Moving to Canada (Windsor, ON) tomorrow, need some info ASAP

[Megazero]

So... I'm moving to Canada tomorrow, and to be specific I will move to Windsor, ON for study purpose. I need some quick info I hope someone here could help me with:

- Which mobile network is the cheapest in Canada/ON/Windsor? In other country I've been to there's always an unlimited data package (you have like 1-2 GB at max speed, and after that it's slow down considerably, like 30kb/s, but still usable and unlimited till the end of the month) but I've heard that Canada dont have that, so which package should I try to go for from which mobile network?
- So far I've known about Craightlist and Kijiji for finding things to buy in Canada, problem is that Windsor might be abit too isolated so most of the computer stuff I cant find in the area in those 2 site. Is there's any other site that sell second hand stuff (computer and everything else)? Torronto is fine since it's only like 4 hours train away, I could go there in the weekends or smt
- As an Asian who never come to Canada before, other than winter clothing is there anything else I need? Is there anything else I need to know about before I land? (Like local rules etc)
- I've try to email a bunch of people in Kijiji to try to rent a house, but none of them answer. I heard that people tend to not check email so u need to call/message them. If anyone can help me do a few call/messaging please inbox me, thanks in advance

[Gale]

10 minutes ago, Megazero said:

- Which mobile network is the cheapest in Canada/ON/Windsor? In other country I've been to there's always an unlimited data package (you have like 1-2 GB at max speed, and after that it's slow down considerably, like 30kb/s, but still usable and unlimited till the end of the month) but I've heard that Canada dont have that, so which package should I try to go for from which mobile network?

Wind Mobile (Now called Freedom Mobile) is the one I recommend. They do have that X GB data at max speed, then throttled data after X amount. Which plan should you go for totally depends on you, your budget, needs, etc.

 

17 minutes ago, Megazero said:

- As an Asian who never come to Canada before, other than winter clothing is there anything else I need? Is there anything else I need to know about before I land? (Like local rules etc)

• If you ever get lost, or you need to ask something, don't hesitate to ask a random person. We, Canadians, are pretty polite... well, a great majority are.
• The standard tip for bars and restaurants is 15%.
• You must try Poutine.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

[Megazero]

18 minutes ago, Gale said:

Wind Mobile (Now called Freedom Mobile) is the one I recommend. They do have that X GB data at max speed, then throttled data after X amount. Which plan should you go for totally depends on you, your budget, needs, etc.

 

• If you ever get lost, or you need to ask something, don't hesitate to ask a random person. We, Canadians, are pretty polite... well, a great majority are.
• The standard tip for bars and restaurants is 15%.
• You must try Poutine.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

Thanks for the info, I will go with Wind then.

I highly doubt that I will be going to any bars/restaurants anytime soon, but that's nice to know. We dont exactly have tip culture here

What's Poutine?

[bossman1]

Wind/Freedom Mobile is one of the worst carriers there is, same with Mobilicity. I have heard stories of people not getting reception in coverage area's. Your best bet is to go with the big 3 which are Telus/Koodoo, Rogers/Fido or Bell/Virgin Mobile.

 

 

Actually its more like 5% and if they did a good service then 10% max.

34 minutes ago, Gale said:

The standard tip for bars and restaurants is 15%.

 

[Ryoku]

28 minutes ago, Megazero said:

Thanks for the info, I will go with Wind then.

I highly doubt that I will be going to any bars/restaurants anytime soon, but that's nice to know. We dont exactly have tip culture here

What's Poutine?

French fries with gravy and cheese curds... sooo good.

[Gale]

1 hour ago, bossman1 said:

Wind/Freedom Mobile is one of the worst carriers there is, same with Mobilicity. I have heard stories of people not getting reception in coverage area's. Your best bet is to go with the big 3 which are Telus/Koodoo, Rogers/Fido or Bell/Virgin Mobile.

If you go camping and visit the countryside a lot, then sure. I would never recommend the big 3. Ever. I've had way more issues with them than Wind.

1 hour ago, bossman1 said:

Actually its more like 5% and if they did a good service then 10% max.

I bet you get called horrible names by servers everywhere.

[Megazero]

2 hours ago, Ryoku said:

French fries with gravy and cheese curds... sooo good.

Haha, maybe I will some day.

In my country tips was always the changes if there is at all, never knew that tips count by percentage in Canada  I probably will never come to a restaurant alone anyway so... monkey see monkey do I guess 

[WkdPaul]

Don't know Thailand community much but I'm sure there a website for it!

 

For buying used stuff Kijiji and Craigslist isn't the best.

 

Here's a few links you might want to check that can really help for buying used, new or for getting advices in general:

 

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/ (small community but you get fast replies for the stuff in their classifieds section)

 

http://forums.redflagdeals.com (amazing for deals in general, used or new)

 

reddit.com/r/CanadianHardwareSwap/ (for used PC parts within Canada)

 

 

Phone providers sick in Canada, the previously mentioned companies are the only options.

[Megazero]

2 minutes ago, wkdpaul said:

Don't know Thailand community much but I'm sure there a website for it!

 

For buying used stuff Kijiji and Craigslist isn't the best.

 

Here's a few links you might want to check that can really help for buying used, new or for getting advices in general:

 

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/ (small community but you get fast replies for the stuff in their classifieds section)

 

http://forums.redflagdeals.com (amazing for deals in general, used or new)

 

reddit.com/r/CanadianHardwareSwap/ (for used PC parts within Canada)

 

 

Phone providers sick in Canada, the previously mentioned companies are the only options.

Oh I'm not Thai, I'm Vietnamese, who happen to be study bachelor and working in Bangkok for a while, but I dont really worry much about Vnese community in Windsor, if that's what you mean.

Nice, I will look into it then. Just hope that they reach Windsor area as well. Still trying to look for a room to rent ATM lol

[WkdPaul]

2 minutes ago, Megazero said:

Oh I'm not Thai, I'm Vietnamese, who happen to be study bachelor and working in Bangkok for a while, but I dont really worry much about Vnese community in Windsor, if that's what you mean.

Nice, I will look into it then. Just hope that they reach Windsor area as well. Still trying to look for a room to rent ATM lol

Lol OK, I saw your location in your profile and I assumed

 

BTW I meant the online community, since my wife is Chinese I'm familiar with the Chinese online community in Canada, I'm assuming there's one for Vietnamese too

 

These online community are VERY helpful for newcomers, CIC has a website but I'm not sure if it's useful:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/services/

[Megazero]

2 minutes ago, wkdpaul said:

Lol OK, I saw your location in your profile and I assumed

 

BTW I meant the online community, since my wife is Chinese I'm familiar with the Chinese online community in Canada, I'm assuming there's one for Vietnamese too

 

These online community are VERY helpful for newcomers, CIC has a website but I'm not sure if it's useful:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/services/

Oh that, I'm not sure about the VNese community in Windsor cause there doesnt seem to be too many VNese over there, or those I found didnt direct me to any sort of group yet, but the student community in Windsor have been very helpful so far  

[dizmo]

Welcome to Canada!

 

Wind Mobile has the best plans in terms of cost/data amount, however their network can be iffy at best. I'm not sure how it is back East, but in BC there are major cities that don't even get full coverage.

I'd recommend Public Mobile as long as you don't mind paying up front. $40/month for unlimited calling/text and 2GB of data.

There's also PC Mobile, they have decent plans but I'm not sure what their coverage looks like.

 

Those are generally the two sites that are used. I'd take someone with you if you can, if you're going into the city.

 

Rules, as in cultural? Say please and thank you a lot, and if you bump into someone, you apologize. Same goes if they bump into you. Sorry will become one of your main words, and you may want to practice throwing your "eh" into the right part of the sentence.

If you plan on driving, and you get into an accident, you can say you're sorry, unlike the US.

 

Depending on the rental market, you might have to call. For example in Vancouver, it's not uncommon for a renter to get 40 or 50 emails within an hour of posting an ad. Calling shows that you're serious, and they're not just wasting their time replying to emails. Make sure you know your rights as a renter, a lot of landlords try and get away with some shady stuff.

http://www.ontariotenants.ca/law/act.phtml

http://www.ontariotenants.ca/law/law.phtml

 

If you have any questions once you land you can always ask on here. We're generally a helpful community when we're not arguing over what parts should be in a system build

 

 

6 hours ago, Gale said:

Wind Mobile (Now called Freedom Mobile) is the one I recommend. They do have that X GB data at max speed, then throttled data after X amount. Which plan should you go for totally depends on you, your budget, needs, etc.

 

• If you ever get lost, or you need to ask something, don't hesitate to ask a random person. We, Canadians, are pretty polite... well, a great majority are.
• The standard tip for bars and restaurants is 15%.
• You must try Poutine.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

Yes! Delicious poutine.

Hopefully Winds coverage is better back east than it is out west.

6 hours ago, bossman1 said:

Wind/Freedom Mobile is one of the worst carriers there is, same with Mobilicity. I have heard stories of people not getting reception in coverage area's. Your best bet is to go with the big 3 which are Telus/Koodoo, Rogers/Fido or Bell/Virgin Mobile.

 

 

Actually its more like 5% and if they did a good service then 10% max.

 

Bell is never a good choice, they're easily the worst provider in Canada from a cost standpoint. Pretty sure they're only around for their corporate plans.

 

Really? 5%? You cheap bastard

 

[Megazero]

2 minutes ago, dizmo said:

 

Rules, as in cultural? Say please and thank you a lot, and if you bump into someone, you apologize. Same goes if they bump into you. Sorry will become one of your main words, and you may want to practice throwing your "eh" into the right part of the sentence.

If you plan on driving, and you get into an accident, you can say you're sorry, unlike the US.

 

That wont be a problem, was already doing that all the time  

 

2 minutes ago, dizmo said:

 

 

Depending on the rental market, you might have to call. For example in Vancouver, it's not uncommon for a renter to get 40 or 50 emails within an hour of posting an ad. Calling shows that you're serious, and they're not just wasting their time replying to emails. Make sure you know your rights as a renter, a lot of landlords try and get away with some shady stuff.

 

 

Yeah, I do plan to start calling the morning after I land. Just hope I can find one within the day lol

 

 

 

[dalekphalm]

1 hour ago, Megazero said:

That wont be a problem, was already doing that all the time  

 

 

Yeah, I do plan to start calling the morning after I land. Just hope I can find one within the day lol

 

 

 

Just to give you a heads up:

Rent in Windsor is generally really cheap (by Ontario/Canadian standards anyway) for a big city, but there are a LOT of sketchy apartments. The city is also quite sprawling. There's public transit, but I wouldn't call it very good. It's serviceable, but gets beat by other major cities like Kitchener/Waterloo and Toronto.

 

Also make sure you've got some apartments lined up to check out already for when you arrive, unless you plan on staying with a friend/relative, or getting a hotel room.

 

@dizmo

Quote

If you plan on driving, and you get into an accident, you can say you're sorry, unlike the US.

This is *TERRIBLE* advice. Your insurance provider (or more importantly, the other persons) can and WILL try to use "sorry" against you, by saying you admitted fault by apologizing (If you're not at fault, there's no reason to apologize).

 

It might feel rude, but do not say sorry. Do not say anything or do anything that can be interpreted as admitting fault. Your own insurance company will try to use it to try and not have to pay the bill, and the other insurance company will do the same to try and make it seem like their driver wasn't at fault and yours was. Maybe it's common in Edmonton to say sorry during an accident, but it's still a bad idea. I wouldn't, and I wouldn't feel bad about it.

[dizmo]

1 minute ago, dalekphalm said:

@dizmo

This is *TERRIBLE* advice. Your insurance provider (or more importantly, the other persons) can and WILL try to use "sorry" against you, by saying you admitted fault by apologizing (If you're not at fault, there's no reason to apologize).

 

It might feel rude, but do not say sorry. Do not say anything or do anything that can be interpreted as admitting fault. Your own insurance company will try to use it to try and not have to pay the bill, and the other insurance company will do the same to try and make it seem like their driver wasn't at fault and yours was. Maybe it's common in Edmonton to say sorry during an accident, but it's still a bad idea. I wouldn't, and I wouldn't feel bad about it.

You can say sorry, it is NOT admitting fault. It's Canadian law.

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, dizmo said:

You can say sorry, it is NOT admitting fault. It's Canadian law.

Please point me to a section of Canadian law that says saying sorry is not admitting fault.

[dizmo]

3 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Please point me to a section of Canadian law that says saying sorry is not admitting fault.

Quote

Definition

1. In this Act,

“apology” means an expression of sympathy or regret, a statement that a person is sorry or any other words or actions indicating contrition or commiseration, whether or not the words or actions admit fault or liability or imply an admission of fault or liability in connection with the matter to which the words or actions relate. 2009, c. 3, s. 1.

Effect of apology on liability

2. (1) An apology made by or on behalf of a person in connection with any matter,

(a) does not, in law, constitute an express or implied admission of fault or liability by the person in connection with that matter;

(b) does not, despite any wording to the contrary in any contract of insurance or indemnity and despite any other Act or law, void, impair or otherwise affect any insurance or indemnity coverage for any person in connection with that matter; and

(c) shall not be taken into account in any determination of fault or liability in connection with that matter. 2009, c. 3, s. 2 (1).

 

https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/09a03

 

Each province has their own version, but the base is the same. I hold an insurance license, it's a common misconception.

[JDMFTW]

Being in Windsor you are close to Detroit. We have a microcenter here for pc parts they cary virtually everything.

Microcenter.com 

[dizmo]

6 minutes ago, JDMFTW said:

Being in Windsor you are close to Detroit. We have a microcenter here for pc parts they cary virtually everything.

Microcenter.com 

I believe he'd have to apply for a US Tourist Visa to do that.

[JDMFTW]

1 minute ago, dizmo said:

I believe he'd have to apply for a US Tourist Visa to do that.

 

You are correct, I figure OP would do this anyway as Windsor is a small city and Detroit has alot to offer for food and shopping.

[dalekphalm]

33 minutes ago, dizmo said:

 

https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/09a03

 

Each province has their own version, but the base is the same. I hold an insurance license, it's a common misconception.

I'll concede the point. However, it's still incredibly important to be careful what you say to the other driver in an accident.

 

I assume if you say "I'm sorry!" by itself, that might be fine. However, if you say "I'm sorry, I didn't see that rock", that may not simply qualify as an expression of empathy.

 

6 minutes ago, JDMFTW said:

 

You are correct, I figure OP would do this anyway as Windsor is a small city and Detroit has alot to offer for food and shopping.

Windsor still has a mall, with all your normal big city stuff. They don't have any major PC Parts stores (NCIX, Canada Computers, etc), but there's a Canada Computers in London, ON, which is pretty close, and much easier to get to without the hassle of getting a US travel Visa, or even having the cross the border itself, potentially.

[WkdPaul]

plus the conversion rate isn't what is used to be

 

unless you find a really amazing deal, it won't be worth it.

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, wkdpaul said:

plus the conversion rate isn't what is used to be

 

unless you find a really amazing deal, it won't be worth it.

Indeed - $1 CAD = $0.76 USD right now. And yeah sometimes the deals are worth it, but factoring in the time and gas to go across the border, it's not likely worth it for most things.

[bossman1]

Wind Mobile and Freedom Mobile, you can be in the city center in a wood framed house and you wont get service. I have read countless threads on those. Once you step foot outside their zone you get dinged with more expenses. If someone wants to be a hermit and never leave the zone then those companies are alright. Otherwise go with Bell/VM because you get country-wide calling and 1GB of data for $35pm.

 

I got no clue how big Windsor is, but I know its a border town to Detroit so you can cross border shop very easily. Detroit however is not a safe city unless you know how to handle yourself and know where not to go.

 

If I lived in Windsor I would get me a passport and shop in Detroit all the time depending on the transit time to pass the checkpoint. Maybe there is a system in place where there is a fast lane. Or better yet, cross by foot then no line of traffic. Leave your car parked on the Detroit side. I would also visit Quebec because there is a lot of history there, Toronto would have to be just visit the tourist spots, CNE, tower and whatever else they have. East coast is amazing. Via Rail is big in the east, its a commuter train then a tourist train for the west.

[dalekphalm]

1 hour ago, bossman1 said:

Wind Mobile and Freedom Mobile, you can be in the city center in a wood framed house and you wont get service. I have read countless threads on those. Once you step foot outside their zone you get dinged with more expenses. If someone wants to be a hermit and never leave the zone then those companies are alright. Otherwise go with Bell/VM because you get country-wide calling and 1GB of data for $35pm.

 

I got no clue how big Windsor is, but I know its a border town to Detroit so you can cross border shop very easily. Detroit however is not a safe city unless you know how to handle yourself and know where not to go.

 

If I lived in Windsor I would get me a passport and shop in Detroit all the time depending on the transit time to pass the checkpoint. Maybe there is a system in place where there is a fast lane. Or better yet, cross by foot then no line of traffic. Leave your car parked on the Detroit side. I would also visit Quebec because there is a lot of history there, Toronto would have to be just visit the tourist spots, CNE, tower and whatever else they have. East coast is amazing. Via Rail is big in the east, its a commuter train then a tourist train for the west.

Freedom Mobile does have a plan that includes 1GB of "off-zone" roaming, but only their top level plan has it. All of the others are pay per MB roaming.

 

I really don't think cross border shopping is going to be very useful for him though - the exchange rate is pretty damn wide, and prices aren't so low in the US as to make it a clear cut way to do things. Plus you have to be careful of what you buy when crossing back over, to not have additional taxes levied on them (And don't even think about trying to not declare your shopping - if you get stopped in a random search, you're fucked).