Need suggestions & information for accommodation options

Hello amip.

Welcome to Expat.com!

The Housing in Toronto section is at your disposal. Do not hesitate to post an advert there.

You can read this article as well -> Accommodation in Québec.

Thank you,
Aurélie

Hi amip,

You can start house hunting by accessing the online version of the various Toronto newspapers:

www.thestar.comwww.torontosun.comwww.metronews.ca

In Canada we traditionally think of a "condominium" as being a row house or townhouse as opposed to apartment. Generally it is in a smaller closed development.

Apartments are individual suites in either small or large buildings.

If you are determined to find a place within 30 minutes of your future workplace on Younge Street you can count on paying a hefty price for rent and even more if you are planning to buy. Many people who work in downtown Toronto choose to live in the suburbs or other cities that are nearby and less expensive. Many people live in Hamilton or Burlington for example and catch the GO Train to work in the morning and back home at night. The service is frequent, quick and relatively inexpensive. That's something you should really consider.

As far as rents go, unfortunately I can't tell you what they would be like these days since I've been away from Canada for eleven years now, but they won't be cheap anywhere in Canada.

Unless you live in an apartment building heat is usually not included. Most townhouse/condominiums will have either a gas/oil fired furnace or electric baseboard heating (more expensive). Many apartment buildings have a central boiler and therefore have heat and hot water which may be included in the rent or they may charge an extra fee. If you are lucky enough to get into a relatively new home they are constructed to very high standards for insulation and the annual heating bill should not be too high, certainly nowhere near the cost of heating an older building.

Almost all homes have their own separate water heaters which may be either electric, gas or oil fired. Except in some rural areas of Canada water and sewer are included in one's property taxes so there will be no water bill. Electricity is something you will pay on top of rent anywhere in Canada.

Well, this should get you started and answer some of your questions, hopefully one of our members there in Toronto can fill you in with more information.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Thanks!Would Hamilton/Burlington be suburbs close to the uptown area? How much time would such a commute take?

Is North York (where i will be working) an expensive area to live in?

Hi amip,

Well for example, if you were living in Hamilton (downtown area) the GO Train Toronto Express leaves from Hamilton GO Center on Hunter Street and takes 1 hr. 15 min. to get to Toronto Union Station, from there another 30 min. on the subway (YUS) to 5000 Younge Street. I'd say door-to-door probably 2 hours during which you relax on the train, even sleep. When I lived in Hamilton and travelled to Toronto I always used GO Train service, it's fast, efficient and fun, not to mention convenient.

You can check out GO Transit routes and schedules at the following link. By using their link and Google Maps you can pretty much figure out travel times from anywhere served by GO Transit.

http://www.gotransit.com/public/en/sche … oogle.aspx

Yes, North York where you will be working is a very expensive place to live in.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Thank you! Wow - that is a long commute - i will also have a 2 year old waiting for me at home so looks like I'm not going to be able to avoid the "hefty" rent. Its sad but i dont think i'm up for the 3-4 hours commute in a day!

Thanks for the advice.Great information you are sharing,I wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed browsing your  posts.

Thanks,
[Moderated: No free ad pls]

Hello Amip,

I hope that your plans to move to Toronto are going well.

If you still need help in finding accomodation in our great city, please email me and I will be glad to help you.

REGuy