If it is, can we...meet for breakfast? Or on Friday evening? Sorry guys...I might be able to leave the workshop a bit early, if, say, 3:30 is the only thing that would work.

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Originally posted by hermitclare:
So, apparently I have to set aside 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for this workshop. This seems problematic to me, since I know someone (Specs?) was not available in the evening...is 4:30 too late for coffee?

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4:30 works for me. Any thoughts on where to go? Off the top of my head, I can think of Bean Around the World, Mirage and Mocambo.

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Originally posted by hermitclare:
.. I don't know where Bean around the World is - other than the one near my sister's house in Vancouver, and I'm assuming you're not talking about that one! I'm fine with any place.

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I just got accepted to York U to do my postgrad degree in Geography and I'm completely, completely stoked (apart from it being my dream to be in academia, I get to live overseas, on my own, for once).

You'll love it here in August. Toronto summer is lovely, not too hot, but I doubt you'll find it cold. The wintertime, another story most likely.

I'm so excited about it these next 5 months are going to be the absolute longest in my entire life.

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Originally posted by motionparallax:
The wintertime, another story most likely.

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As for Toronto, there is a huge Asian population - you shouldn't feel out of place at all. It's very multicultural here and has great food accordingly. One thing, I haven't met very many Southeast Asian Chinese (assuming on your part - apologies if wrong) as compared to those from China/HK, but it might just be sheer numbers and shouldn't be anything to feel uncomfortable about.

I found a few resources for you.

Here's the off-campus housing website for York U:
http://www.yorku.ca/scld/offcampushousing/

You can also look for apartments in the Toronto Star, the city's most widely-read paper (with the help of a map, so you can see how far everything is from the university:
www.thestar.com (check the classifieds section)

Since York is in the north end of the ciy, you basically have two choices, as motion pointed out: live in the north end, where it's easier to get to school, or live in the city proper and commute. The transportation system here isn't too bad, but the commute to York from downtown is a little long (50 minutes to an hour, I think) and bus service directly to the university isn't that frequent. Although, as a grad student, you may not have to go on to campus every day (depending on your program) so that's something to take into account as well. York also offers on-campus housing for grad/mature students, but you'd be trading in the convenience of living close to school for the convenience of living in a real neighborhood with shopping, restaurants, etc.

Just FYI, lots and lots of people in Toronto live with roommates, and that may be your best bet if you want to live inexpensively. Just to give you an idea of costs, an average bachelor apt. will run from $600 to $800 CAD, but you can often share a room for $450 to $600 CAD.

Good luck, and let us know if you have any more questions!

Now - I can understand - if we didn't live in Detroit - maybe knowing where Toronto was exactly - might be a problem. But to live within a hour of Windsor - and know that you have never seen a Toronto newscast, heard their traffic announced on our radio stations? - come on!!

So I said "Yeah - um - Toronto? Is four hours away from me. I don't think I'll be going there to work out..."

He says "I've only been to Canada once." (like it's some exotic tourist destination) Seriously - people go over to Windsor for dinner, to gamble, to watch the fireworks, to shop - people around here think of it kind of like another American city with this annoying border in the middle.

American1: Know what?
American2: What?
American1: It's the Canadian Fourth of July!
American2: Why don't they have it on the Fourth of July then...?

And, my personal favourite - when I was working at a tourist destination, a tourist approaches me:

I can't wait to get my ass out of here. The more I think about it the more I hate my job. Anticipating this is killing me. The sloooooooowest and loooooooongest 5 months of my life.

Please do keep me updated of anything else you think would be useful to me... especially if someone's seeking a room/housemate. I'd like to live in the city, but I gotta see how things go.

Um. I like to think I'm a pretty reasonable person to live with. I won't have much stuff while I'm there. I can be reasonably quiet since I don't have a sound system (can't transport it over). I sleep at really odd hours, but I can do it in a non-obstrusive manner. I can cook. I abhor having expired food in the fridge. I can clean. And I shower everyday.

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Originally posted by hermitclare:
Victoria digsmeet: April 9th, 4:30 p.m., Mirage cafe - yes?

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Originally posted by jazzberry:
Don't forget about the digsmeet guys! Is everyone still available?

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Originally posted by jazzberry:
do you have a pic floating around somewhere on Digs? I've met natalie a few times, know what clare looks like (because I'm a stalker), but I don't think I've seen a pic of you before. Or, you could just wear a big sign or a floppy hat or something.

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Originally posted by jazzberry:
hey, natalie, does mr. natalie have a beard now? cuz, G totally thinks he saw him at a coffee shop downtown today and wanted to say hi, but was unsure because of the beard.

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Originally posted by natalie:
It was great fun meeting you Specs, and seeing you again Jazz and Clare. Sorry we had to cut it short - the good news is they accepted our offer, so we can have a digsmeet at our *house* after June 30!!!

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