Posts Under City Living Category
So, as some may know – the boy and I are planning on moving in together (and downtown) by April. We started looking for apartments, and gosh is this a lot harder than I remember it being.
I’m quickly learning being a “grown up” with a big girl job and looking for a real apartment (aka not a student house or random apartment-above-landlords-5-minutes-from-campus) is an entirely different ball game (and frustrating as hell).
Finding an affordable apartment that isn’t a shoebox and isn’t in a location that will likely get me shot (Hi Jane&Finch!) seems next to impossible.
Pretty much, it goes like this:
Affordable. Decent size for two people. Not a basement. Good location. No bugs. Pick three.
And yes, before you ask – we’re still looking. Hopefully not for too much longer, but, you know.
Here’s ten nifty things I’ve learned so far.
"for rent abstract" by jerebu on Flickr.
1. Location is more important that you might think.
Part of the reason I’m moving out (and justifying it) is to be closer to downtown, making it MUCH easier for me to continue my freelance side projects, spend less time commuting to work, etc – but as I quickly discovered, location IS important. My boyfriend was all about location – he wanted to be close to a subway line, somewhat central, etc; but I was all like “whatever, I have a car! wheeee!”. Until I realized one of the areas I considered “awesome” in the west end would be an hour and a half TTC commute to work or, with traffic, STILL a 45 minute drive. Kind of defeats the purpose of “less time spent commuting”. Midtown and east end, here we come.
2. Balconies are expensive.
The Boy’s a smoker, and that’s something I’ve just come to accept. We have our ground rules about it (aka he can’t do it inside, or in his car when I’m in it, and never in my car); but as a smoker he wants a balcony – and I get that. I really do. But a place with a balcony seems to jump $150, if not more, a month in rent – and when you have other “needs” in a place (like, uh, affordable parking for two cars – more on that below) things like a balcony take a back seat. And a dishwasher, which he also wanted. Ha! Dishwasher. The compromise is if we don’t have a balcony, we’re hoping to be on a low floor of a high-rise or in a low-rise, so it’s easy for him to go downstairs and outside to smoke.
3. Finding “affordable” parking in Toronto is like finding a magic lamp.
Sometimes, you get lucky and find a building with parking for $50-$60 a month. It’s usually outdoors, and the buildings usually suck. Usually, outdoor parking averages around $60-70 a month, and indoors is even worse (I’m talking $85/mth and up). There go my dreams of never again scraping my windshield. I recognize many people are probably thinking “but you don’t need a car in Toronto!” and well, no, I don’t NEED one; but I already own one and a monthly metro pass is only a little less than my monthly insurance, so it just makes sense to keep it. I like being able to get groceries without hauling them down the street, or visiting out-of-town friends at my leisure. One building I’m in love with wants $125/mth for parking. Yeah, that knocked that building out of the running pretty quickly (tear).
4. Sometimes it doesn’t work out. That’s ok.
Because sometimes, the place disappears before you even get your viewing, and sometimes they rent it to that blasted 35-year-old single lawyer who makes 8 times your salary who was also at the open house – you can’t get discouraged, even though apartment hunting may be the bane of your existance.
5. It’s a lot of work.
I used to think actually MOVING was bad – the packing, unpacking, carrying couches – well, after moving 17 times in 6 years (I kid you not), I’m a pro at that part. I’ve got bubble wrapping dishes down to a science. But this looking for available places? It’s exhausting. We’ve only looked at a handful or two of places, and I scour the listings daily – but it feels like an eternity. And all the calling (on my lunch, because of course rental offices aren’t open after 5 and I work until 6) sucks. Not to mention all the landlords/supers who only want to show the apartment Monday-Friday between 9-5… uh… don’t you want someone who, I don’t know, works for a living to rent from you? This weekend we’re going to do a drive-by of the area we want to live in (first choice: Yonge & Eglinton) and look for availabilities, on recommendation of my co-worker. I do need to give a shout-out to my two new fav sites for listings though – PadMapper and MapItAt, both which let you search multiple listing sites by a number of parameters, and show results on a handy dandy map. Because really? Who knew that Fsdsoakdooewap Rd. was near Avenue and St. Clair?
6. Check your credit rating.
I didn’t do this right away – after our first “sorry, thanks but no thanks” I panicked and thought it must be my credit. It wasn’t. But checking my credit rating (which, according to Equifax is “excellent”) first would have saved me an afternoon of hyperventilating and overreacting. Yeah, I can be an “assume-the-worst-first” person sometimes. And if it ends up being “worst case” and you have less-than-stellar credit, you’ll know in advance and can approach the landlords about it in advance of an application, work to raise your credit, and avoid unnecessary panic attacks later on down the line.
7. Decide early on what’s most important (your “must-haves”) and what “would-be-nice”.
Affordable parking for one car (preferably two) nearby (street parking is fine) is a must-have for us, as is being a reasonable distance from my work (and from the downtown core). A balcony is a would-be-nice, as is an eat-in-kitchen. Good closet space is a must-have (or enough space for extra wardrobes/dressers comfortably) is a must-have, as is an actual bathtub in the bathroom. A dishwasher and L-shaped living/dining room is a “would be nice”. A non-basement apartment is a must-have (1. because of my need, literally, for lots of natural light and windows, and 2. because of my allergies and crappy immune system). No reports of bedbugs or cockroaches is a must have (uh, obviously). You get the idea. It’s really helped us narrow things down when we’re looking at apartments and keep a level head. When in doubt, refer to checklist.
8. Make and set a budget. Stick to it.
When we first started looking, I set a willy-nilly budget based on a random guess at my spending habits. When I actually sat down and made a REAL budget, I realized I had over shot by a few hundred a month… and forgotten to account for extra expenses like hydro, parking, and a landline if it’s an intercom system. Even still, I see apartments and think “oh, but it’s only xyz amount more a month…” and that’s bad, because when I add in the hydro being extra (if it is), the parking, etc; it ends up being way out of budget. So now I make sure every time I see a place I like, I divide the rent by two and add in all my extra expenses (parking, utilities, laundry, cable, etc) and make sure it’s still within my price range BEFORE even picking up the phone or emailing about the place.
9. Don’t settle, and don’t rush it.
We applied for the third apartment we saw (it got rented to someone else). At first, I was really disappointed – but then I started to remember the negative things about it. The hallways were icky (though the apartment was pristine). The on-site parking was tight and involved parallel parking (yeah, I suck at that) and for a second spot we’d have to rent from a building across the street and down. The bathroom was tiny. There was only one sink in the kitchen (not a double one). Sure, none of these things are major or deal-breakers - but we panicked (surprise, surprise) due to our bad luck of getting “sorry, we just rented it” calls before a scheduled viewing and applied right away. I was actually second guessing the decision before we were told it was rented to someone else, so in the end, I was a bit relieved. I’m not happy to have to keep looking, but hey – maybe the next awesome one will let us rent two parking spaces on-site AND have a double sink.
10. Don’t be too picky.
I know that sounds like a total contradiction of the previous one – but it’s true, especially if you’re trying to stick to a (fairly) tight budget. You have to accept that you might have to give up certain things (like an L-shaped living room) for other things (like two closets in the bedroom). Or you might have to trade a balcony for your perfect location. Even our deal breakers and “must-haves” are, to some extent, flexible if “otherwise” the place is PERFECT or we just have an amazing vibe about it. The only thing I CAN’T bend about, really, is my budget – so I have to be willing to be a little flexible. Where I’m not willing to be flexible? If the place has bed bug reports or really bad reviews by tenants online. Or if it’s owned by CapReit.
And if all else fails? Quit your job and move out west.
(Kidding, mom!)
If you have any advice, comments, or experience with the apartment hunt in Toronto – I’d love to hear it!
Untitled by Martinho on Flickr
Things have gotten interesting over at the Occupy Toronto camp in the last day or so– really interesting, in fact – especially for a political nerd like me. I love politics and law, and I especially love everything about constitutional law – I took a bunch of law-related classes in my undergrad (and actually had, for all purposes, intended to go to law school – I sort of “fell” into multimedia, journalism, and communications before writing the LSAT) and I took a few constitutional law classes as well.
I even have a t-shirt from my Political Science department that has a sports-jersey style to it:
NOTWITHSTANDING
33
Hilarious, right? If you got that, you’re as big of a nerd as I am.
Anyway, like I said – things are getting interesting. Specifically, in relation to legal developments surrounding the Occupy Toronto movement – and I’ll be watching the court system over the coming days very, very closely.
Untitled by -- brian cameron -- on Flickr
Yesterday morning, Mayor Rob Ford and the City of Toronto delivered eviction notices to the Occupy Toronto protesters (who have set up a tent city and have been camping in St. James Park downtown for the past 31 days) – basically saying “vacate the park by 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, please and thank you”. Well, that didn’t sit too well with the protesters – who thus planned a party (I wish I was kidding) and said “well, we’re not listening to the law, and we’re not leaving”. I’ve heard they’ve since removed (and burned) all eviction notices and have replaced them with signs reading something to the effect of, “The Charter is our permit!”
Now, I believe in the right to assemble and protest as much as the next person – but setting up a camp in public space does not sit well with me. The city wants the Occupy Toronto protest out for a number of reasons – bylaw violations, disrupting the neighbourhood residents enjoyment of the park, the effect on local businesses in the area… you get the idea.
Technically, the Occupy Toronto protest has been violating a number of city (park-related) by-laws since the occupation of St. James Park began over 30 days ago, including 608-3 conduct, 608-7 encroachment, 608-9 access, 608-10 campfires and barbecues, 608-13 camping and lodging, and 608-14 tents and structures.
To expand a list of the specific bylaws they’re violating (according to my interpretation) click here.
Basically, what happened next was this: while most protesters were planning a party (I wish I was kidding) and meeting to discuss “what now?”, a small group went to the courts to get an injunction – based on a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge – and succeeded.
The occupiers are arguing that evicting them from St. James Park (and other occupy movements across Canada from their respective locations) is a violation of our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which outlines our fundamental freedoms as Canadian citizens in section two:
2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
(a) freedom of conscience and religion;
(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
(c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
(d) freedom of association.
Justice David Brown granted them a stay of eviction, meaning a) the City and police may not forcibly remove the protesters, tents, or other structures, and b) the protesters may not grow their operations by adding more bodies, tents, or structures.
The hearing is scheduled for Friday, when the Occupy Toronto lawyer and city lawyer will present their cases to the courts, and the Justice Brown has promised a decision by suppertime Saturday.
So, the question remains: is there really a valid Charter challenge here? And whose rights supersede whose? Do bylaws trump the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, or does the Charter trump the law?
Personally, I don’t think there’s a real Charter challenge, nor do I think the Charter trumps these particular bylaws.
Section one of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is very clear:
1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.
And, in my opinion – the bylaws outlined above are such reasonable limits. No one is telling the Occupy Toronto protesters they may not protest, and no one is saying they may not protest IN St. James Park – they are simply being told they can’t LIVE in the park.
As a sidebar, in other cities, there’s been issues with protesters overdosing on drugs (in fact, there was a non-fatal incident of a similar nature in Toronto) and in Vancouver, someone actually died at the protest. With the harsh Canadian winter fast approaching, it’s no wonder people are concerned about the well-being of the protesters on top of the other aforementioned issues.
But, on the flip side – it seems in Vancouver a group of homeless activitists won the right to sleep/camp in parks in 2008, though I’m unclear as to whether or not that is still the case.
Also, in terms of the American protests and their evictions – I’ve seen numerous tent cities set up in the USA, particularly across from the White House, and they’ve been there for decades (presumably) without issue. So, do they have some sort of special consideration, or permit – or does the government turn a blind eye? Or are they arrested, and then return to continue the protest? If anyone has any insight into this, I’d love to hear it.
Untitled by Martinho on Flickr
What makes me nervous about this is the fact it’s a challenge to the Charter – while I agree it’s time the protesters stop camping in St. James Park and look at other options, I also don’t like the fact it’s come this far. A successful Charter challenge by Occupy Toronto would open a whole other can of worms in terms of bylaws, citizen rights, and whether laws of the Charter – in other similar and non similar instances – supersede City laws.
One thing is for sure – like I said earlier – I’ll be watching very closely as this unfolds in the coming days.
Click “read more” below to see the Toronto Municipal Code Parks by-law as it pertains to this protest.
Read more »
The theory is this: in 1998, the province downgraded Highway 7 from a provincial highway to a regional road for a number of reasons, including the opening of the 407 (aka my favourite thing ever, except for the cost).
More traffic lights were added, the speed limit was lowered – but the “highway” moniker was kept. Now, York Region is building a bunch of junk (okay, not junk – bus lanes, bike lanes, highrises, etc) along Highway 7, and officials think the word “highway” doesn’t match anymore.
So they’re holding a contest to rename it.
It’s going to cost more than $250,000.
Yes, a quarter of a million to rename a small piece of a long highway that runs through Richmond Hill, Markham, and Vaughan – but will still be called “Highway 7” in other areas.
And, honestly – who actually thinks people will refer to Highway 7– sorry, [INSERT NEW NAME HERE] as it’s new name? The Skydome became the Rogers Center in 2005, and really, who calls it the “Rogers Center” besides newscasters, sports officials and, uh, Rogers?
According to news reports, a few contenders include Avenue 7, Gridlock Way, and Bottleneck Boulevard.
Wait, Avenue 7?
Yes, there’s a good idea – lets waste TWO HUNDERD AND FIFTY THOUSAND dollars to change the word “highway” to “avenue”.
Face palm.
Oh, and did I mention it’s already been dubbed “York Regional Road 7″ by the region?
Double face palm.
So, why is this (apparently) a good idea?
Well, according to some guy who swims in hundred dollar bills Steven Kemp, director of traffic management with York Region, “Highway 7 will not be the road that people use to travel through the region. It’s the place that people will go.”
Which, obviously, warrants spending $250,000 on a name change.
Guess I’ll need to buy new road maps.
This morning, an anonymous letter from a cyclist who took a nasty spill is making the rounds in Toronto media.
The letter is directed to a jogger, who, according to the cyclist, literally steeped over him/her to continue jogging, instead of asking if assistance was needed or if they were alright.
My first thought was “how terrible!”
I mean, how could someone – literally – walk OVER someone injured instead of seeing if they need a hand?
Apparently, many Torontonians – or, at least, National Post commentators – don’t agree with me, as many think the letter is “whiny”, accuses the cyclist of riding in a prohibited area or cutting the jogger off, and telling the “limping cyclist” to toughen up.
Okay, maybe the fall wasn’t major, maybe the jogger was “in the zone”, but really – is that any excuse for not asking if the biker was okay?
I mean, when I see someone fall, I help them up or ask if they need assistance.
Recently, I actually went OUTSIDE MY HOUSE when I heard someone yelling – a teen had taken a spill off his bike, was in pain, and his younger brother was yelling and crying. If I can leave my house to see if someone needs help, is it really too much to ask someone to stop for a minute?
Apparently so.
Here’s another story: I tripped in the mall a few years back, on the steps near an exit and busted up my knee really good. The edge of the stair went straight in between my kneecap and leg bone, there was a crunching noise, and it took me a good few seconds to get up after being stunned and shouting “OW!”
TONS of people were around.
Most kept walking, looked the other way, or ignored me all together. A group of teenagers – probably about 17 or 18, so not much older than I was at the time (21) LAUGHED at me instead of offering to help. I limped out in pain and tears – people looked, but there was still no offer for help.
My fall was so bad I went to get my knee x-rayed at the hospital, ended up on crutches for 3 weeks, had an MRI later, and was in physiotherapy for one and a half years. Thankfully, although my knee is still weaker than my other one, it’s mostly healed (except when it’s humid it acts up) and I was lucky enough not to break anything or do any serious cartilage damage.
This avoidance-of-helping isn’t a new phenomenon, either. Too many people “don’t want to get involved” in various situations. In 1964, Kitty Genovese was famously stabbed to death on the street in NYC. 38 people witnessed or heard the struggle, yet no one did anything. Everyone assumed someone else would do it.
Now, while I am not necessary saying you should get directly involved in something so violent – would it kill you to call the police? To throw something from your window down that way, to try and scare the perp?
Unlikely.
And, by that same token – would it kill you to ask someone who’s fallen off a bike, tripped in the mall, if they need help?
I doubt it.
So why don’t we do those things? Why do we look the other way, ignore the situation, or think “someone else will pull over, someone else will call 911″.
I honestly think it’s a big city syndrome. I once pulled over in Timmins, on the side of the country highway, to take a picture of a pretty double rainbow spanning the forest. Within minutes, a car stopped to ask if I needed help. Five minutes later, a second stopped.
I tripped downtown once in Timmins too – didn’t even fall, simply lost my balance, but caught myself in time. A man standing near by smoking asked if I was okay, and when I said I was, said “You have to be careful on these bricks, they can be loose!”
Yet, in places like Toronto, in New York – it seems people can’t be bothered to stop and help.
Next time you see someone fall, drop something, or do something that otherwise catches your attention – I challenge you to actually stop and do something about it.
If we all paid a little more attention – and were a little nicer to each other – I think Toronto would be a much more pleasant place to live… as opposed to so cold.
And I don’t mean “cold” in a winter snow kind of way.
This blog post is long overdue – considering the CNE (aka the Ex!) ended weeks ago – but hey, I’m doing pretty good considering I still haven’t blogged about my, er, Feburary/March trip to Europe. Oops.
I haven’t been to the Ex now in a few years – actually I think the last time I went was when I was still a student… so at least 2 years ago, if not longer.
I’m going to be completely honest: there was one main reason why I begged The Boy to go with me – despite the fact he, uh, was spending 5 nights a week working the overnight shift as a poker dealer at the Ex Casino – and that was DEEP. FRIED. EVERYTHING.
The CNE is pretty well known for a number of things:
- The (sketchy) midway rides (of which I always ride the giant Ferris Wheel)
- extraordinarily expensive parking costs ($20 – unless your boyfriend has an employee parking pass, ha!)
- The casino, of course – I’ve heard Rama & Port Perry are EMPTY during the 6 weeks this one is operative
- The Labour Day weekend Air Show (which I was supposed to go to, but skipped due to impending rain that never actually arrived)
- The crazy sculptures – made from rocks, sand, butter… yeah, butter!
- And (in my family, at least) the fact I always come home with a collection of overpriced, unneeded, midway game stuffed animals.
But beyond all that, the Ex is ALSO known for their overly oleaginous, caloricly careless – but disgustingly delicious – deep friend food. Mac and Cheese! Pickles! Mars Bars! Oreos! Ice Cream! Pop Tarts! Cola! You name it, they probably deep fry it.
Doughnut burgers being made - gained 5lbs just by looking. ;)
The CNE made headlines earlier this year when they announced they’d be carrying the famed Krispy Kreme doughnut burger. I didn’t try it – the line was horrendously long, and hey, I didn’t want to subject myself to 1,500 calories in one burger (and that’s without the bacon!). I would have split with the boy – but he didn’t want to end up eating most of it if I didn’t like it or “got full”. I don’t blame him. That happens a lot to us.
I did, however, try a few other deep-friend goodies (which probably added up to more than 1,500 calories, ha – but we shared ;)
The Deep Fried Pickle
Delicious. I don’t have another word to describe this. It was super juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and had a super tasty flavor. It also came on a stick, which won me over immediately. I ask you – who doesn’t love food on a stick?
The Deep Fried Mac n’ Cheese
Sold out. As in, I had to settly for deep fried mac n’ cheese curds, which I was assured was “the same only cheesier” – “hell yes, I’m in!” I said. I regretted that about 15 seconds later when I actually tried them. The dish was dry, lacked flavour, and honestly I couldn’t find cheese. Seriously. It was like deep fried mac. Really disappointing. I heard from a friend that the mac n’ cheese was much better – kicking myself for settling for the curds. I must admit they were substantially better once we made the discovery that leftover ranch dip from pickle + deep friend mac n’ curds = om nom.
The Deep Fried Pop Tart
OMG DELICIOUS! I do have to admit, I was deeply disappointed they didn’t have a chocolate pop-tart, and asked for a deep-fried s’more instead – but they were sold out. So I decided to “settle” for a raspberry pop-tart (I really wanted the sprinkley strawberry one, but The Boy doesn’t like strawberry all that much). Much to my delight, it ALSO came on a stick (again, food tastes better on a stick! ;) and drowned in icing sugar and chocolate sauce. Cardiac arrest? Possibly, but at least you’ll die with happy taste buds. I loved it so much. I am immensely glad I don’t have a deep-frier at home or I’d be eating these for breakfast every day (and weigh like 700 lbs). And probably deep frying everything else in my kitchen too – deep frying is kind of fun to do.
'Deep-fried Cola 3' by alanosaur on Flickr
The Deep Fried Coke
Didn’t eat it. Why? We searched, and searched, and FINALLY found it and were going to give it a whirl (even with the line) but… it looked disgusting. Like worms. Deep fried worms.
And we were stuffed. From eating everything else.
It was worth it, though – especially that Pop Tart.
Maybe next year.
