Little Fish, Big Pond

[hum-an-ole]

My best friend and I have been considering moving for quite a few years now, with our sights set on Toronto or Vancouver. We both have a few years of experience in the graphic design industry and would like to continue in that field if possible. I'm also considering seeking some sort of job in the public to get to know the city and meet people, while continuing to do contract design work on the side to keep my current business running and hopefully eventually growing to a point that it can be a reasonable income.

 

I know there's a few of you who live in/around these areas and I'd like to hear your thoughts on the opportunities there. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Crusader]

Vancouver's a bit expensive and you might have a hard time finding a job in graphic design here at first but it's a great city.

[hum-an-ole]

I was looking at some job sites and there seems to be an abundance of places looking to hire designers in and around Vancouver

Edited June 5, 2008 by Christing

[Ravenous megin-sane]

toronto is a great place to visit, but i would hate to live there

[Crusader]

I was looking at some job sites and there seems to be an abundance of places looking to hire designers in and around Vancouver

[Prometheon]

Cost of living is extremely high in both Toronto (I know) and Vancouver (from what I've heard).

 

Toronto is a great city, but it can also be a bit of a pain in the ass. I don't know if I could recommend living downtown, and in all honesty it would probably be better for you to live somewhere in the GTA so that you could get cheaper housing and likely not have much of an impact on your design opportunities.

 

Edit: GTA is the greater Toronto area and includes the more suburban sort of areas around downtown.

Edited June 5, 2008 by Prometheon

[Lauren]

if i was looking to completely relocate, i'd go to montreal. from what little i've seen of the city, it's amazing here. daniel would have to tell you more about living and working, though. vous ne pas parler francais.

 

 

i would never live in toronto. the only parts i would consider would be around my boyfriend's house but theres no way i could justify a regular brick house for $800,000+.

in my spare time, i like looking up rent prices in areas i might live and from what i've seen, rent in toronto is similar to rent in ottawa.

Edited June 5, 2008 by Lauren

[Azalroth]

...rent in toronto is similar to rent in ottawa.

really? I wouldn't have guessed that. Then again I only pay $400 for a townhouse, $1200 total shared between 3 guys.

[Muran]

On the contrary to what Anton says, I think there is great opportunity here for you, in the graphic design area. I haven't seen your website lately, but as long as you have a degree/certification, and a solid portfolio, I don't think you'd have a problem.

 

Maybe check out Blast Radius, they have locations in Toronto and Vancouver. I know a ton of people who work there, and they couldn't be happier.

 

As for living here...yes, downtown is quite expensive, but you could easily get by living in Richmond or Burnaby.

[Guest Prosis]

As much as I hate the city, Montreal is an awesome place for this kind of stuff Christine. I've found no less than 6 jobs in the Web field (which of course are places that need graphic designers) and there are a lot of marketing companies (like the one I'm working at now).

 

I think it would be a good compromise between where you are now and Toronto.

[borntohula]

while toronto can be fairly expensive, if you plan to move there with your friend, sharing a place isn't that bad. as prometheon mentioned, areas that are still in toronto but not considered downtown, like high park or st. clair west, are pretty affordable if you've got a roommate.

 

there's plenty of opportunity here in your field. my good friend from highschool is into graphic design and although it took him a little while to find a job, he's currently working for some firm or something and enjoying it quite abit.

 

also, like others have mentioned, toronto is cool at first but not somewhere you want to stick around for long. i'll be living there next year and maybe a bit after as my girlfriend does some post-grad stuff, but as soon as she's done, we're getting the heck out.

[hum-an-ole]

Thank you everyone, I really appreciate your input. Any information I can gather is a big help.

 

Regarding Toronto: what exactly is so terrible about it that people wouldn't want to stay long? I don't know that I would want to settle there forever, but I'm curious to know the reasons why people consider it not a place to stay.

 

About cost of living: We would certainly not mind living outside of the downtown area as long as there is sufficient public transportation. What's the subway system like in Vancouver? If I recall correctly, Toronto's goes all night and goes pretty far.

 

I think Montr

[Prometheon]

Toronto just strikes me as sort of cynical. Driving in Toronto sucks, and a lot of people seem very self-absorbed. The public transportation is quite good, provided the TTC isn't on strike.

[Muran]

Apparently lots of people hates the transit system here. I've never had a problem with it, but a lot of people have qualms with it. Skytrain runs until about 12:30 to 1:30am, depending on where you're going, and most busses run until about 2:00am, I believe. So I guess that's pretty early...

 

I used to live in Richmond, and went to school in Slurrey and never had a problem with transit during the day, and I'm not a huge all-night party person, so I never really had a problem getting home from downtown at night.

[Guest Prosis]

I think Montr

[borntohula]

Regarding Toronto: what exactly is so terrible about it that people wouldn't want to stay long? I don't know that I would want to settle there forever, but I'm curious to know the reasons why people consider it not a place to stay.

it's expensive and there are lots of people. but that's the case with any big city, and seeing as how you're gunning for two of the biggest in canada, my guess is that these things won't be much of an issue for you.

 

as far as the people are concerned, i haven't really noticed an overall difference between the people from where i live (20 minutes or so from toronto) and the people who populate toronto itself. so either i'm used to it or that people in toronto aren't different, there's just more of them.

 

i used to like big cities, but now i prefer smaller communities like guelph, for their charm and local businesses.

[Ravenous megin-sane]

seeing as you're from a smaller town, toronto will be such a change and you'll most likely be like 'YEAH!! TORONTO IS AWESOME!!!' but the shine wears off pretty quickly. and when toronto is against you, it's really really against you. i lived there for a week at my friends and i was glad to come home. oddly enough i'm going there tonight, haha.

also, the transit system is good, but expensive.

 

as for montreal, i've gone there and there's not a language barrier at all. knowing the bare minimum of french will be enough

[heyrabbit]

On the positive side, you're able to get pretty much anywhere in Toronto in under an hour more or less. That's a really big plus to anyone starting out in a new city, especially if you don't have a car, and especially considering the rising cost of gas. If you find work relatively close to where you live, you can buy a bike and get around no problem. Lots of people do that.

 

 

The biggest downside to Toronto has to be that it's the most multicultural(racist) and one of the most liberal cities in the world. The city is separated into dozens of sub-groups, divided by culture and race. There's Greek town, little Italy and like 5 china towns. You name it, it's here. There have been times when I needed directions and I couldn't even find anyone who spoke English. Especially if you move to the suburbs, there's a good chance you could end up in an area where there are you'd be a minority as a white person, where nobody speaks English and where nobody has any real intention of learning the language.

 

More on the plus side, there's tons of shops and theaters and pretty much anything you want to do, you can find it somewhere here. If you want to be a beatnik or a hippie, this is as good a place as any. There are are tons of organic food stores and hte like downtown.

 

I don't know how hard it is to find a job in graphic design,

but I imagine that that's the type of career that is never really in super high demand, so this might be as good a place as any. My brother's friend just got hired by the first place he applied to, for graphic design. My cousin's gf does graphic design here and loves it.

 

 

 

*There are lots of homeless and or mentally ill people who harass you for money in the downtown core.

 

*Our Mayor is an idiot. So is our premier.

 

Can't think of anything else.

[RicardoObviouso]

there is a lot of opportunity in vancouver, in every sense of the word. if you need a local reference for a job or a rental suite, pm me.

[Guest Prosis]

as for montreal, i've gone there and there's not a language barrier at all. knowing the bare minimum of french will be enough

Exactly! ;)

[Lauren]

none at all.

[Prometheon]

So are there any verdicts/considerations, Christine?

[hum-an-ole]

The where/when/how is still in discussion. It's looking like I may be heading the way of Vancouver in about a year. I wanted to go sooner, but it may make more sense for everyone if we wait a bit and have the chance to prepare. I have 3 friend who may be on bored, so we'll see what happens. I'm going to continue to look into it.

 

 

Again, thanks to everyone for the input, it's been very helpful.

Edited June 13, 2008 by Christing

[RicardoObviouso]

i say do it by yourself.

[Lauren]

solo missions are very satisfying.