New to Toronto? The Ultimate Guide

Are you curious to know what it’s like to move to a brand new country as an international student? Well this is ‘New to Toronto, the ultimate guide!’ 

I am Yasmina Bizri and I moved to Toronto around 2 years ago and I decided to share my newest adventure with all of you guys to share my personal experiences, as well as some tips and tricks on how to settle down in the easiest and fastest way possible!

Moving to Toronto can be very challenging and quite daunting at first however; when you really think about it, it’s not that bad. I moved away from my family after living with them for 19 years. I was absolutely terrified to move away from them and go all the way to the otherside of the world, to a city where I knew no one. I knew that I had to take this drastic step for my future and  at the same time, for myself to be able to grow and become more independent.

Before I moved to Toronto, I joined some online groups on instagram to meet new people and try to make some friends prior to moving. Luckily, everyone I spoke to was wonderful and friendly which made this step easy for me.  A few months after, I actually moved to Toronto and that’s where everything changed, and my new, adult life began. I am the type of person who doesn’t like to face their fears and tends to run away from them. But this time things were different. I chose to face them and did everything possible that was outside of my comfort zone. I decided to go out at least once a day, whether that be to a park, to grab some coffee, study in a cafe, go for a walk or to even go on adventures and discover new areas within the city. A very important piece of advice I can give to anyone moving to the city is to go out and explore places. Do not lock yourself up in your room and study all the time because you will be miserable! Toronto is full of activities and amazing places for all kinds of people. Whenever you think you have done something and you think that there is nothing to do anymore, you are wrong! There are new events happening each week! A good instagram account that you can follow for activities and top places to go to is @streetsoftoronto ! Downtown Toronto has a lot more to offer than you can imagine. One of my favorite days since being here includes cycling to Grange Park on a sunny day then taking a stroll to Kensington market.

The first thing I would recommend doing when you move to a new country is to find ways to make new friends. This can be a bit hard at first but when you put yourself out there and have the intention of making friends, then it’s easy. The most important piece of advice I can offer is to join communities where people have the same interests, cultures and backgrounds. Once you join these different social groups, you will feel a sense of belonging and you will feel happy. These social groups constantly have events, gatherings, activities and many other things to offer. Go to events, socialize with people, even if you think they aren’t your people, you will never know until you put yourself out there. 

Overall, if i had to describe my personal experience of Toronto in 3 words they would be: overwhelming, fun and expensive! However, each person has their own experiences and I strongly recommend you go out in Toronto and create your own experiences and memories for yourself because trust me, these few years will be the best years of your life!