Gotta Move.

[d0thedoo 100]

Any words of advise?

 

I'm a server in a very seasonal area and need a more stable income. Both Ottawa and London were recommended to me, and I've checked out Barrie, but it really doesn't matter. My priorities are a finer class restaurant (if possible) with a steady tip income, ie. Windsor or Hamilton may not cut it. It's got to be in Ontario. Rent has to be cheap, like $600+ for a 1bed apartment. I expected Ottawa to be expensive to live it, but kijiji seems to have apartments at that price point. Can you recommend areas to avoid renting in these cities or maybe somewhere else I hadn't thought of. I've got to move at the beginning of October. I'm not really interested in a long commute.

[Boomer 33202]

That's not a lot to pay for rent. if you want something decent. My son is in Toronto and he has found that sharing an apartment is an effective way of getting a reasonable place to live, and still have some cash in his pocket to spend.

 

You'll have a few bob to spend on some of the lovely ladies here.

[datyaddict 2174]

Ottawa's a good town for servers, but the beginning of summer is when the hiring gets done, so you may be out of luck. (Also, being a 2-university town, students tend to grab a lot of the parttime jobs in the fall).

 

As for rent, $600/month won't get you very far downtown, but housing _is_ way cheaper over the bridge in Hull/Gatineau...

[tepic 91]

600 may be tough in ont without a commute

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[roamingguy 300292]

600 may be tough in ont without a commute

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Tepic is right...but if you look at some small outlying towns near a city, you could get in the price range you want...for me, I'm in a small town near both a small and medium size city, my rent for a two bedroom in a low rise apt, that has parking for my truck and boat is $689.00 heat and hydro included.

If you expand your search to smaller towns outlying a city, you may strike paydirt

Good luck

RG

[d0thedoo 100]

Thanks guys. I dont mind a bit of a commute, such as from the outskirts or whatnot. I'm just not really interested in commuting from hamilton or barrie to toronto. It'd be nice to keep it to a 20-ish minute drive door to door.

[Soleil Sublime 38108]

Hey DotheDoo, I've been a server in Winnipeg and let me tell you the benefits of prairie living!

 

1.) There are more restaurants per capita, in Winnipeg, than other city in Canada.

2.) Winnipeggers like to eat out, and they tip.

3.) You could rent a 2 bedroom apartment downtown for $750 all included!

4.) Practically no matter where you work, you can walk, ride your bike or take the bus and be there in 30 minutes.

5.) Food in the grocery store is super cheap in Winnipeg.

6.) You can easily buy a little starter home for about 150,000-200,000 with only 5% down.

7.) There's lots to do, especially in the Summer.

8.) If you want to buy a car, we have the cheapest car insurance in the country.

9.) There's an IKEA coming in 2012!!!!! lol

 

I'm sure you're not even considering Winterpeg, but it definitely has its own advantages over other cities. Food for thought, at least? ;)

[Nicolette Vaughn 294340]

Work in Ottawa and rent an apartment on the Gatineau side which is way cheaper than in Ontario, Your apartment could literally be minutes away from the downtown core where there are plenty of fine dining restaurants. That is what I used to do when I was 18-19 years old.

[tepic 91]

You forgot the new hockey team soleil :p

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[Kyra.Graves 23779]

Thanks guys. I dont mind a bit of a commute, such as from the outskirts or whatnot. I'm just not really interested in commuting from hamilton or barrie to toronto. It'd be nice to keep it to a 20-ish minute drive door to door.

 

In Toronto 20min commutes will often get you from one side of downtown to the other, even in off hours the traffic can be difficult but if you moved to the city you likely wouldn't drive to work and back.

 

As others have mentioned many of the positions will already be filled but if you have a solid resume you should be able to find something.

I understand the idea of wanting to keep your rent low but you might wish to consider what your income will be in a potential area as well, for example in Toronto a fine dining restaurant will provide a much larger income than in a smaller city and Toronto also has more opportunities so if one place doesn't work out you have options rather than having to move again. The downside in a city like that is the rent is much higher and the competition for the good jobs can be stiff. I know many people that clear $200+ a night in tips at top restaurants which can easily allow you to pay higher rent and still save money but if you lose your job for whatever reason you may find yourself in a tough spot.

 

If you are looking for true fine dining in a smaller city I'd look towards Niagara Falls/Niagara on the Lake as the wineries have restaurants that can be busy year round. Also you could apply at someplace like Langdon Hall in Cambridge and as a backup there are a number of restaurants in Kitchener/Waterloo that would also be good options.

[Old Dog 179138]

Hey DotheDoo, I've been a server in Winnipeg and let me tell you the benefits of prairie living!

 

1.) There are more restaurants per capita, in Winnipeg, than other city in Canada.

2.) Winnipeggers like to eat out, and they tip.

3.) You could rent a 2 bedroom apartment downtown for $750 all included!

4.) Practically no matter where you work, you can walk, ride your bike or take the bus and be there in 30 minutes.

5.) Food in the grocery store is super cheap in Winnipeg.

6.) You can easily buy a little starter home for about 150,000-200,000 with only 5% down.

7.) There's lots to do, especially in the Summer.

8.) If you want to buy a car, we have the cheapest car insurance in the country.

9.) There's an IKEA coming in 2012!!!!! lol

 

I'm sure you're not even considering Winterpeg, but it definitely has its own advantages over other cities. Food for thought, at least? ;)

 

1. You can fly a kite forever at Portage and Main.

2. It's not Moose Jaw.

3. People walk around naked, all the time.

4. Because of (3) your laundry bills are negligible.

5. You can see Calgary from your backyard.

6. If you pretend you are Arnold Schwarzenegger, it's fun to say, "Winn-i-peg, Man-i-to-ba."

7. You can laugh at the irony that Winnipeg is neither near Lake Winnipeg nor Lake Winnipegosis (which is kinda funny in itself, like Winnie the Pegasus... a Disney Greek Mythology character.)

8. Winnipeg is the home to the world's largest collection of mosquito larvae.

9. Good surfing on the Red River, every spring.

10. You can skate on the Assiniboine River from October through June.

[LeeRichards 177238]

1. You can fly a kite forever at Portage and Main.

2. It's not Moose Jaw.

3. People walk around naked, all the time.

4. Because of (3) your laundry bills are negligible.

5. You can see Calgary from your backyard.

6. If you pretend you are Arnold Schwarzenegger, it's fun to say, "Winn-i-peg, Man-i-to-ba."

7. You can laugh at the irony that Winnipeg is neither near Lake Winnipeg nor Lake Winnipegosis (which is kinda funny in itself, like Winnie the Pegasus... a Disney Greek Mythology character.)

8. Winnipeg is the home to the world's largest collection of mosquito larvae.

9. Good surfing on the Red River, every spring.

10. You can skate on the Assiniboine River from October through June.

 

Bad dog !!! Bad bad Dog !!!! I suspect you are already sitting so....Lay down boy !!! I most certainly am not buying you a more than one or two drinks now !!

[d0thedoo 100]

1. You can fly a kite forever at Portage and Main.

2. It's not Moose Jaw.

3. People walk around naked, all the time.

4. Because of (3) your laundry bills are negligible.

5. You can see Calgary from your backyard.

6. If you pretend you are Arnold Schwarzenegger, it's fun to say, "Winn-i-peg, Man-i-to-ba."

7. You can laugh at the irony that Winnipeg is neither near Lake Winnipeg nor Lake Winnipegosis (which is kinda funny in itself, like Winnie the Pegasus... a Disney Greek Mythology character.)

8. Winnipeg is the home to the world's largest collection of mosquito larvae.

9. Good surfing on the Red River, every spring.

10. You can skate on the Assiniboine River from October through June.

 

bahahaha. line 6 got me! hilarious. how the hell was he a Governor?!?!

 

Soliel: Nope, cant say I've considered Winnipeg, you've made some interesting points, I was temped for a sec till I remembered the snow. I currently live in Muskoka and I've seen enough snow here thank you. :p

 

Nicolette Vaughn: That's definitely something I'm considering. There's almost too many options :p could pretty much just blindfold myself, point to a map and go... as long as I can pay the rent!

 

Kyra.Graves: I've thought about that... but I'm worried about the " if you lose your job for whatever reason you may find yourself in a tough spot" especially starting out in a new town... I dont have enough money right now for such an event.

[Soleil Sublime 38108]

Well please do keep us updated. We all wanna know where you end up!

[Old Dog 179138]

1. The Polo Park Mall was originally constructed in the 1970's entirely out of day old perogies. The Merry Mushroom Slide contained therein was said to give you a non pharmaceutical high.

2. Winnipeg is actually a Cree word meaning "Not Ontario."

3. Pine Street was renamed Valour Road in honour of the three Winnipeg natives who stayed in the city all year round in 1917.

4. Winnipeg won the Stanley Cup.... in 1896.

5. The Winnipeg Free Press is still printed by hand in black pen.

6. Winnipeg has more snow shovels per capita than any other city IN THE WORLD.

7. If you ask a Winnipegger to tattoo your name on their bum, they will.

8. Winnipeg's motto since 1972 has been "Unum Cum Virtute Multorum" meaning "One virtual multiple orgasm".

9. The University of Manitoba was incorporated in 1877 as the first university in the west. In 1880 the first graduating class had one person in it, by 2010 they had tripled that success rate.

10. In 1970 "American Woman" topped international music charts. Winnipeg rock n' rollers The Guess Who, who penned the tune, went on to become one of Canada's largest cultural exports and just a few of the many who have left Winnipeg since.

[conquistador 18487]

you should be able to find a $600+ one bedroom, but probably more a bachelor for that price in Ottawa (and not live on the outskirts)...there are some places to avoid but Ottawa in general is not that bad. I'll send you a PM on those places...good luck.

 

i don't know anything about the restaurant biz in terms of when they are hiring, so i can't help you there. I agree that the fall would be a tough time as students would be looking for work (2 universities).

[d0thedoo 100]

Hey Guys, I'm going to check out some places in T.O. what areas should I (a white guy) check out/avoid. I understand Jane/Finch is kind of rough, are there other areas as well? How big of an area around Jane/Finch; I'm sure it's more than just the intersection, but are we talking a 3 block radius or 20? Thanks.

[Kyra.Graves 23779]

Honestly there aren't any real ghettos in Toronto but if you are looking for a non-ethnic community or if that is a concern for you Toronto might not be the city for you. Avoid the community housing areas (eg. St. James Place) if you are from a small town and not comfortable in a more urban development but in general most areas are integrated into the rest of the city (eg. Regent Park was built in the middle of Cabbagetown). Toronto in general is a very safe city, as an example YTD we've had 91 shootings with victims (83 gun related incidents with no victims) and of those 91 shootings 19 people died. In just two days this year Chicago had 19 shootings (1 homicide) with most of those being separate incidents (and that isn't anywhere near the city record for weekend violence).

If you have a job you might want to look for something near to work, as a city Toronto has the longest average commute times in North America and you can spend well over 2hrs a day in commute if you don't move near your work and I'd recommend being on a subway line as well if you are looking for work downtown as you don't want to drive into the city each day as parking can be very expensive and difficult to find.

Other than that you might want to consider what is important in the neighbourhood you want to live in and then tailor your search towards that. For example if you want an artsy area Queen West near Dufferin is quite nice and there are a lot of small boutiques, restaurants and cafes in the area. If you prefer to spend your weekends outdoors, in a park or prefer trails then moving to The Beach is good, you can easily take the trip out to the bluffs or spend days off at Cherry Beach. If you think you'll be working late at night look for places on a 24hr streetcar or bus line (Yonge St., Queen St., Bloor St., etc.) and if you don't mind a bit of a commute but are looking for something inexpensive Etobicoke has some nice apartments for rent that are significantly less than in the downtown, it still has subway access which will save you money and if you stay near Bloor St. then you'll be able to take the 24hr bus if you are at work (or out) past 2am.

One thing to remember though is if the price seems low and you are thinking you're getting a deal... you probably are not. The rental market is pretty hot right now and as such rates are pretty high, if you are willing to compromise on size, getting a basement apt. or being in a transition neighbourhood (one that is considered 'up and coming') then you'll find something decent but I'd look closely at one bedrooms that are listed at under $1k (in Toronto - a few hundred less in a borough) as you want to be sure you aren't moving into something with a bad infestation, mold or other issues, as month to month is rare it's a real pain to get out of a lease even and being locked into a place you don't like isn't fun.

 

Good luck!

[d0thedoo 100]

Thank you very much Kyra. First off I have to say, I very much appreciate the feedback and should I end up moving to t.o. (over say for mac) I will want to spend some time with you, to get to know you better ;) but that will have to wait for now... and maybe for some time to come :(

 

Avoid the community housing areas (eg. St. James Place) if you are from a small town and not comfortable in a more urban development

I actually grew up in the hammer and one of my closest friends was "ethic". Although I do admit the for the last 10 years I've been in small minded communities and my tastes are generally of the caucasian persuasion. But I do remember when working cs for pizza pizza (sorry everyone, I was one of them) we had a lot of black-listed apartments and stories of delivery drivers being robbed, stabbed, pushed down stairs and so much more for their float, pizza in hand and their shoes. so ummm, yea... not for me.

 

as a city Toronto has the longest average commute times in North America

This is why I didnt want to have much of a commute, that would kill me! I am actually considering selling my car now tho... but it'll be tough, public transit isn't that much fun... standing out in the cold forever with bags of groceries.

 

Other than that you might want to consider what is important in the neighbourhood you want to live in and then tailor your search towards that.

honestly at this point affordability if my biggest concern. I've drank a lot of my money away this past summer and fear that if I cant find a good steady job with a stable income fast that I wont survive and may end up dirtying (cleaning) your car windows. As a point of fact, I will be heading to t.o. today to drop of 100 or so resumes :p

 

Thanks for the pricing recommendations as well... yes I was looking at a bachelor for 600. I thought that was a great deal, I mean fort mac seems to be renting rooms for 600min. but I def prefer a 1-2 bed just to feel like its actually my own place and not a closet.

 

Thanks again, I will be thinking about this (and you ;) tomorrow as I'm dropping resumes.

Dave