What’s It Like to Live In Toronto?

From the eyes of a relatively new inhabitant

Thousands of highly skilled people fly to Toronto every year for the prospect of a better life, a better career and a fresh beginning.

I am one of them. I first arrived in Toronto in April 2016 when I received Permanent Residency (PR). It was a short 10-day trip. On the first day itself, I ended up at a Toronto ‘Blue Jays’ baseball game.

The picture of me holding a ‘Tim Hortons’ cup is from that day. I couldn’t have survived that day without the coffee, even though I am normally a tea person. I was turning up to the game after a 20+ hour flight from India.

All I remember from the day is my first Tim Horton’s coffee, and the Jays winning.

Back then, I didn’t know Toronto will become my home. But 3 years later, it did in April 2019.

Toronto is super special for me as my daughter was born here but the journey has had its fair share of ups and downs.

I promise to provide a balanced perspective to help those interested in moving to Toronto make an informed decision. Something I didn’t get to do due to lack of information.

How Did I End Up Here?

4 years ago, my husband and I were ready to settle in Germany. We found suitable jobs, a nice place to live and warm people around us. Then my husband got an offer from one of the big consulting firms in Canada.

We thought Canada would be better for us for the long-term, as we had my parents moving here to live with my brother. Also, it was English speaking, so we thought it means more career opportunities for us. We took a leap of faith.

Over the years, I’ve often thought about this decision and let my doubts creep in. It’s partly also because of my wandering spirit and a tendency to feel dissatisfied and maybe less to do with Toronto.

Ever since my daughter was born 2 years ago, I am working on my mindset.

Now that you know where I’m coming from, let’s get on with the pros and cons.

There Are Some Seriously Good Pros

The City itself

I instantly fell in love with the city because of its casual and friendly vibe. There’s so much to do in downtown with the amazing views of Lake Ontario. It’s a bit like New York, only less crowded and more clean.

The libraries have an unbelievable e-book and book collections. Now as a mom, my daughter loves to go there and there is so much to entertain kids apart from books.

Awesome Trails, ravines and parks

The city has a plethora of natural resources. It’s richly endowed with parks, ravines, beaches and treks, maybe even hundreds of them.

Notable ones are High Park, Humber River Trail, Moore Park Ravine Trail, Trinity Bellwoods Park and Trillium Park.

These were helpful during the pandemic to take brief breaks.

Cheap Travel options

For those interested in travel to the Caribbean and South America, there are mouth-watering deals waiting for you.

I haven’t been able to travel much because of the pandemic, and then bringing up a baby. But I will at the first opportunity.

A great medical system

God bless Canada really and all of its doctors. Life has been such that courtesy of a road accident and a rough pregnancy, my family had to spend a long time circling hospitals and doctors.

I lived in a hospital for 5.5 weeks during my pregnancy. And then my newborn was in the neo-natal intensive care unit for 50 days.

Some people criticize the public healthcare in Canada but my experience has been positive. I found the doctors and the medical staff to be professional and empathetic. Sometimes they went out of their norms to care for us. Healthcare is mostly free and state provided.

Still, I hope we turned the tide on our hospital time. Certainly not looking to go back soon.

Fantastic childcare system

I am dependent on the childcare system. I sent my daughter to a daycare when she was about 14 months old and haven’t regretted the decision.

Government plans to reduce daycare costs to 10 dollars a day, which is about one-fifth of what it is currently. This is the first real incentive I am going to get after paying high taxes for the last 4 years.

I found the daycare staff to be flexible and experienced. They are ready to share their learning.

The trickiest part was getting through the first 6 months when kids need to build immunity. Luckily, because of the daycare staff’s cooperation, this time was manageable.

Good Schools

I have received a positive feedback on the public schools in the city, not experienced it yet as a toddler mom. Most public schools are free.

Just systems and inclusive society

This separates Canada from any other country, in my humble opinion. Canadians have built robust systems and there are possibilities of every ethnicity considered. Whether it’s for housing, insurance, banking, driving, shopping and fun. In no other country have I seen this level of inclusion.

I do not mean to imply things are perfect, but I am saying there is awareness and willingness to do the right thing. In no country did I see an agreement that protected the rights of tenants as much as owners out of the places I lived in.

There Are A Few Cons

Risk-averse mindset

People often stick to the same ways of thinking. There’s a lack of entrepreneurial spirit like in the US, China or India. Most people like safe jobs.

This mindset helped them avoid the impact of 2008 financial crisis so they’ve carried on. Sometimes, it seems like ambition is looked down upon.

What’s missing is the realization we aren’t all born in developed countries with parents in stable careers or getting employment insurance benefit if not working.

Some of us are not comfortable with this. We may forge our own paths, take some risks, but at least we’ll enjoy our lives more.

Over-commercialization

It stares you in the face right from the moment you enter. Everything seems larger than life.

This over-hyped vibe is common to most of North America. Often it gets a bit much to take. Like your taco place won’t offer you a fresh taco but the ‘best taco in the whole wide world.’ Really?

You would wish things were simpler. Most things won’t live up to the hype.

Immigrants often lose their way

It’s common to hear stories of doctors driving Uber here. On an average, people take 6 months to 1 year to find job opportunities once they move here.

That didn’t happen to me, though. I was lucky to get one within 2 months and it was at the same skill-set level as I had before moving here.

But I have seen people struggling to find a job, sometimes because of their own mistakes of not understanding a new market. This often leads them to start from scratch in junior positions in order to pay bills.

It’s a Catch-22. People get no jobs because they don’t have Canadian experience. And because they don’t have a proper job, they don’t get the Canadian experience.

The way forward is simple. Highlight transferable skills and find creative ways of getting Canadian experience, such as volunteering or education.

Don’t think Canada is doing you a favor. Be grateful, but ask for what you’re worth. It’ll only happen if you plan for it in advance.

Lower paying market than US and parts of Western Europe

In Canada, you won’t find the salaries of the US and parts of Western Europe. Though, it definitely has lower expenses than New York, London and Paris. However, expenses are much higher compared to many cities in the US with higher salaries.

Canada is safer than many of the US cities in terms of crime rates.

The language and integration make it better than most parts of Europe for someone coming from Asia.

Better integration means Canada doesn’t just have diversity. They have invested in systems to build a more inclusive society in terms of decision-making.

Does inclusion mean more to you than getting paid lesser for this advantage? This is the question you need to answer.

Conclusion

To be able to adjust in any new country, you must first accept there is no perfect place in the world. You only get to choose what you absolutely need and how you manage what you don’t like.

Once you accept this harsh truth, you can look at things more objectively.

So should you move to Toronto?

Depends on what you need. If you want to become a citizen sooner than anywhere else in the world, have a career once you get past the initial hiccups, get the best healthcare and education free, own a house, drive, and have a voice. Then it makes sense.

Here’s my advice to new immigrants looking to move to Toronto on managing what you can’t control :

• Think long-term before accepting any job.
• Book as many coffee chats as you can for networking and understanding the market. If you don’t drink coffee, have tea.
• Seek advice from various sources. Take it with a pinch of salt when it’s from those who haven’t done what you are trying to do.
• If something seems too good to be true, it’s generally true.
• When you compare salaries to other big cities, assess the total picture such as safety, healthcare, education, daycare and living expenses. Most people miss doing this.
• You get what you put in. But please, oh please, don’t be too adjusting. It will leave you dissatisfied. I have come across many immigrants who do it. I can tell you it’s not an easy place to return from.

Remember these, and you’ll have a wonderful experience.

If you want specific tips around adapting to the work environment, some of these links and articles may help.