EMO said:
Thanks brother or sister for the info. There alot to draw from it. Amongst which are
1. Getting one's car ASAP ( I will like to add that we need not spend fortune to land the first car. Know the terrain first)
2. Sorting out the License issue ASAP (May be we need to ask FRSC to ascertain the authenticity of the one's we have at the moment)
3. Get a host or one who willing to show us round and mentor us. Abeere ona kii si na ( one who ask for direction never struggle to find his/her path)
4. Naija MasterCard don mess me up before o? what are the charges attached to every transaction? What of VISA debit card?
CFAdoc experience will be very different from that of others, pretty surprising to read his condemnation of the transport system; I seriously disagree! GTA's public transport is one of the best around and I say this bodly. You actually live cheaper with the buses, train, etc as long as you get the schedule right.
Yes, you need a car if you are stuck with Nigerian way of doing things, and I don't mean this in a negative way but it does come at a great cost. I thought CFAdoc was going to include vehicle insurance cost in GTA to balance the discuss. By all means, people should get a car once they can afford it but only after proper due diligence. I believe there is a cost to own vehicle information all over the web in Canada to aid this decision.
Yes, find a host if possible but you will still be ok if you can't find one. It is 2012 and everything is on the web, land with your laptop and stay in a good accommodation with free wifi (I used an hotel with free breakfast, free local calls and free wifi for about $55/night for about 10 nights). I placed an ad on kijiji to rent an apartment and ended up with a nice Italian realtor and the rest is history. You may even do better than most of us..on the other hand, your host may be a big disadvantage except he/she is your close relative or friends with an open mind. You will make great friends from the church, mosque, community centers and these will be very helpful in your quest for integration.
Bottom line is to be open, take each day as it comes and make a lemonade if life throws lemon at you.
GTB mastercard is good but a very big rip off with the exchange rate and N1,000 ATM charges for every withdrawal. It gets worse if the bank ATM wont let you take more than $600 at a time. Hold the card but only for emergencies, better to carry maximum cash allowed ($10,000 per person or so).
All the best folks..