Moving to Toronto: Much Help Needed
 

I am planning to move to toronto and attend UT hopefully around December / January ... but of course ... here come the questions

... I don't even know where to begin

(1) Plan on moving on my own ... taking car + luggage ... Good / Bad Idea?
(2) Around when would be the best time to drive down?
(3) Any directions ... what stops should I make ... wish to get there ASAP.
(4) I wish to get there by TransCanada ... don't want to go through states.
(5) Probably be ok to keep BC Insurance? I heard toronto's is killer = =
(6) Layout of Toronto? What's it like? I've been in Van for about 20 years.
(7) I wish to live around College Park? Bay Street? What's that area like?
(8) I'm sure more questions will come up ... anything else I should know?

This is all very = = kinda nervous so I wanna be fully prepared ... any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Wow, you poor soul. Moving to Toronto? All the best! :lol

1. Depends on how much stuff you have.

2. Drive down now before it snows.

3. Just take the Trans-Canada. It'll be boring though.

5. I don't think it's a good idea to keep BC plates/insurance long term. Short term (a semester) is okay

6. Layout of toronto - it's all different areas. You can be in "North York" and still be in Toronto. You sort of have to drive everywhere freeway type of style.

7. They're both nice areas. Core downtown. Nothing to worry about.

8. Be prepared to miss Vancouver. :lol

haha why does everyone say that ... i kinda have this impression that toronto is like a mini mini new york = = vancouver is so small tho ~ best no doubt it's probably nicer than toronto ...

Toronto and Vancouver are very different cities at a very different calibre. Vancouver is peanuts compared to Toronto. The amount of people, highways, nightlife, business/commerce, job opportunities - it's endless in Toronto compared to Vancouver. Toronto is a concrete jungle and people area always doing something. You'll see what I mean when you get there.

How long are you going to be there for?

you'll miss the food.
get used to seeing a 12 lane highway thats constantly jammed with cars

but on the bright side, you'll be in the center of the universe so i guess that could bump up your ego? thats what many people live there think.

^
I could not agree more! :lol

But yeah, the food, it generally sucks and you'd have to find a local to show you around. Even then, I never found any "good" food in Toronto. Harsh summers, winters, hard water, 12 lane highway traffic jams on the 401. A nightmare.

i don't expect the food to be better = = vancouver is paradise for food in my opinion ... and i am planning on going for a few years at least ~

that being said ~ kinda excited to go and try out living in toronto now

anyways ~ any other info regarding my concerns would be greatly appreciated

(ps is it just me or is the toronto section just ... gone?)

Congrats on getting into U of T

1) pack up what u can, and what u cant, u can always mail via gray hound, shipping via gray hound is relatively cheap.
2) its gonna take u at least a few days drive to get there, plan a week and take ur time
3) invest in a GPS
4) refer to above
5) i believe u can keep ur BC insurance, there is some clause that u can do that while studying. ask ur autoplan broker first though. if u do insure there, and assuming u are still under 35, then u will be raped by private insurance.
6) toronto is broken up into a lot of smaller cities, however, the freeways there are awesome so commuting i found was a lot easier than here. like here, when u want to go to vancouver, u have to drive thru the city center via small streets and no actual highways. toronto, its freeways and highways everywhere, then u got the small streets.
7) u havent even gotten a place to live yet???
8) toronto has really good pho

I disagree. The food is better in Toronto. Toronto is even more multicultural than Vancouver. The sushi though, really sucks but that's about it. Try jerk chicken and other meats. I usually ventured to a place on Sherbourne and Wellesley called Mr Jerk.

Personally I never need a car living downtown because I didn't venture out of downtown much.

Condos on Bay St can be quite pricey. Expect to spend over $1100 to live by yourself. You might also have to pay extra for parking which is about 100 - 150 a month.

Oh and you will see more black people in Toronto in one day than you have your whole entire life in Vancouver.

What program are you expecting to get into?

+1 on the car insurance.. I moved out to toronto and the only way to keep the BC one is if you go to school here. Private is horrid. The provincial gov't also approved a 10-15% increase this coming year too.

Since I'm on the phone with my friend from TO,

1) Depends on how much luggage you have. Its a 7 day trek so "I" wouldn't recommend it.

2) Drive down into the city? Rush hour morning is 7-8ish Evening rush hour is 5 ish

3) Tans Canada.

4) Ok? get a gps.

5) You need to switch to Ontario's.

6) "It's crazy multicultural. theres an event every week. Free concerts at young and dundess." Toronto is is a square and is surrounded by residential areas and part of a lake. "You'll like it if your a nightowl"

7) Alot of malls here. High end condos with internal strip malls. Lots of ballers in this area.

7 days eh = = damn

haha i meant what time of the year i should go down ~ not sure when it starts snowing in toronto (or places i will be going thru via trans canada) december?

getting mixed responses on the insurance thing ~ guess it's best to ask someone from the insurance company anyways ~

thanks for all the responses ~ any more info would be great thanks!

I travel to Toronto every month, usually for a few days and I always have a good time. I think you'll like Toronto, it's a very fast paced city and makes Vancouver feel like a small little town. There's also tons of stuff to do, tons of places to eat, good selection of high end shops (if you're into designer stuff) and always something going on like events and stuff.

The biggest downside has to be the weather in the fall right into spring because it's super cold and very unpredictable and the worst time to travel is around time you're heading down so be prepared for it. Also, the roads are awful, potholes everywhere even on the highways like the 401 so get some good tires if you decide to insure your car.

probably decided ~ just gonna sell car in toronto ~ fly over and buy car + insurance there

i asked icbc ... i was told you are only allowed to drive with bc insurance in ontario for maxiumum of 3 months ... no special treatment for students

but thanks for all the info guys ... and where do toronto revsceners post yo!

haha ... again any additional info i should know ~ thanks in advance

that sucks, I thought students had special treatment for insurance... just make sure to budget out an extra grand on top of what you pay through icbc...

I moved to Waterloo last summer for school. My personal suggestion would probably just to fly out (you can fit a lot into luggage when you really want to, and you already wouldn't be bringing furniture in your car), and if you really need a car out here (I just use transit everywhere) I'd probably look into shipping it. It can be snowy and hellish out here quite early in the year, the upside being that because of the longer and harsher winters, the cities and highways are generally much better maintained, sanded and plowed during the winters.

In urban Ontario I feel that it's way easier to get away without having a car. Generally speaking, there is just far better public transit infrastructure out here. If you're living anywhere near UofT you really won't "need" a car. It's nice, but really not necessary.

And +1 on the black people comment. When I was in the North York Ikea the other day, I was pretty sure that they have more black employees than there are black people in all of Langley.

The 401 from Don Valley Pkwy out to the 7/8 is almost done repaving, so it's great now (minus the construction). Only takes a year or two for the winter to wreck a road out here though so we'll see how long it lasts though.

I just moved back from Toronto to Vancouver by driving less than a month ago so I can answer some questions for you.

Driving vs Flying depends on a lot of things.
Length of Drive - The actual drive time is approximately 48 hours, that's before any gas/restroom stops, also time can go up dramatically if you are traveling with a female companion.
Driving Ability - Are you the type of person who can drive long distances without taking too many breaks. Cruise control comes in VERY handy for long drives.
Amount of stuff - you need to know how much stuff you're taking with you. I had my car packed to the max with the back end pretty much bottomed out
Cost - Gas + 2-3 nights in hotel/motel @ $100 a night for decent places. My drive in a fuel efficient Corolla cost me $280 in gas door to door + $100 in motel stay. I was lucky enough to have relatives in Winnipeg and Calgary where I could stay for free.
Time of year - December/January is not the best time of the year to drive because of cold, snow and bitter winters in the parries and northern Ontario. You REALLY don't want your car to break down in those circumstances, so you figure out if you think you car can handle the drive.

If you do drive TransCanada is the only way to go from Vancouver. The route is pretty much Highway 1 from Vancouver to Thunderbay, Ont After Thudnerbay it's Highway 17, to 69 to 400s which takes you into GTA. If you do drive a GPS is HIGHLY HIGHLY recommended, not just for the route, they can let you know how far you are from gas stations.
The break down you could follow is
Day 1 Vancouver - Calgary 9-10 hours
Day 2 Calgary - Winnipeg 13-14 hours
Day 3 Winnipeg - Marathon, Ont 12-13 hours
Day 4 Marathon - Toronto 12-13 hours
Of course you can drive a bit more or less each day.

Insurance in Toronto/Ontario is private so there is no consistency in price from one company to other it can go from $900 to $2200 for the same driver. You can get out of province insurance from ICBC and know exactly the type of coverage you're getting.

Layout of Toronto is much bigger and wide spread than Vancouver. There are cities surrounding Toronto all sides, which include Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, Mississauga and probably a few more.
If you do live downtown (bay street) or close to your school you don't really need a car, transit system is very good. The lifestyle is quite fast paced compared to here but for a young person it's perfect and you shouldn't have problem keeping pace. As other have already mentioned there is ALWAYS tons of stuff going on and lots of free events all the time.

My personal recommendation is you fly out there, (especially considering you want to drive down in Dec). Live there for a little bit and figure out if you need a car or not, and if you do decide you need a car pick one up there, they are much much cheaper than in Vancouver just because of the bigger market.

Good Luck

Make sure you check for rust if you end up buying a used car in Toronto because of all the salt frmo the snow.

haha ... everyone thanks for the info ! greatly appreciated ~

i think i got all the info i need ... hopefully in the future people can refer to this when they plan on moving to toronto ~ haha pretty stoked ^.^//

I haven't lived in Toronto, but I've visited the city quite a few times (in fact, I was just there over the weekend.)

Toronto is truly a multicultural city, unlike Vancouver which is mainly just comprised East Asians and South Asians. You'll see ethnic groups mixing with each other as opposed to groups sticking to their own kind. It will take some time to get accustomed to hearing English with different accents.

Toronto proper is actually a pretty easy place to get around as the city has a proper grid system. The subway is decent (2 major lines that intersect) and a good street car system to get around the other parts which aren't served by the subway. If you can find a place to live in Toronto, you'll be okay. However, the suburbs are a different story. I grew up in Vancouver, so when I visited my cousins for the first time Richmond Hill several years ago, it was a real eye-opener. If you think suburbia in Surrey/Langley is bad, try the GTA.

Winters aren't bad (-10 C isn't that bad, seriously), but summers are terrible. The humidity and smog will make you long for summers of Vancouver. You better get to know friends who have cottages in Muskoka because you'll need to get away on the weekends.

haha i'll be ok for the summers ~ i am in asia every summer ~ haha

but ... i'm looking into renting at college park residences ... don't have any specific questions but uh anything i should take note of?

anyone know anything i should know about college park ... right now it seems like all the 1bdr apartments are about $1600 / month ~ any chance the price will lower?

anything else i should take note of?

$1600 is fair.

kinda off topic ... well no not really

anyone know of good carshops ~ or recommend me any for future reference?
what is toronto's most ... um dominant car forum?

and what happened to the toronto members on revscene ... i see the section has been closed down eh = =

If you're lucky, maybe. The Met is a nice place and you might be able to find a nice 1 bedroom for 1400.