Saturday, June 21, 2008

Toronto Travel Plans 6/29 - 7/6

Eric and I made our travel plans to Toronto the other day. Now that our LMO has been issued we can go get our work permits, find a place to live, open bank accounts, etc. Very exciting.

We'll be there a week, arriving Sunday evening, June 29th and leaving on Monday July 7th. We got a great price on a room at the Intercontinental in Yorkville, which is centrally located and very comfortable. The details of the trip have come together splendidly. Another bonus - Tuesday, July 1st is "Canada Day". On that note, I just had my Microsoft Outlook add Canadian Holidays to my Calendar on my laptop. I need to keep track of them now, don't I? (Eh?) It's a nice little detail that makes this adventure all the more real. OK, you can stop laughing at me now. No, really. Stop.

We will fly into Buffalo, which was several hundred dollars per person less expensive than flying directly to Toronto. I've been told the drive from Buffalo to Toronto is bleak and I shouldn't let it discourage me. Two unrelated people have told me that. Interesting. In any case, we would have rented a car in Toronto anyway and I don't at all mind the opportunity to see more of the surrounding area. We are also looking forward to experiencing Niagara Falls, which surprisingly, I haven't done despite living in Ithaca, NY for almost ten years in the '80's and early '90's. On the more practical side, we can collect our work permits from Canadian Immigration when we cross the border.

And then on to Toronto!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds fabulous! Good luck with the expedition and, btw, I don't know that "bleak" is exactly the word... Looking forward to your report!

Anonymous said...

I have enjoyed reading about your plans to relocate. As a Canadian who previously lived a number of years in the US I found this very handy for banking. The Royal Bank of Canada owns a US bank and you can have both accounts linked online. I can transfer from either account to the other and it is there immediately. The web site is http://www.rbcbankusa.com/ and http://royalbank.ca/
Don't take this as a recommendation for the bank. I think all banks suck! This one just happens to have useful features for folks who live cross-border.
Please keep up the blog...at least until you are settled and your life fails into a boring routine! :)

Tom said...

Hi Guys,

Will you be here in time for the pride parade?

Safe travels to you both, if you need anything while here just let us know.

Adam said...

To Anonymous-Thanks for the banking tip. You didn't mention which bank they own in the U.S. Which one is it? Shout back and let me know. I am going to spend a couple hours on the major Canadian banks websites and see if I can gleen (glean?) any good info for my banking decision.

To Tom- I don't think we are going to make the parade. We fly in to Buffalo at seven thirty pm. And then, if my info is correct, immigration is open 24/7 and I'd like to get the Temp. Work Permit process finished before heading to TO. So, I am hoping to be in a bar having a cocktail as early as possible before last call. Any bar suggestions after a long days journey?

Cheers to you both!

Jude said...

Adam these are the urls for the US and Canadian banks.
http://www.rbcbankusa.com/ and http://royalbank.ca/

Adam said...

Jude
Sorry. Didn't see the "usa" tacked on to the first url on your first post. After visiting the big five Canadian bank websites, as well as the Canadian wireless phone carriers, I have to say that they all seem to nickel and dime (as we say here in the States) their customers to death with all the fees and extra charges. I feel I need to do a speadsheet to compare each to make a proper decision. OK, maybe not, it's early and I need coffee. Thanks for the info!

Tom said...

It depends on what you like. Emi and I like Pegasus. O'Grady's is a nice bear bar. Zippers is for the young and dancing, George's Play has some nice drag shows.

We don't go out too much so that's all I know about.

Adam said...

Tom
Thanks for the recommendations. A quiet-ish place for a beer will suit me fine. Perhaps you'all will join us for one in the near future!

Scott M. said...

So... aren't you posting from T.O.? They have a free "business centre" in the Intercontental, ya know...

Tom said...

We would enjoy meeting up with you guys. How is the visit going so far?

Adam said...

Yo Tom

The visit has been all things. We have been both brilliant and idiotic in our strategic planning for this week. Thankfully, so faz, the Universe has been very generous with the safety nets provided.

And we would love to meet up with the two of you. Please email your contact info at canadianboomdiada@gmail.com which is the private email provided for such a purpose. We leave Monday morning.