July 29th, 2023 at 02:05 am
Living in Hamilton, Ontario as an Immigrant in Canada
As a newcomer to Canada, there are a few things you should think about before choosing where to live. From how easy it is to find a job in your field to how much it costs to live and what kinds of things are around, your new home in Canada should have everything you need to live a good life.
Many people want to move to big cities like Toronto or Vancouver, but smaller cities like Hamilton offer the same quality of life for less money. Hamilton is a city with a lot of different cultures, a good job market, and a lively downtown. It’s easy to get to downtown Toronto by car, so it gives newcomers the best of both city and suburban living.
This article is for people who are moving to Hamilton. It talks about the city’s weather, culture, job market, transportation, and more.
About the City of Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city on the western end of Lake Ontario in southern Ontario. Hamilton is part of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). It is about 68 kilometers southwest of Toronto.
The City of Hamilton is made up of the towns of Hamilton, Stoney Creek Glanbrook, Ancaster, Dundas, and Flamborough. It is 1118.31 square kilometers in size. The 2021 census says that there are 569,355 people living in the city. This makes it the fifth most populous city in Ontario and the tenth largest in Canada.
Maclean’s Magazine named Hamilton one of Canada’s 25 best places to live in 2019. Hamilton is a popular place for people moving to Canada because it is close to Toronto and has a lower cost of living than most other cities. Many companies in Canada offer remote or hybrid work options, which makes it easier and cheaper for newcomers to live in nearby cities like Hamilton and commute to Toronto for work a couple of times a week.
Hamilton’s Weather
Hamilton has all four seasons, just like the rest of Canada. Summer, fall, winter, and spring. The weather in Toronto is like the weather in Hamilton. From November to late March, Hamilton has winter. Because the city is near the lake, winters there are often warmer and wetter than in other Canadian cities. Even so, winter months are usually cold, snowy, and have temperatures below -10°C. As a newcomer, you should also be ready for a warm summer. The average high temperature in July is 27°C, so you should be prepared for that.
Hamilton’s language and culture
Nearly a quarter of the people who live in Hamilton say they are from a visible minority. This makes the city very diverse. New and old immigrants make up 25.94% of the people who live in Hamilton. Even at the beginning of the 20th century, people from the US, UK, Ireland, Italy, Hungary, and Austria moved to Hamilton because of its growing industrial sector. At the moment, most people move to Hamilton from India, the Philippines, Iraq, Portugal, Pakistan, China, Jamaica, Ukraine, and Pakistan.
In the same way, there is a wide range of languages spoken by people who live in the city. English, Arabic, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Punjabi, Mandarin, Serbian, Urdu, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Ukrainian are the next most common languages spoken in Hamilton.
The job market in Hamilton
As of late 2022, the unemployment rate in Hamilton is 5%, which is less than the average for the province. The city has a strong job market, with many job openings in key industries like steel, advanced manufacturing, science and education, food and beverage, transportation, construction and real estate, finance and insurance, healthcare and life sciences, ICT and digital media, tourism, and waste management.
Airbus Helicopters Canada Ltd., FirstOntario Credit Union, Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, McMaster University, City of Hamilton, Mohawk College, and ArcelorMittal are some of the biggest employers in Hamilton.
How to rent a place in Hamilton, Ontario
As a newcomer to Canada, you should try to book a place to stay for the first few weeks before you get there. This will give you time to get to know Hamilton’s neighborhoods before you find a long-term rental.
There are many different kinds of places to rent in Hamilton, from apartments and basement apartments to condos and single-family or semi-detached homes. Realtor.ca says that the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in October 2022 is $1,683, while the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $2,155.
Depending on how many bedrooms the basement apartment has, the rent could be anywhere from $1,350 to $1,850 per month. The average rent in Hamilton is 30 to 35 percent less than it is in Toronto. In addition to your budget, the type of rental you choose will depend on the size of your family, the neighborhoods you like, how much space you need, and the amenities you want.
As a newcomer, it can be hard to rent a home because many landlords want tenants to have a job offer or a good credit history in Canada. But our article on how to rent a home without a job letter or credit history gives newcomers who don’t have a Canadian job or credit history yet ways to get around these problems.
To live in Hamilton, how much money do you need?
How much it costs to live in Hamilton depends on where you live, how you live, how big your family is, and if you plan to drive or take public transportation. Most of the time, it will be cheaper to live in Hamilton than in downtown Toronto, where rents are much higher.
Transportation in Hamilton
Most people in Hamilton get around by car or public transit. GO Transit runs between Hamilton and downtown Toronto. The trip takes 1 hour and 15 minutes. You can also get around the city on HSR buses. Presto cards can be used to pay for fares on both GO Transit and HSR buses.
Many neighborhoods in the city have a low walk score, which tells you if things like grocery stores are close enough to walk to. Because of this, most Hamilton residents prefer to have a car. To drive in Ontario, you need a valid driver’s license. The province’s licensing process has three steps: a knowledge test and two road tests. You may be able to use your international license to drive in Ontario for up to 90 days if you just moved there. It takes about 1.5 hours to drive from Hamilton to downtown Toronto.
Most of the time, kids who don’t live close enough to school to walk there can take the free school bus that the school board provides.
Education in Hamilton
Putting your child in a Hamilton school
Hamilton has public schools that are free and Catholic schools that are free, as well as private schools that charge tuition fees. The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) runs the public schools in the city. There are 80 elementary schools and 13 high schools in the system. The HWDSB takes care of almost 50,000 kids and has a Welcome Center where kids of newcomers can get registered.
Students must be at least four years old by December 31 of the year they want to start Kindergarten. Elementary schools usually take kids up to the age of 13, which is the end of the eighth grade. High schools, also called secondary schools, are for kids ages 14 to 18 and have classes for grades 9 to 12.
When you sign up your child for public school, the school board will usually do a language skills assessment and a prior learning equivalency assessment before giving them a grade. The school board also offers English as a Second Language (ESL) resources to help newcomer children adjust to their new school, as well as academic classes in newcomer languages like Arabic, Mandarin, German, Tamil, and more.
Colleges and universities in Hamilton, Ontario.
Hamilton is the center of higher education in Ontario, and it has a lot of well-known schools. The departments of medicine, engineering, humanities, and social science at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, make it one of the best universities in Canada.
Mohawk College, Redeemer University College, Brock University, and Niagara College are some other well-known schools in Hamilton.
Healthcare in Hamilton
Permanent residents and citizens of Canada who live in Hamilton can get free health care through the Ontario Health Insurance Program (OHIP), which is run by the provincial government. OHIP coverage starts as soon as you sign up. You can apply to get health insurance right away if you are eligible.
The people who live in Hamilton have access to health care through a network of clinics and doctors’ offices. The city also has a number of well-known hospitals, such as St. Peter’s Hospital, McMaster Children’s Hospital, McMaster General Hospital, Juravinski Hospital, and St. Joseph’s Hospital. You can use Ontario’s Health Care Connect as a newcomer to Hamilton to find a family doctor or nurse practitioner in your area. If you need care from a specialist, your family doctor can send you to one.
Why you should live in Hamilton as a newcomer
Hamilton is a popular place for people who just moved to Canada to go. Some of the things that make Hamilton one of the best places to live in Canada are how close it is to Toronto and how cheap it is to live there. Hamilton is also culturally and linguistically diverse. As a newcomer to Hamilton, Ontario, you’ll find it easy to stay in touch with your community and roots while enjoying Canada’s high quality of life.
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