What to do during 15 days soft landing in Toronto?

[geranimo]

Dear Friends

As days of landing are getting closer, we are getting keen to spend good time in Toronto. We will be landing in July 2019 for 15 days (both me and my wife hectic doesn't allow to spend more than 15 days, especially when we want to land temporarily after year).

From cursory glance over some of the posts, I observed that we need to do the following after landing:

1. To apply for SIN Card
2. To apply for PR Card (which will be done at Airport and immigration officer will do it for us)
3. To open bank account.
4. To write driving license.

Please let me know if I need to do and complete any other work/task. This bring me down to a question, what we will be doing in those 15 days. I plan to be visiting different Toronto attraction especially related to kids:

1. Ripley Aquarium
2. Toronto Zoo
3. Canada Wonderland Amusement Park
4. Niagra Falls
5. LegoLand Discovery Centre

Please advise for any additional places to visit within Toronto? I would appreciate if you can advise how to utilise these 15 days? I thought about networking but 15 days are too short plus i will come back for permanent landing? To be honest I am not sure therefore thought of spending in visiting different places. Please let me know what was your experience and how can I plan my visit better?

Thank in advance for your prompt reply.

 

[Bs65]

Others can comment as well but obviously no time to network but assuming you are renting a car then spend some of the time driving around a selective few neighborhoods see what the areas are like for living and if you have kids schools. Start out in advance with some research before as much as you can with a list of potentials as opposed to waiting until you get to Canada given GTA is pretty spread out and traffic can of course be an issue so no time to waste stuck in a jam..

Great that you have a list of tourist stuff but those attractions will always be there when you move and no longer just a visitor and should not be the priority in my view anyway just time fillers on a soft landing.

If insisting on Ripleys then of course do the CN tower to get a view of the GTA and if you really have that much time take the ferry across to the island.

 

[zardoz]

Dear Friends

As days of landing are getting closer, we are getting keen to spend good time in Toronto. We will be landing in July 2019 for 15 days (both me and my wife hectic doesn't allow to spend more than 15 days, especially when we want to land temporarily after year).

From cursory glance over some of the posts, I observed that we need to do the following after landing:

1. To apply for SIN Card
2. To apply for PR Card (which will be done at Airport and immigration officer will do it for us)
3. To open bank account.
4. To write driving license.

Please let me know if I need to do and complete any other work/task. This bring me down to a question, what we will be doing in those 15 days. I plan to be visiting different Toronto attraction especially related to kids:

1. Ripley Aquarium
2. Toronto Zoo
3. Canada Wonderland Amusement Park
4. Niagra Falls
5. LegoLand Discovery Centre

Please advise for any additional places to visit within Toronto? I would appreciate if you can advise how to utilise these 15 days? I thought about networking but 15 days are too short plus i will come back for permanent landing? To be honest I am not sure therefore thought of spending in visiting different places. Please let me know what was your experience and how can I plan my visit better?

Thank in advance for your prompt reply.

What's the point in the driving test if you are not going to be residing in Ontario permanently after landing? You will need a valid residential/mailing address for the licence.

 

[geranimo]

Dear Bs65 ; Dear zardoz

Thank you for your prompt reply much appreciated.

Honestly, we were not sure how to spend the time more efficiently therefore thought to take kids to some interesting places. We understand that ultimately we need to land in Toronto on permanent basis and we can see these locations later when we come for permanent basis. One of the reason of posting this query is to still find appropriate answer from people with some experience. We have many friends and relative in Toronto but as we will have effectively only two weekends to visit them (We are feeling shy and inappropriate to ask them for informal meeting on weekdays) we can use weekdays to visit some selected places.

As far as driving is concerned we will be coming with International Driving License and We heard that it will be valid for 3 months. We also been informed that we can take written driving exam with COPR / immigration paper and thus would not require PR card. May be my understanding is incorrect but if possible we want to drive and follow the advise of Bs65.

On different note, we have already cherry picked some of the locations for our eventual settlement in Toronto using google map, getting feedback from friends and also filtering schools (We looked at ranking and trust that it is reflective of schooling). Ideally, when we go back to Toronto, we want to rent in location with top school ranking and understand that we have to bear relatively expensive rent (We are relocating because of our kids education and will do at any length to get them good exposure). Anyways, we will see this once we go back to Toronto.

For this visit, we would be just wandering around and will follow advise of experience people like you. So requesting to help me in planning that makes some sense for a family with our circumstances.

Cheers in advance for your reply.

 

[zardoz]

Dear Bs65 ; Dear zardoz

Thank you for your prompt reply much appreciated.

Honestly, we were not sure how to spend the time more efficiently therefore thought to take kids to some interesting places. We understand that ultimately we need to land in Toronto on permanent basis and we can see these locations later when we come for permanent basis. One of the reason of posting this query is to still find appropriate answer from people with some experience. We have many friends and relative in Toronto but as we will have effectively only two weekends to visit them (We are feeling shy and inappropriate to ask them for informal meeting on weekdays) we can use weekdays to visit some selected places.

As far as driving is concerned we will be coming with International Driving License and We heard that it will be valid for 3 months. We also been informed that we can take written driving exam with COPR / immigration paper and thus would not require PR card. May be my understanding is incorrect but if possible we want to drive and follow the advise of Bs65.

On different note, we have already cherry picked some of the locations for our eventual settlement in Toronto using google map, getting feedback from friends and also filtering schools (We looked at ranking and trust that it is reflective of schooling). Ideally, when we go back to Toronto, we want to rent in location with top school ranking and understand that we have to bear relatively expensive rent (We are relocating because of our kids education and will do at any length to get them good exposure). Anyways, we will see this once we go back to Toronto.

For this visit, we would be just wandering around and will follow advise of experience people like you. So requesting to help me in planning that makes some sense for a family with our circumstances.

Cheers in advance for your reply.

For a 15 day "soft landing" your home country licence + IDL is all you need to have to rent and drive.
There is no benefit in entering the Ontario licencing system until you are permanently resident.

If you are looking at places to live, here's a bit of unusual advice. Don't consider what a place looks like on a nice sunny day.
Imagine what it will look like when there is thick snow on the ground and it's - 20°C. Consider how you and your family will travel to wherever you need to go. It may make a difference in your planning.

 

[geranimo]

Zardoz

Thanks for your tip about selection of residence.....will consider it when time comes.

 

[21Goose]

Dear Friends

As days of landing are getting closer, we are getting keen to spend good time in Toronto. We will be landing in July 2019 for 15 days (both me and my wife hectic doesn't allow to spend more than 15 days, especially when we want to land temporarily after year).

From cursory glance over some of the posts, I observed that we need to do the following after landing:

1. To apply for SIN Card
2. To apply for PR Card (which will be done at Airport and immigration officer will do it for us)
3. To open bank account.
4. To write driving license.

Please let me know if I need to do and complete any other work/task. This bring me down to a question, what we will be doing in those 15 days. I plan to be visiting different Toronto attraction especially related to kids:

1. Ripley Aquarium
2. Toronto Zoo
3. Canada Wonderland Amusement Park
4. Niagra Falls
5. LegoLand Discovery Centre

Please advise for any additional places to visit within Toronto? I would appreciate if you can advise how to utilise these 15 days? I thought about networking but 15 days are too short plus i will come back for permanent landing? To be honest I am not sure therefore thought of spending in visiting different places. Please let me know what was your experience and how can I plan my visit better?

Thank in advance for your prompt reply.

15 days is a long time. Your SIN and bank account will be done in one day. As others have said, you should get a feel for the city (keeping in mind that you're seeing Toronto at its best in June).

If you have youngish kids you could just treat it as a vacation as well since they may not quite appreciate tramping around random neighbourhoods.

If you're comfortable driving on North American highways, you could consider a road trip to Montreal as well. It's about 6-7 hours and the drive should be pretty this time of year.

 

[canuck78]

Would also consider looking around at various neighbourhoods and even seeing what type of rentals your money will get you. In Canada there isn’t a huge difference in the quality of education in the top 30-50% of schools and the rankings are pretty subjective. There are some areas that have been gentrified in the past 10-15 years. For example schools in Leslieville likely have a pretty low ranking but am sure they changing dramatically due to the influx of young families who are often highly educated with good salaries. The biggest influence on your child’s education is their teacher and whether their are some demanding children in the classroom that are using a lot of the teacher’s time and energy. There are many things that go into your child’s development. If you have identified what you consider as the top school but you and your wife must commute 4 hours a day your child may actually suffer more because your home life is under stress, the whole family is tired and you don’t have time to help them do homework or their schedules aren’t good because the family gets home so late. Your child may thrive if they have their own space at home and a better quality home which may only be affordable in certain school districts.

In terms of things to do. Was under the impression that you will have to give up your home country driver’s license if you want your Ontario version. Would suggest against opening a bank account or if you do open one and only transfer the minimum amount to keep the account open. You want to keep minimal attachments to Canada for tax reasons. I also wouldn’t feel bad for contacting friends and family on the weekend. They can say no if they are busy but you may be able to meet for dinner or relax in the park or their backyard. People tend to stay out longer in the summer.

In terms of things to do with kids there are the normal things like the CN tower, zoo, can tower, aquarium, etc. Would suggest the science centre as a good museum for kids especially if it is hot or rainy but is often busy. Kids may enjoy the ROM and believe the AGO is free for children but all depends on your children. Would suggest checking out some of the nature or parks in the city. Depending on the age of your children things like Riverdale farms or High park zoo may be a perfect little outing. High park is also a nice place to enjoy.

 

[canuck78]

Just realized your wife is a physician. I hope your wife has realized that practicing medicine in Canada is very unlikely. There are almost no leftover residency spots for IMGs to redo their residencies and even Canadian medical graduates are struggling to get jobs in Canada. Although there is a shortage of doctors or medical services this is a budget issue that is unlikely to change no matter how many potential physicians are available.

 

[geranimo]

Dear Canuck78

Many many thanks for detailed reply. Will try to follow your advise in particular regarding schooling and things to do.

In regards to my wife chances of getting job in medicine, we would still try as our circumstances are not allowing us to continue in current life pattern. I cannot write here as it is long and personal story.