Joanna's Experience, Founder of Simple Relocate
In September 2015, six months after the birth of our second child, my husband learned that he had a job opportunity in Canada. His company wanted him to move to Toronto in December. It was very sudden and stressful. Luckily, the delays in obtaining the visa pushed back our move to April 2016.
A move abroad can be extremely exciting and disruptive at the same time. My husband insisted that his company finance the services of a relocation agency to help us. This proved very useful upon our arrival, but the agency was based in Montreal and the consultant was anglophone. As a result, she struggled to understand our needs. We were not warned of the significant differences in cost of living between Quebec and Ontario. Life is much more expensive in Toronto and operates differently than in Montreal.
The assistance from this relocation agency was valuable but imperfect, as they did not specialize in Toronto. We were not prepared for the specific realities of life in Toronto, whether in administrative, real estate, education or even professional terms. From this experience, Simple Relocate was born.
The relocation agent is the first point of contact in this new life. They must be your guide and advisor to provide you with all their best advice and explain the steps to follow.
To be more clear, when you sign with us, we schedule a virtual meeting with you to get acquainted and help you prepare for your move. There are many details that future expats do not necessarily think about when they are excited about the change. We can also guide you in your search for temporary or even long-term housing directly.
Then, upon your arrival in Toronto, we take care of you, not to play taxi, but to support you through all the initial procedures that are new, may seem complex, and need to be handled quickly: obtaining a social insurance number, opening a bank account and a mobile phone line.
We then start with you the housing search phase. The idea is to give you the tools to help you understand a city like Toronto: the distribution of neighborhoods, places to live and work, how public transit works, and the services you will use daily such as schools, parks, grocery stores.
Once you have mastered these concepts, we will be able to determine with you neighborhoods to live based on your personal preferences, habits and financial means. Only once the list of neighborhoods is established will we move on to the actual housing search with the help of our real estate agent partner. We will review all the listings with our expert eye to retain only those likely to interest you. We will visit homes with you while providing advice and then manage the lease negotiation with our real estate agent.
Once long-term housing is secured, we support you in the second phase of administrative procedures: obtaining a health card and exchanging your driver's license. Also at this point, if you come with family, we guide you through researching and enrolling children in daycares and schools. This entire phase can be handled in advance if you choose to have us search for your long-term housing remotely for you.
A few days/weeks before you move into your permanent home, we will assist you with all move-in tasks: opening electricity and gas lines, subscribing to public water and waste management services, and setting up internet/TV.
If needed, we can also advise you on purchasing (new/used) or leasing a vehicle. We also offer support services for your spouse to adapt their resume to Canadian standards, prepare for interviews and learn the basics of North American networking.
We always take advantage of the time spent with you to share tips on good restaurants or ideas for weekend activities.
Even when the contract ends, we will continue to check in on how your first steps as Torontonians are going. We remain available to answer any questions you may have.
As you can see, the relocation agent does much more than a housing search. They provide support and are an invaluable contact for the expat and their family, making this major life transition smoother.
Overview of Services:
Relocation Assistance
Housing Search (also before departure)
Social Insurance Number
Health Card
Bank Account Opening
Driver's License
School and Daycare for Kids
Vehicle, Purchase or Leasing Advice
Spousal Support
and all those little things we need to start our life in a new environment smoothly
Excerpt from an email received from one of our clients
"A huge thank you to Paul for his help and invaluable advice (discovering the city, housing and job search). It was a real catalyst for us to get settled and quickly find our bearings in Toronto."
If you are moving soon, get support! Contact us today to discuss it.