New immigrants - where to stay in Ontario

[Hasni]

Mr Hasni,
From your timeline it can be seen that you have landed in Canada in Nov 2013. So my question is where r u currently based since 7 months.
For a newcomer Brampton and Missisauga will be a nightmare as the bus frequency is not up to the mark.
Starting with Toronto is advisable. You could look for a apt in Etobicoke, Don mills or Scarborough.
Homestead apts is a good bet. Google Homestead.

Dear KPK, I am in Saudi right now. Got good reason to choose Mississauga. For a new comer, It is always good to pick a place where you know someone atleast, i have few friends and families with good old acquaintance. Would look for homestead as you said. We won't be much dependent on buses, if this is the only flaw that you see for this city

Dear emamabd, can you name a few famous unsafe area, any idea about paisley boulevard west, is it good for families ! Thank

 

[emamabd]

Dear KPK, I am in Saudi right now. Got good reason to choose Mississauga. For a new comer, It is always good to pick a place where you know someone atleast, i have few friends and families with good old acquaintance. Would look for homestead as you said. We won't be much dependent on buses, if this is the only flaw that you see for this city

Dear emamabd, can you name a few famous unsafe area, any idea about paisley boulevard west, is it good for families ! Thank

Dear Hasni, when i mentioned "famous unsafe areas" i was mainly referring to toronto. Mississauga - up to my knowledge - is much safer than toronto.

 

[Hasni]

Dear Hasni, when i mentioned "famous unsafe areas" i was mainly referring to toronto. Mississauga - up to my knowledge - is much safer than toronto.

got it, any idea about the area I am referring to, is it good for families, no issues, paisley Blvd west !!

 

[Hasni]

Mr Hasni,
From your timeline it can be seen that you have landed in Canada in Nov 2013. So my question is where r u currently based since 7 months.
For a newcomer Brampton and Missisauga will be a nightmare as the bus frequency is not up to the mark.
Starting with Toronto is advisable. You could look for a apt in Etobicoke, Don mills or Scarborough.
Homestead apts is a good bet. Google Homestead.

KPR, actually I landed and came back after three weeks. Now I plan to go, drop my family there and come back. I would finally go after finishing my present contract with the company here in KSA. My main focus is on mIssissauga but am also looking for good options in the neighbouring areas as you mentioned. I have also decided that I will go for an apartment building within 1000 to 1300 CAD per month rent. I have selected few in Mississauga, but now I have widened my search upto Etobocoke and York. I don't have a good idea about the good spots in these areas. Would appreciate if you could tell me about decent family ares in Etobicoke and York. Please do share the names of few good apartment buildings that you know of. Anyone who has lived in these ares / apartments, pls share your experience and suggest few good ones that fall withing my budget. Good in the sense that its perfectly secure, and schools / groceries shall be steps away.
I have another question about this bed bug issue, how serious is it, like if I see that a rental apartment has bed bug reported, should I stay away from this apartment, or its not that serious. Thanks

 

[sharedknowledge]

KPR, actually I landed and came back after three weeks. Now I plan to go, drop my family there and come back. I would finally go after finishing my present contract with the company here in KSA. My main focus is on mIssissauga but am also looking for good options in the neighbouring areas as you mentioned. I have also decided that I will go for an apartment building within 1000 to 1300 CAD per month rent. I have selected few in Mississauga, but now I have widened my search upto Etobocoke and York. I don't have a good idea about the good spots in these areas. Would appreciate if you could tell me about decent family ares in Etobicoke and York. Please do share the names of few good apartment buildings that you know of. Anyone who has lived in these ares / apartments, pls share your experience and suggest few good ones that fall withing my budget. Good in the sense that its perfectly secure, and schools / groceries shall be steps away.
I have another question about this bed bug issue, how serious is it, like if I see that a rental apartment has bed bug reported, should I stay away from this apartment, or its not that serious. Thanks

1. For Pak/Indian community, check if this Social Atlas of Toronto helps:
http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=ce2e186e20ee0410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=1e68f40f9aae0410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD#3

2. Schools:
- All schools in Toronto: https://www.google.com.sa/maps/search/schools+in+Toronto,+ON,+Canada/@43.6457084,-79.5576594,13z?hl=en
- Islamic Centers in Toronto: https://www.google.com.sa/maps/search/islamic+center+in+toronto+canada/@43.7182713,-79.3777061,11z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!2m4!3m3!1sislamic+center!2sToronto,+ON,+Canada!3s0x89d4cb90d7c63ba5:0x323555502ab4c477
- Toronto Islamic Center website: http://english.torontoislamiccentre.com/
- Islamic Society of Toronto website: http://islamicsocietyoftoronto.com/

3. Security: I was reading in another website that high crime rate like Woodlands, Malton, Queen Frederica and Ridgeway (see: http://www.numbeo.com/crime/city_result.jsp?country=Canada&city=Mississauga).

Please share your info/experience if you use the above.

-

 

[msaeed]

1. For Pak/Indian community, check if this Social Atlas of Toronto helps:
http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=ce2e186e20ee0410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=1e68f40f9aae0410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD#3

2. Schools:
- All schools in Toronto: https://www.google.com.sa/maps/search/schools+in+Toronto,+ON,+Canada/ @ 43.6457084,-79.5576594,13z?hl=en
- Islamic Centers in Toronto: https://www.google.com.sa/maps/search/islamic+center+in+toronto+canada/ @ 43.7182713,-79.3777061,11z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!2m4!3m3!1sislamic+center!2sToronto,+ON,+Canada!3s0x89d4cb90d7c63ba5:0x323555502ab4c477
- Toronto Islamic Center website: http://english.torontoislamiccentre.com/
- Islamic Society of Toronto website: http://islamicsocietyoftoronto.com/

3. Security: I was reading in another website that high crime rate like Woodlands, Malton, Queen Frederica and Ridgeway (see: http://www.numbeo.com/crime/city_result.jsp?country=Canada&city=Mississauga).

Please share your info/experience if you use the above.

-

Sir

What is your advice , I personally feel Mississauga is relatively better.

Stay Blessed

 

[sharedknowledge]

Sir

What is your advice , I personally feel Mississauga is relatively better.

Stay Blessed

I agree with you about Mississauga, but apparently it is more expensive, with less healthcare access in addition that you may not necessarily find a job near that area.

I wonder if there are other places/pockets of South Asians elsewhere in Ontario or other provinces. I think once we move to Canada, our main issues will be:
- friendly neighborhood where our families can build relations and socialize
- quality schools with clean environment, meaning maintaining our values
- access to all living services, e.g., shops, south Asian items, pharmacies, banks, cheap transport, etc.

 

[Hasni]

Dear bro msaeed, you are right but still one should be careful in selection of a particular area in Mississauga, specially with regards to kids schooling and if you plan to leave your family for a longer period. Mentioning those infamous areas here won't be a good idea, might hurt the ones who are living in there. Looking at the rental rates across GTA, I am still not convinced that Mississauga as a whole is comparatively expensive. There are definitely certain areas abound by white people, which are slightly on higher side but I guess still the difference is not that much.

Sharedknowledge, thanks for sharing useful links, few of them like one for schools is wonderful stuff. Have you gathered any info about some good apartment building in GTA !

 

[abugr8]

hey i am planning for post graduate studies but i may need to rent a home where it would be cheap? will there be more than 1 people staying in the house? please help

 

[ja77]

Dear Hasni,

I'm an old member of this forum. I stumbled across your post today. Based on what I have seen, newcomers usually prefer to live in the hotels in the beginning. This is an expensive option and if you are with family, you most of the times don't have the facility to cook in the hotel rooms. So another popular option would be to stay in a guest house, especially if you don't mind sharing the kitchen and/or bathroom with other people living in the guest house. Alternatively, you guys could also look into the possibility of renting out a basement... which is a very common practice here especially for small families having children. Have you ever considered renting out a basement? Just to let you know, I have a nicely finished and furnished basement in my house in a quiet and family oriented residential neighborhood in GTA. It's vacant these days because the previous tenants moved to another city. It has one bedroom, one living room, one bathroom, a kitchen, and a laundry room with all the necessary appliances and furniture. Good enough for a small family. If you feel interested, let me know and I can share some more detail with you.

For those who are planning to land in the near future and looking for a short term temporary accommodation like a month or couple of months, this could be a good option. Facilities like banks, Service Canada (to have your SIN number), school, public transit, library, GO Train (for to/from travel to Toronto downtown), grocery, parks, etc., are within the walking distance.

Please send me a PM if you have questions or in case you need to discuss.

 

[Hasni]

Dear ja77,


Thanks a lot for offering your place, but yours seems bit tight for my size of family, secondly I am looking for a long term lease. However I do appreciate your kind gesture. Cheers

 

[ja77]

Dear ja77,


Thanks a lot for offering your place, but yours seems bit tight for my size of family, secondly I am looking for a long term lease. However I do appreciate your kind gesture. Cheers

Not a problem buddy. However, you should still look into the possibility of renting out a basement. I'm sure you'll be able to find one with a good size if your family is big. Many landlords won't have an issue with long term lease. Good luck, and let me know if I can be of any help.

 

[Hasni]

Not a problem buddy. However, you should still look into the possibility of renting out a basement. I'm sure you'll be able to find one with a good size if your family is big. Many landlords won't have an issue with long term lease. Good luck, and let me know if I can be of any help.

ja77, may I know why you recommending a basement over an apartment building, is it the money that is your prime consideration ! I have worked a lot on basements and liked a quite few too, but couldn't make it through cuz landlords were scary of my family size. I have noticed that landlords either prefer bachelors, students or a very small family, correct me if I am wrong.

 

[ja77]

ja77, may I know why you recommending a basement over an apartment building, is it the money that is your prime consideration ! I have worked a lot on basements and liked a quite few too, but couldn't make it through cuz landlords were scary of my family size. I have noticed that landlords either prefer bachelors, students or a very small family, correct me if I am wrong.

What is the size of your family? How old are your children? If you really think your family size is too big to be accommodated in a basement, then apartment and house rentals are always available. Basements are usually in a more residential and quiet neighborhoods. Apartment buildings have hundreds of tenants. But you can also take it positive if you think you will have more chances to socialize with other people. In buildings you have an onsite maintenance. In basements, maintenance will be landlord's responsibility. Price is almost the same... basements could be slightly cheaper. But you can also find cheaper apartments. Price varies from area to area and overall condition of the building. If you are able to find good landlords, you will most likely enjoy your time in basement. I think making a decision on whether to rent a basement or an apartment would be your personal choice. The topic is debatable and there could be pluses and minuses to both. My previous tenants were a family who immigrated from UAE. The husband had left his wife and two children here while he was still working in UAE. When he came back, they moved to another city where he found the job.

 

[Hasni]

What is the size of your family? How old are your children? If you really think your family size is too big to be accommodated in a basement, then apartment and house rentals are always available. Basements are usually in a more residential and quiet neighborhoods. Apartment buildings have hundreds of tenants. But you can also take it positive if you think you will have more chances to socialize with other people. In buildings you have an onsite maintenance. In basements, maintenance will be landlord's responsibility. Price is almost the same... basements could be slightly cheaper. But you can also find cheaper apartments. Price varies from area to area and overall condition of the building. If you are able to find good landlords, you will most likely enjoy your time in basement. I think making a decision on whether to rent a basement or an apartment would be your personal choice. The topic is debatable and there could be pluses and minuses to both. My previous tenants were a family who immigrated from UAE. The husband had left his wife and two children here while he was still working in UAE. When he came back, they moved to another city where he found the job.

thanks for explaining, we are a family of five, my kids are 14, 11 and 8 yrs respectively. Besides I was told that if the landlord has enough kids up , will make basement quite noisy, also boiler and a.c noises generate unbearable echo at times, ventilation is also an important issue,..though I stand corrected here cuz sharing just based upon the info I gathered.