Opinions from those already landed in Toronto

[IndiJones]

Hi! I would like to hear your opinions on a few things if you don't mind. I'm planning to settle in Toronto for good next spring.

1) Is there a health insurance for the 1st 3 months after landing that covers pregnancy including the birth and ceaserian if required?

2) Where can I find the best deal for telephone, cable tv, internet and mobile phones? Is it possible to have all them in a single package and have some discounts? How fast is the internet?

3) Is it possible to get real estate information (buy/sell) in Canada online as Zillow.com is doing in the U.S. (I'm living in Japan, not in U.S)? How can I search for a good deal to buy a house? And what's a comparatively better place to buy a house in Canada in your opinion?

Thanks in advance!

 

[PMM]

Hi

Hi! I would like to hear your opinions on a few things if you don't mind. I'm planning to settle in Toronto for good next spring.

1) Is there a health insurance for the 1st 3 months after landing that covers pregnancy including the birth and ceaserian if required?

No, private insurance will not cover exsisting conditions, and pregnancy is considered exsisting condition.


2) Where can I find the best deal for telephone, cable tv, internet and mobile phones? Is it possible to have all them in a single package and have some discounts? How fast is the internet?

Yes, you shop around for packages, how fast do you want,and how much you want to pay, up to 10mbps.

3) Is it possible to get real estate information (buy/sell) in Canada online as Zillow.com is doing in the U.S. (I'm living in Japan, not in U.S)? How can I search for a good deal to buy a house? And what's a comparatively better place to buy a house in Canada in your opinion?

See MLS.ca, it lists all the home on the Multiple listing services.

Thanks in advance!

PMM

 

[rgl]

Hi! I would like to hear your opinions on a few things if you don't mind. I'm planning to settle in Toronto for good next spring.

1) Is there a health insurance for the 1st 3 months after landing that covers pregnancy including the birth and ceaserian if required?

2) Where can I find the best deal for telephone, cable tv, internet and mobile phones? Is it possible to have all them in a single package and have some discounts? How fast is the internet?

3) Is it possible to get real estate information (buy/sell) in Canada online as Zillow.com is doing in the U.S. (I'm living in Japan, not in U.S)? How can I search for a good deal to buy a house? And what's a comparatively better place to buy a house in Canada in your opinion?

Thanks in advance!

1) Check out this link:

http://www.settlement.org/sys/library_detail.asp?doc_id=1003775

I haven't used any of these services, so your mileage may vary. (During my 3 month waiting period I was under UHIP, when I was still a university student.)

2) The easiest (although not necessary the cheapest) is probably Rogers (www.rogers.com). My building covers basic cable, and I have home phone, cable tv, cable Internet with them, while getting a bundled discount. When you get more familiar with the various companies then feel free to shop around or experiment.

3) Depending on how many people coming with you; if it's just yourself, my suggestion is start by renting small apartment, get a job, then find a neighbourhood that suitable for you (eg. next to shopping malls vs. quiet neighbourhood, next to subway/GO Train stations, etc). As interest rates was low in the past years, many people moved out of rental units and buy their own place; as a result there are many apartment vacancies (at least in Mississauga). There are lots of new condo buildings in Mississauga too, but they are not cheap (although compared to Hong Kong housing prices, even the newest condo units in Mississauga is a bargain )

 

[vrccan]

Rogers and Bell are the two major bundle providers in the GTA, and they both offer a TV/internet/cell phone solution - you can find out from their individual websites what the fees are (they both have multiple bundle options) and decide what fits into your budget best.

As to the real estate question, there are scores of websites that have information about dwellings for rent/sale in the GTA - just do a search on www.google.com for something like "Toronto rent" or similar, and you should be able to find a bunch of websites.


Hope that helps.

 

[tsandeepreddy.mkg]

Hi ,

Can anyone reply me on the climate of Toronto.How is the cost of living there

Rgds,
Sandeep

 

[frotenacs]

Go to weathernetwork.com and see yourself the current weather. Spring/Summer is the best, a few days of summer sometimes become really hot and humid. Toronto is too big a city to comment anything on the cost of living. It depends on the neighborhood.