay Is kerrisdale cheaper?

We'll have to do drinks or something cheap!? Would be nice to know someone over there!

Plenty of people here in Van! You'll be arriving a bit late for the meet up in October, but there'll be plenty of opportunities to meet the rest of us!

For now I'd say sign up for Irish in Vancouver on Facebook. They've been holding events for newcomers, meet & greet things. Definitely keep an ear out on when the next one is, you'll get a lot of contacts & leads for setting up here.

Stinjy

THEZAPPA wrote: »

Yay Is kerrisdale cheaper?

We'll have to do drinks or something cheap!? Would be nice to know someone over there!

I'll be crashing on my grans couch for a few weeks so cheaper for me yes! I tdoesnt seem cheaper really and you need to get a bus to the sky train which seems to be the link to everything - we'll do something on the cheap anyway!

Link into the facebook pages they will organise stuff too that I'll need to make the effort to go to :P

ellenellen

THEZAPPA wrote: »

Hey all,

Anyone else moving alone to Vancouver or have gone already with some tips?
I'm female and moving the beginning of November, I'm so nervous. I've a sublet ready for me for 3 months in kitsilano.

I'm moving over next week on my own. Also quite nervous! I have airbnb and a hostel organised for the first couple of weeks and am hoping to arrange a few viewings for when I get there. Will update this thread with any useful tips I learn along the way and there seems to be a lot of good information in these threads already.

Stinjy

Okay guys - I officially booked tickets tonight.. I leave on the 10th of NOV!!!!!! - sorry I'm slightly excited and needed to tell someone!

ellenellen

One thing I've learnt from research which was mentioned in one of the other threads is that most places go up for rent on the 1st of every month. I'm moving over on the 4th which means I'll likely be living in a hostel for the best part of a month. My advice would be to book your flight for around the 15th and in the days leading up to your departure try and arrange viewings for the following week from home so you can get started immediately but minimise time spent in short-term accommodation.

ustari

It's a tricky one as a lot of places go in the first week of the month also so you could be running the risk of completely missing the boat and spending 6 weeks in temp accommodation if you arrive mid month.

ROFY123

Correct me if im wrong guys, All I need entering Canada is:

-POE Letter
-Proof of Insurance
-Proof of Funds
-Passport

oh and a furry hat :P

COYVB

ROFY123 wrote: »

Correct me if im wrong guys, All I need entering Canada is:

-POE Letter
-Proof of Insurance
-Proof of Funds
-Passport

oh and a furry hat :P

Realistically, only items 1 & 4 are needed tbh, the others at just in case

ellenellen

COYVB wrote: »

Realistically, only items 1 & 4 are needed tbh, the others at just in case

I arrived today and only my port of entry and passport were checked. The guy just asked if I had insurance and how much money I was travelling with. However, it's best to still have proof of these because it probably varies from person to person and it's technically a requirement. Also remember to fill out your declaration form on the plane because they will check this and you can't get through the initial passport control without it.

ROFY123

ellenellen wrote: »

I arrived today and only my port of entry and passport were checked. The guy just asked if I had insurance and how much money I was travelling with. However, it's best to still have proof of these because it probably varies from person to person and it's technically a requirement. Also remember to fill out your declaration form on the plane because they will check this and you can't get through the initial passport control without it.

Where can I find this declaration form ?

ROFY123

ellenellen wrote: »

I arrived today and only my port of entry and passport were checked. The guy just asked if I had insurance and how much money I was travelling with. However, it's best to still have proof of these because it probably varies from person to person and it's technically a requirement. Also remember to fill out your declaration form on the plane because they will check this and you can't get through the initial passport control without it.

Where can I find this declaration form ?

ellenellen

ROFY123 wrote: »

Where can I find this declaration form ?

They'll give it to you on the plane or if they don't or if you forget there is a desk you can fill one out on right before passport control.

astonaidan

Big day has finally arrived, nervous excitement

breghall

astonaidan wrote: »

Big day has finally arrived, nervous excitement

keep us updated, and good luck ...

ellenellen

So I've been here since Saturday. I'm staying in a private room in an airbnb for the first few nights so I can have some space to organise jobs, viewings, etc but moving to a hostel tomorrow which I'm a bit apprehensive about because I'll probably be there for a whole month and am a bit wrecked from my sleep pattern being a bit messed up and running around in general!

I've had two viewings so far and a good few more arranged for the next week. I'm hoping to get something soon but realistically I won't be able to move there until the first, which I've budgeted for.

My flight over was fine and I did my change over in London. I was queueing (seated though) in immigration for about an hour so I'd advice you inform anyone picking you up or that your meeting of this. Might not take as long, but good to take it into account anyway. I went with Virgin Atlantic and didn't pick up my bag first but apparently you're supposed to. A few other people didn't and a member or staff just left them together in the bagging area which was fine but I think it meant she was hanging around a long time waiting for them to be picked up which I felt a bit bad about!

I got my SIN in the Sinclair building downtown. It's not really marked that well and there are signs to the passport office that many people went to but it's actually the 'Service Canada' signs you follow. For this you need your work permit, passport and an address. The whole process, including the seated queue took about 20 minutes, this was on a Monday afternoon around 4pm. It really just depends on how many people are around. Then you can set up a bank account. I went with Coast Capital, actually a credit union, because they don't have transaction fees. You do however need to have $5 cash on you for a membership fee. And if you brought cash over with you, you can lodge it there and then. The cons are that you will be charged if you don't use a Coast capital ATM and cheques take longer to clear if you don't have a Canadian credit report. For this account you need your SIN paper with proof of address, work permit and passport. As I had a viewing on the day I got my SIN I couldn't do this but ideally you should get your SIN paper first in the morning and then head to the bank to get it sorted in one day! One thing to keep in mind is that they may not have an appointment for you on that particular day, but this is probably unlikely. I went in and up to customer service and they had someone free in 40 minutes so I just went and got a coffee nearby. Then the whole process too about 40 minutes so give yourself a whole morning/afternoon so you don't miss other appointments. Their customer service is excellent and I'd definitely recommend them.

I got a SIM card from Go4Less with Bell network. However, the email I was sent with my phone number actually had a completely different number to the one that I've been calling people with. This is really annoying and inconvenient as the number form the email is the one I printed on my CVs. I'll be making a complaint to both companies about this and am planning to switch to Wind once I get settled. Two people have recommended this to me. The downside is that coverage is really bad outside and the odd time inside of Vancouver but its around $35 for a month by month plan with unlimited data which is great for me because I use WhatsApp as my main form of communication with my family at home.

One app I'd recommend is Mappa Vancouver. It's about 2 euro and it's an offline map that uses your phone signal (not internet) to show you where you are. I'm terrible at navigation and always go the wrong way but at least with this I can see when I'm moving in the wrong direction and can do the embarrassing backtrack..

Public transport is easy enough to navigate. Buses tell you what stop is next on a screen and if you google map directions and choose the public transport options you can get all the information. A single ticket it $2.75 which lasts for I think one or two and a half hours and a day ticket is nearly $10 so think about how many journeys you will need to take each day. You can also buy a book of ten tickets from 7/11 style shops at a slight discount rate. I've found the bus drivers to be really helpful - one out of service bus stopped at my stop and told me he was going my direction anyway so gave me an 'express ride' straight to my door! One strange thing I've noticed is that people don't really walk anywhere. There is a train stop less than 15 min where I'm staying at the moment and the people who own the house were getting really annoyed that the bus that used to drop them there isn't running anymore. The people at a house I'd viewed thought I was crazy that I walked 25 minutes to get there instead of just hopping on a bus!

Can't think of anything else that might be useful for the moment but if I do I'll post it here