21 Realisations That Happen Shortly After You Move To Toronto

We were originally going to include these tips for when you move to Toronto in our main moving to Toronto guide but felt they would be better placed in their own article.

This was a mixture of feedback from Brits in Toronto and Irish in Toronto Facebook groups.

You can read the larger posts about moving to Toronto here.

These range from tips for moving to Toronto to realisations that you have after living here for some time.

If you haven’t moved to Toronto yet some of these might not make sense(yet haha). Join our new moving to Toronto group here.

21 Realisations that happen after you move to Toronto

For the ladies, stock up on face wipes and tights before arriving.
Greetings cards are not remotely funny…even the supposed “funny” ones.
Nobody dresses up for a night out!
Queue’ is a ‘line’ or ‘line up’
No such thing as a cheap second-hand car, especially dealerships. And they don’t do MOT here, so you need to make sure it is not rusty and is actually roadworthy etc.
Another thing as well is the humour here. It really is THAT different. I went to second city and spent the whole 2 hours wondering why the crap warm-up act was still on.
People that live here generally don’t make an effort to meet up outside of the office or somewhere that isn’t convenient for them. Filled with excuses not having time to do stuff.
The word “spontaneous” does not exist here. Everything must be planned. No such thing as calling up a friend and saying “how about a pint after work”?
If it is not planned a week ahead, it is not happening. Basically, people like to fill their calendar for the sake of “being busy” when the moment comes.
The tax oh why is there so much tax!
They still use cheques and why is the milk in a bag?
Etransfers are very handy – in Canada, you can send money to someone from your Canadian bank just by using their email address on your online banking. If you are sending money to Canada be sure to read our money transfer guide.
It’s freaking cold in winter. Like REALLY cold. Winter lasts 6 months
Car insurance costs are through the roof. Bring your insurance history
Mobile phone bills with low data and it is bloody expensive
Travel as much as you can before you start working.
It’s also acceptable to undertake while driving.
Why do places take till like 11 pm to get going and close so early?
Recruiters here are so so slow. They expect you to chase them, which is so the opposite of Ireland and England.
Don’t piss up an alleyway and get arrested(it happens!)
Be open to working temp roles or even jobs like bar work, serving, retail to keep you earning money.