Fallen in love with Toronto

Hey Guys, any feedback and advice/comments welcomed.

I travelled all of 2008 and came back to a steady job/routine etc. I dont have a career as such but a pretty steady do able admin job that pays the bills. Since coming home from travels i have had my ups and downs with the travel bug.

But early this year i booked a vacation to visit my best friend in canada, so having that to look forward to kept me going. Well i have now got home from that trip and i am a mess, leaving my best mate and her friends was harder than coming home from an 11month trip!! so know what?! i have just moved out and have comitted to a 12month contract (which i am regretting as it puts me in less a position to travel any time soon).

I have fallen in love with Toronto and all the ppl i met there. im considering going back at christmas for a couple of weeks if i can afford it and if my friend will have me.

question is would it be hard to apply for a whv for canada? i would aim to go the end of next summer, i would consider doing office work for couple of months in the city and then heading out west in the winter. does anyone know if it is easy to get office work? would they employ travellers? i would always resort to bar work!

thanks D

Have you done lunch up the CN Tower yet?? Just one of the best food experiences I've ever done.

I've been there once. It reminded me alot of nyc because of the variety of people living there. I wouldn't mind moving to Toronto actually.

In a similar position myself actually. Got home from a two week trip from Canada on Sunday and had an amazing time, Toronto was a brilliant place. Would go back at the drop of a hat but Im in the position where I go off on my RTW in two months so I have that to look forward to!

I think your friend would be able to give you some good advice, especially if they have made the same move which you're planning to do.

Many of the bars I visited employed overseas workers so Im sure there will be jobs availiable.

Good luck!

I'm lucky. I live in Manchester and have family right across Canada - from St. John's to Vancouver (Churchill and Winnipeg too - Winnipeg is my favourite city), so I can go and stay with them - gratis, any time I want, without having to live there.
Don't get me wrong - I love Canada (done so much of it), but just can't hack the winters. They hurt.

I yet have to see someone who had come to Toronto and hasn't loved it.I love Toronto and can't imagine myself away for long, The winters here are long and cold, but if you are going to BC in the winter that will help
Finding office job wouldn't be a problem, however consult Canada citizenship and immigration website as you may require a work visa rather than the visit visa upon arrival.

Hi - having colleagues that live in Toronto - and hearing thier nightmare stories of Winter - I would seriously suggest that you think long and hard before making the complete move thier - remember holidays are always so much more fun than sometime living in a place really is!!! Don't get me wrong I LOVE all my Canadian freinds and Colleagues as they are super awesome but think living their full time might not be all that especially through the winter months!!

i am from the uk and living in toronto just now on a 1 year working holiday visa. i applied for it through a company called BUNAC. i spent 2 months living in vancouver and it was easy to find office work there, then i lived in whistler for the winter and it was easy enough to find retail/restaurant work there, and now in toronto i am just doing office work again. my visa expires in sept, so ill have to come home then!

Here is the page from the Canadian Immigration and Customs service on Youth programs, under which any Working Holiday Programmes fall. For UK citizens (which I have assumed you are), check out this page on programmes available to UK youths.

Good luck!
Greg

I am a born and bred Torontonian. And I can see why you love the city

I will tell you a secret: Half of all Canadian employers hiring entry level or customer service employees are extremely laid back about the whole thing. Keep in mind: I am not an employer. Nor am I a travelling foreigner. But, I can you that I hear ALL THE TIME about people working "for cash." This essentially means completely undocumented.

Just something to keep in mind.

PS: Here's a great tip for free travel to and from Toronto:-snip- Deliver a car and travel for FREE!

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