Stop saying, “Toronto is expensive.”

Ever since my partner and I started to talk to people about wanting to move to Toronto, and then that we were actually doing it, we kept hearing about how expensive it is. There were comments that we were going to have a hard time finding a place, and that it was supposed to be this big struggle. I’m here to destroy that myth.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that it’s all relative. I’m not saying that there are jobs here that don’t pay terribly, but that doesn’t mean you have to take them. As one of my acquaintances would always say, “Know your worth and add tax.”

Toronto will be expensive if:

1. You’re not the type of person to live within your means.

If you have a hard time budgeting and not maxing out your credit card every month, then this is not the place for you. There is so much to do here, which is dangerous to the type of person that wants to do it all. If you’ve never been good with money, you’re not going to magically become more financially conscious because you have a change in scenery. We weren’t taught this in school. I learned how to manage money from falling on hard times when my parents broke up, and my partner learned from not having the most growing up, and from spending time with his grandparents who still had the Great Depression mindset. Point is, it takes some experience, thinking, planning, discussion, prioritization, and implementation to be a content person.

2. You don’t yet understand how to set boundaries or say no. 

We’ve all been there, where you just want to be a part of everything and FOMO is a real thing. You might still be known as the “yes person” in your friend group. Take it from me though, that’s going to bite you in the ass at some point. I look back at my life sometimes and think “why did I spend that much money” or “where did all of my savings go?” I know you just read the previous section and now think  that I have it all together, but like I said, it takes some experience to get on track.

3. You still are in the phase of life where partying is all that matters.

Not going to the club every weekend, or maybe even twice a week, is not going to kill you. The world will still be here tomorrow (unless we keep fucking up, of course), and life will still go on. It’s cool to go out and have fun, but have a set amount of times a month or a set amount of money that you spend so you don’t constantly live with regret around your habits.

4. You’d rather eat out. 

I loooooove a good night out for dinner, but it’s such an expensive hobby. When you realize that some places are charging you between $6-$10 for a plate of fries when you can get 10 lb of potatoes for between that amount, or that they’re charging you $22 for a SMALL plate of gnocchi when 6-8 servings costs about $3 to make (sorry if I broke any hearts there), you really start thinking twice about how much you’re going to go out for food. We try not to get food out more than once a week, and that’s only because we’re still new here. It’ll probably be twice a month going forward (once for a date night on our own, and once with friends). The internet is chock-full of delicious and inexpensive dupe recipes, so, give it a go sometime.

What Toronto has meant for us

Since moving here, we’ve downsized our stuff to ensure that we only have the things we need and truly love. We’ve also gotten rid of our car. We didn’t want to have an easy out if fear and regret started to set in. We wanted to be with those feelings and acknowledge them. So far though, so good. We wanted to embrace our new environment. We want to understand how we truly are here, without any distractions. We want to see who’s willing to come and see us.

Getting rid of the car means $170 back in our pocket every month (that’s how much our insurance was in Waterloo, even after the Laurier Alumni discount), plus whatever we were spending on gas (probably another $100) and maintenance. That’s a great amount of money to save/allocate towards other essentials. From the sale of the vehicle (which was a 2008 base model Corolla with manual window cranks), we made $2000 which we were able to put towards our moving expenses.

Although we do have Presto cards that we keep about $10 on each (just in case), we’ve pretty much walked everywhere (which is great for you, by the way). We met up with some family last weekend in the Distillery District and we were just going to walk a bit and explore, and before we knew it, we were home. The walk was supposed to take about an hour, but it took us between 35-40 minutes. I’m not saying that’s going to be a regular thing, especially with winter coming, but it’s just nice to see our new city on foot.

Despite work gaps (my partner was off for 2 months this year and I left a couple of jobs myself), and moving to a more expensive city than we were in previously (though making so much more), we’re still on track to pay off the remainder of our OSAP by the end of 2019. We had paid mine off within a month of me finishing my Master’s, and started paying down my partner’s last July to get ahead of the interest. Mine was only about $7.5K, and his about $30K. If you go in on things with the mindset of setting goals and setting boundaries, nothing can stop you. You’re already ahead.

We’ve also made great use of our building’s amenities so far. We’ve been swimming and using the hot tub, and are in the process of locking down our gym routines. My partner also has a gym at his work, and all of these things are on our floor at the apartment, so it’s really easy to work it in when we want to.

We’ve also been able to connect with friends that have been in and around the city for a number of years (like my childhood best friend, and university best friend), which has been awesome. We’ve also been able to hang out and host our close friends that don’t live here (not yet anyway) but love spending time with us and in the city.

If you’re thinking about making a big move in life, whether it be going back to school, changing career paths, or moving to someplace new, ignore the negative reviews. Those with the most to say are usually doing less than you. It’s great to embrace change and not settle for the mediocre life a place hands you. Life is short, and the world is huge.