Chandresh,

You are forgotting one important fact - Mississauga is only 600,000 where as rest of GTA is almost 4,500,000 !

How can a such a small city offer more jobs than Rest of Toronto?

It could offer jobs in certain fields, for example pharma, but not necessarily in all fields.

I have seen people communiting from Scarborough to Mississauga. Infact I did it with my first job for 4 months, one way 60 Kms! Does it mean that most of jobs are in Mississauga?

Now I have job in Vaughan and at my work almost 30 percent people are commuting from Mississauga!

So, it is not certain where you will get a job, and when it is uncertain one has to choose a location with easier transportation and there is no alternate to GTA area.

Yes once you get a job nearby and have your car, may be Mississauga could be better place.

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A Proud Indian Canadian

Considering Mississauga as starting point
Mr. Amit Kalia's article on Mississauga and neighbouring areas is indeed very informative. We are considering Mississauga as a starting point when we make a landing early this summer, for several reasons. Could someone please advise us re. the following:

1) Since we are a fairly large family (5) we would need to rent a 2-BR place from the outset. Could you recommend an area in Mississauga which is favourable in terms of good public transport to downtown, economical rent, proximity to schools, malls, govt. run HR centers, libraries, etc.
2) In terms of job hunting, would it be much easier to operate from Scarborough or could one easily commute from Mississauga as well?
3) Can one arrange to rent an apartment in Mississauga while one is still in India? How does one go about it?

We would be grateful for any advice in this regard. Thanks!


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Hi All,

I was reading this informative thread and the comments of all the fellow desis regarding plus points (and some minus points too) of living in Mississauga for a new immigrant. However, I think in this discussion, we forgot to answer correctly ( if I have not missed it) about Margo's question about the apartment. Margo has mentioned that they are a faimily of 5 and would need a 2 bed room apartment from the outset. I would like to draw her attention (and comments from other participants) to the fact that in Canada (at least in GTA if I am not mistaken) there is a law (which was discussed in some other thread by some one else) which prohibits siblings of different sex aged more than 12 years to stay in one bed room. I am presuming that there could be around 3 kids in the family and in that case the bare minimum they would require is a 3 bed room apartment which could cost upward of $1300 per month in Mississauga. This could be a big financial commitment for a new immigrant .

Secondly, she has not mentioned about the type of job they would be looking ( or what their professional qualification and experiences are) it would not be possible to suggest which place would be better, Toronto or Mississauga.

So, I believe Margo, You have to give more information about the family and your professional qualification and experience in order to enable desis to properly guide you.

Thanks

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Pramod Chopra
Senior Mortgage Consultant
Mortgage Alliance Company of Canada

Great deal of information thru this valuable thread! Thanks to all participants.

Can a valid driving license from Oman help drive immediately in Toronto on arrival? Will I have to go through a written test, road test etc. all over again? What is the time, cost involved in this whole affair?

How much a pre-owned, mid-size family saloon car of 2000 / 2001 model will cost? Can I get it financed by car leasing companies?

Best regards,

NorthStar, you will have to apply for both written and other exams from the start. Take a copy of your Omani license and show it to the transport authority. Since the driving is almost similar to the Middle East you can first pass your written G1 and straight away apply for G license. You will be able to skip the G2 license. The total cost can be approx $ 300 including license fees and driving lessons ( Four to Five 45 mins driving lessons should suffice in your case).

A mid size car 2001 to 2001 car can cost you anything from 5000-12000 C$. See http://www.automart.ca or http://www.autotrader.ca

It is hard to lease a new car in your case as you donot have proof of good credit history in Canada.

Regards,

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Amit Kalia, Broker, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Real Estate Centre., Brokerage
independently owned & operated
100 City Centre Dr, Unit 1-702
Mississauga, ON L5B 2C9
Phone No.: 905-339-5111
Website: https://www.realestate-ontario.com/
Condo Blog: https://condopundit.com/blog/

On your intenational license you can drive for some time - I am not sure it is 2 months or 6 months.

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A Proud Indian Canadian

One word of caution...a few years back i visited Toronto and was merrily driving with my intl drivers licence. i happenned to drop by the motor vehicles office in Square one mall. I asked them how long can i drive with the intl licence...to my surprise they told me that intl drivers licence is not recognised in Ontario, other provinces do allow tho. Too bad of me i should have never asked the question ....I had to get a friend of mine drop me home.

I dont know if the rule is still the same...but those driving on intl licence in ontario should double check with motor vehicles dept.

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What can be imagined, can be achieved.

Int'l licence is valid for 2 months
In most cases rental cos like avis, hertz would acept a valid int'l licence sometimes even Indian and rent you a car which initially helps if there is an urgency or if one can afford (believe most of them from Gulf can)

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