# Need help! Thinking of moving to Toronto



## milkshake2044 (Mar 23, 2009)

Hey all
Hope u can help
We are thinking of moving to Toronto and need help
We are a young family with 2 kids ages 2 and 6
We need help coding where to move- want somewhere not too quiet, near good schools and not too far from the city

Also would like my kids in private british schools. Do they have these in Toronto?
Any help appreciated

We have the immigration side sorted

Thanks


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

Where you want to live in Toronto (or the suburbs or even farther away), depend on:
- where the job is
- how much you want to spend
- what you are looking for

Once you have sorted that out, you can have a look at the schools. Unless you want to send them to boarding school, than it doesn't matter that much how long you have to travel to get there.
Private Elementary and Secondary Schools

Why do you prefer a (British) private school?


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## milkshake2044 (Mar 23, 2009)

Thanks for the reply.
We know v little about Toronto and plan to rent for the first year. Ideally we would like to rent a house. As we will be coming from Dubai we don't want anywhere too quiet as it will be too big a jump for us all.

Re British school system- my eldest is in British school currently and I went into the same system also. It's the only schooling I am familiar with hence the preference . 
Re area to move to- ideally somewhere with the top schools. We have no idea where this is at the min. 

Thanks


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

How much is your rental budget? In what area of the city will you be working?


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

milkshake2044 said:


> Thanks for the reply.
> We know v little about Toronto and plan to rent for the first year. Ideally we would like to rent a house. As we will be coming from Dubai we don't want anywhere too quiet as it will be too big a jump for us all.
> 
> Re British school system- my eldest is in British school currently and I went into the same system also. It's the only schooling I am familiar with hence the preference .
> ...




On the whole public schools here (public school does not mean the same as in Britain, here it just means a publicly funded school), or Catholic schools if you prefer one, are of a higher standard than those in Britain in terms of education, safety, discipline, etc. so it probably makes more financial sense to send your kids to your average school. We do have private schools but they do not necessarily follow the British system (some would, others wouldn't).


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## milkshake2044 (Mar 23, 2009)

hi

re area we move to. This is the issue - we do not know where to go. the nature of my husband's job means we can choose the area. We would like to be somewhere near the centre but still have a house. Also somewhere good for kids. rental price - i guess between 3000-4500 a month??? not too sure

we are set on private schools for the kids. any idea where the best private schools are located?
thanks


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

milkshake2044 said:


> hi
> 
> re area we move to. This is the issue - we do not know where to go. the nature of my husband's job means we can choose the area. We would like to be somewhere near the centre but still have a house. Also somewhere good for kids. rental price - i guess between 3000-4500 a month??? not too sure
> 
> ...




I've no idea what rental costs are in Toronto. If you were to stay in the suburbs I would have a better idea.

I also have no idea where the private schools are located because so few people use private schools here (seriously, they are much less common than in Britain). And you have to be careful about which private school you choose because, although they are regulated by the Ontario government, they do not have to follow the Ontario curriculum nor do their teachers have to be licensed to teach in Ontario.

Check this link for some info:

Private Elementary and Secondary Schools


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## Liam(at)Large (Sep 2, 2012)

colchar said:


> I also have no idea where the private schools are located because so few people use private schools here (seriously, they are much less common than in Britain).


This is a gross misstatement. Almost everybody I know from the GTA went to a private school, I can think of a dozen in an around Toronto off the top of my head (Appleby, Bishop Stracan, CDS, HTS, Havergal, UCC, etc...), and I believe the number is over 100 schools in the GTA.

I don't know any that are "British".


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

Liam(at)Large said:


> This is a gross misstatement. Almost everybody I know from the GTA went to a private school, I can think of a dozen in an around Toronto off the top of my head (Appleby, Bishop Stracan, CDS, HTS, Havergal, UCC, etc...), and I believe the number is over 100 schools in the GTA.
> 
> I don't know any that are "British".



It is not a gross misstatement. They certainly exist but they are not nearly as plentiful as in Britain and a _far_ smaller percentage of students attend private schools here than do so in Britain. I was educated here, went to university here, and went to graduate school here (both Master's and Doctorate) and in all those years of education I never knew a single person who attended a private school, not one. If they were all that common you'd think a person who spent over a decade in academia would have known at least a couple of people who attended private schools but that wasn't my experience at all.

And you cannot include Appelby College as it is in Oakville and isn't practical for someone living in Toronto.


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## Liam(at)Large (Sep 2, 2012)

Last time I saw the numbers (in 2010 when I was still on the board at an Ontario private school), Ontario had 92% state school attendance, while the UK has 96%.

Oakville is in the GTA. Kids at my school were driven over an hour each way to attend.


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

94% of the students in Ontario attend public or catholic schools. The rest - 6%- is getting homeschooled or attends a private school.

Source:


> GRAND TOTAL - number of students in independent schools and home schools account for 6% of Ontario's total student population!


Ontario Federation of Independent Schools : Home


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## milkshake2044 (Mar 23, 2009)

We are set on private schools as we do not know enough about the Canadian schools to opt for another option.

Does anyone know nice areas which offer great family living as well as being close to the city? We don't want to be in an area which is too rural. 

Which area is known as the nicest part of Toronto?

Thanks


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

milkshake2044 said:


> We are set on private schools as we do not know enough about the Canadian schools to opt for another option.
> 
> Does anyone know nice areas which offer great family living as well as being close to the city? We don't want to be in an area which is too rural.
> 
> ...


You haven't said the genders of your children. Within the city and in good areas there's 

https://www.havergal.on.ca/page.cfm?siteChoice=0&id=114#.UUR3VIy9KSM. (Girls)
https://bluenet.ucc.on.ca/public (Boys)


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## milkshake2044 (Mar 23, 2009)

Thanks. Re my kids I have one of each. Ideally would like them in the same school


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