Future midwife needs help moving from Edmonton to Toronto!
May 24, 2011 10:45 AM Subscribe
I was recently accepted to Ryerson's midwifery education program, a lifelong dream of mine. However, now my partner and I are faced with planning a long distance move and feeling a little overwhelmed. Details inside.
Our questions are as follows:
- Does anyone have a decent long-distance moving company recommendation? I am terrified of being ripped off and we don't have too many belongings. I'd like to ship a queen sized bed, a 2007 Honda Jazz scooter, and a few boxes. Everything else will be coming with us in the car. A company that provides a few weeks of storage in Toronto would be preferable as we haven't yet secured a place to live. I have a quote from Capital movers for around $1100 but they are charging me some kind of mystifying 'Edmonton fee' of $200, and I have no idea if that's typical.
- Is it unreasonable to try and secure an apartment for August 1 from Edmonton and rent it sight-unseen? Once again, totally afraid of getting ripped off but don't know anyone in Toronto who would be up for apartment hunting on our behalf. I'd like to rent it for the beginning of the month but not arrive until mid-August. I'm afraid that if we wait until September we will be battling with all of the other students arriving and our options will be limited. Also, we have a dog, which always makes renting a nightmare.
- Maybe this question is a little amorphous, but does anyone have any insight on how I can stay reasonably sane during this process? My partner is beyond supportive but I can't help but feel guilty for dismantling our lives in order to live in poverty and chase my dreams across the country. He will be working and I will be assuming personal debt to pay for school, but I don't want to become some kind of crippling financial burden on him. I have been an independent adult for many years now and having to rely on someone else's income even a little makes me feel terrible (and vulnerable). We share expenses now, but I feel like it will be difficult when I am on a very fixed income. Is this justified, or am I just letting my anxieties get the better of me?
Our questions are as follows:
- Does anyone have a decent long-distance moving company recommendation? I am terrified of being ripped off and we don't have too many belongings. I'd like to ship a queen sized bed, a 2007 Honda Jazz scooter, and a few boxes. Everything else will be coming with us in the car. A company that provides a few weeks of storage in Toronto would be preferable as we haven't yet secured a place to live. I have a quote from Capital movers for around $1100 but they are charging me some kind of mystifying 'Edmonton fee' of $200, and I have no idea if that's typical.
- Is it unreasonable to try and secure an apartment for August 1 from Edmonton and rent it sight-unseen? Once again, totally afraid of getting ripped off but don't know anyone in Toronto who would be up for apartment hunting on our behalf. I'd like to rent it for the beginning of the month but not arrive until mid-August. I'm afraid that if we wait until September we will be battling with all of the other students arriving and our options will be limited. Also, we have a dog, which always makes renting a nightmare.
- Maybe this question is a little amorphous, but does anyone have any insight on how I can stay reasonably sane during this process? My partner is beyond supportive but I can't help but feel guilty for dismantling our lives in order to live in poverty and chase my dreams across the country. He will be working and I will be assuming personal debt to pay for school, but I don't want to become some kind of crippling financial burden on him. I have been an independent adult for many years now and having to rely on someone else's income even a little makes me feel terrible (and vulnerable). We share expenses now, but I feel like it will be difficult when I am on a very fixed income. Is this justified, or am I just letting my anxieties get the better of me?
I moved from Alberta to Toronto recently and had a good experience with my movers - I will memail you their contact information.
Ryerson and U of T both have dorms in various styles available through the summer. You might want to look into those for August and take that time to actually go look at apartments. (There are also places that will board dogs in the city, as the dorms don't allow pets.) viewit.ca and craigslist are the main sites I used to look for places, but I ended up finding my actual apartment by walking around the neighbourhood I wanted to live in. Saturday is a good day for that. Most students secure their housing for the following year before they leave for the summer, so don't worry too much about them. If you decide to get rid of the furniture and just ship boxes, look into Greyhound shipping - they're quite affordable.
Depending on what your partner is doing, you will probably not need a car. Parking in downtown Toronto is a hassle, especially as a renter, and you can get around the city just fine without a vehicle. Ryerson is very accessible by public transit. With a car, you'd probably be better off looking at neighbourhoods a little ways out of downtown - High Park, the Beaches, etc. Don't worry too much about the dog - it's better to be upfront with the landlord, but they cannot kick you out because you have a pet. (Ontario Landlord and Tenant Act)
A part-time job may help you feel less panicked about the financials. Are there co-op placements in your program? Can you contact the Ryerson career centre now to see if they can help you land a part-time position that would work with your program? And try not to frame it all as irrationally chasing your dreams - you are taking concrete steps towards getting yourself your dream career, a very practical kind of career as people are always going to be having babies.
posted by kyla at 11:41 AM on May 24, 2011
Ryerson and U of T both have dorms in various styles available through the summer. You might want to look into those for August and take that time to actually go look at apartments. (There are also places that will board dogs in the city, as the dorms don't allow pets.) viewit.ca and craigslist are the main sites I used to look for places, but I ended up finding my actual apartment by walking around the neighbourhood I wanted to live in. Saturday is a good day for that. Most students secure their housing for the following year before they leave for the summer, so don't worry too much about them. If you decide to get rid of the furniture and just ship boxes, look into Greyhound shipping - they're quite affordable.
Depending on what your partner is doing, you will probably not need a car. Parking in downtown Toronto is a hassle, especially as a renter, and you can get around the city just fine without a vehicle. Ryerson is very accessible by public transit. With a car, you'd probably be better off looking at neighbourhoods a little ways out of downtown - High Park, the Beaches, etc. Don't worry too much about the dog - it's better to be upfront with the landlord, but they cannot kick you out because you have a pet. (Ontario Landlord and Tenant Act)
A part-time job may help you feel less panicked about the financials. Are there co-op placements in your program? Can you contact the Ryerson career centre now to see if they can help you land a part-time position that would work with your program? And try not to frame it all as irrationally chasing your dreams - you are taking concrete steps towards getting yourself your dream career, a very practical kind of career as people are always going to be having babies.
posted by kyla at 11:41 AM on May 24, 2011
Actually, I believe as a midwife--even as a student--you will likely need a car. Won't you need one when you're on placements? (just a response to the comment above). Unfortunately I don't have any advice on moving to Toronto, but congratulations on your midwifery acceptance!
posted by Badmichelle at 6:19 PM on May 24, 2011
posted by Badmichelle at 6:19 PM on May 24, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks for your advice everyone. Badmichelle, you're right - I do need to keep my car in order to attend clinical placements in the program, and because of the on-call nature of attending births (which are unpaid placements) a part-time job isn't really feasible.
Very interesting to note that the Residential Tenancies Act doesn't allow for 'no pets' clauses. My understanding of the Act is that pets can only be denied if they are a considerable nuisance to others in the building, cause a severe allergic reaction, or are a danger. When an apartment listing says 'no pets', is that just the preference of the management, or perhaps a case where there is severe allergies in the building?
Perhaps the moral of the story is that it's terribly hard to become a midwife in Canada and I just need to buck up and do it. No job, huge expenses, car maintenance bills be damned!
posted by owlparliament at 8:51 AM on May 25, 2011
Very interesting to note that the Residential Tenancies Act doesn't allow for 'no pets' clauses. My understanding of the Act is that pets can only be denied if they are a considerable nuisance to others in the building, cause a severe allergic reaction, or are a danger. When an apartment listing says 'no pets', is that just the preference of the management, or perhaps a case where there is severe allergies in the building?
Perhaps the moral of the story is that it's terribly hard to become a midwife in Canada and I just need to buck up and do it. No job, huge expenses, car maintenance bills be damned!
posted by owlparliament at 8:51 AM on May 25, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Paquda at 11:08 AM on May 24, 2011