Our first trip to Toronto

Unlike most people who move, we decided to first spend the time and make a trip to Toronto.
We did not want to move lock, stock and barrel and then wonder if we made a big mistake or not. With two kids who were going to one of the best schools in Chennai and living in a great community, we didn't want our lifestyle taking too much of a dive.

So, September 2006 we packed up our suitcases and flew down to Toronto for a six week stay in a service apartment. We cooked, cleaned, and lived as if we were already living there. We also rented a car the first week there and drove around ourselves.

Advice:

Get your international drivers license. Driving here is not hard and you get the hang of it in no time. Otherwise you waste half your day waiting for buses. Taxis are expensive and no one uses them unless it is an emergency or to get you to and fro the airport.

We spent this time getting our SIN cars, PR cards, Health cards and initial drivers license.

We also picked up a cellphone number and opened bank accounts.

Advice:

In order to rent a home, or buy anything you need to have a good credit report. The only way to get this is to get a credit card and make small purchases that you pay for on time every month. We did this for the year that we were in India between our visit and January 2008. We also paid every month for the cellphone that we were not using in India, but it helped build the much needed credit.

We left Toronto and went back to India, and then came back again in the dead of Winter of 2008 January.

That is part three of our transition......