A Canadian Institution

Tim Hortons, eh. It is truly an institution in Canada.  If you don't know what Timmy's is that means you probably haven't spent much time in Canada or in Michigan, Maine, Connecticut, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York areas where there are Tim Hortons locations.

Tim Horton was a Canadian hockey player who started a doughnut and coffee shop in 1964.  (See Wikipedia for lots of information:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Hortons)  The chain has grown and morphed over the years into what I would consider a cross between McDonald's and Dunkin' Doughnuts.  There are locations everywhere here (more than 3000 in Canada), and they are constantly busy.  In the US, there are hundreds of locations, but they've recently closed 50 stores.  It doesn't seem like Timmy's is quite as successful breaking into the US market as it has been expanding in Canada.

We ended up driving to the US for the US Thanksgiving holiday so I made my first stop at a Tim Hortons on the road.  I thought the coffee was ok, maybe the same as McDonald's or Dunkin' Doughnuts.  But, as of 2006 Tim Horton's had 62% of the Canadian coffee market.  At least for coffee, I'm not planning to convert anytime soon - I'm still a Starbucks (or Caribou when available) girl!  

Cell Phone Options in Toronto

If you are moving to Toronto you're likely going to want to get a cell phone, but you'll find it isn't quite as easy as it sounds, and there are many things to consider before deciding which route to take.  

The main debate you'll have is around how you are going to communicate with people in the US and Canada, which leads to the debate about whether you want to keep your US number or get a Canadian one.  Below are some considerations for both:

1. If you have a US number, you can get an international plan (+$20 for voice/text only) so the calls you make will not cost extra above and beyond the increased price of your plan.  However, people in Canada will likely (depending on their phone plan) be charged long distance to call or text you.  I worried about this since I'm going to live in Canada, I didn't feel right making it difficult for people here to reach me.
2. If you get a Canadian cell phone plan, then the calls you make from Toronto will not be affected, but your friends/family from the US will likely pay extra to call/text you.  If you're going to travel to the US frequently, you'll want to consider having an international/North American plan so you can use your phone.  Additionally this option requires you to change your number, communicate that to your contacts, and lose your US number (only matters if you're ever moving back) - not insurmountable, but a bit annoying.

Where to Shop TO: Sundries, etc

Toronto is similar to New York in the way people shop for sundries (love that word!) like toilet paper, shampoo, etc. in that we generally buy them at smaller stores like drug stores (or even the grocery store) versus going to a place like Wal-Mart.  This is because stores like Wal-Mart are farther out in the city making it a big trip to visit one versus somewhere you stop on your way home from work.  In Toronto there are two main drug store chains - Rexall and Shoppers Drug Mart - as well as many independent stores.  We live right down the block from a Shoppers so that is where we go most often for everyday necessities and prescriptions.  It is open until midnight and has a Canada Post location inside making it very convenient to buy stamps and mail letters. 

Flying In and Out of Toronto

In honor of flying to Minnesota tomorrow for my parents' anniversary and US Thanksgiving, I thought it was appropriate to write about flying in and out of Toronto.  There are two airports you can use in Toronto. One is Toronto's Pearson Airport (YYZ) which is a huge international airport with several terminals west of the city.  You can take a subway to a city bus, or a chartered-type bus, but in my opinion driving is your best option to get to the airport.  You can fly anywhere you want from there, and prices are generally reasonable.  The one route I find completely unreasonable is of course from Toronto to Minneapolis, and this was a serious consideration for us when deciding to move to Toronto.  There are several direct flights each day on three major carriers, but it must be primarily a business route.

Restaurant Tipping in Toronto

How much are you supposed to tip in Toronto?  Well, I think the take home message for me is that if you tip how you would in the US, you'll be more than covered.  Other than that there is a lot of debate on how much you should tip in different circumstances.

Exploring TO: St. Lawrence Market

St. Lawrence Market South Building

St. Lawrence Market is a fantastic place to spend a Saturday in Toronto.  The neighborhood around there is cute on its own merit, but then bring in the market and it is worth the trek down.  In the north building, there is a farmer's market every Saturday which runs year round and some craft-type vendors around the perimeter.  It is similar to the rest of the markets in the city so no need to make it on Saturday just for that.  The south building is amazing though!  I'm not sure I've been anywhere quite like it - maybe the market in Barcelona?  I think my husband would strongly consider moving down to the area just so he could stop there to pick up food to cook every day. 

TV Service in Toronto

We didn't have cable or satellite in NYC, and I didn't miss it at all.  When we moved to Toronto we got a new TV, now that we have more space and spot to hang it on the wall, so we decided it was worth the investment.  We ended up getting Rogers cable partially because we didn't really feel like we had any other good option (funny how Rogers seems to do that in internet, phone, cell-phones, etc.).  In our neighborhood, Bell just started offering service about a week ago so it wasn't an option when we moved.  We debated getting US satellite service, but decided it sounded like too much of a pain and we worried that we wouldn't have customer service here, not to mention it is illegal.  To my knowledge there is no Fios type option in Toronto as of now.  I know one company is available in Alberta and BC but not here yet.