Toronto Neighborhoods - WHERE DO I GO ?

[qorax]

Mr. Qorax are they the same what we call them studio flats in europe. and also are they called "finished" or "furnished"

thanks

1. No. There r indep studios here as well -- usually apartments - in a condo [mostly] or a house [rare].
2. The term here is 'Finished Basement'*.

Qorax
*Most houses have a basement - a walled dug-out... as handed-over by the developer. Some keep it as it is - for storage purposes... others go ahead & create a complete dwelling unit in it - thus, called "Finished".

 

[weddingtonite]

1. No. There r indep studios here as well -- usually apartments - in a condo [mostly] or a house [rare].
2. The term here is 'Finished Basement'*.

Qorax
*Most houses have a basement - a walled dug-out... as handed-over by the developer. Some keep it as it is - for storage purposes... others go ahead & create a complete dwelling unit in it - thus, called "Finished".

thanks much sir.

 

[upp942]

Yes, ppl who rent-out basements would usually have a 'finished' one [that's how they call it here] -- means: An independent unit, with w/room & kitchenette... compact they'd be for sure.

Qorax

Thanks!

 

[ucan]

Hi Qorax,
Indeed, great post as usual and comes very handy in my case, as I'm landing mid April.
I just have a couple of questions that you probably (and some others around) could be able to help with:
-Some apartment buildings, as showed in internet, may not have immediate availability. Can I book an appointment before making landing (to gain some time advantage)?
-What is the reasonable time that it can take from landing to actually moving to the rental place? This is to plan for the short-term accommodation in a realistically. Not sure how long landlords may take to process rental applications.

Thanks, and again, great post!

 

[qorax]

Flight Times from [some] Major Cities to Toronto:

Atlanta, GA .................. 2 hrs, 20 min
Boston, MA .................. 1 hr, 30 min
Buffalo, NY .................. 55 min
Calgary, AB ............... 4 hrs
Chicago, IL .................. 1 hr, 30 min
Cleveland, OH .............. 1 hr, 10 min
Dallas, TX .................... 3 hrs, 25 min
Detroit, MI ................... 40 min
Dubai, AE .................... 14 hrs [non-stop, by Emirates]
Frankfurt, Germany ....... 7 hrs, 25 min
Halifax, NS .................. 2 hrs
Hong Kong, China ....... 16 hrs, 30 min
London, England ........... 7 hrs
Los Angeles, CA ........... 5 hrs, 20 min
Miami, FL .................... 3 hrs
Minneapolis, MN ........... 2 hrs, 10 min
Montreal, QC ............... 1 hr, 10 min
New York, NY .............. 1 hr, 30 min
Osaka, Japan .............. 13 hrs, 10 min
Ottawa, ON ................. 1 hr
Paris, France ............... 7 hrs, 25 min
Philadelphia, PA ........... 1 hr, 30 min
Pittsburgh, PA ............. 1 hr
San Francisco, CA ........ 5 hrs, 20 min
Vancouver, BC ............. 5 hrs, 10 min
Washington, DC ........... 1 hr, 30 min
Winnipeg, MB .............. 2 hrs, 30 min

Qorax

 

[people]

Hi Qorax,

Captain please post some info regarding getting settled and places to live in Calgary.

Thanks very much

 

[qorax]

Hi Qorax,

Captain please post some info regarding getting settled and places to live in Calgary.

Thanks very much

Brother,

I avoid posting on it 'coz I never lived there. I wish someone else could take that task...

Qorax

 

[qorax]

By Road [distance] to Toronto

Several highways, including Highways 2, 401, 407 and the QEW [Queen Elizabeth Way], link surrounding cities to Toronto. Nearest Canada-U.S. border crossings are at 1Niagara Falls, 2Fort Erie and 3Windsor.

Within Canada :
From ....................... Kilometers ... Miles
Kingston .................. 266 ............. 165
Montreal .................. 545 ............. 338
Niagara Falls ............ 288 ............. 179
North Bay ................ 346 ............. 215
Ottawa .................... 453 ............. 281
Quebec City ............. 79 ............... 491
Windsor .................. 378 .............. 234

From the U.S. :
From ...................... Kilometres ... Miles
Atlantic City, NJ ....... 912 ............. 567
Boston, MA ............. 906 ............. 566
Buffalo, NY ............. 154 ............. 96
Chicago, IL ............. 854 ............. 534
Cincinnati, OH ......... 802 ............. 501
Cleveland, OH ......... 476 ............. 297
Detroit, MI ............. 378 .............. 236
New York, NY ......... 851 .............. 529
Philadelphia, PA ...... 813 .............. 508
Pittsburgh, PA ......... 518 ............. 324
Rochester, NY ......... 274 ............. 171
Syracuse, NY .......... 390 ............. 244
Washington, DC ....... 832 ............. 517

Qorax

 

[qorax]

Scar[e]borough ?
-better be avoided unless u have no other choice...

1. The largest neighborhood of Toronto,
2. Older developments - aged housing,
3. Congested streets - parking headaches,
4. The only neighborhood which has 3 divisions (Stns) of Toronto Police [take the hint!],
5. In 2009, the largest predawn operation [in Canadian History] fetched 84 criminals here, many hardened ones!
6. Quite a few gangs operate here (but ordinary folks aren't affected much),
7. The Bikers' Gang r a menace,
8. Closer to U of T,
9. Some pockets r good, especially the North - nearer to 401(Expressway),
10. Few locations have multi-million$$$ homes [Bayview],
11. Locations bordering Pickering r far from Toronto-Downtown, but nice/newer developments there,
12. Some areas have cheaper housing, but also the menace that comes with it,
13. Locations closer to DVP r Ok - advisable to reside for newcomers,
14. Kennedy Street is a safe bet for residential purposes,
15. If it has to be Scarborough - nothing much wrong with it,
16. If Scarborough is not a must - Avoid.
17. If u have friends/relatives there - go ahead.
18. North York (similar distance from Toronto-Downtown) is a better place,
19. So would be the suburbs of Mississauga, Brampton & Markham (closest to Downtown).
20. Oh, every day there is@least one [1] fatal shooting here [if that's a/ny point to be considered!!!].

Think about it !
Qorax

Ps.: No hard feelings to anyone - it's just a personal opinion - & I could be wrong.

 

[goodwill]

Dear Qorax.
Thanks for the information.
Can u please tell me about Thorncliff area.
Is it crowded and congested?
what about the schools in this area?
Some one suggested me to live there.
Thanks a lot

 

[bugsnette]

Dear Qorax,

Is basement safe for a lady staying alone? or should i take unit in a bldg for the meantime till my husband joins me...

Regards,

Yes, ppl who rent-out basements would usually have a 'finished' one [that's how they call it here] -- means: An independent unit, with w/room & kitchenette... compact they'd be for sure.

Qorax

 

[qorax]

Dear Qorax.
Thanks for the information.
Can u please tell me about Thorncliff area.
Is it crowded and congested?
what about the schools in this area?
Some one suggested me to live there.
Thanks a lot

Thorncliffe Park Neighborhood



Typical Apartment Bldg. in Thorncliffe Park


Thorncliffe residents at a community meet


Thorncliffe residents at a community event



1. Thorncliffe Park is predominantly a muslim neighborhood, which gives it a distinct ethnicity.
2. South Asians constitute 63.5% of its population, mostly from Pakistan, India & Bangladesh.
3. 28% of its residents speak a language other than English/French at home, with the most frequent being Urdu/Hindi, Gujarati and Bengali.
4. Immigrants constitute 66% of the population of this community, with recent immigrants constituting 87%.
5. The neighborhood is chiefly of 34 high-rise and low-rise apartment buildings grouped in and around an oval park.
6. Thorncliffe Park was originally designed for 12,500 residents, but now houses 30,000 in a 2.2 Sq-Km area.
7. Thus undoubtedly, it is a highly congested & overcrowded neighborhood.
8. Half of the area's residents live below LICO [low-income cut-off] according to StatsCan [which is 3 times higher than the avg for other Toronto neighbourhoods].
9. Meaning? -basically a poorer neighborhood of toronto [thus, its ills & twitches come with it!]
10. Residents usually feel safe in this area, but reported to have concerns at night & walking the by-lanes alone.
11. There r enough schools, both elementary & secondary, though crowded.
12. It is however, well connected by TTC.
13. An UofT study casts serious doubts about this neighborhoods sustainability [read below].
14. Should I reside there? -in my opinion - No, unless its ethnicity beckons u.
15. Do many newcomers go there? - Yes, for sure...

References:
a) http://accessalliance.ca/sites/accessalliance/files/documents/ThorncliffeParkProfiles.pdf
b) http://www.canadianimmigrant.ca/learn/newsitems/article/6265
c) http://www.homefinder.ca/demographics/3683
d) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorncliffe_Park

With no malice towards one & all...
Qorax

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Toronto neighbourhood faces crowding and poverty
MIHO TAKAYA
http://www.canadianimmigrant.ca/learn/newsitems/article/6265

The new study out of the UofT is highlighting changes in the Toronto's Thorncliffe Park neighbourhood, which is heavily populated with immigrants. Findings have shown that between 2001 and 2006, the Thorncliffe Park community has grown into one of the most populated immigrant neighbourhoods, where the increase of crowding and poverty is severely causing stress and ethnic tensions among its residents.

Additionally, each household has 1.4 bedrooms, on average, compared to 2.7 bedrooms in other areas across the city, but twice as many people sleeping in a bedroom as in the average Toronto household.

The report also predicts that if the population and household numbers continue to grow at the same rate in Thorncliffe Park, residents will not be able to access critical support programs and services, which will prevent them from integrating into Canadian society successfully.

 

[goodwill]

Thanks a lot dear Qorax for bothering and replying in detail .It was such a thought provoking and enlightning information for us.
You reply in such a compact and conclusive manner which we could not be able to find in a painstaking and time consuming net search alone.
THANKS.

 

[qorax]

Thanks a lot dear Qorax for bothering and replying in detail .It was such a thought provoking and enlightning information for us.
You reply in such a compact and conclusive manner which we could not be able to find in a painstaking and time consuming net search alone.
THANKS.

My pleasure...

 

[drushadevi]

hello