Ten WhatsApp groups moderated by long-term Toronto residents. Whoever you are, whenever you arrive, a community is already waiting. You will never stay alone in Toronto.
A group of us sitting in a Kensington Market diner realised something simple: most of our best Toronto memories started with a stranger saying hi. So we started a WhatsApp group called "Toronto Welcome" and added anyone we met who was new to the city.
It grew fast. Skaters wanted rink-condition talk. Networkers wanted breakfast meetups. Parents wanted pediatrician recommendations. The one group became a few themed ones, and we are still adding more as people ask for them.
Ten WhatsApp communities, each capped around 250 members, each moderated by long-term Toronto residents. When you reach out, a human reads your message, checks which group fits, and adds you. We do not use bots, we do not sell numbers, we do not run ads in the chats.
It is a labor of love, run by people who live here and believe nobody should stay alone in a new city. That is it.
A small team of moderators across Kensington Market, Distillery District, The Beaches, Leslieville and Yorkville. Some of us have been in Toronto for years, some arrived recently. We are not a business. We do not have an office. We meet for dinner every few weeks in different neighborhoods to keep in sync.
Communities
Every week
Running since