Toronto For Immigrants And How You Can Enjoy The City To The Max

We prepare this guide to help you answer some basic questions about Toronto. Where is it? How’s the cost of living? What’s the weather like? How’s the public transportation?

Overview of Toronto

Province: Ontario
Population: City -> 2,7 million / Metropolitan area -> 5,9 million (2016)
Climate: Humid continental climate
Demonym: Torontonian
Time zone: Eastern Standard Time EST (GMT -5 hours)
Area phone code: beginning with 416, 647, or 437
Postal code: beginning with M

Location of Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario, with the province of Quebec to the east and the American states of New York and Michigan to the southeast and southwest respectively.

Cost of Living in Toronto

Toronto has become an absurdly expensive city to live in. Home prices are outrageous, the average price of a 1-bedroom condo is around $1,800/month. A monthly metro pass would cost you around $140/month (compared to $80 in Montreal).

Overall, living costs in Toronto are above the national average, but this can be slightly offset by higher wages and lower taxes. Note that you need to pay premiums for healthcare, check here to learn more.

Check here for detailed prices of the cost of living in Toronto. You can choose your currency for more ease of comparison.

Weather in Toronto

Winters in Toronto are snowy and cold but not as much as in Montréal. The winter temperatures generally fall below 0°C and rarely below −25°C.

Toronto summers are hot, but still pleasant despite the humidity. Temperatures frequently increase above 30°C but are mostly between 20 and 30°C.

The autumn and spring season temperatures are usually moderately cold, with an average between 10 to 12°C.

Transportation in Toronto

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the name of the transportation company handling the inner city of Toronto, including ferries. GO Transit, on the other hand, takes care of transportation to the suburbs.

The Toronto subway system is efficient with high frequency: almost every 2min during rush hour and 5min the rest of the time, from approx. 6AM to 1:30AM at night.

Toronto’s public transit is a little expensive. You can find the TTC fares here.

You can also bike in Toronto to get where you need to go. In most cases, biking is going to be a lot faster than the street car ever will. Biking is hugely popular for those living in Toronto, and it’s possible to bike year-round if you get the right winter gear.

You can always drive in Toronto, but it comes with expensive parking fees, huge car insurance fees, and one of (if not) the longest average commute time in Canada.

Pros and Cons of Toronto

Negatives :

Cold but bearable winter.
Road traffic is bad, thus a more polluted city.
Highly priced housing market.

Positives :

Lots of activities to do, vibrant art scene.
Suburbs, less expensive and stressful, are easily reachable with an efficient transit system (TTC and GO Transit).
Very good schools and universities.
Many job opportunities in the IT, financial and manufacturing sectors.
Summers temperatures typically last longer than three months.

For more information on how to get an Ontario Healthcare Card, click here.

To learn more about driving and getting a driver’s licence in Ontario, click here.

For the Top 10 Free Things to do in Toronto, check out this link.

Immigrate

Moving to Canada in Toronto