The hardest thing I faced as a new immigrant in Canada

Sandeep
Sandeep
Nov 7 · 3 min read
Photo by Andre Furtado from Pexels

The hardest thing I have ever had to do was find a house. My situation is rather unique. My wife and I, moved to Toronto in April, without any job, and a 15 month old Doberman. We spent almost a month moving from locality to locality, seeking landlords and building managers, being turned down for lack of credit / no employment letter. We initially booked an AirBnB for 15 days, extended it for another 15 days, and finally gave up.

We ended up looking for basements and finally moved to an older house that is on the verge of rennovation. We are sharing our kitchen space with three other bachelors who stay on the first floor, the house gets super hot in summers. For people looking forward to a Canadian dream, living like this can be annoying.

Its shocking that no one tells you this before you arrive, but looking for a good place to live, without a job, in Toronto city, is next to impossible. Here are some things to keep in mind from an accommodation perspective:


Don’t move with your family

Let the primary applicant move first. You can share a room with bachelors, save heaps of money. You can rest assured that your family back home is managing well, and have the support of friends and family. You can direct your entire energy on finding a job instead. Once you find a job, look for a house, and then have your family come over. This is the most painless way of migrating.

Searching for accommodation

Set aside 1.5 – 2 months to look for a great accommodation. Most of the time, good apartments are available at least 1.5 months ahead in time. Which means, you need to plan early. Scope out good areas by speaking to friends, and zero in on these locations in Kijiji or other related sites. The best locations hardly ever remain vacant for more than a day.

What to look for in a new house

Most of the time, new immigrants are more concerned about rent and accessibility alone. Please also consider,

  • Parking charges – you may eventually buy/lease a car for the winter.
  • Apartment vs Condo – Do a pros/cons analysis between the two
  • Additional charges (if any) for key fobs, security deposit, etc.
  • Storage space
  • Laundry (en-suite or basement)

Don’t jump the gun

Take your time, and scout your target neighbourhood patiently. Its more important to live closer to your place of work, than to live in a great apartment 1.5 – 2 hours away. All that time lost in travelling, could be used better with family or entertainment. If you are taking an entry level job, look for temporary accommodations.

Look outside of Toronto City

Depending on your industry, it could make sense to look for accommodation closer to your where your target companies are situated. For example, supply chain companies are largely based out of Mississauga and Brampton. So plan accordingly.

Plan your finances

Remember that finding an apartment or house, will involve you paying first and last month rent. This could set you back by at least CAD 3000 – 4000. Its important to keep this buffer while looking for a house. Something that new immigrants aren’t aware of.

A word of advice on pets

To us, our dog is family. We could not migrate without her. But if you aren’t as attached to your pet, consider re-homing them instead. It will save you a lot of money in travel, and make it easier to find accommodations. Also, most of the dogs here are super well behaved. If your dog is rowdy, then be prepared for a long embarrassing decade, unless you seek a professional trainer.

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