Move On Up

I moved to Toronto, Canada on September 25th, 2021. Here are my insights from my life in Canada so far. Basically a pros and cons list about the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

Pros

• Food
  • Food in Canada has been mostly incredible in Toronto. There’s so much variety when you’re eating out.
  • Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE eating out. Indian food has been hit or miss but I’ve eaten some incredible Thai food, Syrian/Damascene food, incredible Caribbean food, flavorful dumplings.
  • I even managed to find a frankie in Toronto. Nothing compared to the Churchgate station Tibbs frankie (the Mumbai OG) but decent considering we’re on the other side of the world.
• The people
  • People have been mostly friendly and willing to talk. Very rare for large metroplexes I’ve lived in beyond Mumbai.
  • Again, anyone who knows me I love a good conversation. So far, people have been generally talkative. Scroll down to the Post Scriptum (PS) for my tips to talk to strangers.
• The outdoors
  • Toronto has a lot of outdoorsy things to do. As someone who dislikes going to the gym, exercise outdoors is my source of happiness.
  • There’s a huge selection of stuff that’s available, depending on the weather. It’s snowed to hell? Go sledding. It’s warm? Go biking around Toronto or swimming in Lake Ontario.
• Public transport
  • Public transport is well-designed till the last mile in Toronto (not Mississauga). Just be careful of buses over the weekend.
  • My comments come from a lifetime of traveling on public transport. My dependence and love for public transport is well known.
  • You can literally take public transport only till Niagara Falls, ON. Quite a distance from the GTA.

Cons

• Expensive
  • It is CRAZY how expensive Toronto is. Real estate is in huge demand but low supply for housing that makes sense at the price.
  • Maybe my skewed view comes from having lived in a state like Texas where real estate is generally affordable.
• Poor salaries
  • Pay in the GTA and Canada in general is pretty garbage. Inflation as high as it is right now will hit super hard here.
  • It is unrealistic how low the pay is with how high living costs are. Not just rent; groceries, eating out, everything is crazy expensive.
  • Having talked to an Irishman from Dublin and knowing the crazy real estate in Mumbai and NYC, is all real estate skyrocketing?
• Inept immigration
  • Like all governments, the Canadian government seems incredibly inept.
  • Maybe it’s just stuff related to immigration? My Permanent Resident card got lost in the mail. No way to track it. No way to check how the renewal process is going.
  • On the other hand, my tax refund was processed super quick, as was my Ontario Health Insurance card and my Ontario Photo Card.

I know I’ve dropped some tantalizing tidbits in this short blog post. What is Damascene food? General food questions? Would LOVE to recommend some food. Hit me up in the comments.

P.S: My friends are always shocked at how easily I can talk to any random person on the street. The trick is to find something common between you and the other person. Then let them talk. And always value what the person is saying, interjecting with something relevant when needed.

This is another shameless plug for anyone who needs help with navigating the immigration system to come to Canada. Please ping me; I try to help for free.

Another piece of advice: Jobs are aplenty in IT. Any other industry is a struggle. If you are coming to study, study IT. Literally everyone coming here is studying business or marketing.