As most of us from Dec start receiving their PPR's , the next logical step would be to plan for your new life in Canada, moving here , getting set up etc. Since I went through this when I moved here from USA and have some knowledge of folks moving into Canada from elsewhere (eX: India) , I can share up some experiences and things you should do/shouldn't do , things to carry to save you guys some time.
here's a first pass, I'll probably add more here, in case someone has any specific question, feel free to ask and I'll try my best to answer.
1) Health insurance : Big ticket item , for individual and families, while the internet goes crazy over FREE health care , I would like to point out that only Medical is free . You still have to pay for Dental , Vision and Prescription. So the Doctor visit for a fever/sore throat is FREE , you'll still have to pay for any medicine the doctor prescribes. And if you have visit any Dentist or Eye specialist you'll need outside insurance .
Most employers would provide that coverage for some premium but if in your initial period make sure you purchase one.
Another scenario where the private insurance comes handy is during your inital period , the province covered Health insurance takes 3 months to come (at least in Ontario) , so you'll need some insurance for first 3 months. Look up online there are plenty services available.
2) House Rent : Common here to have multiple offers (yea, you read right) for a single house/apt for rent, they hold open houses even for renting and you might be competing with several prospective tenants . You can check out Realtor.ca for available postings and possibly hire a real estate agent to help you , the real estate agent's fee is paid by the owner/landlord you 'll not have to pay a single penny for anything, make sure you don't fall for any agent who's asking you for money .
Since the GTA area is pretty expensive to live in while you are looking for a job, you can look to live in probably in Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo area, this is a cheaper option to stay in while you are trying to find a job and move to GTA area once you have a job . Commuting from these towns to GTA is horrible everyday but you can do it once/twice for interviews etc.
3) Driver License : If you are moving from US ,it's easy to exchange your license for a Canadian license, but do make sure to carry you driving history from your DMV to get credit because if your current license if not > 3 years old, you 'll not get a full G license unless you show stamped driving history from your DMV . If you don't you'll have to go for G1/G2 which have many restrictions and cause of heavier insurance premiums. Also true for people moving from elsewhere , Driving history is an absolute live saver if you directly want a full G license.
More to come... I would look to cover (4) Auto insurance (5) Auto Loan (6) Phone , which carriers are cheaper/better service (6) Home Internet Service (7) Apply for SIN . Let me know if there's any other topic you'll like to hear about.
