The Hogtown Enquirer

After graduation, I decided to move to Canada with my two friends Jess and Danny. We wanted to experience different cultures and the big city life in Toronto, but also take advantage of the great outdoors that Canada has to offer.

I decided to create a blog about this move, so that my friends and family could see what we were up to, and so others who were thinking of taking a year in Toronto could get an idea of what it’s like for three Brits taking the leap. None of us had ever been to Canada before, so there were plenty of interesting experiences to write about.

This page is the archive. I’m back in the UK now, living in London, but I loved Toronto and would recommend it to anyone.

Posts are listed in chronological order, oldest first.

= Estimated read time.

Bazaar

2

It’s minus fifteen here, but our neighbour Ralph tells us that the mysterious ‘windchill factor’ brought temperatures to minus twenty eight last night. We  h...

Fermented Oranges

3

We’re still living the unemployed life. Without an alarm clock, I rise with the low winter sun. By the chatter of black squirrels on the sill. With the bitte...

Queen & Country

3

To mark George Washington’s birthday, the third Monday of February is Presidents Day; an all out celebration of freedom, stars, stripes and everything else A...

Thrift House

1

Here are some photographs of our house and the objects we bought on the cheap, or obtained for free. If you look hard enough, you can spot the CN Tower in on...

Albinos in Tanzania

3

The job offensive has been in full swing this week, and without a working printer, I found myself staggering through 30mph winds towards the Toronto Public L...

Horticultural Avenue

1

Despite the snow covered ground, the weather beaten trees and the predominantly monochrome plant life in the city, Allen Gardens offers a refreshingly humid ...

Sausage Hall (and other wonders)

4

The AGO, or Art Gallery of Ontario, is a structure that sticks out amongst Chinatown's sprawling neon lights; it's vast ship-like southern facing wall, const...

Snow, Sleet, Repeat.

4

The neighbourhood we live in is conveniently sandwiched between Little Italy and Little Portugal, and is a short bike ride to Chinatown. The street is called...

The Communist’s Daughter

2

This week I’ve spent eight hours a day learning to fulfil my new role as a barista, amongst other things, and it’s been a tiring process making a transition ...

Spring Is Coming

2

Yes, there’s been a lapse in my strict weekly blogging schedule; I’ve been working full time, as have Danny and Jess, and so there’s been less time to explor...