The Toronto Thread

ck24

MarkJD wrote: »

What websites are you guys using to find accomodation. Im finding it hard to find places in specific areas. Is it best to just wait until you get there and walk into agencies etc?

I dont know anything about rental agencies so cant help with that, but friends of mine over there all said that the best way to find a place is to just walk around the area you're interested in and look for For Rent signs, especially if its an apartment you're looking for.

Or look at Craigslist or kijiji.

ckgirl

Are you travelling over on your own ck24? when r u planning on going?

allanb49

been a while since i posted, myself and the wife have our tickets bought for 24th september

have the hostel sorted for the first week while looking for an apartment

http://theplanettraveler.com/

going to try organise a beers in october for anyone here interested, and another at xmas

also the wife is going to this if there are any supernatural fans out there

http://www.creationent.com/cal/supernatural_toronto.htm

Also been told of a halloween party done by a comic book shop that might be interesting.

allanb49

MarkJD wrote: »

What websites are you guys using to find accomodation. Im finding it hard to find places in specific areas. Is it best to just wait until you get there and walk into agencies etc?

1. Kijiji / Craigslist (These are the Canadian Gumtree and Daft.ie; there are also different pages for different cities across Canada)

2. MyHood (This is great website for Toronto Apartments and Houses)

3. Rent Compass (This is for Toronto and other cities across Canada)

4. Rent Seekers (This is for Toronto and other cities across Canada)

MaggieRow747

ck24 wrote: »

Hi fellow Toronto goers! I'm planning to head over in September and can't wait.

Can anyone recommend any good recruiters in Toronto? I'm hoping to get work in science/lab/pharmaceutical/med device sectors so if anyone can recommend recruiters specialising in these areas it would be great. But I'm happy to work in temp or agency type jobs until I find my feet.

I'm not going to Toronto to try to make big money or anything, I'm going over to experience a new city and a new lifestyle. I have a friend in Toronto who's be loving it over there

Hey ck24

im also looking for work in the pharma/science/lab industry. The only recruiters i have come across are Kerry and they seem pretty useless i sent them an email detailing what i was looking for and i just got an automated email back directing to their vacancies page, other than that i havnt come across any other recruiters in that area.

Have you got alot of experience going over?.. Ive heard its quite hard to get a job in science over there unless you have "canadian experience" which i hope is not the case.

ck24

MaggieRow747 wrote: »

Hey ck24

im also looking for work in the pharma/science/lab industry. The only recruiters i have come across are Kerry and they seem pretty useless i sent them an email detailing what i was looking for and i just got an automated email back directing to their vacancies page, other than that i havnt come across any other recruiters in that area.

Have you got alot of experience going over?.. Ive heard its quite hard to get a job in science over there unless you have "canadian experience" which i hope is not the case.

Hi maggie, yeah I've a good few years of experience in the industry here in ireland. I've heard it can be difficult to get something alright but i'm happy working at anything until I get the right job. I'm more looking forward to the experience of living abroad.

How about yourself, have you been working in the industry here? When you planning on heading over?

If I hear of any good recruiters ill be sure to let you know!

ck24

ckgirl wrote: »

Are you travelling over on your own ck24? when r u planning on going?

Hi, I'll be going in September I think, nothing booked yet though. I'm heading over with my OH. How about you?

MaggieRow747

ck24 wrote: »

Hi maggie, yeah I've a good few years of experience in the industry here in ireland. I've heard it can be difficult to get something alright but i'm happy working at anything until I get the right job. I'm more looking forward to the experience of living abroad.

How about yourself, have you been working in the industry here? When you planning on heading over?

If I hear of any good recruiters ill be sure to let you know!

Yeah ive heard the same that it can be quite hard without "canadian experience". No such luck i graduated last year and couldnt get a thing over here not even an internship. Yeah im kinda the same looking forward to the experience it would be an extra bonus to get a job in science dow

Heading over on the 23rd of June, thats about all i have organised so far lol.

ck24

MaggieRow747 wrote: »

Yeah ive heard the same that it can be quite hard without "canadian experience". No such luck i graduated last year and couldnt get a thing over here not even an internship. Yeah im kinda the same looking forward to the experience it would be an extra bonus to get a job in science dow

Heading over on the 23rd of June, thats about all i have organised so far lol.

So you haven't got too long to wait until you get to head over. Ive been keeping an eye on the job market over the last few months and entry level positions in the industry do come up every now and then so keep an eye on the job websites.

MaggieRow747

ck24 wrote: »

So you haven't got too long to wait until you get to head over. Ive been keeping an eye on the job market over the last few months and entry level positions in the industry do come up every now and then so keep an eye on the job websites.

Yeah its coming pretty fast ... Oh really thats good to hear atleast, what job sites have you been looking at?.. Ive been looking at jobbank.ca and workopolis.

Agro Head

MaggieRow747 wrote: »

Yeah its coming pretty fast ... Oh really thats good to hear atleast, what job sites have you been looking at?.. Ive been looking at jobbank.ca and workopolis.

Try Monster Canada and indeed.ca (best one imo).

ck24

MaggieRow747 wrote: »

Yeah its coming pretty fast ... Oh really thats good to hear atleast, what job sites have you been looking at?.. Ive been looking at jobbank.ca and workopolis.

Hi I sent you a PM there, hope its a bit of help. Wish I was heading over in June, you'll be there in time to enjoy the summer.

goingitalone

Just thinking any boardies going to.Toronto in August September ? Intrested in looking at apartments or houses to share let me know Maybe a way of getting somewhere more decent. Just a thought.

sashafierce

This post has been deleted.

Agro Head

sashafierce wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

You make the cheques payable to your landlord for the price of each month's rent at monthly intervals.

That way instead of you giving him a cheque each month he just goes and cashes one of the ones you've given him. It's a common way of paying rent here.

sashafierce

This post has been deleted.

Faith

Agro Head wrote: »

You make the cheques payable to your landlord for the price of each month's rent at monthly intervals.

That way instead of you giving him a cheque each month he just goes and cashes one of the ones you've given him. It's a common way of paying rent here.

When I read that initially, I thought it was madness. Now that I've thought about it, though, it's actually quite a good idea.

sashafierce

This post has been deleted.

Agro Head

That's how I was paying my rent for last year.

sashafierce

This post has been deleted.

Agro Head

sashafierce wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

No problems at all. It's fairly standard as far as I can tell. Address won't matter.

When are ya into the new place? 1st of the month? Any hassle getting out of the old gaf?

sashafierce

This post has been deleted.

Agro Head

sashafierce wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

lol what a bunch of creeps. Are they Irish? Cut and run asap.

Agro Head

sashafierce wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Don't wait too long with the offers either.

They only hold it for you until someone gives them cash!

sashafierce

This post has been deleted.

Agro Head

sashafierce wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Knew they'd be Irish. Bunch of ditch pigs.

MarkJD

That sounds so weird .... Bunch of knobs! Glad you got a new place sorted.

So finally got word and I was successful with getting the promotion and move to the Toronto office.. Absolutely delighted. Will get all the finer details later on dates etc but im thinking its likely we will be moving around the end of July. Need to get the ball rolling.

Already found a place / building we really like the look of not far from Yong & Eglinton. Its on Yonge street about a 10min walk from Yonge & Eglinton intersection. Gonna reach out to the people and see whats involved etc. As far as other things go need to start researching a lot of stuff. Would you guys mind giving best reccomendations on some of the below?

Driving Test Centre - ?
Driving Test Lesson / Pre Test - ?
Driving Insurance - ?
Best Bank - ?
Best Mobile Phone Providor - Heard Kodoo were the best? I will likely be bringing my unlocked Galaxy S3 over and use that for a while. Should work right?
Internet / TV Provider - More interested in the internet than the TV service and will likley be willing to pay a bit more for a better / higher connection.
Best Place To Get Furniture - Will be looking to get everything. TV, Couches, Bed, Desk etc. I know Ikea is the obvious option but is there any other places you guys would reccommend. Maybe a place that would be willing to work on a price when offering a package for everything.
Anything Else -

Thanks for any help guys.

dealhunter1985

MarkJD wrote: »

That sounds so weird .... Bunch of knobs! Glad you got a new place sorted.

So finally got word and I was successful with getting the promotion and move to the Toronto office.. Absolutely delighted. Will get all the finer details later on dates etc but im thinking its likely we will be moving around the end of July. Need to get the ball rolling.

Already found a place / building we really like the look of not far from Yong & Eglinton. Its on Yonge street about a 10min walk from Yonge & Eglinton intersection. Gonna reach out to the people and see whats involved etc. As far as other things go need to start researching a lot of stuff. Would you guys mind giving best reccomendations on some of the below?

Driving Test Centre - ?
Driving Test Lesson / Pre Test - ?
Driving Insurance - ?
Best Bank - ?
Best Mobile Phone Providor - Heard Kodoo were the best? I will likely be bringing my unlocked Galaxy S3 over and use that for a while. Should work right?
Internet / TV Provider - More interested in the internet than the TV service and will likley be willing to pay a bit more for a better / higher connection.
Best Place To Get Furniture - Will be looking to get everything. TV, Couches, Bed, Desk etc. I know Ikea is the obvious option but is there any other places you guys would reccommend. Maybe a place that would be willing to work on a price when offering a package for everything.
Anything Else -

Thanks for any help guys.

Best Bank - I have an account with TD And Scotia. I find TD are miles ahead in every respect. Their staff are very competent. They have an account type whereby if your balance remains above 5,000 CAD, you don't pay any fees

Internet - Definitely Teksavy. Month to month contract. For 25 meg with a 300 gig cap, I think I'm paying about 45 CAD including tax. (They dont do tv services though. I just watch everything online)

Furniture - I would only suggest to stay well clear of The Brick. I never met such pushy sales guys ( I hugely regret not walking out instead of giving them my hard earned money) Even the floor managers in the place are highly unprofessional, arguing on the phone with a colleague while processing my payment.

MarkJD

dealhunter1985 wrote: »

Best Bank - I have an account with TD And Scotia. I find TD are miles ahead in every respect. Their staff are very competent. They have an account type whereby if your balance remains above 5,000 CAD, you don't pay any fees

Internet - Definitely Teksavy. Month to month contract. For 25 meg with a 300 gig cap, I think I'm paying about 45 CAD including tax. (They dont do tv services though. I just watch everything online)

Furniture - I would only suggest to stay well clear of The Brick. I never met such pushy sales guys ( I hugely regret not walking out instead of giving them my hard earned money) Even the floor managers in the place are highly unprofessional, arguing on the phone with a colleague while processing my payment.

Thanks for the suggestions. I had heard of TechSavy through one of the US forums i post on so will check them out. Im pretty much the same as yourself watch everything online dont think iv watched proper TV in years. Might need to look into something like a UPC equivalent for the missus though so will weigh them all up.

Thanks for the heads up on the place regarding the furniture. Are you living in a high rise apartment or anything out of interest? Curious how deliveries work regarding couches / beds etc.

Will look into TD, Is it easy to get a starter credit card with them? Did you just do a transfer from your Irish account to the Canadian one at the time or just take it all out in cash and lodge it in your new acc?

dealhunter1985

MarkJD wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions. I had heard of TechSavy through one of the US forums i post on so will check them out. Im pretty much the same as yourself watch everything online dont think iv watched proper TV in years. Might need to look into something like a UPC equivalent for the missus though so will weigh them all up.

Thanks for the heads up on the place regarding the furniture. Are you living in a high rise apartment or anything out of interest? Curious how deliveries work regarding couches / beds etc.

Will look into TD, Is it easy to get a starter credit card with them? Did you just do a transfer from your Irish account to the Canadian one at the time or just take it all out in cash and lodge it in your new acc?

I'm in an apartment block with 4 floors. (I'm on the 4th)
It became an issue when my delivery came from The Brick. Two guys came, a guy in his twenties and an old man. The old man claimed they are not supposed to carry anything above the 3rd floor and The Brick should have told me this when I placed my order. I ended up having to carry everything up with the younger guy. Just one of the many unpleasant experiences I had with The Brick.

I got a credit card with a 5k limit the same day I opened the account.
But it was secured against the 5k in my checking account that I was leaving there anyways to qualify for the free banking.. So didnt bother me..