Living in Toronto

Neighbourhoods, getting around, and settling into the city.

Places to live

Best tier: Yorkville (east of UofT) – premium prices and small units, but peace of mind and proximity to school.
Mid tier: Annex (west of UofT) – premium prices, often for average-looking but bigger, more rustic units. Downtown (south of UofT) – lower prices, similar in spirit to Yorkville but less polished and in older buildings.
Low tier: Anything far from school, unless you already know Toronto and Ontario well.

Walk: By far the best option if you can find a place nearby. In bad weather, the subway is a fine fallback.
Uber: Usually your second-best option for places off the subway lines. Prices in Toronto are quite cheap.
TTC subway: Old, but Line 2 (the green line) is reliable. Get a Presto card and load it up.
TTC streetcars: Generally slower and less reliable than the subway.
Car: Traffic can get bad and parking is hard to find, so it’s generally best avoided.

Keep in mind that you won’t go to campus every day.

In the first year, you’ll only rarely take classes at Rotman itself. Most first-year classrooms are scattered within about a 500-metre radius of Rotman, so expect some variability in getting between them. These rooms are also usually nothing special.
The Rotman building is beautiful but mostly reserved for graduate/MBA classes, so it’s often empty and feels more like a corporate office than a campus.
There’s a tool to find your classes (classfind.com/toronto). Be sure where you’re going – it’s easy to get confused, and no one wants to run 15 minutes and still be late on the first day.

You won’t have a lot of free time in the first year, but Toronto has plenty going on:

Watching sports: Blue Jays baseball, Maple Leafs hockey, some motorsports (IndyCar), and soccer.
Playing sports: There are inter-departmental competitions worth looking into.
Hiking: There are some nice spots up north.
Walking: Yorkville is a nice area to walk around.
Cultural tours: ROM, CN Tower, Aquarium.
Reading: ABC Books on Yonge has discounted books.
Food: Yorkville has nice (read: expensive) restaurants, and the city has plenty of options across budgets.
Shopping: Eaton Centre ($), Yorkville ($$$).
Nightlife: The city has a nightlife scene – ask around for current spots.

It depends on where you’re from. Many newcomers find people a bit colder and more rushed than they’re used to (unless you’re coming from somewhere like New York).
The city is diverse, and people generally keep to themselves.
It’s generally safe. The Jane/Finch corridor is best avoided, and Dundas near the Eaton Centre can be very busy and chaotic.