# Moving to Kingston Ontario



## jumbogenie (Apr 14, 2015)

Hi there, some help from those of you that can help would be greatly appreciated.

We are moving to Kingston Ontario in June. My husband and I are going over for a week in May to try and get things set up before we bring over our baby. I want to try and optimise that time as best as possible and I'm hoping that you out there might be able to assist.

House hunting - we have been looking on sabbatical homes and also kijiji for accommodation. We would like to be located near Queens University. A 4-5 bedroom house in a family friendly area (we are not students). If anyone might know of rental agents that we could contact that are good, I'd appreciate names, otherwise I'll rely on google.

Furniture - we will be starting from scratch and wanting to organise the very basics. Living room, kitchen, bedroom and baby furniture. We have googled, but if anyone again can recommend any good furniture stores. Is there like a mall you can go and get everything. We'll also be buying all our cooking utensils etc. Overall, I want good furniture, something more robust than Ikea for example (if you have Ikea over there) but don't want to be traipsing around, I want to hit the good spots, I'll have a day to give to this part of the job. Any help here again appreciated. Are there specific baby shops that you can go and kit out a nursery? I'm also happy to go second hand on certain baby items, so if there are good second hand stores that anyone can recommend, or how does one go about such things? New car seats for a toddler will also need to be purchased, is this also in the baby store that sells cribs etc?

Car - we will be car shopping. Any hints on where to go. Reputable, good come back for after care etc. Like the furniture, I don't want to be traipsing, I want to give a part of a day and hit the good spots.

They are the very important things to get us off the ground. However, other things I'd like to ask, once we are settled in our new home. This is a long term move for us, and we don't know many people. Are there mothers and baby groups? Good things to do with babies going on? I know this will of course depend on the area that we live in, but again, anything worth mentioning would be helpful and give us some idea of what is happening for young families.

Thank you in advance to those that take the time to reply.


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## OldPro (Feb 18, 2015)

The more specific the background info you provide the more relevant responses can be jumbogenie.

You say it will be a 'long term' move. What exactly does that mean? Are you coming on PR visas? Or are you coming to work a 3 year contract or something? Why do you want to be near the University? Is one of you going to be working there?

If I were moving to Kingston, I would NOT want to live near the University. One because of student housing and two because of prices. Unless I had some real need to live near the University or downtown, I would be looking at commuting from a bit farther out. Commuting in Canada is a norm. People think nothing of a 1 hour drive to work each way. The simple reason for that is price. Obviously, the farther out you are the more bang for the buck you get. 

You can get in touch with a couple of rental agencies who can arrage to show you some houses on a given day. Pandew and Keystone are two agencies you could contact and discuss your situation with. But I would keep an open mind as to distances. You may need to re-think your expectations.

I would not try to buy a car during your visit. That may be a step too far. You need insurance to register a car, that means you would also have to arrange that during your visit. It all takes time. 

Re car insurance, it is important to know that you need a letter from your current car insurance company stating you have 5 years of accident free driving. NOT a letter saying you have a '5 years no claims bonus'. Canadian insurers know that in the UK (also in Ireland?) you can maintain a 5 year no claims bonus by paying a bit more to maintain it even if you have an accident. Therefore, they will not accept that as proof of no accidents. You will need such a letter to try and get a half decent price on insurance.

What does, 'don't know many people' mean? You do know some people who live there? If so, they should be your first choice for advice.


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## jumbogenie (Apr 14, 2015)

Thank you for your help oldpro


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

jumbogenie said:


> House hunting - we have been looking on sabbatical homes and also kijiji for accommodation. We would like to be located near Queens University. A 4-5 bedroom house in a family friendly area (we are not students). If anyone might know of rental agents that we could contact that are good, I'd appreciate names, otherwise I'll rely on google.


Be very, very careful about living close to the university. The homes closest to the school will all be in the student ghetto and trust me when I tell you that you do _*not*_ want to live there. If one of you is working there a short drive would be far better than living amongst the students. I cannot stress this enough.





> Furniture - we will be starting from scratch and wanting to organise the very basics. Living room, kitchen, bedroom and baby furniture. We have googled, but if anyone again can recommend any good furniture stores.



There will be chains as well as smaller independent stores. Best thing to do is to look in the phone book (the Yellow Pages) when you arrive.





> Is there like a mall you can go and get everything.


There will be more than one mall in Kingston as well as shopping areas/complexes that are not indoor malls but that contain a variety of stores.




> We'll also be buying all our cooking utensils etc. Overall, I want good furniture, something more robust than Ikea for example (if you have Ikea over there) but don't want to be traipsing around, I want to hit the good spots, I'll have a day to give to this part of the job.



Furnishing a house, including all utensils and various other items, in a single day is a tall order. I could probably pull it off but I have lived here in Ontario forever so know exactly where to go in my area to get what I need. But to be new to Kingston and pull it off in a day? That is certainly a tall order and I think you should budget more time for that.





> Are there specific baby shops that you can go and kit out a nursery?


Again, there will be chains as well as independent stores. Best to check the phone book and then Google maps so as to plan out your shopping trips so that you minimize driving.





> I'm also happy to go second hand on certain baby items, so if there are good second hand stores that anyone can recommend, or how does one go about such things?



Again, phone book. It will list second had stores. A Google search might also point you in the right direction (for furniture and other stuff too).





> New car seats for a toddler will also need to be purchased, is this also in the baby store that sells cribs etc?



Yes, as well as in larger department stores like Sears and The Bay. In fact, now that I think of it, those might be your best bet to buy everything you need. The prices might be slightly higher than in some other stores but the quality is good and you could kit out an entire house in a few hours worth of shopping.





> Car - we will be car shopping. Any hints on where to go.


Buying new or used? Used cars are always cheaper. And regardless of whether you buy new or used it would help if you could take someone from the area with you so that you can avoid paying the stupid fees that car dealerships try to ding you with and that nobody with any experience pays.




> Reputable, good come back for after care etc.



Unless whatever you are having done is under warranty (in other words, free) do _*not*_ tale your car to a dealership for service. Never do that. They are a ripoff and there will be chain shops in town that are cheaper as well as independent shops that are much cheaper while still doing excellent work. 






> Are there mothers and baby groups? Good things to do with babies going on? I know this will of course depend on the area that we live in, but again, anything worth mentioning would be helpful and give us some idea of what is happening for young families.



Many cities here have an information service. Where I live you dial 311 on your phone to connect with them. If Kingston has the same service then call it and they can tell you everything you need to know. Alternatively, try looking on the city's website as it should include all kinds of info on various topics that you will want to look into.

Edit - I just checked and Kingston doesn't seem to have a 311 service. But you can look at some of the links from this Google search:

https://www.google.ca/webhp?complete=0#complete=0&q=kingston+ontario+information+for+newcomers

If you are affiliated with the university at all (as grad students, faculty, or employees) it will have services to help newcomers.





> Thank you in advance to those that take the time to reply.



You now owe us coffees. And get used to it, Canadians drink a ton of coffee (and it is far better than any coffee I ever found in the UK).


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## jumbogenie (Apr 14, 2015)

Colcor thank you so much for your reply. If you ever make it to Ireland you'll find you can find a very good cup of coffee!! I'm a tea person myself


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