How to Navigate Life in Quarantine for Toronto Newcomers

How do you make Toronto work for you…when Toronto isn’t exactly at work?

This is the reality for many newcomers to the city. Many people were scheduled to arrive just as the Covid-19 crisis gained traction and have found themselves new to Toronto at the exact moment when our city is sleeping…or taking a long nap.

relo-to wanted to bring together in one place some resources and ‘relo-to life hacks’ that might make the transition and settling in process to Toronto a little easier and a little gentler during this time of uncertainty.

First things first (and you probably already know this) there are guidelines for travellers arriving in Canada that are important to follow. The Public Health Agency of Canada has published a great resource on this which is absolutely worth reading.

Here are our top 5 ways to stay sane, safe and satiated as Toronto newcomers navigate life in quarantine.

#1 – Stay updated on relevant news & quarantine information

As a Toronto newcomer, following the news is important for navigating your life in quarantine. And, as everyone agrees…it’s wise to choose the right sources for your news. Our recommendations are to load the following Apps to your phones so you can stay as current and updated as you would like. These Apps will give you a focus on local, provincial and/or national news. (It can be useful to set notifications so the critical information is being ‘pushed’ to you in real time so you aren’t always searching for it.) Most news sources around the world have removed their paywall/charges for Covid-19 related news and the following are no exception:

Globe & Mail – Canada’s National Newspaper
Toronto Star – Toronto Newspaper
CBC – Canadian Broadcast Corporation
CP24 – Local News

relo-to Life Hack: Also download the BlogTO App, a fantastic blog with Toronto based news and updates with an excellent focus on the ‘take-out’ food scene

#2 – Download the best apps to improve life in quarantine!

Restaurant Take-out and Delivery Apps include:

Uber Eats
Just Eat
Skip the Dishes
Door Dash
Foodora

relo-to Life Hack: You still want to do this ethically. Remember to request ‘contactless’ delivery, but this goes both ways! Stay 2 meters away from them as well. Also good to know, at the time of this writing, Uber Eats has waived delivery charges from independent restaurants in Canada and contactless delivery is mandatory with SkipTheDishes

relo-to Life Hack: These delivery companies take a percentage from the restaurant. This means their slim margins are cut into a little deeper so if you find a restaurant you really like, consider ordering & picking up directly from them the next time!

Other Apps

relo-to Life Hack – Toronto may be sleeping at the moment, but there are some Apps that we always recommend people download. You may not need them at the moment…but trust us when we say they’ll come in handy down the road!

GreenP – Fantastic App that allows you to pay for parking all while sitting in the comfort of your car!
Rocket Man – Toronto Transit Commission. Because one day, you will get on the subway!
Toronto Map & Walks
AGO – Art Gallery of Ontario
Scopify ROM – Royal Ontario Museum

#3 – Follow Canadian & Toronto leaders on social media

So many people to follow…so little time! Yes, it’s great to catch up with how your friends are coping around the world…or what ‘the influencers’ might have to say, but we’d also recommend following important Canadian Politicians so you’re getting close to the action. (And, let’s admit it – we needed to know in real time that Toronto’s Mayor and Ontario’s Premiere were announcing that the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy had been deemed ‘Essential Workers’)

John Tory – Mayor, City of Toronto
Doug Ford, Premiere, Ontario
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister, Canada

relo-to Life Hack: We know you’ll find your way to other people, places and things to follow…but we’d recommend you definitely consider adding ‘BlogTO’ and ‘Toronto Life’ to your list!

#4 – Do grocery shopping with delivery & pick-up options

This is super tricky at the moment, we’re not going to lie. Grocery Stores & Pharmacies have been deemed ‘essential services’, which makes sense. There are ‘National Grocers & Chains’ to choose from…and even some ‘Local Grocers/Food Purveyors’ that are offering either delivery or curb-side pick-up. The challenge is there are incredible delays in terms of delivery times and some companies are charging exorbitant mark-ups for the items. This isn’t so painful if you have the time and resources, but for many people, this isn’t always the reality.

If you are comfortable and can go out and do your own shopping, we support the guidelines. Shop once every week or two, look for stores with proper safety protocols (limited shoppers, sanitized carts, checkouts with plexi-glass) and try to shop during ‘quieter’ times – usually the morning. Feel free to use a mask, as this may in fact help protect others…and always practice handwashing for at least 20 seconds when you return.

relo-to Life Hack: Everyone has a different answer to how to potentially wash and disinfect your supplies when you return home, so we won’t pile on here with additional advice, except maybe to remind you to disinfect your counters after everything has been put away and please don’t forget to wash your reusable bags. But, we do recommend you do your due diligence. For example, our research uncovered that using soap on fruits and vegetables can cause diarrhea…and with the toilet paper shortage, perhaps should be avoided!

relo-to Life Hack: Canadian Grocery Store prices may be unfamiliar to you, so we’d recommend focusing on a couple of trusted sites like Walmart or Loblaws so you can get a sense of what ‘real-life’ prices look like before settling on a delivery service. No need to pay twice the price for laundry detergent, unless it’s urgent!

relo-to Life Hack: We’ve noticed that many companies and store fronts have modified their hours…but it may not necessarily be reflected on Google or their website. All that to say…don’t be super surprised to find restrictions in hours or even days

relo-to Life Hack: Checkout Lineups…a crowd sourcing tool that tells you exactly what the line-ups are like at the grocery stores, Costco and even the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario)

#5 – Stay connected with friends & other newcomers in Toronto

With Social or Physical Distancing, it’s tough to feel a sense of connection to your new home city, especially after a recent corporate relocation. But we have a few thoughts on ways that may help you feel like you’re not alone:

Facebook Community Pages – Most neighbourhoods have a ‘Community Page’ or a ‘Parents Group’ that you can join. This is a great place to pose questions or ask advice
relo-to Life Hack: We have to confess, sometimes these are places where people unnecessarily post ‘shaming’ photos of Covid-19 infractions. Just ignore them…and please be patient with us…this too shall pass.
Nextdoor – This is a newish App to the Toronto area. Essentially, Nextdoor narrows your network to those in your surrounding area which is pretty cool!
relo-to Life Hack: As above, this is another great place to ask your community which local yoga studios are doing on-line classes or which baker happens to make the most authentic pain au chocolat. Don’t be shy…people always love to give advice!
Arrive – Another new App you can connect, network and navigate the Canadian job market – all on the go! You can chat with people in your industry, build your network, and get relevant insights and guidance from Arrive Ambassadors. No matter where you are on your career journey, Arrive can help.
Meetup – Their tag line is “The Real World is Calling”. How appropriate! Free to join, Meetup brings like minded people together…and I expect some groups are doing a fantastic job of doing it virtually. Interested in practicing a language, training for a marathon or meeting fellow ‘Jane-ites” (folks who love Jane Austen) then this could be the place for you!
LinkedIn – There’s a whole new network to explore in Toronto/Ontario/Canada/North America/The Planet Earth. Enough said!

There are a lot of different things we didn’t have time to cover here, but we’ll continue to write so we can bring you additional information on topics of interest.

Stay well, stay healthy!