Moving to Canada (Toronto)

Hey gang, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted on the board. I’ve recently been offered a job opportunity in Toronto, which would have my family moving from Texas to the great north. I’ve worked in Toronto off an on over the years, but don’t know the first thing about living there. My wife and I are thinking we’d like to do something more urban this time around - any suggestions on great neighborhoods with good schools (we have kids age 12 and 8) closer to the city would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hi Scott. Where are you coming from in Texas and where have you stayed while here previously?
Will you buy, lease or rent? Have very good friends that are husband/wife realtors in Toronto (live there and have 2 boys, 15 & 13) so they know location, schools etc.

We’re in the burbs, but love many T.O. neighbourhoods, but wouldn’t presume to make suggestions. I must admit I hate driving in Toronto these days. Being close to transit is a must, unless you Uber it everywhere.

We would be moving from the burbs of Dallas. We’re in an oversized home now and like the idea of scaling back on the square feet. Not sure if we will buy or lease - I’ll have to deal with capital gains if I don’t reinvest when we sell our Texas home, so we’ll see. I’d even like to move down to just one vehicle, if I could take the train or bus to work.

P.S. I’d also be interested in any views on the Toronto real estate market and if it’s due for a correction. I keep reading that prices continue to soar…

Never took you as a Hillary guy.

If you’re working right downtown, transit is easy & efficient enough via TTC (subway/streetcars) or GO transit (train service to/from burbs). Quite common in the city to have only 1 vehicle since driveways are rare in many of the more desired family neighbourhoods, so street parking is common and therefore 1 is better than 2+. As many of our friends will admit, they only need a car to leave the city itself.

Send me a PM if you want a name for assistance. Not that you know me from Adam, but it wouldn’t be totally cold at least.

Haha, good one!

Thanks, will do.

Yeah, prices are pretty crazy. Don’t see it as a bubble though. Regulations continue to become more strict on lenders and borrowers.
Maybe more risk in the condo market, but from what I understand, some of that has already been factored into current market pricing/ fees.

The wine buying sucks BUT you won’t have to put up with Trump so you come out ahead.

Unless you have a lot of money put away be prepared to be house poor. I hope they are offering you a huge salary increase.

Me too. I’m waiting on the offer…fingers crossed. $500 per square foot is steep!

PM Sent

Scott, probably worth talking to your tax advisor.

You only pay capital gains on anything over $250K single or $500K joint in profit. If you made more than $500K on your house you’d gladly pay tax on the amount over that exemption.

BTW, if you plan on moving your wine up here, note that you can apply for a one-time exemption to bring your cellar with you and not have to pay ridiculous taxes to the provincial government.

Moving from the Dallas burbs to Toronto, you will find the price of real estate shocking no matter whether you live close in or out in the burbs like Richmond Hill and elsewhere or whether you rent or buy. You will also find almost everything is more expensive not the least of which is the wine. In Ontario, as Jay will tell you, all wine comes from the LCBO. Personally, I have found the Summerhill location to have the widest selection but Jay (J. D’Antonio) knows best. Iron Gate is one of the larger off-site storage places in the Toronto area but Jay will know others.

We have old friends that made the move from Dallas to Toronto. They now live in Richmond Hill. We have visited them several times and have been shocked by the prices of almost everything. Your job opportunity will have to pay you a lot more money for you to even come close to your standard of living in the Dallas burbs.

Good luck eh!

We moved here in August from Wisconsin, chose to live closer in, and are happy with that decision. We have three kids, two of whom are in GTA schools.

Drop me a PM and I’d be happy to chat neighborhoods. I don’t know as much as others here as to long term history, but I can speak to current conditions: I did a fair amount of research and we looked at I don’t even know how many properties, though we didn’t look on the eastern third of the city at all. We are leasing, coming from Wisconsin, buying simply wasn’t a good idea right away. The long term rental market is pretty robust though.

I brought as much of my wine as I could fit in our much smaller space, and wish I would have brought the whole lot and put it in storage. LCBOs are not without some good finds – and while I’ve never been down to Queens Quay store, Summerhill is a ton of fun. Anyway, if you consider the size of Toronto, the lack of a more competitive and comprehensive market is frustrating. If one of the veterans here has a way to back-fill, I’m all ears.

Brass tacks: welcome – when you get here anyway. We love it.

Tim, thanks for the note and offer to discuss neighborhoods. I’ll definitely reach out to you to discuss.

Since a few have mentioned it I’ll chime back in briefly.

The LCBO is the only retail game in town, but it’s certainly not the route to go if your cellar has any focus or consistency.
Many regions will look absurd vs. US prices, but some still look very competitive vs. the three tier system.

Every time I return from the gym, I pass a kitchen furnishings store on Bay St. called “Binns.” The sign/font is both obscured at the end, and strikingly similar to Chicago’s “Binny’s.” In time all wounds heal, but still, every time, my eyes widen a bit, before my heart breaks a bit.

Ok. That was over-dramatic. Cheers.