Help! Lost in Toronto!!

[IrishNick]

Hi all,

Sorry if this is the wrong forum, but I was looking for a bit of help figuring out Toronto city and it's areas! It's difficult to "know" a city you've never been in just from maps.

I'm due to move there next summer for a year (and I know NOBODY! Extremely nervous about it - but excited too), and I've been looking at apartments to get an idea of price etc., and where to live, but to be honest it's impossible to tell where's good and where's not, but I'd like to have an idea before I go.

My problem is, I'm having a bit of trouble gauging the distance of some places from downtown and how long it would take me to get around! I know, I'm such a tourist!

For example, I was looking at this place right on the junction of Eglinton Avenue East and Don Mills road. It seems like a really nice apartment and really cheap too! But then I'm thinking, is this too good to be true? Is it actually really far out or a bad neighborhood? I don't have a clue!!

I looked up the subway and it seems to get into the main part of town I'd have to take 2 subways? How long would this take? And I don't even know how far away the Don Mills station is from that apartment? (probably not too far)

Maybe if I throw out some of my criteria maybe the good people of Urban Toronto could point me in the right direction?

My main thing is good area. I know Toronto and Canada is a very safe place compared to most major world cities, but I'd like to know if there are any parts of town a clueless guy like me should avoid? I don't want to move into a ghetto somewhere and not realise it and wonder into trouble (big city fear and paranoia kicking in there!)

So maybe you could tell me the nicest parts of town to live in vs the not so nice parts of town? (a friend who was there said the West part is where a lot of the really nice areas of town are?) Mainly what I'm looking for is to be close to the main part of the city downtown, I wouldn't want to have to travel too far (like 2 buses and a subway or something!!) and to be able to be right in the middle of everything, I want a nice area, not too expensive and a part of town where there is a good young crowd, not too far from good night life and all the best spots to go out! (I plan on having a lot of fun while I'm ther! ).

Also, where is the main parts in town to go out on nights out to clubs and pubs etc., and is there much of an Irish connection over there? I spent a lot of time in New York and of course every second bar is an Irish bar, not that I'm complaining, sometimes it's nice to be able to go to an Irish bar and hang out, and sometimes feel closer to home if you're homesick! hehe, or maybe that's just the beer that does that!

Anyway, thanks for your help, I hope this post makes sense and I haven't just dreamed up this magical part of Toronto that's really nice area, extremely safe, but not expensive and is a 10 minute walk from the centre of the city and has great night life and atmosphere just around the corner! haha

And also, if you were moving to Toronto, what would you like to know before you got there, and what's important to know (if anything) about the city.

Thanks again in anticipation for all your help. I really appreciate it.

Nick

 

[Granny]

Nick!
Downtown Toronto is so safe in the evening its....embarrassing.
Aim for any downtown location if you can afford it.
Think of Yonge St. as the epicentre of fun fun fun. and radiate from there according to your budget.
I know I will be chastised for over simplifying, by other members, but I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible for YOU.
It would be nice for you to be able to walk/stagger home after a night of fun fun fun..

 

[BobBob]

One thing I'd add is that you should definitely look for something that's close (1km or less) to a subway station. That will probably increase your enjoyment of the city significantly.

Eglinton and Don Mills, for instance, is NOT close to the subway. Yes, there are many large, inexpensive apartments in the area, but you'd have to take a bus to get to a subway station, and you'd have nothing interesting to walk to. Except the Science Centre, I guess.

Yonge and Eglinton is a good area with lots of apartments and good transit connectivity. Another one is Bloor and Spadina. Around Yonge and Bloor as well.

Safety is a non-issue in all of these, and indeed, pretty much anywhere in Toronto.

 

[Observer Walt]

You don't mention where you will be working. Perhaps this is not known yet. A number of people moving to Toronto find themselves surprised by the time required for commuting, particularly if they have arrived from a smaller city. It should be your main consideration in choosing where to live.

Don Mills and Eglinton is (in my opinion) a bit remote from centres of entertainment and fun. You will find these generally in the downtown area, or a couple of other sub-centres. The so-caled "Club District" is generally around King Street, just west of University Avenue. You might not find it to your liking if you are older than late 20s! Yonge and Eglinton would be an "uptown" possibility for such activities.

You mentioned distance to the Don Mills subway station, but be aware that that station is north of Don Mills and Eglinton (that is, away from downtown). If going downtown from DM & E you would want to take a bus south, connecting to the Pape subway station in about 15 minutes.

Trips around the city involving two subway lines should not pose a problem. Maximum times between trains is about five minutes, and that's late at night. Hence transferring is not difficult. Trips involving two bus routes can certainly be more tedious. Having said that, transit is good by the standards of most places.

Transit is operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. www.ttc.ca

Irish pubs are found here and there around the city, not in any particular area. You certainly won't find that "every second one" is Irish as in NYC, where the Irish influence is strong, but I'm sure you'll find one or more, without too much difficulty!

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

On to the important stuff -- Irish pubs

WAY too much info posted about distances and houses...

Toronto has more than its share of ersatz Irish/English pubs, but more than a few 'proper' places, too. My recommendations:

PJ O'Brien's -- downtown behind the King Edward hotel. Owned by the same guys who own the Irish Embassy on Yonge, but PJ's is the real deal. Figure out which night Aideen O'Brien and Paul Noonan are singing/playing, screw up your courage, and ask Aideen about all things Irish in Toronto. Prepare for a verbal assault and a pint.

Dora Keogh's -- (near) east end on the Danforth. Trad 'cozy'. Laid-back staff. Yer Ma's Kitchen for a party once you decide to treat all your new-found Toronto friends to a communal feast.

James Gate -- west end near High Park (beautiful neighbourhood with a whacking big green space -- akin to living Upper East/West Side near Central Park). Not quite as Irish, but almost as good.

Of course, friendly pubs abound -- the Madison, Pauper's, Rebel House, Mad Monty's, the various Dukes (particularly Duke of Edinburgh on a Toronto Scottish RFC Thursday night pub night), C'est What. You will find beer in Toronto.

(as an aside, it scares me I can name 12+ 'favourite' pubs off the top of my head... and I missed Hemingway's and the Black Bull patio.)

 

[Dilla]

McVeigh's New Windsor Tavern

http://www.mcveighspub.com/

is old and Irish, and it's right in the centre of the city. I've heard that back in the day, they would send a hat around on Sunday's to collect for the IRA. I don't know if it was true, but the person telling me was quite convinced.

It's "British" (in its design), but the "House on Parliament" is probably my favorite pub in the city.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of Irish here when compared to other North American cities, as Toronto was quite and "orange" city in it's past.

This page should help you,

http://toronto.about.com/od/fooddrinknightlife/tp/irishpubs.htm

 

[Sir Novelty Fashion]

1) The above advice about sticking close to the subway lines is good advice.

2) Look at the subway map. See where the yellow line makes a U, with the green line crossing the top? That area (it's actually quite large) is the epicentre of where the action is. Closer you get to that, the better.

3) Failing that, try to get someplace close to a station on the Yonge or Bloor/Danforth lines.

4) Avoid: places in the suburbs, away from the subway lines. Scarborough, Etobicoke, North York. Not necessarily dangerous, except in a few pockets. But dull, dull, dull. Go have kids there when you're good and ready, but not before!

5) Don't worry, this is a great place. You're going to have a blast.

 

[whatever]

And if looking downtown stay away from anything with a Sherbourne address. The rents are cheap, and there may be an odd building that's ok, but most of them are horrible. myhood.ca is a great website with apartment reviews, even if an apartment you're looking at isn't on it you can get a feel for the neighbourhood by looking at other nearby buildings.

 

[devil_dice]

As a rule i'd advise sticking to the west end as opposed to the east end. Not for reasons of safety, just because there is better transportation access and a lot more to do. The east end has a few nice areas (Beaches, Leslieville, Riverdale), but beyond that it's far more residential.

I'd recommend looking to get a bedroom in an apartment with somebody else. You'll be able to be closer to the city while probably saving more money

 

[W. K. Lis]

Another question would be how long do you expect to stay at an address. Do you plan to stay in the area a year or two, 5 years, or 10 years. If staying more than two years in an area, you may want to find out what construction is going to happen.

Don Mills and Eglinton will be a construction zone in a couple of years for a couple of rapid transit lines.

Better to stay in an area for a couple of years before moving on.

 

[catcher_of_cats]

IrishNick,
I would avoid Eglinton Avenue East @ Don Mills like the plague if the building you are looking at is south of Eglinton; ei in Flemingdon Park which has a terrible reputation for all sorts of reasons. There are over a hundred great neighbourhoods in Toronto but like over people said, if you do not own a vehicle, you are advised to be within 1km of a subway stop or you will witness the daily hell of this region's gridlock first hand and live to regret it. I advise to live as close to your workplace as per your budget allows.

 

[AKS]

yea I agree. Live as close to work as possible. Even if you're near a subway station, there's usually train problems depending on your luck/unlucky. Also it's really packed during rush hour.

 

[BobBob]

I would have to respectfully disagree with the assertion that there are "usually train problems". The subway service is generally very reliable, frequent and fast. Problems do occur, as with anything, but they are far from the norm.

 

[taal]

On top of that the typical problems are just slow downs ... not full service stoppages ... that's extremely rare. Granted it's happened a few times in the past few months. But I think that's tainting everyone's opinion on the matter. If you take a look over a longer time period you'll find it's very reliable.

I think once all the work on the track is done over the next year I think it'll go back to being reliable.

 

[AKS]

Like I said I suppose it could be due to being unlucky. But even my co-worker complains about train problems occurring at least once a week for several weeks.

For me I know sometimes it's not the train's fault but people. But I find sometimes they lose signals or something and all the trains keep stalling every single station. Or lose electricity, so all trains behind are held back. Or one train has problems in front so all trains behind are stalled. Sometimes trains are taken out of service so everyone is kicked out and I have to wait for another one or two trains and there's tons of people by then. Or problem is unresolvable so they provide buses but I sometimes can't figure which bus to get on.

Then there's the people problem where someone creates a riot and they gotta call over the police and everyone waits around until they come. Or there's people with health issues and they have to wait for paramedics.

I don't have problems like these when I travel overseas to HK, Japan or Korea. Maybe I was luckier with the transit there. I've heard people get pushy in HK so there's accidents, but they've since put glass borders up to enclose the tracks.